Wagger

JohnD, Mine cost £100 fifteen years ago, but I needed a good one then for work. Just make sure it will measure DC and choose one with ranges from 20 to 200 amps. If you want to measure starter motor currents go for 500 amps. You don't need high accuracy if looking for leakage and drain as you really want a reading of zero. With some it is best to reverse the orientation and average the two readings.

You can have a dynamo with +ve or -ve earth. Just depends on what mods have been done. I did a complete electrical conversion on two 1950's Morris Minors, one with a dynamo and fitted an alternator to the other. The dyno version just required polarising everything in the opposite direction. Buy decent current clamp for tracing current drain. It will pay dividends. No risk of burning out a meter and nothing needs disconnection. If nothing is obvious suspect bakelite bits in any old component. If it has become wet in the past, it can start tracking and produce a carbon path that will become a conductor. As carbon heats, the resistance drops too and bits become hot. That can be a give away. Left too long it can burn. Unless something has been connected wrongly, these cars do not have permanent loads. Any interior lighting would be the first thing that I would check.

I found Jay Leno's Garage recently and his 1916 Owen Magnetic. A petrol electric Hybrid patented in 1897. It had regenerative braking. Also found another early electric car from the early steam and petrol era. Certainly not boring.

I fitted a drop down accelerator pedal as GT6. no confusion now and it is much smoother with more travel on the throttle.

Yes, my car has the large diameter master cylinder. Best for you to retain the servo I guess. Two years ago the serpentine belt failed on my modern. I managed three miles to home with heavy steering and poor brakes. Plus the battery was discharging at some 25 amps driving the fuel pumps etc.

I had cables and throttle slides freeze up with condensation on motorcycles. With old cars, I have had fuel boiling off when stuck in traffic making re-starting impossible. That is one reason why Triumph decided to heat/cool the inlet manifold.

I dot have an annual MOT because the car does about ten miles a year. However, I do use a mobile mechanic who does his own assessment before submitting any of my vehicles for an MOT. They always pass after he has checked them and we have done the work between us. He has often found more wrong than the MOT station. The pre-test costs me less than an MOT. If I ever sell the Vitesse, I will have it tested and fixed if necessary.

I am very lucky in that I was able to keep much of my 'Kit' when I retired. I have a digital thermocouple meter which allows me to insert the probe into hoses by simply slackening the clips and re clamping. I go for a run and can read he temperature in the car. Some on this forum have even later devices that can just be pointed at a surface etc. It does save unnecessary work and worry to have these aids.

It is possible to replace the thrusts with the sump off but you would need to do select the correct oversize thrust bearings. It is sometimes tricky to seal everything when re-fitting the sump. It depend how much you want to do to the engine. They do go on for quite a while with moderate wear. Also depends upon your age and fitness. There is nothing worse than doing a grand job and not reaping the benefit. At 76, I would not consider such a task myself. Aged 40 I did a four pot in two weeks even when working full time. That just needed a re-grind, new rings and valves re ground.

Wait until the weather wams up and the grit and salt is gone. I have one plug that keeps fouling on my six pot and am trying to find original glazed plugs. I can echo the responses that you have had like do not use resistive plugs. Unlike modern cars, ours do run smoothly until warmed up. No clever engine management systems. Modern fuel is not the same as it was when they were new either. It is all part of the 'Fun'' You are brave to take this on so young. You will learn a great deal from it.

That is exactly the situation at two of our local primary Schools. Both have a Pharmacy, Convenience store and a Doctors surgery on the same site. Sometimes the 'Lollipop Lady' moves them on. I would not take her on, she looks quite formidable wielding her lollipop.

It is easy for me to miss the School drop off times but impossible to miss the pick up at 3 to 4pm. Double parking with engines running (vehicles sometimes empty). It is very tempting to get in and drive them away.

When I had my 1600/6, another day release guy at Brighton Poly had a 12/50 convertible. It was a very close match from the lights at take off. He had about 70bhp, same as my Vitesse with Solex carbs, but was lighter. My 2.5 is about 110 bhp. Actually less than my brother's Mitsubishi Colt which is 1200cc. My only advantage is that I can do 18mph in 4th. I know some have put Mazda MX5's and Fords into Heralds in order to have five speeds and 'Modern' fuel injection. It is a matter of choice. I like cars that are simple so will stick to what I have.

The 1300 engine will outlast a 1500 unless you have the crank nitrided. I had two 1500 saloons and they both destroyed big ends around 20,000 miles. Many owners are really happy with the 1147cc engine in a Spit. Extending the stroke and increasing the journal diameter raised the surface speed of the bearings to an extreme. Strangely, the 2.5 litre six with the same bore and stroke as the 1500 will last much longer. Probably due to a six being beter balanced than a four. Of course, you could fit a non Triumph engine and five speed box. (I'll get my tin hat).

I hope that you do not have a wireless keyboard??

My poor brother with Vascular Dementia was visiting the grocer weekly buying the same groceries and £25 of lottery tickets until he was homed in care. We could not stop him without causing a riot. The queue behind him was awful each time he went there. After being confined in care I checked his numbers fearing that he would win and negate all of his state benefits. I need not have worried. Not even one number came up in six rows. My wife bought just one ticket and won £4. She often gets a free go.

There are different lengths of pushrods I believe. Plus you can fit spacers under the rocker pedestals. Just do some measuring and select as required.

I missed that one (born Sept 1947) but saw the programme about 1962/63 when I was 15. Had to haul the coal, bread and groceries down a blocked lane for four months on a sledge. My brothers remembered 1947 as they were 9 and 10. This was in West Sussex which gets snow about one in every five years. They had fun skating, sledging etc but had to get to work in 1963 so considered that one worse.

Relax a bit, get the cam timing correct and all will be well. I timed an engine two teeth retarded and it would not go uphill unless in 2nd gear. I'd assumed the procedure was as BMC 'A' series. 'Wrong'. Triumph had a different set up. It can all be done without taking the head off checking down plug holes and using the WSM for reference. My engine had timing marks on the sprocket when I looked properly. (1987). It went like a rocket after correction.

I could not have done better myself. Well done. Stronger than original, I suspect.

Yes, mine had no cover and I stood a can of oil on it when topping up, not paying attention to where I put it. I heard this boiling sound when reading the dipstick. That's where the term 'Dipstick' came from then.

I do have two auxilliary sockets with built in LED's which echo PeteL's kit, Good, mediocre and useless. I am not colour blind so can use these as they are red, amber and green, In the days before I fitted an alternator, I used my bench voltmeter and current clamp to check charge monthly.

Don't spend too much time watching displays. You could run into somebody or something. Check that the 'Charge' light in the speedo is working and let that tell uou if there is a problem.

Araldite may just be good enough. Push-pull cables always become tight if not used often. Grease the length and even fit a pull spring at the far end. That would compress the parts together and take up the slack. Finding the correct balance might be tricky.

I had two 1600/6's. The second one was a 1962 CV with a rotten chassis. It had a small servo fitted on the flat bit below the master cylinder. It was a very tight fit. It also had two semi downdraft SU's. I swapped the O/D box with my saloon that had a better engine and chassis and sold it, would you believe, at a profit in 1974. If you move the battery to the boot, you only need one long stout cable. Make a good connection to the bodywork for the other one and all will be fine.