Aristotle

Thank to everyone for responses. Having trawled Google, Falken, Uniroyal and Toyo of the reasonably priced tyres seem to have good reports. The more - what to call them - specialist ? - expensive one's are probably very good too and if I was doing more than my high day/holiday annual mileage I might be tempted. As it is the current Pirelli's will be discarded not even half worn so the reasonably priced route seems the way to go - particularly for a pootler.

I've heeded the dire warnings about tyres over a certain age and will replace mine. Although having bags of tread, no cracks etc etc they are from 2006 so it's (probably) about time. The cars a 78 1500 Spitfire and the current tyres are Pirelli P3000 155/80 R 13's, on standard steel wheels. I'm just a fair weather pootler and a good all round tyre with a comfy ride is more my bag. Could I ask for suggestions for best tyres for my type of driving and where to get them ?

You know what they say (whoever they are) a picture is worth a thousand words ! As usual my verbose nature has distorted the drift. Here's a couple of pics which hopefully might make things a little clearer. It's the rear most mounting of the diff the one with the long bolt and Colin is right it is just a bolt with one plain steel washer under the securing nyloc nut - there's no washer under the bolt head. My query is in relation to two rubber washer which appears to go between the lugs and the frame/chassis - 2 of number 149648 in the first photo - photo comes from BL's parts book. Second photo is from the BL manual and shows same two rubber washers. These rubber washers are not shown or mentioned in the Haynes or Autobooks workshop manuals, is the wisdom they are a must have or not really necessary.

Having received my rebuilt diff back (Spitfire 1500) from the estimable Mike Papworth it's taken me (ahem) a while to gird my loins in prep to put it back in. My excuse as usual is my age being nearer to 80 than 70 I'm finding it extremely useful to behave and excuse tardiness to cite advancing years as the reason. Younger people outside the family in particular I've noticed have become more respectful of this elderly gent. Those inside the family just tell me to stop whinging and get on with it. So in respect of diff, "getting on with it" started yesterday and I emerged from the garage at approx six oclock last night (I only started at four) feeling pretty pleased with myself with the diff located back up into position and on it's back lugs. This Monday mornings early coffee however has been taken with a peruse of the BL manual for the 1500 Spitfire diff refitting process and it mentions "offer up the final drive unit to it's rear mounting location ensuring that the two rubber washers are positioned correctly on the outside of the mounting lugs". The relevant picture showing same two washers sitting between the frame and outside of the mounting lugs. Obviously the long bolt passing through frame, washer, lug, inner frame, lug, washer then frame and finally plain washer and nut - a bit of a b----r! A quick butchers at the Haynes manual makes no mention of said washers and for the life of me don't remember any coming out when I took the diff off the car prior to rebuild. So chaps what's the truth of it, as I can see getting the beggars in could be difficult (and I am after all quite old) - - did these washers exist, are they one of those "nice to do" things but not absolutely necessary or do I need to bite the bullet stop whinging, order a pair and get on with it.

Many thanks Chaps - - I am reassured - will leave well alone.

Chaps, currently car is up on axle stands awaiting a diff rebuild. To make it a bit easier to to get the diff out I also removed the transverse leaf spring and at face value looks in good nick. Now - - the leaf leaf spring was "Ahem" - allegedly a refurbed one some ten years ago although the car has done only about 300/400 miles per year since. The circular doodahs I refer to are those little (plastic/rubber?) buttons which fit between the moving bearing surfaces of the leaves each side of the spring. There is evidence of these doodahs still being there but seem a bit thin to me. So my questions are do these things contribute much and should I wait (on the basis I've enough to do) till they completely wear out ? If I do need to replace - I've seen there are some whizzy Delrin thick-uns which (reputedly) last ages and make the car ride higher - do I go for those or just a set of standard replacements ? The car isn't going to be doing high mileages any time in my ownership, it's just for top down pootling summer time fun.

Thank you to both for your advice. I will investigate Raptor coloured to the car paint but it really looks like the option of a white stonechip allowed to cure (dry ?) properly before painting will be the best option. It's now over 45 years since I painted either a complete car or a panel and in those days used to use an ancient compressor and professional spray gun, we used to get a reasonable finish, with paints of the day. On the basis that technology moves on what is your opinion on modern day rattle cans to do either this job in engine compartment where finish does not have to be top notch or say a separate exterior panel like a boot lid, where the finish has to be better ? I don't mind a bit of finishing work to get it right.

Spitfire 1500 in white, paint code 19. The engine bulkhead (engine compartment) particularly in line with front wheels - paint is getting chipped. I'm tending to drive the car much more than PO and because our country lanes are very poor it's going to get worse. Exterior of body tub painted some while ago (guess about 8 years) and the engine side bulkhead was painted at same time. No stonechip or anything just same paint as exterior panels. Question one is, so it's a "one step" solution, does anyone know - is there a stonechip paint which can be mixed to Triumph White and where can I get it ? Or question two, does one have to spray on stonechip allow to go hard and then spray on body colour ? If I have to use the stonechip then spray on the body colour option - question three is what's the best brand of robust stonechip to use. Whilst I understand stonechip will have a textured appearance, I would prefer it didn't look too "heavy". Best, Aristotle.

Much key tapping later on the Gov MOT record site - - - annnd nothing, except, 3 Moggie Minors, 1 Rover Mini, 1 Riley Elf, 1 Vauxhall Viva and a partridge in a pear tree. All of which had the final **D691C in their reg's. Pretty sure now the Vitesse's reg was something, something, D691C as got the old trusty scanner out of the loft and found I could manipulate the image here and there most notably the back light and got the clearer image below - isn't technology wonderful. Unfortunately the blasted hedge still gets in the way so having exhausted my efforts to reveal her finer points, dropping the final veil so to speak and exhaustive searching for Dear Heart on the web - - - I'm calling it quits. She is probably now a fair number of spoons or some such anyway. What a waste of time - I hear some cry, not so I would say, you always learn something as you go along and it filled in a bit of time between now and shuffling off this mortal coil. Back to projects, all things Spitfire - see thread in bodywork forum. Many thanks to all. Yours Aristotle.

Thank you.

Josef, thank you for the link which is most useful. The little research I'd done told me that D is part of the location code and ideally I needed the preceding letter to narrow it down, which would make running through the alphabet for the first letter relatively easy. Must say didn't know what the first letter defined - so your explanation is again most useful. Whilst I can't define what the first letter of the location is - the partial image (if I can believe it) does rule out some letters. Using your link and the partial image I've narrowed it down to 15 possibilities for that second letter, so I'll start from there and as you say it's not a mind blowing exercise. Perhaps if you or anyone else can answer another question please. Lot's of cars from this era have been scrapped, does the registration number stay on file so the record of it being scrapped can be found ?

To come clean - I had a fiddle with the Microsoft thingy in W11 and came to the same conclusion **D 691C, couldn't be sure though that my old eye's were deceiving me as not as clear as your picture. There does appear to be a partial image of the letter before D but not sufficient to determine exactly what it is Thank you.

Idle Sunday musings about all things Triumph. Spit's in the garage and unlikely to come out again till (if we ever do) have the roads dry up. In the meantime in deference to it's new status as "much favoured object" and to do something I've been meaning to do for - well forever - I've been nailing and screwing neoprene rubber strips to all those gaps which exist around the margins of ancient Henderson garage up and over doors - to keep this my latest Triumph away from the "Winter Wynd". I say this is my latest Triumph cos the last (and first one) one was - - oooh, something like 50 odd years ago and as the Bard would have it "there's the rub". Does she still exist ? My memories are of a delightful means of transport, easy acceleration, not mega fast by any means (my mate had a an early 3.8 E Type which I could borrow, strewth was that quick) but just a lovely pootling car, hood down in the summer sunshine which in the event you wanted to overtake (in the traffic of those days) would get a move on. She was a 1600 drophead Vitesse in a rather lovely - what I would call powder blue. I courted my wife in her, we both drove and she (both car and wife) were lovely. So Sunday musing led me to - - - don't I have a photo somewhere and if I can get a shot of the Reg Plate those nice folk who record MOT's might be able to tell me if the dear old Vitesse is still around. I ask you to imagine going through your own family archive till after what seems like eons has passed you come across the only surviving record of said object - - and B - - - er me all the B - - - dy reg can't be read ! All cannot be lost though there may be folk who have expertise on modern "technically" stuff which can discern what lies beneath an old image. Chap's (and Chapesses) is there anyone out there with miracle cure tech and ability who can tell me the reg no of my old Vitesse from the photo. Your's Aristotle. ps, I am the callow youth in the photo - I still have the beard but it's a touch whiter.

I am most impressed with your garage floor - the car too. Photo's snap and snap.

My thoughts too - I want to get it lower but still a comfy ride, I'm only a pootler.

As you say - "serious wallet emptier" and as I've now discovered the alternator on the boat's packed up the budget for my toys this winter looks in serious jeopardy. With satisfying the exchequer a necessary expedient, that standard kit from JP's is attractive, particularly as I'm more of a pootler. Will investigate pan heights and actual spring lengths when I get to it - just to be sure. Thanks again.

Many thanks for elucidation, these ancient Greeks have a lot to answer for !

Quite.

Nope, the rear spring and dampers both new when car rebuilt, similarly those at the front. It's just the front that's higher roughly by about two and a half inches over standard ride height. Believe it was done on purpose to allow chap who had it rebuilt to (as John Wayne used to say) "get over the ridge" as his drive fell away sharply from the road.

Ermm, so if I read that correctly if I take off the the existing spring and (say I could) weld on another couple of inches to the spring making it longer the car would ride lower than it does now ? If I read these things correctly and please understand I am a bear of very little brain - - as the top of the spring sits in a fixed point on the frame and the bottom locates in the lower wishbone which moves up and down with the motion of the car - - - wouldn't a shorter spring mean the bottom wishbone moves upwards - reducing the ride height ?

Crept into the crypt (garage) where Spitfire resides after some days painting fascia ends on chez Aristotle and trying to solve a problem why the rev counter on boat had packed up - one looks good the other is still "packed up". Approached front suspension with tape measure, torch and cloth dampened with WD40. Wiped over bottom of shockers and legend S62-2290, 3-43 appeared on both sides. so I'll Google that when I get a mo. More interesting is spring length both are approx 235 to 240mm - - - a bit more than Pete's measurements of "standard spring fitted lengths of 188 to 198mm. So - let us say the standard fitted height is 188mm mine are a touch over 2 inches longer give or take an elderly gents wobbly hand. Would that translate into a two inch higher riding height ? Without taking stuff apart can't discern any packing plates it looks like just spring with no packing. With more fascia's to paint and boat to fettle for it's winter ashore this won't get done now till deep midwinter - so it looks like a set of adjustables or standard 188mm springs will be fitted. Advice on my reasoning or opinions on fixed or adjustable gratefully accepted.

Thank you, trust the trek into the conservatory was not too onerous - I always find that places where I keep "stuff" are dangerous to go into as family members usually find me out or in there hours later, body locked into crouched position - transfixed by some tome or other from times gone by. They usually bring me round with strong alcohol. Some say I do it on purpose. Will report back on my progress although it's not getting done soonest - at least now I have a plan of action.

John thank you, "Some time ago" would need to be about 8/10 years ago as previous owner took the thing apart and rebuilt it about then - took him a couple of years. He (allegedly) amongst other things rebuilt the suspension front and back and the general condition suggests whilst not "perfick" it's in fair nick. He MOT'd it every year and mostly came out only in fair weather and the MOT record shows it as only having done 300 odd miles per year since, the front springs were renewed when it was rebuilt. Looking at it in the round and as Mjit would have it for a "cheap assed 1970s British sports cars cobbled together from parts first designed for a cheap family saloon in the 1950s" it's a usable beast - but it's strange it's so high at the front. My only thought is perhaps it was deliberate as the PO's drive fell away very sharply and I could imagine at the 4.4 inch standard ground clearance it may not have made it over the ridge - so to speak. Thank you all again, I'm enjoying the fettling.

Aaaah - the light of awakening breaks over the snowy top and enlightens the dimwit living below. Thank you.

Pete, I don't have a clue what this means.