1969Mk3Spitfire

A bit of drift......are these any good? Having only returned to the fold for more than one year, I have only serviced my car once. It had only done a couple of hundred miles since restoration, by previous owner, but I thought that changing the filter would be wise. I used a chain wrench remover, purchased in the early 1970s and last used about 40 years ago. I almost destroyed the filter before it finally budged. The metal housing looked to have been made from recycled one and a half thou feeler gauges. Is there good access for giant gland nut pliers.......pictures? recommendation?

For once I've chosen to ignore the sage advice of the forum..........at my peril 😵 4th gear, rolling the car sounds a bit hit and miss. There's no way to fit a socket without fouling the radiator. I don't mind removing the plugs, good to keep an eye on the mixture and I'll give them a clean before refitting. For a long time I've thought about buying a wide jaw adjustable for another application (that floats) so this has tipped the balance. Many thanks for the input, always appreciated, especially the anecdotes.

I need to check and adjust the tappets. I plan to remove the spark plugs for ease of engine rotation. The crank pulley nut is about 40mm AF and I don’t have a spanner. I’ve been looking at wide opening adjustable spanner but the choice is huge. I don’t want a cheap and nasty tool but neither do I want to remortgage the house. Any suggestions, alternatives, too?

Mine is the same one, Colin, and is in good condition. It’s located and secured within the headstock using the 4 slots around the outer circumference. On my car it looks like three of the four tangs have broken away, hence allowing the disc to move, which I’m now fairly sure was the cause of my problem. I’ve now secured it in place using double sided foam tape as per above helpful suggestion. With a bit of luck, I’ve exorcized the poltergeist and will no long be embarrassed as I turn a corner. Thanks to all for your help, suggestions and guidance.

Ebay is looking good - many thanks. To save me from jacking the car, removing the wheel and removing one of the screws, could someone please tell me the length (overall)?

This gave me a clue. I've painted, to insulate, these 4 lugs and also the tip of the indicator cancelling feature on the column. When reassembling, I've noticed that the ring/disc is floating. There is nothing holding it in place. It looks as though there may have been 3-4 lugs within the head of the column to hold down the outer circumference of the ring. There's only one remaining and, previously, I have used it as a locator, not as a tang. How should the ring be retained? I'm tempted to hold it in place with Blu Tack. Any better suggestions, please?

75p plus £5 postage 😂

Only recently noticed that one of my drums has only one retaining screw. Does anyone know the screw size? Are they commonly available at motor factors, Halfords etc without having to incur postage far greater than the value of the goods? I tried the thread on the missing screw and it became tight so probably best to run a tap through it first, hence I need to know thread size. Many thanks.

Everything seems fine so I'm still at a loss. Item 17 above, the three-finger spring clip, has a circular cut-out to clear the pencil. This wasn't concentric so I've moved it (but I can't see how it could be the root cause of my horn poltergeists. Wasn't able to test drive today as my wife had returned home and blocked the drive by the time I had adjusted the rear brakes. Good weather forecast tomorrow so I'll see if I embarrass myself as I turn corners and report back. Thanks for the constructive help........and the not-so-constructive suggestions, too.

Many thanks to you both. There is very little slack within any parts of the steering. I’ve measured approx 5mm clearance from top of the column to the base of the wheel hub. Slackened the inner and outer column screws but it will not (easily) slide further down. Still scratching my head as to why………. Next job is to check handbrake adjustment per my “curse of the gaiter” post a while back. Nice day here today, the car deserves a bit of TLC and a good clean after behaving itself at Tatton park yesterday (other than random horn blows, that is).

I had this problem last season. The horn would sound as the wheel turned. Intermittent and random, sometimes when turning left, other times turning right. Pretty sure that it’s not wire chafe. Didn’t definitively solve it but it went away. It has returned, it did it three times yesterday. Any ideas, where should I start looking and for what? Many thanks.

Is there a solution to having a handbrake gaiter function and remain in place? The travel of my handbrake far exceeds the bellows travel of my rubber gaiter. Also, the bottom skirt steadfastly refuses to stay in place on the underside of the carpet.

I relatively recently returned to Triumph ownership and the new-to-me Spitfire gear selection was akin to stirring porridge. I posted a query and duly followed Pete’s sage advice. I hadn’t been near a car with a set of spanners for many years but it was all very obvious and straightforward.

Can you, or Uncle Pete, please share a bit more detail, please? How high? Wheels off the ground? Start from cold with rad cap removed? Run until thermostat opens? Does it need any help by burping any hoses? Any concern over engine lubrication at such an angle? Appreciate the help.

I replaced the motor in my Spitfire. New, original are hard to find and expensive but I bought a used one from Canley. It’s a lot of fun to remove the box so worth taking the opportunity to clean and pressure test the heat exchanger and clean the valve. Mine will demist a fogged windscreen on a rainy day but I can’t imagine it would be comfortable on a cold winters day. Presumably, we were all more hardy fifty years ago.

Seems like sage advice related to 50+ year old automotive engineering technology, thanks. Took the car out for a drive earlier today. Almost identical route and conditions to Monday. No over run when I turned-off the key. Is day-to-day variation one of the appeals of the marque 😃

@johny - interesting thought to let it idle a while before turning off. Not tried it but will. Thanks also for commenting upon the state of the plug. To be honest, I’m delighted that Nos 1 and 4 looked so similar. In 1976, when I last has a Spitfire, tinkering with the carbs was a weekly event. My current car seems more stable. Over run is not really a big issue and it only does it intermittently. I suspect low grade fuel is the biggest culprit. Read the comments re timing with interest. I don’t think I’ll touch it as it runs fairly well. It sounds like getting the timing right is as much an art as a science so I’ll leave well alone. @johnD - it is, if course, we’ll trodden territory and before posting I tried to use the search function but to no avail. It’s always good to hear anecdotes from those with lots of experience and a will to share.

Many thanks to you all, much appreciated. I'll certainly look at Millers VSPe additive. The plugs are NGK BP6ES and No 1 and No 4 probably look a tad lean. Picture attached. I've not checked the timing and I'd appreciate any tips. Check static or dynamic? It doesn't look easy (or safe) to get a strobe close-in. Haynes says 6 deg BTDC, static.

Occasionally, not always, my engine will run-on (for only 1 rev) after ignition is turned off. The engine is not above normal hot when it does this. There isn’t (shouldn’t be) any carbon build up in carbs nor combustion chamber. I use normal unleaded with additive. Idle is just under 1000 rpm, smooth running. Acceleration and running is normal. I don’t drive it hard. I’ve not yet checked ignition timing. Likely culprit?

Some good tips, thanks. I bought a replacement switch last year but haven’t as yet fitted it. My “second pull” position didn’t work to illuminate the instrument panel but there’s a spare spade terminal on the switch to turn it into “one pull” function. I think I’ll go and spray the plastic knob with WD40 to give it plenty of time to soak before I get round to replacing it. I’m finding that once the car is going well, I’d rather drive it than tinker with it. 😀

Thanks for the replies. I’ve had a quick look and I don’t think that the rubber cones are the issue. The car is now in the garage so I’ll drive it again tomorrow. It’s a strange rattle with sudden onset. Not heard it before but it sounds like something is about to fall off. To eliminate the bonnet latch, I could drive it with it unlocked to see if the rattle persists.

My Mk3 Spitfire has developed a rapid onset rattle. Thanks to the dreadful state of our roads, it sounds like an exhaust clamp or bumper over rider is lose and it rattles as I drive over potholes. I’ve had each corner in the air and been underneath the car but can’t pinpoint the source using my palm to hit every conceivable component. My only suspect is the offside bonnet catch. A bang on the near side catch is dull but the offside one definitely rattles. Adjustment looks like three screws on the catch and two bolts on the body attachment feature. Do catches have a reputation for rattling? Any guidance or advice to adjust? Any other likely suspects that I may have missed? Many thanks.

We had a run out in on Bank Holiday Monday but had to curtail it due to a float chamber / jet pipe fuel leak. Now fixed (but it’s caused me to lose a bit of confidence in the car, sadly), met up with two Lotus owning pals this morning. I stopped on the A50 to see if I could offer any help to a Mk3 GT6 with bonnet up at the side of the road (checking a low oil pressure concern) and saw a very nice Herald driving through the centre of Lymm village. Nice to see the old bangers out, enjoying the lovely weather.

Thanks, Pete, I replaced the o ring this morning. A fiddly job but there now appears to be a dry seal after a 10 mile run out. My main concern now is to try to understand what caused it to leak? There’s nothing obvious amiss. I don’t like the concept of “hand tight” and I’m concerned that if it’s leaked once, what’s to stop it leaking again. I’d like to understand why it leaked and what I can do to ensure that it doesn’t do it again. Any suggestions? Appreciate your help and advice.

Been for a drive today and had to pull-over to investigate a petrol smell. Car has run well since last summer and has done around 100 miles only this season.The rear float chamber bottom seal to jet pipe was leaking. I managed to improve it at the roadside and limp home. At home I removed the jet pipe, nut, washer and o ring and all look ok. I pushed the o ring back in place, pushed and held the nut up the pipe, pushed the washer over the pipe end and re-installed. I've read that "the more you tighten the nut, the more its guaranteed to leak" so its quarter turn beyond hand tight. I did not remove the jet. I can't now make it seal. Regarding what may have caused the leak, don't know if it's relevant but the rear float chamber seems to have more rubber compliance than the forward chamber. Any helpful hints and tips to form a seal? Thanks in anticipation. .......car is Mk3 Spitfire with original twin SUs.