Stratton Jimmer

I have a spring compressor here in sunny Swindon which you may borrow. I will upload a photo so you know its what you are after.

Spotted this lot at Llanfair Caereinion yesterday.

Hi Dan, I have messaged you about a possible meet up.

Hi Dan, I'm just over the border near Swindon and also have a Spitfire 6. Are you anywhere near?

That's useful. I knew some of the folk from Jones Springs back in my hometown. They were a good bunch back then so its good to hear that they are still good today. A couple of my Dad's mates worked there.

Typical of my luck... Out this afternoon in the GT6 and I had a blowout on the nearside rear. Luckily I had checked the spare's pressure this very day and fitted it in no time but I have decided to take this as a chance to replace all of the tyres with new as those fitted are getting on a bit. Which brand of 155/80 R13 would anyone recommend?

That's what I have and very good it is too.

Nyloc nuts should never be reused. I will always advocate throwing used ones away and fitting new every time.

Cheap throw away filter before the pump and a glass in-line filter just before the carbs to catch any rubber slivers. Since changing to Gates Barricade lines the latter filter has stayed clear.

How many hands are required Doug 😉? The washer and consequently the needle seem to be rather stiff to move so they may be against the thread so a simple question is - RH or LH thread?

I have been stripping a spare front Stromberg 150CDSE and noticed that the Delrin washer on the needle is about one and a half millimetres lower than the air piston. The rear 150CDSE had its Delrin level with the bottom of the air piston. Based on one of uncle Pete's posts a while back, I inserted an Allen key to retract the needle such that the Delrin washer is level with the bottom of the air piston. The key engaged nicely but rotating it in either direction failed to move the needle up or down. has anyone any ideas why this should be? I had removed the needle locking grub screw although Haynes says that shouldn't be necessary.

My 1971 Mk3 has 165/13 fronts and 175/13 rears which I set at 25psi all round. The ride is pretty good and the handling too. As I have said before, the plan is to fit 165/13s all round.

Not all who were there were club members but yesterday we had one 2000, two Stags, two TRs, two Heralds, one Vitesse plus my GT6 and Sixfire. Others included everything from a Bond Bug to a T reg Bentley.

Welcome to the madhouse Wanjo. What John says is mostly true although if you ever come along to one of our local meets you will probably end up standing, looking at an engine scratching your head like the rest of us! 🤣

I had some similar problems with one carb flooding and it was down to the float needle being jammed open by Uncle Pete's favourite "little black slivers". The car would start but ran like a three leg dog. I have since changed all of the fuel lines for an ethanol resistant brand (e.g. Gates Barricade) and added an in-line fuel filter - the glass type - between the pump and the carb inlet which means that I can easily monitor what is going to the carbs. Since fitting the replacement fuel lines, that filter has stayed clear and there have been no further instances of carb flood.

Number 1 son arrived unexpectedly and was pressed into action. I will keep those ideas in mind for next time thank you chaps.

It's a bit trickier than that due to needing to have the boot lid at an angle as though it were open. Here's a pic with me holding the lid open and showing the hinged bracket.

I don't have a garage and work out on the driveway but under a canopy which is not strong enough to use as a "crane".

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for fitting a 1500 Spitfire boot lid while working solo? Trying to balance the lid in position while attempting to get a bolt through the hinged bracket and into its thread is nigh on impossible.

If they were earthing, your car wouldn't run at all. I can hold any one of my leads while the engine is running without getting even the faintest electrical tingle.

Just make sure that you don't have a brake pipe alongside this bracket which you end up wrapping the tow line round and damaging.

Interesting thread - engine gets hot and carbs malfunction (spitting back). Is there too much heat from the exhaust manifold adversely affecting the carbs? Where do the carbs get their cold air from? Cold air has to be essential in being both dense as required for effective combustion and cold for helping to cool the carbs. I had an exhaust leak on a Kawasaki 4 cylinder bike that directed hot gasses straight at the float chamber of number 4 carb. It caused the engine to run very rough. Took the exhaust apart, refitted it with some exhaust paste on the joints and the problem was cured.

My Sixfire is on 175/70 R13 and handles extremely well. My GT6 has 175/70 on the rear but 165/70 on the front. It too handles well although my plan is to make it 165s all round.

Yes they are good. I have them on my Mk3 GT6 and they work very well.

A starter motor when not turning over is effectively a short circuit - super copper conductors connected between +ve and -ve. Only when it starts to rotate does it develop a 'back emf' which is the resistance that prevents it from cooking. If the motor can't turn, it will cook! I would advocate removing the starter motor and making sure that it spins over OK when disconnected from the starter ring. That's a good starting point in your diagnosis. If it does, then your next step is to make sure that the engine turns over freely. A newly refurbished 'tight' engine shouldn't appear that way to a starter motor that is designed to turn it over. If you have any doubts about your starter motor. get it seen to by ROTATING ELECTRICS of Birmingham. These guys are brilliant and relatively cheap. https://rotating-electrics.co.uk/ High Torque starter motors are good but a functional standard motor should be just as effective at turning over your engine. How many people have bought a High Torque motor believing it will cure all of their starting blues only to discover that it hasn't made any difference as the fault lies elsewhere?