Nigel Clark

My everyday/only car back in the mid-seventies was a Spitfire Mk3. That suffered a rust blockage in the fuel line. It was immediately below the tank outlet, and I've heard that's quite a common place for it to happen. It not a new problem! Nigel

I wonder if we're using different fuel. I usually fill up with Tesco Momentum, or Shell V-Power there's no Tesco nearby when the car needs fuelling. Very occasionally I use other fuels. Perhaps I've never put any ethanol containing petrol in the tank?? Nigel

I thought this may be controversial! How long ago did you use POR-15? I understand that POR-15 was reformulated for modern petrol around 5 years ago. I used the latest version and it's been fine. I bought the whole kit, not just the sealer, and went through the whole process of using cleaner, rust treatment, drying out thoroughly and finally sloshing the sealant. It's been fine for 4 years and about 20k miles. Nigel

I agree the nut and bolt cleaning method works well. However, I can't agree about 'paint'. I sealed the inside of the fuel tank on my Scimitar GTE using a POR-15 sealant kit bought from Frost. This was done about 4 years ago and POR-15 had recently been reformulated to resist unleaded and ethanol in fuel. The Scimitar has a Weber 38DGAS carb and the finest rust particles could pass through the filters and regularly, clogging the narrow idle circuits in the carb and causing rough tickover and snatchy progression. Since I used the sealer, the filters have remained clean and the carb hasn't blocked. The car is used plenty, clocking up about 5k miles per year. If you find the problem recurs, I would recommend the POR-15 sealant - it's a lot cheaper than a new tank! Nigel

Well done Iain, a big moment! In my limited experience, every new engine start up produces a few little teething troubles to fix. Nigel

I've used 4 electrode Bosch WR78 which are easy to find and work well. I also use 3 electrode NGK BUR6ET and never had a problem with them either. Nigel

Hi Marcus, There's just enough room under the PI metering unit to fit a hose via an adaptor in the fuel pump blanking plate, with the hose routed horizontally under the M/U then up to a catch tank on the bulkhead. That's pretty much what John D has done on his PI Vitesse. I've had a good look and it shouldn't even be necessary to disturb the M/U to fit the breather. Nigel

Thank you Marcus. I can't fit exactly the same breather arrangement as your car on the TR6, as the PI metering unit is in the way. I've been measuring up the fuel pump opening on a spare engine and will make a new blanking plate and adaptor from a bit of spare 10mm alloy. From there, I plan to take a hose up to a vented catch tank mounted on the bulkhead. Nigel

My plan is to take the vent from the fuel pump clanking plate up to a baffled catch tank. Not sure exactly where the catch tank will be mounted. This is a work in progress! Nigel

The panel work and paint was done by Complete Car Care, a small outfit near where I live in Market Harborough: https://www.completecarcare.co.uk/ They are very friendly, do quite few classic cars and produce excellent quality work. Nigel

Thank you for the compliment Adrian! It's a modern clear over base paint system, matched to the original Triumph Pimento. Before the respray, my GT6 was about six different shades of red/orange, where it had been blown in and faded. I'm hoping the modern system, protected by clear lacquer, won't oxidise and fade like celly or 2-pack. Time will tell, the respray was only just over 2 years ago. Nigel

Here a pic of the gutter on my GT6. When the roof was repaired couple off years ago, we copied the roof corners from Eric, the McGowan's concours GT6 at the club museum. I would be surprised if that wasn't done exactly as per original. Nigel

Hi Iain, Thank you for the images above. I've done similar but not gone so far for my 2.5 litre GT6 which has twin short dashpot SU HS6 carbs on the original Stromberg manifold. Sometime will remove the manifold and have another go to try and improve gas flow further. Good luck firing up your new engine, the time must be getting close! Nigel

Thank you John, and Clive. That looks very neat. I've done a bit of DIY plumbing in the past and may still have a few 15mm Yorkshire fittings somewhere. The question is... Can I find them?! Nigel

Thank you John. If it's not too difficult to get a pic then yes please! Nigel

Thank you both. I was thinking about making an extra breather, through the pump pump blanking plate similar to what JohnD has described earlier in this thread. Trying to neatly make the standard breather larger from the rocker cover to the air plenum will be tricky, and will likely encourage even more oil into the plenum. Currently work is getting in the way of progress - it's necessary and welcome distraction - so it will be a few days before I get back onto the TR6. As soon as time allows, I will finish refitting the injection etc then look at the extra breather. Nigel

I'm surprised the rocker cover touches the inside of the bonnet on a Vitesse, it's a problem usually associated with GT6s, where there's much less space under the bonnet (I know, I've tried it!). There are several ways to deal with this. Easiest is to use a thin silicone rubber gasket between the cover and the cylinder head, which reduces the height of the rocker cover by a few mm compared to the standard cork gasket. The Club Shop and other suppliers sell these. If it's still tight, sometimes the engine will drop slightly if the main mounting bolts (those between the rubber mounts and the chassis) are loosened then re-tightened. A bit more difficult and irreversible, is to chamfer the front of the rocker cover so it slopes, like the old Triumph Tune ones. No doubt a Vitesse will be along soon with more info. Nigel

I've put the head back on the TR6 after sanding and cleaning the block and head faces as Marcus suggested. I've also applied a thin smear of Reinzosil in the critical areas. I'm not rushing to finish reassembly, so the silicone will get several days to cure fully before the engine is started. I will report back again once it's running. Nigel

That's the same timing as the standard GT6/Vitesse Mk2 cam part no. 308788 but with more lift. Should be a great fast road profile, Triumph's original was good, plenty of low down torque and it really sings as the revs build. With the extra lift, your Newman special should be even better! Nigel

Thank you Don, that's what I meant. Chris Witor recommends exactly the same modification and his before and after flow rates show massive improvement to cylinders 2 & 5. Can't understand why Triumph made it that way, the engineers must have been aware of the uneven flow. Iain, great progress! Fingers crossed for fire up next week. Nigel

Thank you Marcus. I will certainly report back, but with present restrictions, it may be a while before I've covered enough miles to know for sure. Nigel

I've run without the flame trap for a few years too, and the bonnet is still on its hinges! But the engine didn't breathe any better. That confirms you're correct that it needs a larger breather tube. Once I've put the head back on, after sanding the faces and using Victor Reinz silicone (postie delivered the sealant today), I will look at increasing the breather tube diameter, and dump the flame trap. Nigel

Marcus, I've cleaned the flame trap with gun wash in the past but still, I'm sure it's a restriction in the breather pipe. Certainly, a larger breather tube would be better. I have K&N filter in the original housing but I keep it clean and oiled, so hopefully not too much restriction. Nigel

The TR6 breather from the rocker goes to the air plenum. The breather is therefore between the air filter and throttle butterflies. Unless the air filter is blocked, there won't be much vacuum in the air plenum, certainly far less than the 13-14" Hg manifold vacuum my car shows at idle. Removing the oil filler cap doesn't make this TR6 engine stall. Nigel

My car must have a new type heater valve. Didn't realise there was a difference, sorry for the confusion. Nigel