Gully

Had to cut the OE valve caps off the tyre valves on my Mercedes using a Dremmel - replaced with suitable plastic ones! As for alloy wheel nuts, they are about as useful as cheese in the hands of a tyre centre, rattle-gun mechanic. Mind you, when I challenged the fitter about stripping 2 of the 4 on one wheel on my GT6, he admitted that as the car wasn't on their list he'd used Ford Focus figures - 120 ftlb. I was amazed the other 2 hadn't stripped... Gully

I got my wheels and centre caps from JBW. I bought the cap centres from the Club shop - they are metal and I cut them down to size with metal shears and then glued them to the black caps that came with the wheels. I was pleased with them. Gully

The original fitment alternator was the Lucas ACR 15 according to the parts book. Interestingly, the parts book also shows the valances without any cut outs, which is endorsed by image 8.22 in John Thomason's Guide to Originality, so something is wrong with the replacement parts. Gully

The other grease nipple not mentioned yet is the long nipple for the UJ on the prop shaft (unless a sealed for life one is fitted) - I presume the Mk3 Spit has this requirement (my GT6 does)? If anyone has info on this it may assist the original poster? Gully

The alternator bracket on my GT6 has been a bit of a bodge for a while. Looking at the parts book, it wasn't an original one and the forked section has always seemed a little short. When I changed my alternator a few years ago for one of the same type and pulley size, at the most extended position the fan belt was a little too loose, so I bolted a wishbone shim to the end of the bracket to extend the adjustment fork. It's worked fine for 2-3 years, but has never been a particularly elegant solution, so at the weekend I installed a shiny, rose-jointed one purchased from eBay. Really pleased with it and yes, I did use lots of copper slip 😀 Gully

The screen was recently out of my GT6 for some paintwork - the chap who re-fitted it fitted the stainless trim to the rubber before installing the windscreen. Not particularly helpful when the screen is already fitted - bit like asking for directions and being told not to start from where you are - but fitting the trim before the screen does seem to be the accepted best way forward. Gully

I found Finishline at Graveley near Baldock very helpful. They've recently repaired the rear quarter of my GT6 (bodged by another local garage a couple of years ago) and repainted the microblistered areas of the car. I know a few people who have had work completed by them and all report positively. I suspect the reason for the high quotations you are receiving is that undoing poor previous repairs is considerably more time consuming than simply replacing a sill whilst maintaining the factory door gap. Worth taking the car to Chris at Finishline and talking through what you want to achieve. Gully

Here's the oil circulation diagram from the workshop manual:

They are certainly moulded on my early Mk III, with the material being a thin, semi-rigid, vinyl-effect plastic. After 50 years, they are a little brittle! Gully

Not sure about the wing finishers being matt black - they are gloss finish on the Mk III GT6 and I would have thought the parts were common? Gully

I suspect many usual suppliers (not Park Lane) will source them via Newton Commercial: https://newtoncomm.co.uk/collections/gt6/products/spitfire-gt6-black-pvc-door-top-capping-lh Gully

Drop into Halfords: https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/exterior-styling/autoleads-narrow-wing-mount-car-aerial-576139.html https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/exterior-styling/autoleads-standard-wing-mount-aerial-576006.html The review for the latter reference an MGA and Stag. Gully

The dry rocker issue I had was a while ago and led me replacing the rocker shaft (kept all bar a couple of the original rockers). The original shaft was very worn in places and heavily grooved by the dry rocker. The lack of oil to that one was simply down to some muck in that particular feed hole in the shaft; all the others were okay, but given the wear state of the shaft I put a new one on. It seemed to have been an issue for a while, as the previous owner appeared to have put copper slip in the pushrod/rocker adjuster ball and socket joint. It was that pushrod that I found recently to be 'capturing' the adjuster on the rocker until I took some material off the adjuster ball. Gully

I bought them from Moss (Europe) Ltd. Think the postage cost more than the o-rings! Gully

A few years ago I had a noisy tappet that I traced to one rocker not oiling - it was No. 3. I replaced the worn rocker shaft with a new one and used a couple of re-faced rockers courtesy of Peter Lewis in place of the most worn ones from the old shaft. I suspect when the tappet adjusters were swapped No. 3 adjuster didn't go back on No. 3 rocker, so I ended up with a mismatch in wear patterns - the problem being exacerbated by the period of 'dry' running for that pushrod. Gully

Well I took the time Saturday morning to resolve the push rod / rocker adjuster mating on No. 3 valve. According to my callipers, I removed 0.1mm from the diameter of the ball and it's no longer grabbed by the push rod socket (dry, or oil coated). Most importantly, the metallic impact noise between the push rod and cam follower has disappeared - much happier on the run across to Duxford and back yesterday. I removed the adjuster, gripped it in the chuck of my battery drill and, with it rotating, worked it along an oiled sharpening stone to fractionally reduce its size whilst maintaining its shape. Gully

When I changed the diff in my GT6 from a 3.27 to 3.63 I had the 1152TPM speedo recalibrated by Speedy Cables to 1075TPM - with 175/70R13 tyres (very close to 155/80R13), it's spot on my sat nav reading. Gully

Hi Adrian, I'd set my valve clearances and still had one distinct tappet sound, so I ran the engine with the rockers exposed to try the feeler gauge test. Whilst looking along the line it was clear one pushrod / tappet adjuster looked different in motion - the ball and socket of the push rod and adjuster weren't separating. As a result, the push rod was 'tapping' on the cam follower - quite a hard metallic sound. I'm yet to try a solution, but my intention is to take a small amount of material off the ball of the adjuster - it seems to be simply surface tension from the oil as opposed to any form of interference fit between the two parts. Gully

I found the 3.27 diff too tall on my GT6 and swapped it for a 3.63 (I have overdrive). Much nicer for pulling away. Hill starts with the 3.27 took a bit of work to balance over-revving and bogging down! Gully

Thanks for posting that, Pete. I can post from my up to date devices - just the old iPad 2 that I generally use for the forum (running iOS 9.3.5) won't allow me to participate any more! Gully

I used Brake Caliper Refurbs in Rochdale to rebuild my Type 16 P calipers, although I did supply the new seals and SS pistons I'd sourced from Rimmers when originally planning on doing the work myself. Brake Engineering had nothing compatible on their website when I searched it and didn't seem to deal direct with the public for refurbishment. Gully

Not that I can see. The images of them from all the main suppliers appear to be the same. I bought from ANG Classic Car Parts back in 2017 - they were posted out in a plain box. Gully

My original Type 16 calipers are now rebuilt and back on the car - and normal brake pedal travel has returned. The repro ones are now languishing in the shed, where they will stay! Expensive mistake... Gully

If I had to guess, I'd say with the 'ear' profile outwards to stop any rain being driven under the seal. I have a simple lip seal on mine - curved outwards. Tailgate fits flush and I've never had the seal leak. Gully

I'm with Doug on this - with different radiators, thermostats and senders, not to mention 50 year old gauges, the readings are no more than an indication. I know where mine runs 'normally'. If it suddenly changes, I know something's amiss. For the record, mine runs just over the middle in winter, a little above that in summer and will happily sit at 3/4 in traffic in the summer. I had a faulty temperature sender a few years ago - the gauge has registered warmer since changing the sender, but same profile of reading. Gully