jagnut66

Hi, The picture shows the state of my thermostat housing. It has been like this for a while and still functions as it should but I have noticed this same type of corrosion happening with my Morris Minor thermostat housings over the years. I have always used the blue type coolant recommended for older (classic) engines but it does seem to 'like' the alloy housings........ However, of equal concern recently was that the mixed coolant that I put in Hetty to seems to coagulate in places, notably around the inside of the housing. This was the first mix I'd used in Hetty, which I have since disposed of, so could it be reacting with something left over from when I initially flushed her out? Although she seemed to only be filled with plain water when I bought her...... I am thinking of giving her another flush through with plain water to see if this clears up the problem. Best wishes, Mike.

Glad I read this, otherwise I might have found out the hard way. I may get a spare set for when I need new tyres, then fit them to Hetty myself after the new tyres are fitted to them. I find it useful to have a spare 'slave' set of wheels anyway. Best wishes, Mike.

That explains why my car doesn't have them then, interesting though. Best wishes, Mike.

If someone has a picture of one in situ and / or a link for where to purchase these, I for one would be interested. Best wishes, Mike.

All of this debate will be 'food for thought'. So thanks to all and keep the ideas / information coming. 👍 Best wishes, Mike.

Hi, A thought has occurred to me and I'm hoping there's an easy answer..... If I were to need my Herald to be towed, namely (the old way) with a thick rope and given that there's no actual towing eye at the front of my car, what would you wrap / tie the rope to? Front crossmember? Suspension? I'm talking about 'down the road' type of distance, not the one end of the country to the other type of scenario, for which I have relay cover anyway. Many thanks, Mike.

Well I've drained and removed the radiator, the fan and slackened off the fan belt, so that it's loose. Spark plugs out. I attached my 38mm socket to the crankshaft nut and with my long reach ratchet tried to turn it over........ Guess what. It turned. A bit stiff at first, I admit, but then it has been sat for a while. However, the more I turned it over the freer it got. I gave my arms quite a workout in the end, alternating between left and right, as one got tired. I then tried the starter motor, using my heavy duty jump leads, one to the body one to the power connection, both shielded by the way. The result? A loud clunk from the motor and a puff of smoke at the positive terminal on the battery, as I quickly removed the lead from it. (NB: Only the jump leads were used, it's live connection was removed and tucked safely out of the way and the car's + and - leads were left off.) I have bought a (stated as being in good working order) second hand replacement. I hope (with the aid of a little more hand cranking while I wait, to be sure I've done all I can to free things up and get the oil moving round things) it does the job......... Keep your fingers crossed for me. As an aside, I got a good whiff of petrol whilst I was turning it, so I guess that's the carb primed 😉. Best wishes, Mike.

Well the starter motor has now been removed and it tested okay. It was then put back in but not wired up, as I used my heavy duty jump leads again, plugs out........ Back to just a clunk. So whilst the engine turned (with an extension bar I admit) when it was out of the car, it's obviously too tight for the standard starter motor to deal with. For me, draining the engine, removing the rad, then the gearbox and all the ancillaries, before pulling the engine out again will be a last resort (too p****d off to even contemplate that at present). I want to explore other options first, so I'm going to have a chat with a local engineer I know, during the week, to see what he might suggest. Best wishes, Mike.

All food for thought. I will have to 'extract' my starter motor then. Not an enjoyable job due to the tight space it sits in with all my other ancillaries in the way. C'est la vie. As an aside I found this on 'You Tube' about high torque units, very useful for anyone who hasn't fitted one before, as it takes you through the installation process. I found in clarified things. Best wishes, Mike.

I have just tried my heavy duty jump lead from the Negative side of the battery to the body of the starter motor, no joy. Just clunk and smell, although not as strong now, me thinks the thing is fried. Any thoughts on a high torque unit? My engine is tight, she did turn (tightly) when freshly rebuilt but I haven't tried with her in the car, spark plugs back in their holes etc. I suspect it may need a bit of extra 'oomph' to get her turning. Best wishes, Mike.

Yes, the car is Negative earth. So a jump lead from a clean spot on the (for example) wall of the starter motor to the battery Negative might get it turning the engine over but if not then a fresh starter motor may be required? The engine is clean and freshly painted, would that impede the motor body from earthing? Also, would a high torque unit do a better job? I ask as I've never had one on any car I've owned, so have no experience of high torque units. Best wishes, Mike.

Hi, I have an issue with starting my freshly installed engine. I have recharged the battery and let it sit on 'Maintaining' for quite a while to ensure it was fully charged. Also I have had a look round but can't see anything I've rewired incorrectly. However, when I try to start the car all I get is a loud clunk / click from the starter motor and the smell of it 'cooking'. Also (at the same time) the battery earth strap appears to be getting hot, although I disconnect the battery immediately after, to try to prevent any permanent damage there. The obvious thing (to me at present anyway) is that the starter motor may have gone faulty, yet it was turning the old 1200 unit over okay, up until I took her off the road, as I was unable to select gears (which is a different saga in another post). So is this possible or am I overlooking something? Has anyone had this issue before after stripping the engine out and replacing it? Also is a standard 1200 starter motor okay for a 1300 engine? As always, thanks in advance for any help and advice given. Best wishes, Mike.

Hi, Yes I do. Please note though that this mounting plate is for the Triumph 'D' type overdrive gearbox (not the 'J' type). James Paddock are selling them for £14.50 plus £2.90 VAT and another £5 postage on top of that (part no. 148897). You can have this for £14.50 and I'll throw in the postage with that (No VAT! 😉) Best wishes, Mike. As a postscript to the above, Josef now has the D type overdrive gearbox mounting plate, so I no longer have one in my spares stash should anyone be looking for one.

Thanks Pete.

Good Point Colin. Best wishes, Mike.

Thanks Pete.

Hi, I just bought a new return pipe, nut and olive from Wins. The stainless pipe took a bit of persuading to get it to sit and the right angle for the rear bracket to line up with the stud but otherwise I was very happy with my purchase and its price. What did bother me was that on a dry run the nut took a bit of fiddling to get it at the right angle to screw into the (original) adapter on the back of the water pump. And, when it did, it was a bit 'tight'. You've guessed it..... When it came to screwing the nut in and tightening it up properly it was a sod to get in and to then tighten. After which it leaked when I filled the rad and no amount of extra tightening (a little at a time) would get it to seal. Feeling 'slightly miffed' I undid it all. The stainless pipe is fine and will go again. The olive looks good too, apart from a small section of burring on one (part of an) edge, which a touch with a file will get rid of. It certainly isn't crushed. The thread on the nut though is another matter...... So I've ordered a new nut, olive and an adapter from Wins (happy with them). When they arrive my next 'dry run' will take a little longer, to make sure everything will go together nicely before I commit. My question is this: Should I add some PTFE tape or Boss White to the thread of the nut, or even the thread of the new adapter before I screw it all together? What do others on here do? Best wishes, Mike.

Thanks for the above, which just leaves the questions about the gap: 0.010"? And oil: 4.5 litres? Many thanks, Mike.

Okay, to clarify, your rule of 9: The rule of 9 1 & 8, 3 & 6 2 & 7, 4 & 5 6 & 3, 8 & 1 4 & 5, 7 & 2 Or this version: Valves fully open.........................................Valves to adjust1 and 3........................................................6 and 82 and 5........................................................4 and 76 and 8........................................................1 and 34 and 7........................................................2 and 5 Best wishes, Mike.

I have heard of that. 👍 But which is officially correct / works best in practice? The rule of 9 or the adjustment list I copied from that other site, shown above? Best wishes, Mike.

Part number: 155660 noted. At £8.80 Canley's are cheaper than Rimmer's (for the same item -- same part number too) by a couple of pounds, what bumps it up, as always, is postage costs. Best wishes, Mike.

For that I found this: Valves fully open.........................................Valves to adjust1 and 3........................................................6 and 82 and 5........................................................4 and 76 and 8........................................................1 and 34 and 7........................................................2 and 5 However, the only setting that I can see mentioned is 0.010", which seems to be a general setting for Triumphs. Also comments on 'another' site suggest I need a different type of feeler gauge to the flat ones I've always used in the past. Best wishes, Mike.

Hi, In advance of my needing to change the head gasket on my ex Spitfire 1300 engine I looked up a workshop manual image of the order in which the head nuts need to be tightened. Below is what I have settled on. It appears to be the correct one but, as some 'alternatives' show up in any search as well, I thought I'd confirm on here that I have the right one........... Also sump capacity is listed as 4.5 litres but please correct me if I'm in error (I have only poured 4 litres in so far because I don't want to overfill it). Many thanks, Mike.

Hi, I've been perusing eBay looking for a sump drain nut and came up with this (link below). https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225481287650?fits=Car+Make%3ATriumph|Cars+Type%3A1200|Model%3AHerald&hash=item347fbb67e2:g:AXYAAOSwtWBkEVRp&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAABAFgm2O9nlTQKze0beXuX3%2Fz8sgceOClamJl3qGZtvii54OnThxYM5ds3AAXmZQVpHyeB9UoB1TBOyY1JCcWgG4T4rlFb2MabCPanNoHz9kIY%2BKEKaINFg%2B8a9zw5%2Bf4LWZOkq1ZMwYEn4CMcAn4Fpn%2FoEa6dlir0hG%2BLbeJFFSPQ3IsLhjyvcmQpy1OjVkqFFNVtsLqQckOdWmLLPUqvs0ygdO0%2BxZb1PepoCtnPcMXR5Ph83gTiAXz3xIggnXSCP62ko5sBs3yeGjEYemy5PqFU1hZHsltrzfoxHz7P3HnZudqKdFAv9NaPnhFN766sRt6Y8%2BSIsO3feWp8WZLPjkc%3D|tkp%3ABFBM6LeCg5Zi Have others any experience of these? What do people on here think? Best wishes, Mike.

Hi, Out of curiosity, what is the working pressure, in 'Bar', for the heating / coolant system on a Herald? Best wishes, Mike.