Nigel Clark

Thank you for all the replies, most informative, a I've not had a 4 cylinder Triumph since the Eighties! I will get a 5/8"-3/4" adapter and a decent filter. The filter I am using currently is a Powertune GFE150, from a supplier I would normally trust. Nigel PS: I'm used to Triumph sixes with a spin off filter adapter. Oil pressure comes up quickly after starting with those!

Do any four cylinder Triumph oil filters have a non-return valve to prevent drain back when standing? I'm concerned by the prolonged knocking while oil pressure builds when starting my Spitfire after even a day or two without use. Nigel

I agree with Colin about using a hacksaw blade. I've successfully cut the through bolt on my GT6 rear trunnion with a large hacksaw blade, gripped with thick work gloves to protect fingers. Nigel

Nick, Which GT6 model fuel tank do you need? Rich who goes as rcrewread on the TR Reg forum has had some alloy GT6 fuel tanks made, for Mk1/Mk2 if I recall. Saw him at Stratford and he had them there, looked good to me. Don't think he wanted as much as £500. PM me if you need Rich's contact details. Nigel

Motorcycles from 1970 then cars a couple of years later taught me that battle first, slow in, fast out is the best way to make progress when the going gets twisty Nigel

I remember that well Pete, happy days! Yours was/is the best sorted Vitesse 6 I ever saw. Having just acquired a Spitfire Mk3, with swing axle rear suspension, I'm happy with how it handles. But it's never a good idea to arrive at a bend too fast then hit the brakes! Nigel

Hey John, please go easy on us journos... Some of us have loved our Triumphs for many years, including those blessed with swing spring IRS! We even do our best to promote the Triumph marque when we can. Nigel

Overdrive is nice to have, very nice but... As Johny says, a lot depends on the type of driving you anticipate. A Vitesse 2 litre without overdrive is fine at any speed up to 60-65mph. Faster, and it will feel a bit busy under the bonnet but the engine will keep going fine, doing about 4,000rpm at 70 mph. Noisy perhaps, but it won't suddenly self destruct. My advice, for what it's worth, is buy the best car you can. If it comes with overdrive, great, that's a bonus. If it doesn't, you can still enjoy driving it and retro fit overdrive later if you really want to. Last point is reliability. Well maintained, with good electrical connections and plenty of oil, overdrives are reliable. If neglected, they become one more thing to go wrong. Nigel

Hi Ian, and welcome! The horror stories of Triumph swing axle tuck under and snap oversteer have been overstated, though that's just my opinion, others may disagree. Snap oversteer is most likely to happen when a driver enters a bend too fast, panics, and lifts off mid-corner. Lifting off gives weight transfer to the front, allowing rear wheel tuck under. Driven sensibly under road conditions (not race track), there's unlikely to be a problem. That said, the main suppliers offer conversion kits with the later swing spring and a stiffer front anti roll bar for those who want to make earlier cars handle more predictably on the limit. So don't be put off owning an earlier Vitesse would be my advice. Nigel

Well we're constantly being told that society is becoming polarised. Blame the politicians or blame the magnets... Nigel

The problem with current rubber ARB drop link replacements is commonplace, not just on small chassis Triumphs but TRs and Stags too. The Classic Driving Development ball joint replacement is 'fit and forget'. I've had them on my TR6 for several years and fitted a new version on the GT6 last year. As well as lasting a long time, they also give an impression of improving the car's turn in to corners. Don't know why or how but both cars feel sharper since fitting these ARB links. Nigel

Yes, interesting project. I'm looking forward to more progress updated please. On a similar theme, I saw an ME109 powered by a RR Merlin engine at Duxford a few years ago. The reverse of your project with a Spitfire engine in a German airframe! Nigel

Usually, Rotoflex GT6s sit low already, sometimes too low in my experience. I would question the reason for wanting a lowering block on a Rotoflex GT6. Maybe it's just me but the back of my car was always low, never needed lowering. Perhaps I need to diet?! Nigel

I replaced the fuel whole fuel line from tank to carbs on my GT6 nearly 20 years ago, using an Automec kit. The kit came from the TSSC shop, don't know if they still keep them in stock. Nigel

That's a piece of rubber pipe I slipped over the copper pipe to protect from rubbing on the chassis. The first joint is further forward. Nigel

Here's the fuel tank outlet under the boot floor on my GT6. Nigel

I would expect to see a copper pipe with a fairly tight bend coming out of the fuel tank through the boot floor. The current arrangement with rubber touching the silencer is clearly dangerous. I will post a photo of the fuel pipe on my GT6 Mk3 later today or tomorrow. Nigel

As has been said, steel is stronger in a shunt. This is particularly important at the rear of a Spitfire as the chassis rails finish just behind the diff, well short of the back of the car. No question, if our was my car I would fit steel. Nigel

Sounds likely there's an air leak somewwhere. I would check carb to inlet manifold and inlet manifold to cylinder head joints. Serious wear in the throttle spindles can also pass enough extra air to make tickover speed up. Also, are you absolutely sure the throttle butterflies are closing correctly? Nigel

Pre-load is very bad, and can wear out the skew gear that drives the distributor from the camshaft quickly. So as Pete says, avoid pre-load at all costs. Too much end float will allow timing to flutter, you can see this with a strobe. It will lead to rough tick over and poor performance. If in doubt, start with too much end float and cautiously adjust down. Nigel

Indeed, ethanol may increase octane rating, but that is really just a measure of how soon the fuel in question will pre-ignite, or knock/pink. Rate of flame spread is different. Slower flame spread needs more ignition advance. In the final analysis, with worn distributors possibly and modern fuel, trial and error to find what timing works best is the answer. These is no exact answer to what the ignition timing should be for a particular classic engine. So advance until it pinks slightly then back off a bit remained good advice. And this usually results (in my experience) in a degree or two more advance than the workshop manual states. Only a rolling road can give a better result. Nigel

Mechanical wear will normally cause the centrifugal advance to come in more quickly than expected. Lower octane of modern fuel will need less, not more advance. However, it's possible that with bio ethanol the speed of flame spread on combustion is slower, which would require more advance. I try to use 99 octane Tesco Momentum (not too expensive) or Shell V-Power, so same octane rating as the old 4 star our cars were designed for. I still find 1-2 degrees more static advance than the workshop manual usually works best. Of course the high octane fuels are still zero to 5% bio ethanol, not E10. Confusing isn't it? I've merely found what seems to work with my classics. Nigel

I usually find that advancing just for the fastest tick over leaves the ignition too far advanced. My method (for what it's worth) is to advance for fastest tick over, back off slightly, then drive and listen for pinking when flooring the throttle at 1500-2000 revs. Back off a bit more if it pinks. Most Triumph engines run well using this method, and seem to end up with 1-2 degrees more static advance than going by the book. Nigel

Exactly... The resistanceoff a properly functioning earth strap is a tiny fraction of an ohm. A regular multimeter cannot measure it. If a regular multimeter shows a measurable resistance in the engine earth circuit, there is a problem. Nigel

Which way did you spin the oil pump? It needs to be anti-clockwise. When I built a 6 cylinder Triumph engine recently, it needed less than 10 seconds spinning the oil pump anti-clockwise with a drilll at low speed to get pressure. Nigel