Kevin Atkins

Just a quick footnote - so the car is running again; I've driven it a few miles and the rear suspension has settled a bit so I'll see how it goes over the next week or two. Thanks for all the help and encouragement here.. Now I need to get the carbs set up properly so I'll do a bit of a search on here and if necessary I'll ask in the appropriate place! Cheers all.

OK thanks - bag or two of cement it is then to begin with, see if she settles down, otherwise I'll look at adding a lowering block.

Thanks for all the help folks. I got the spring fitted.. now that the car is back on its wheels, and having rolled it to settle the suspension, it's looking far too high at the back with lots of positive camber.. it looks like it needs to come down at least a couple of inches. I haven't actually driven the car yet so it might settle a bit, but I'm doubtful it's likely to settle to anything like the correct ride height - see the attached image. I'm reasonably certain the driveshafts are the longer ones - I measured then at 20.5". Question then - I was thinking of perhaps removing some of the inter-leave button spacers, maybe one layer at a time, and see if I can drop it that way. Is that OK to do? Failing that, could I use a spacer block with the swing-spring suspension? It looks like it should be possible but I'm not sure.. I've gone from one extreme to the other - previously it was dragging its rear end with wheels splayed out and negative camber - to this.. and if nothing else, it looks ridiculous so I need to fix it somehow!

Progress.. I've managed to extract the centre stud from the differential (the Laser stud extractor worked brilliantly, thanks for the recommendation) and have built the new rear spring up with the pivot box etc (that was a pig of a job..) I've fashioned plugs from a couple of the old studs to go in the two redundant holes on the differential and the spring is ready to go in. Question - the bottom plate sits a little higher than the mounting face on the diff, do I need to add spacers / washers to the studs to fill the gap, or am I OK to just tighten the whole spring box + spring down?

My sentiments entirely - I'd rather trust the original engineers than my own judgement on this sort of thing..

That's reassuring,thanks. I'm still very much finding my feet and learning as I go with this, but finding it rewarding and interesting. Also glad about the carbs - my gut feeling was to try and get it back to as it left the factory, makes things easier..

Thanks Pete - yeah luckily the banjo bolt was fine although I did buy another one pre-emptively, so the manifold and carbs are all ready to go.. As regards the pipe - yes got a new stainless pipe + collar nut and olive on order, I've also ordered a new adapter just in case - do they come off from the ally pump housing OK or is that likely to be troublesome? Also, I couldn't see any mention of a sealing ring or anything for the adapter, not sure if anything is needed there too? Ian - yes it's a remanufactured tank from Rimmers; quality and fit were good, it went in without trouble. The box it came in said 'Made in Taiwan', how depressing that we can't even manage to manufacture something like that any more... Still, it seems decent. The old tank that came out was in good physical condition, would just need a good detergent flush to get rid of old fuel laquer, so would be free to anyone in need. It's too good to scrap, I just haven't got the time / facilities to sort it..

Thanks for the heads-up on the stud extractor Pete, I have duly ordered one. For now, I have put the car back together again with the old spring as I need it mobile again as soon as possible and didn't want to bodge or risk snapping the old stud off etc. It's been a bit of a marathon so far - new drive shaft UJ's, brakes at the back end; then on the engine front.. I was running into endless trouble with a pair of SU HS6's that had been fitted, fuel leaks, rough running etc. Decided in the end to fit a new fuel tank and a pair of refurbished CD150's so it's back to stock, and looks very nice. No idea yet if it runs OK as the water pump return pipe decided to disintegrate this afternoon so got to get one ordered tomorrow.. let's just say there were a few choice words when that happened at the end of a tiring weekend on the spanners...

So back on the car again, I've got diff pinion oil seal to fit, and a swing spring - looks like it's a five-leaf job from Rimmers but I'll give it a try.. one thing that I am struggling with is removing the old centre stud from the diff so the peg on the new spring can engage in the hole... I've wound two nuts on the old stud, tried heat, penetrating oil, but it doesn't seem to want to shift. Am I missing something or is it just a case of keep trying?

Thanks - yeah, looks like it'll need doing then.. Good call on the EP140 Pete - given that it was very low on oil before, whilst topping up has cut the racket considerably, it's still a bit noisy so anything to help there will be great. It's probably suffered some accelerated wear with the low oil level but it'll have to do for now, plenty of other issues to sort first! Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy the car over summer..

Thanks guys - that's very reassuring re. possible overfill. I probably put approximately 300 - 400 ml in, so quite a lot.. There was / is a fair bit of old oil (dried on / mixed with road dirt etc, not shiny and recent) on the outside of the diff casing, so I figured if it had come out I'd really need to get some fresh in there, and it's certainly quieter now. I'm just weighing up my relatively clumsy spanner skills against fitting a new pinion seal vs. leaving well alone in case I muck it up - I'm going to assume it's not the original diff with it being a six-hole on top, so maybe it's from an early car, or maybe not even a GT6? Murky history - a mate at the pub asked me last night 'how many owners has it had?' and when I replied 'something like 15' he was a little shocked. But that is 15 over 50 years.. ok, it's still a lot 😜

Thanks @Pete Lewis and @Colin Lindsay - I've just measured the driveshafts (rather approximately but good enough I think), showing ~ 20.5" from centre of UJ to end of shaft, so my understanding is these are long shafts.. Thanks for the heads-up on needing to blank two holes - it does indeed have 6 studs - and getting the correct spring. I'd like to return it to swing-spring if possible as I'm not happy with the current arrangement.. On a slightly different tack, while I've got the back end apart (and hijacking my own thread 😉 ) - I added oil to the differential a week or two back and it's possible I've overfilled it - having jacked the car up to dismantle, oil is now dripping out of the front of the diff - it looks like it's coming from the pinion, so wondering if the front oil seal has blown? Or it could just have been bad anyway after a decade or more sitting idle and then being pressed into service again.. question though - apart from blowing oil seals, would overfilling have caused any other ill effects on the diff? I did take care the car was level when filling but I could have fouled up.. Thanks for the help!

Good evening all, My recently acquired project car is coming along.. it's been off the road for 10+ years and has so far taken a fair bit of recommissioning. This weekend I thought it was about time I tackled the rear end. The back of the car is sitting too low and the wheels have a rather pronounced negative camber on them, and last weekend she developed a bit of a nasty vibration from the back so I thought I'd sort the prop and driveshaft UJs etc. Driveshafts are now removed and looking at the rear spring, it doesn't look like it's the late Mk 3 swing spring arrangement at all. It looks to me like a Mk 1 - there is no central pivot and the spring is clamped to the top of the diff. I'm just wondering what could have happened here? It looks like Rimmers do a swing spring conversion kit - are they any good, and I'm not sure about driveshafts, I believe there are different lengths? It's puzzling why it should have the wrong spring in it, but guess a 50-year-old car will have a few skeletons in the cupboard!

Thanks @chrishawley that was very helpful; with your explanation it made sense and I've now got a car with internal and external door handles and locks that all work! It was quite fiddly getting it all adjusted, and also have to say the quality of the replacement parts was a bit suspect in places.. so much so that I had to replace a couple of parts on the new exterior door handles with items taken from the old ones as they were either missing or fractured!

Hi all, The driver's side exterior door handle broke on my GT6 Mk. 3, and it was looking a bit shabby and pitted anyway so I bought a pair of new handles. On disassembly, it appeared the lock assembly was also not functional and disconnected and this is the bit that puzzles me as I don't have anything to work from. I have fitted the new handle and it was pretty straightforward but I can't see how the bar that drops from the lock barrel on the handle assembly engages with the bar / pin that sticks out of the back of the door catch / lock assembly. It's the bar with a spring steel bit on the end of it.. Any pointers would be much appreciated!

Just a quick update.. so I didn't manage to do anything with the gearbox over Christmas - I'm keeping my eyes peeled for another box I can use for rebuild with the parts I've got. In the meantime, I have lined the underside of the transmission cover with Silent Coat and added extra sound deadening inside the cabin and the noise has been attenuated to an acceptable level when driving. There's plenty else I need to be doing with the car in the meantime! Thanks for all the support and encouragement.

Really helpful replies everyone. So the rebuild kit is on its way, and then that's got me thinking.. I might see if I can locate another box suitable for rebuild and fix that, then flip that in.. otherwise, never having done this before, if I run into trouble I've got a car with no gearbox. I've never tried a gearbox build before, so it'll be a learning experience and all part of the fun, but I don't want the added pressure of having to have it done in short order. And then there's a big list of other things to sort on the car, but she runs and drives, Rome wasn't built in a day.. I'll post back when I've got stuck in to the gearbox build.. Hope everyone has a cracking Christmas!

Thanks @clive that's good to know - I remember trying to wrestle a (very heavy) Leyland LT77 box onto a Rover V8 from underneath and it was a pig of a job lining it back up on reassembly, but from above and working inside the car is hopefully better. And I'd hope the Triumph box is a (little bit) lighter than the Rover. Looks like I know what I'll be doing over Christmas now.. just ordered the rebuild kit..

Thanks for all of the replies. I have done some study and looked at the YouTube videos you recommended and I've decided I'm going to have a go at rebuilding the gearbox myself. I was going to have to pull the gearbox anyway, and that bit looks like it might be awkward but the box build itself doesn't look too bad (famous last words..) What's the consensus on getting the box out? Where I live we have a shared parking lot, and pulling the engine and box out may get in the way of my neighbours, so pulling the box out from inside the car would be preferable if it's not ridiculously difficult?

Thanks so much for all of the replies, which are really helpful! @clive I'll give Mike Papworth a call in the week, thanks for the heads-up @Pete Lewis Thanks for the recommendation for TD Fitchet - I'll have a look at them too. I might also have a think about having a go at it myself - I've never done a gearbox before but if it comes down to it I'll have a go. The box itself changes gear fine, doesn't pop out of gear and all the synchros work perfectly.. it's just a bit noisy.. @dougbgt6 Thanks for that idea - Silent Coat was something I'd seen and then couldn't remember what it was, so you've reminded me - cheers! Yes, I'll definitely be adding some sound deadening around the gearbox cover / tunnel / floor wells etc. And also heartening to know that in spite of the noise, the gearbox may be OK for the time being (I do a very small annual mileage, < 2k / year, which was part of the reason for going the 'classic' route.. I had a 'modern' car that was just sat on the drive depreciating..) @johny@clive I'm hoping that if it's the layshaft pin and / or needle roller bearings, they're less likely to break up as opposed to the mainshaft bearings or tip bearing? Either way, I'm driving it very gently at the moment (well, virtually not at all at the moment whilst I get it fully recommissioned / roadworthy 😉 )

Hello to all on the forum, I have very recently bought a GT6 Mk. 3 (non-rotoflex, non-overdrive). The car is in very fair shape but it has been off the road for the last 14 years or so I believe, so I'm recommissioning it now. I haven't owned a Triumph before, but have had other older classics before.. various Minis, a very ropey Rover P6 and a few Alfa Romeos. Anyway, the gearbox on the GT6 does seem very noisy in the indirect gears; fourth gear is OK. I have dropped the oil and replenished with the correct grade - it was a little low before, maybe 75% full, and since the oil change it's a little quieter but still seems much noisier than I think is ideal. I removed the gearbox cover to get at the oil filler, and it's one of the fibreglass aftermarket types and there is no sound-deadening material around it, and for now I've got the carpets out anyway.. So I'm sure that's not helping, but the noise in first, second and third gear does sound very harsh and unpleasant, which I'm sure isn't quite right.. I'm not expecting a whisper quiet modern gearbox, but this one sounds like it's in pain.. So, I think a replacement box is on the cards - I'm going to have to go the reconditioned route as a quick flip of gearbox will be necessary to keep me on the road, rather than doing a rebuild. What is the spares situation like with regard to gearboxes, and would any of you have recommendations? Thanks in anticipation!