Jon J 1250

My 65 12/50 still has its original distributor cap and coil, and leads are at least 40years old. I last changed the plugs in the 90's. Not that it has covered many miles in that time... (6k miles since 1988)

Incredible attention to detail, good work! 👍

Looks like you're doing a great job there, getting the details right. Did same job too back in 90's on my old Herald Estate, but must confess I cheated back then and welded in the bracket sections from a scrap car...I guess it's impossible to find a scrap car with a decent boot floor these days.

Would only really advise putting stands under main chassis rails front and back, or if you're very careful, back ones under rear vertical links.

Thanks everyone, these cars were not really painted all that well underneath from new so I guess it must be doing ok for 60years old. I am going to start off with drill mounted stiff nylon brushes to get the dirt and old oil off all the surfaces and crevices, without taking what remains of the paint off, then will focus on the surface rusty areas with a rotary wire brush, then think there probably isn't any point in painting, may do a coat of good quality rust convertor for what its worth, then will go over it in a dark wax, not too thickly, and will have to keep inspecting it each year. The car isn't likely to get too much wet use, but need to get the balance right, I don't want to be scared to use it. It going to be a lovely job to do, but sounds like there aren't any shortcuts. JJ

Hi, My '65 12/50 is very strong underneath, has never been welded but was covered in oil to preserve it years ago and now as the oil has dried out is covered in spots and patches of surface rust. See photos What is the best way to preserve and protect this from further deterioration, all I can think of is a wire brush, paint with a good rust converter and apply a good coat of wax like the brown Bilthamber product? Is this the best I can do, short of basting and painting it properly, thing is the car is too good to spilt from the chassis for shot basting, can you put the car on spit and rotate it to blast it with the body on chassis?...still seems like overkill....but its not possible to get the wire brush everywhere, like in the side rail. If anybody has any thought or experience at dealing with this, any advice would be gratefully received. Many Thanks Jon

Here are mine for good measure to show how they were sealed up from the factory. JJ

Sizzle is quite a good description of it actually. I will have to see if putting pressure in different directions on the gear lever makes any difference. Interestingly it doesn't always do it, but mostly does. Changing the oil is after several decades, is probably a good idea too. It had a new gearbox extension rear seal in 1988, and that's probably the last time the oil was changed.

Hi, My 12/50 is just back on the road after a 16 year rest. In my ownership It has always had a kind of hissing/scraping noise from the gearbox when accelerating in 3rd gear, you do accelerate through it, but probably shouldn't be there. The car has done 50k miles 20k of which I have covered since 1995, and is the original gearbox from 1965, Does anyone have an idea what is causing the noise, is it a common thing? Regards Jon

Hurrah! got a bit lucky and snagged this Herald TC exhaust manifold almost as soon as it appeared on Ebay yesterday, all set now for the conversion of my 12/50 to the early Herald 1200 TC system as a winter project. These manifolds surely don't come up for sale that often and has the longer outlet branch as per the std 12/50 manifold, so should mate up with the 12/50 exhaust ok. Although not likely to make as big a difference as a Spitfire mk2 kit, it'll hopefully make some difference.

Yes, I wish I picked up a few more cheap used spares back then, I was only interested in NOS stuff in Stanpart packaging back in those days, still have quite a bit of it that I haven't used yet (I always think its too good to use and I'd never find another one! crazy isn't it, lol!) No 12/50 manifolds on Ebay the the moment, but I've got a saved search so it's only a matter of time...hopefully.

Great to see the results of someone who has alreaddy been there and done it, looks like they separate quite cleanly, still a bit reluctant to do this to my original 12/50 manifold, but how long will it take me to find a second one, not found one yet. Many Thanks

Visited the excellent NEC Classic car show on Saturday and the club had brought along their lovely Lichfield green convertible which has twin H1 SU's and even better the bonnet was up. Thanks to this I have finally seen the whole assembly first hand and have taken plenty of reference photos too. What I can see is that there is no way the Spitfire Mk2, 4 branch exhaust manifold will fit behind these carbs, the inlet manifold is far to short, however may still go ahead anyway, but guess I will need to find a twin carb cast manifold, or cut the inlet part off of a 12/50 (preferably) manifold.

Thanks, good point there about the air filter obscuring things. Do you notice an appreciable difference in power on the twin carb version as opposed to the single Solex? (assuming you have experience of both) Regards Jon

Fantastic, that's a great shot of the throttle link, i was a bit sketchy about that as Colin says you can't see much under the regular air filter, so most pics I have seen haven't been too helpful. I really appreciate your help, thankyou. Best Regards Jon

Thanks, yes those pictures show H1 carbs as per my kit, but I think the US version of the kit for a side draught air filter, rather than the UK top draught + pancake filter, and the manifold on the left is the same H1 1 1/8 manifold and the one on the right I think is a mk1 spit manifold for HS2 1 1/4 carbs.

I think any 948 Saloon or Coupe could be factory ordered with twin carbs, where they also got the small instruments inc temp gauge. When the 1200 launched the twin carbs became a dealer fit option, including things like double valve springs with collets, better camshaft, and new main bearings (to protect against wty claims presumably) and importantly an instruction to skim the cyl head to bring the compression ratio up from 8:1 to 8.5:1. At some point (probably when the mk2 chassis was launched) the dealer fit kit changed from twin H1 carbs to HS2 as per the Spitfire, but the Herald presumably did not make as much power as the Spitfire as it is missing the tubular welded exhaust manifold. My plan is to fit the Herald SU H1 kit, as that is what I have, but a Mk2 Spit tubular manifold and will eventually get the head skimmed, when the head eventually needs some work. My 12/50 already has the necessary camshaft. Any guesses how much power this would make, assuming an otherwise healthy engine....? I am hopeful for something just north of 60bhp. Regards Jon

Many thanks, It would be really helpful to see some detailed photos. Yours being a 64 model may have the later kit with HS2 SU's rather than H1's, but still, will be interesting to see. Regards Jon

Thanks Pete, i'd never dug in to the archives section of Canley's website, some good stuff there. Also, I knew the Mk1 Austin Healey 'Frogeye' Sprite also have twin H1's, but on closer inspection it uses the same or very similar choke linkage, and even better, the parts are available! https://www.scparts.co.uk/sc_en/british-cars/mg/austin-healey-sprite-1958-1971-and-mg-midget-1961-1979/carburettor-and-inlet-manifold/su-h1-carburettors-sprite-i-1958-61.html

Many Thanks Colin and Pete, really appreciate you replies, I had a bit of luck whilst searching too and found the instructions for the Triumph kit, so all big help. Not found any good close up photos yet, but I think I have enough to work with to make it worthwhile rebuilding these carbs, and giving them a try in the 12/50 with a Spit mk2 tubular exhaust manifold. Do any of the Heralds at the club HQ have twin carbs? For reference the official Twin Carb Conversion Kit instructions are here: https://app.box.com/s/o3hq8rip7n2eo6wh6kgb54w145s6h5s6 Colin, out of interest, which workshop manual is you diagram from? Best Regards Jon

Here's a photo

Hi, Does anyone have any close-up photos of the Herald 1200 (or even 948TC) twin carb arrangement. I have a used kit to refurb and eventually fit to my 12/50, but the choke cable stirrup connection to the two choke levers is missing and I suspect a bit of the throttle cable linkage is not quite complete either. Would be useful for comparison, so I can source/make whatever is missing. Kind Regards Jon

Hi Thanks, do you mean the tacho output from the Delco distributor rotates 3.55 times to 1 rotation of the distributor?

Many thanks, have searched Ebay and was getting confused. I keep getting results with motorbike tacho's or others which don't look right, or drive the wrong way, have the numbers round the bottom etc.. Plus I don't think I understand the technical specs well enough. I sometimes see ratio's mentioned, doesn't the cam drive at 1/2 the crank speed, and the distributor the same. There seems to be so much to potentially get wrong, hence my question.

Hi, Does anybody know of an 80mm/3in Mechanical Rev Counter Tachometer suitable for the 4cyl 1147cc engine on a Herald 12/50. I have a spare Delco Distributor with the drive for the rev counter and an under dash panel for an 80mm gauge, but cannot find any suitable tachometers. Do I really have to convert it to Negative earth and go with an electronic one? Best Regards Jon