owensparrow

Aaaha! Jonny, you might have something there, my reverse gear WAS going out of position and hitting something so had to be replaced, so it looks like it came from the gearbox and not from the overdrive ( I separated the bell-housing and O/D from the gearbox all at once , then noticed that part on the bench) Thats excellent news, I will search elsewhere for the reason my overdrive isn’t working, possibly I’ve messed up the wiring. Thank you so much chaps.

Just an update to the above. I fitted an “overhauled “ ( by me using a service kit) second hand carburettor to the front, the one that has the enricher valve on it , and now it starts fine! But here’s the bit I don’t understand, firstly I can’t see anything wrong with the carb I took off, and when I changed the carb top for the old one ( which was more shiny ) it went back to not starting! Doh! How could the carb top prevent the enricher circuit from working? It doesn’t matter, I simply changed it back, but it’s a mystery to me, I thought I had a handle on how it worked, obviously not!

Here’s the part I’m worried about. incidentally, when I refitted the overdrive to the gearbox, I followed Haynes instructions to just push the two together, they clunked together nicely after a bit of wriggling, I didn’t synchronise anything, was that bad?

I’ve just fitted a re conditioned gearbox to my late model GT6 and now my overdrive won’t work. The big worry is that when I dismantled the gearbox from the D type O/D there was a cam, or a slightly off center spacer on the bench covered in oil that must have come out of the overdrive, but I couldn’t find where it had come from. No mention of it in the Haynes or any exploded view. When I picked up the new gearbox they couldn’t identify the part, and I couldn’t fit it on any shaft, it was just too small ( it’s about 30mm outside diameter) Could this be why my O/D isn’t working? I’ve got a click from the relay, and the oil level is good, any ideas? I’ll try to post a pic of it.

Superb Pete, I think I've got all that, there are certainly a few chopped off wires around the battery area where the old ballast would have sat, I've got the wiring diagram so I'll put it all back to standard (Standard, see what I did?) And let you know what happens. Thanks SO much for all your help, I was nearly out of hair, I'd pulled so much out! Owen

I checked everything was assembled correctly (again) and cleaned it all up, properly this time, and it was noticably better, so a partial result, but then I was thinking about what Pete had said about ballast resistors and coils.... In my file of old receipts I got with the car was one for electronic ignition, which I haven't got, I think someone has removed it and not fitted the old ballast resistor and coil, I'll try fitting both these things and I'm confident it'll be alright. Thanks again for all the assistance! Owen

Thank you very much to all of you, I've got some things to check out now, top of the pile seems to be the rotating enrichment disc, it's obvious from the mullering on the screws that someone with not much mechanical sympathy has been in there so perhaps it's assembled incorrectly, I checked it for FOD but didn't completely disassemble it, I will do that next. The pictures will be a great help, cheers Ian.

I've checked the other posts on this issue and learned lots, but still can't get to the bottom of this one: Late '73 GT6 with Stromberg 150CD carbs, all standard. Turns over well but won't start, quick blast of Easystart and it's up and running for the rest of the day, and runs super well. I've stripped and cleaned the carbs, all lovely and reassembled correctly I'm sure, but there is no fuel in the "choke pipe" between the carbs, so I believe this is part of the problem, but looking at it, I can't see what could go wrong with such a simple system. Any ideas would be gratefully received Ps, new points and condenser, timing spot on, plugs and leads all new, super unleaded \avgas mix in the tank, I'm out of ideas! Also when I pull on the newly adjusted choke when it's warm, it runs super rich and nearly stops.

Thanks Doug, the fronts were 24lbs, I pumped them up to 30 and it's like a different car, I feel embarrassed for not spotting it..

Sorry, I didn't explain myself, this isn't anywhere near full lock, probably 30° of deflection. I'm used to how it should feel, I've had loads of Spifires and GT6s over the years, but not experienced anything like this, it's very odd.. I'll jack it up and see if the diff is working, but if anyone else has any ideas, I'm all ears

Thank you very much to everyone that replied, I went with a Mountney 13" semi dished, and it's fine, much easier to get in and not too heavy parking. It has however throw up another issue with my newly purchased GT6, the car doesn't like turning sharply, it's as though the diff isn't working, I need lots of throttle or it stalls, and the whole car feels uncomfortable until the steering lock is reduced. Anyone got any ideas? ( It had a diff rebuild 4000 miles ago, I think)

I seems I was looking in the wrong place, plenty of dished leather Motolita wheels on offer, my standard width legs should slip under that OK. Pricey though, four times the stuff in the TSCC shop, worth the extra? Subjective I know, but what do you think? Owen

Thanks for all the replies guys. It seems that the majority favour a 13 or 14" leather clad wheel. As I'm a bit lanky I have the seat all the way back so I figured that a semi dished wheel would be more comfortable, but Motolita don't do a dished 14" wheel, and if they did it would be a 12 week wait, unless I'm looking in the wrong place? Thanks also to Ian for the tyre pressure dodge, that's good to know. Anyone got any experience with the TSCC shop offerings? I didn't realize the column was adjustable even with spanners, how much can you move it in and out? Owen

What is the optimum size steering wheel for a GT6 (mk3)? I struggle to get my 6' 3" frame into the seat with a standard wheel, but the steering is already heavy with the 5.5J wheels the last owner fitted. Also, wood rimmed wheels look good but are they comfortable and practical for spirited driving? I'd be grateful for your thoughts. Owen