SixasStandard

As we're on the subject of sunvisors.........if anyone has their sunvisors now acting as a bag of foam dust (as was the case with mine) then it's pretty easy to refurbish them. My passenger side one also had the added novelty of a detached vanity mirror that was slipping about inside......so something had to be done. I carefully slit the heat welded seam at the outer end of each sunvisor with a razor blade, just enough to slide the covers off of the boards. I emptied out all of the 'powder' that used to be foam, cleaned all the old adhesive off of the boards, then scrubbed the covers clean. The boards need to have about an 1/8 inch taken off of the outboard end to allow you to glue the open end of the cover back together on re-assembly. I also sprayed the metal sections in gloss black just to improve the aesthetics. I then re-covered the boards with 1/8 inch foam wound around twice and glued in place with upholstery adhesive. The mirror was glued in place on the P/S visor directly onto the foam using the same adhesive. The cleaned covers were then slipped back on after spraying the foam with silicone so that the cover slid on easily. With the covers on glue the open ends shut and then trim any excess once fully set. Voila!.........sunvisors that look like new.

Wish I'd thought of that!!

It probably meant to say 'permeable owners' bearing in mind how much rain they get up there!!

At the risk of offending EVERYONE of Scottish descent (which includes myself I might add).............This is a gey crakin' herald in Glasgae. I imagine just south of 3k could seal the deal. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-herald-1360/184340860284?hash=item2aeb924d7c:g:mZkAAOSwy-le9Kvz Ian (or should that be Iain?)

Hello Jeff, Welcome to the Forum, and congratulations on your return to Triumph ownership. I had to laugh at your 'Swarfega by the sink' comment.......as I have a jumbo tub there as well!! You have quite a list of issues there to be getting on with, and as I'm a fairly recent convert to Triumphs I'll let more experienced heads comment on your car's maladies. If you're like me you'll probably see the spannering as one of the most rewarding elements of classic car ownership, so don't be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. There are plenty of experienced owners on the Forum to give advice and guidance. Enjoy your Herald. Ian

Thanks Colin. Ian

Colin, Any advice on type of grease? I'm presuming that any Lithium grease would do the job, just not the '3-in-1' spray lithium that I have in the shed. Back in my feckless youth in the 1970s I had a jumbo tin of Castrol LM which I appropriated from my Dad, who'd had it since the early 1960s........that tin never seemed to run out.........those were the days!! Ian

That's a great tip Alan, thanks for posting. Ian

Colin, The lower picture is taken from Rimmers website, and shows their version of RTC2218, which is the nearside gaiter. They list the offside gaiter as RTC2219 (not pictured), so they do provide the specific part for each side, not a generic item. The nearside gaiter on my Vitesse is identical to the Rimmer one, and looks to have been on the car for some time, so they've obviously been selling them for quite some time. I've ordered the Chic Doig set, so will 'look forward' to fitting them in due course! Ian

I started a similar thread re: 3D printing on the Alpine Owners site a couple of years back which failed to get much response. I suggested that it might be worth gauging interest from some Colleges or Universities with more commercial grade 3D printing equipment to see if a commercial relationship with Owners Clubs could be developed to manufacture and sell small batches of unavailable components. It would be good if there were a few classic car nuts in the engineering departments of these institutions, that would perhaps grease the cogs a bit. As you point out the possibilities of this technology are incredible, including laser sintering of stainless steel, so potentially just about anything can be remanufactured. Ian

Thanks Clive. Ian

Sorry Pete.......I'm obviously being a bit dense here........are you saying that the gaiters in the top photo (Chic Doig) are better? or the bottom photo (Rimmer)? I did have quite a bit of Pinot Grigio last night.......so not at my most mentally acute this morning!! Ian

Hello All, I've spotted that my nearside steering rack gaiter (RTC2218) has a split, and as my car is due for its MOT in July I'm going to replace it. Taking a look at what's on offer, the Rimmers item is identical to the one I currently have fitted, but the shipping cost of 7.95 more or less doubles the price, whereas there's a Chic Doig listing on E-Bay for a pair of gaiters (RTC2218 & RTC2219) for a combined all in price (incl. shipping) of 13.50 The Rimmer and Chic Doig items look different (pictures below), so my question is: are the cheaper versions ok? and has anyone got experience of them with regard to quality and longevity? Any help or advice appreciated. Ian

You can put 110 Amps through that puppy according to the E-Bay listing........although I'm not convinced myself, and wouldn't want to test the claim either! I know it's a bit chunky looking, but the cable certainly lives up to it's Hi-Flex moniker, and to be honest I'd rather over specify than the alternative, which might end up incinerating a lot of hard work and skinned knuckles knowing my luck! Ian

I used a simple 'P' clip on the phase connection post, which isn't used on my car as the Vitesse doesn't have an electronic tachometer. It's by far the simplest way to secure the battery cable. In retrospect securing this cable is an obvious thing to do, but if Clive hadn't mentioned it earlier in this thread I wouldn't have thought of it myself.........thanks Clive!! Ian

I think the seller means 'diaphragms' doesn't he? Ian

Oh yes, forgot to mention........the battery terminal cover is actually a HT lead insulator from my parts ods n sods bin........I thought Pete would approve!! The fan belt I have used is an AVX10 1113La, because I wanted to keep the alternator close to the engine block, but in retrospect an AVX10 1125La would have been a slightly better option. Ian

You can never predict where one of these threads is going to go can you!! Anywho........just get things out of the sidings and back onto the main line........and to prove that I do listen (sometimes) to the sage advice offered by you lot........... I submit into evidence exhibit 'A'......... conclusive proof that the alternator connections are now adequately protected from the elements, and that the battery cable is now braced to avoid any possibility of straining the post. I started the old girl up this morning, and imagine my surprise when the car didn't actually erupt into flames after all........what a result!! The IGN warning light goes off pretty sharpish when the engine fires I can tell you. The defence rests M'lud. Ian

Thanks Clive, Your point regarding the insulated boot is well made, and has already been mentioned to me by Richard, who was also disgusted by my use of (and I quote) "one of those ghastly modern blue covered connectors" for the WL circuit connection. You guys set a very high bar I have to say!! Regards, Ian

Total lack of interest.......unbelievable!!.........ok, so the deliberate mistake (obviously) is the yellow coil cable, which should be white with a black tracer............................I'll get my coat. Ian

Latest update on the Alternator project..........I've now got the Alternator fitted in the car and have connected up the required cables in the engine bay. There had been some interesting choices made with routing of the loom, so I took the opportunity to re-route things a bit more tidily, necessitating de-constructing it a bit before then rebinding it. The new Lucas RB340 Regulator box has now been installed with revised connections, so everything is now ready to go once I've received the new longer fan belt that has been ordered. I decided to keep the old Dynamo cables in place for reasons previously explained, and the fact that they are connected to the Alternator makes for a tidier engine bay in my opinion. I've attached some pictures for general interest, and in the case of the engine bay picture.......if you can spot the deliberate error then kudos to you!! Ian

Hello Pete, Thanks for the reply. Although I'm converting to an Alternator I'm conscious that any future owner might want to revert the charging system back to original spec, so I've retained the Dynamo and original unadulterated Regulator box in my parts cache (to pass on with the car), and kept the wiring loom stock. The mods I've made to the new RB340 were specifically designed to allow the existing loom connections to be kept OE, without any cutting and soldering, whilst still making the new connections required for the Alternator. With that in mind, is there any specific reason that I need to remove the old charging line wires? I take your point about the obsolescence of the Brown/Yellow wire to the regulator and starter solenoid, but unless there are any potential risks involved in retaining them I'd prefer to leave them as is. I'm definitely a reluctant 'sparky'......... so any advice on this would be welcomed. Ian

The other alternative (as mentioned recently on another thread) would be to do any necessary repair work to the bumpers yourself to remove as many surface imperfections as you can, then take them to your nearest vehicle wrap specialist to get a quote. Vehicle wrap films come in a huge range of colours and finishes, so if they had a satin chrome finish that could offer a solution. If they can wrap an entire car then I'm sure that some bumpers would be pretty easy in comparison. I've no idea what the costs would be, but maybe worth a few phone calls? Ian

Hello All, The alternator project is still ongoing, and my question now relates to the specific connections required for my particular incarnation of the A127 alternator. I've attached a photo with explanatory notes, but to summarise.........I have a thick Brown/Yellow wire and a thin Brown/Red wire that were previously connected to the dynamo...........so I'm assuming that the Brown/Yellow is the battery cable and needs to be connected to the 'B+" post on the alternator together with the additional 110 amp rated cable that I've bought to go back to the battery positive terminal (to make allowance for the additional amps produced by the 75 amp alternator). The thin Brown/Red wire should be the ignition warning light connection, so should go on the smaller 'D' post, while the 'W' post for the phase connection doesn't need anything as the car hasn't got an electronic tacho. If all of this is ok so far (???) then my final question relates to the spade connection alongside the 'B+' which I think is for a suppression capacitor. My alternator didn't come with this suppression capacitor, so I'm wondering if it's needed for my particular application or not? I'm sure that there are plenty of you out there that have come across this issue before, so hopefully someone can confirm my understanding of the required connections as outlined above, and answer the question regarding the suppression capacitor. Thanks for any assistance/advice. Ian

Yep.......I'll second that.