Roger K

Perfect, thanks Wayne, and for the gearbox switch photo. Just what I needed. Roger

Please could someone with a late GT6 MkIII post a photo of the overdrive relay, in position? I'm converting my car to overdrive and would like to mount the 6RA relay in the original position. Also, does the late GT6 MkIII use the cast switch block on the forward end of the selector that presses on the overdrive inhibitor switch? Or does it use the earlier bent metal switch actuator? Thanks, Roger

That's great information, Chris. Some coincidence - I'm restoring an XK140DHC at the moment, and there is a 'C' channel along the sill on each side. At over 20 quid each side I thought I'd keep looking and found the Morris Minor one at Charles Ware's Morris Minor Centre, at £4 per side, so ordered some this afternoon! Filling with lead sounds like a good idea - did you melt it in, then out again? There's a few hopeful seals I've seen, but having something to compare them with would be good. Woolies have a couple of options, but no dimensions, so it's a bit of a gamble. Roger

Hi John, That's odd... however it's so long since I rebuilt the footwell boxes that I honestly can't remember. I was laying-up from scratch, so making the large white flat panels first, placing a sheet of polyester on a flat surface and starting with the gelcoat, then building up the back with resin and mat etc. so didn't need the PVA at that stage. All the curved corners etc. and the exhaust manifold clearance sections were done in hand-formed sheet aluminium moulds, for which I used the PVA as release agent, but I don't remember any problems.

Thanks very much Chris. I'm trying to find some channel to do this, but may have to make the steel channel match whatever seal I can find as I don't have any dimensions. If you get a chance to measure the channel I could do some cross-matching and see if anything's close. Making the curve would not be easy, probably too tight for cutting and welding without turning it into a threepenny bit. If you can spare some of the seal I would be very grateful! Roger

Yes, completely standard, D-type.

Could I crave a little more advice, please? Fitting an overdrive gearbox to my late MkIII GT6. A few questions: 1 - which speedo cable do I need? All I can find in the catalogues are lengths, which don't say what application goes with which cable. Looking in my factory parts book, there doesn't seem to be a different one for overdrive cars, so are they both the same - o/d and non-o/d? 2 - I have, in the pile of bits, an 'uprated' overdrive switch lever to sit on the end of the selector shaft and work the switch. This seems large and clunky, and I can't see an obvious way to fit it, although there is a threaded hole presumably for a lock screw. Is this worth fitting, or should I just stick to the standard bit of folded steel? 3 - Where should the Lucas 6RA relay for an overdrive car be mounted? 4 - I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the original right-angle speedo drive needs a washer behind it when mounting to the overdrive. Did I imagine that? The one that came fitted to the gearbox is clearly old, but has no washer between it and overdrive. Thanks all!

You might want to think about making up some metal retaining plates for the oblong door mirrors. These are a 'lozenge' sort of shape, with sloping ends. As you tighten the mounting screws, the plate acts like a wedge and holds the mirror rigid. The modern ones are now made of plastic (or cheese) and are pretty useless, leaving wobbly mirrors. If you get a bit of steel bar, and cut and file to shape, then make a couple of holes and tap them, you can have nice, firm mirrors like they always used to be!

That's a metal filler panel, photo on Rimmer's site.

I've finally got around to fitting my overdrive gearbox - late '73 non-roto GT6 MkIII. I picked up an old overdrive propshaft when buying parts some time ago. This is the same diameter as the non-o/d propshaft I've just removed. When buying parts from Fitchett's, I also bought one of their recon propshafts as I'd forgotten I had the other one... Problem is, the Fitchett's one is a lot thinner than the others. Can anyone advise on why this should be, and which is correct for my GT6? The photo shows, from left, the non-o/d shaft just removed, the o/d shaft bought ages ago and the recently purchased one from Fitchett's.

Yes, still got the chrome strips covering the welded seam at the bottom of the sills. Mine are stainless steel, not plastic, held on with clips.

Late '73 GT6. I'm starting to tidy up bits of the bodywork, and would appreciate some advice. My car has seals glued to the seals on both sides. Given that it's one owner since '74 til now, and has not been modified at all as far as I can see, are these (see photo) correct or a later addition? The parts book lists 711537 and 711538 as retainers for the sill sealing rubbers. I don't have these - should they be fitted to a late car? What are they - metal mouldings that fit over the door seal, or? Edit - OK - it seems there should be a channel spot welded to the sill to take a seal in this spot. The car got new sills in '85, and I gather Spitfires didn't have this, so that might explain the absence. Anyone know if the spotwelded channel, which are the retainers I've mentioned above, are available anywhere or what dimensions they are? Also (sorry), the parts book lists an A-post seal, 612260, which I can't find at any of the suppliers. Anyone know any more about this? EDIT - some answers collated: Steel channel for GT6 sill - Morris Minor centre EXC130M - bare steel channel, will work but seal is a tight fit. Better is Triumph 630578, 'Retainer boot lid trim strip Germany', channel in perfect but needs to be removed from spotwelded backing strip. Rubber seal for sill, fits in the above channel - 620656 weatherstrip seal, available from the usual places. This is probably COH Baines SRS071, but I haven't tried that.

Silentcoat seem to recommend their 3mm offering for classic cars. Most on here seem to have used the 2mm - is the 3mm too stiff to mould into the cover shape? Edit - all 3mm is 'product unavailable' on their website, so I've ordered some 2mm aluminium coated.

I had to learn how to lay fibreglass when rebuilding the footboxes of my Cobra (yes, AC made the bodies of traditional aluminium, but the footwell boxes and front of the transmission tunnel were always fibreglass). John Dickens' book 'Automotive Fibreglass Fabrication and Repair' is a brilliant little book which covers just about everything you need to know. Polyester film is best for flat surfaces with gelcoat, as it doesn't deform or stick. Gelcoat won't go off properly if the air can get to it, so the polyester allows it to go off and gives a lovely smooth finish. PVA is the release agent to use in the mould. Strongly recommend these guys, very good for materials and tints: https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk All this takes me right back to being a dental student in the seventies, when for four years we had to do all our own laboratory work. Casting gold crowns and firing porcelain ones was fun, casting cobalt-chromium denture bases was toxic, but we had to do the pattern making, mould making and pressure curing of every acrylic denture we made. Cold-mould seal, lost wax technique, endless burns from hot plaster of paris as it sets... oh, how I miss the solvents...

Thanks - the Noico, and the Silent Coat, are only 2mm thick - is that really enough? Never used it, so probably a clever new material... are these self-adhesive, and would they stick OK in that hot and oily environment?

Yes, there's good closed cell neoprene from Woolie's which I use for a lot of similar jobs. What is best for insulation? I've seen adverts for the metallised adhesive heat shield, but I think sound deadening will be more important. I think my original cover is way past redemption, the whole front end is hanging off and all the holes have pulled through big time.

Not sure where this topic should be, but gearbox is as good as anywhere... The cardboard cover in my GT6 has disintegrated somewhat, with the whole of the bulkhead flange loose and broken. What is the top suggestion for replacing this? Not bothered too much about cost, good quality is the main concern. I'm guessing the plastic ones are better than the fibreglass, but why would Canley (who I prefer to use) charge a lot more than Rimmers? Or is that a silly question? They're randomly described as 'plastic' or 'ABS', but there's no way of knowing how accurate those descriptions are. What about insulation etc., on the inside? My old plastic padding was draped over the gearbox and covered in oil. Sound deadening here would be quite important, I'd have thought - what's best? Thanks, Roger

My old Series 2A had a little forest (copse?) of gear levers - the long cranked black one for 4-spd 'box, the yellow one for 4wd, the red one for high-low ratio, and a second black one for the Roamerdrive overdrive. Lots of fun, and synchro only between 3-4. A simple thing like a noiseless change from 3-2 gave a surprising feeling of satisfaction.

Still PlusGas here...

You can use a spray oil, much safer.

OK, here goes... All my classics have had Evans in them for years, the Mustang for over 16. It's Propylene Glycol and works very well for me. The main downside is like all coolants it finds the leaks easily - more than a water mix, but that seems to be because it's neat. The propensity for leakage seems to be significantly less with rubber hoses than with silicone. I have no connection whatsoever with either manufacturer or suppliers, but I find it excellent. No corrosion at all in any of my engines/radiators as far as I can tell. You need to get the water content to below 3%, I believe, and there's no need to use Evans 'prep' fluid. One of their tech guys told me just to use cheap ethylene glycol to flush water out, but apart from an old Series 2A Landie I've only ever put it in freshly-rebuilt engines and cooling systems. Sits back and waits for 'snake oil' or 'too expensive' comments - always get them... Roger

The adjustable element of Koni dampers is purely to allow for wear. I was told by Koni technical department, many years ago, that new Konis should be set to full soft (which is usually what they're set to out of the box). As they wear, they can gradually be turned up to bring their performance back. I have cars with older Konis on, and have never had one wear out. One set I have is now 45 years old, and working fine. Just as well as Koni no longer make shock absorbers for that car, neither do pretty much anyone else. Roger

If anyone's looking for these, I've stuck some up on ebay, including a couple of sets with 16mm offset. If this post breaks forum rules do please remove it. Roger

0.006-0.014” is the book figure, I think. Did you use a dial gauge, and lean hard on a big screwdriver in both directions? It sounds fine, but won’t have shrunk. If it’s really 0.006” rather than 0.005” I’d leave well alone.

With the crank assembled in the block, stick a dial gauge on the nose of the crank and lever it back and forth along its long axis, taking readings off the dial gauge. As Pete says, the figures are in the book. If it moves further than spec, you should be able to get some oversize thrust bearings (the half-circle ones mentioned above) to bring it back into spec. Triumph 6 cyls are known for the block wearing where these bearings sit, a very difficult repair. Correct me if I'm wrong - not worked on one of these for several years, so repair situation may have changed. When buying a car with this engine fitted, the first thing I used to do was get the owner to idle the motor and press the clutch in and out. If I could see the crank pulley moving, alarm bells rang... If no dial gauge it can be done with feeler gauges, but not so accurate.