Steve C

Sounds like a remedy for constipation!

Let us not forget the original was styled by an Italian, now with added va va boom by Bonnett!

GT4A for Alleggerita? Bellissima! Steve C

Indeed there are. There should be an extruded aluminium retaining strip on each side, held in place with self-tappers. Try Spitfire Graveyard or one of the various breakers out there on Fleabay to source a pair. They polish up well enough, but avoid heavy corrosion/scarring if you are looking for a concours finish. Tip for fitting is to use a thin electrical terminal screwdriver to "feel" for where the hole is before fitting the screws. This will show you what angle you are going in at - they rarely line up square. Nice new shiny screws with heads all lined up, and you will be ready for the judges! Good luck Steve C

If you do go for recycling one off a dead convertible, be aware that these were brazed on in production, so it is fairly easy to melt the braze away with an oxy torch and salvage the capping. When transferring to your own car, remember that braze and weld don't mix, so either braze it on, or lose every last trace of braze from it before welding it in place or you will have some interesting fizzy fireworks going on! Steve C

Caps are with the correct rods, and have turned them round following a close look at the works manual diagram so that the lettering in the castings is now as described above. The engine was too tight to turn before this, but the problem persisted after they were rotated. Also noted some light scoring in the shells at the outer ends, suggesting something is way too tight. With the big end bolts slackened, the engine turns with a bar through the flywheel bolts for leverage, and there are no tight spots. As to the 60 thou over bore, I would agree this is on the outer limits, but it is what they have done.

I went to look at an engine one of our area members is in the process of assembling this morning, and would welcome any ideas or advice. The engine has been through a machine shop, and has been bored 60 thou over, and the crank has allegedly had a 20 thou grind. The crank spins nicely with the mains torqued down, and the pistons slide freely in the bores. However when you start to nip up the big ends, the engine locks and is very difficult to turn. Cracked off the big ends, checked that all the right caps are with the right rods, everything drowned in clean oil, shells sitting correctly in their babbits. Big end caps are assembled so that standing at the front of the inverted engine, the stamped lettering is the right way up to read. Problem is not confined to any one crank journal, try nipping up any of them and the effect is the same. Unless I am missing something idiotic, the only inference I can draw is that the crank grind is less than claimed? I also checked the bearings, which were supplied by Moss, and the box is clearly labelled 020. The owner did have some issues with the machine shop, who were stringing him along with completion dates (they were paid to build the engine, but kept fobbing him off with excuses, and he ended up retrieving it as a box of bits...nice). This makes me suspicious about the sidings. I have suggested he take it into a reputable machine shop with some decent precision measuring kit to check the sidings, but beyond this, I am stumped. All suggestions from more experienced hands appreciated. Steve C

It is certainly becoming a sea of uniformity out there, in which one car looks much the same as another, with few exceptions. As a kid I could identify most cars on the road, and makers all had their own "look". Today they are so boringly alike that I frankly could not be bothered. That said, the average modern is safe, durable, reliable and offers levels of performance that would have been unthinkable in the 60s. Our two "moderns" do at least have some individual character - a 2006 Ford Ka, which is a great little commuter and actually quite fun to throw around, and our 1998 Volvo 940 Estate, which may look like a hearse but is for me, the last of the real Volvos before Ford came in and wrecked the brand values. At least I don't lose either of them in car parks!

Personally, I think you need the loudest horns you can get on a classic car, given the total lack of consideration frequently displayed by drivers of modern vehicles towards classics! You can source after-market pairs of new horns on Fleabay and Amazon cheaply enough, or you could do as I did and fit a pair of Maserati air horns driven by a compressor, although you will need a relay and some wiring for that one. The resultant ear-splitting banshee scream is quite handy when you next get a truck driver who has been awake since he left Eastern Europe with a bent tachograph deciding to change lanes while alongside you, and you end up taking avoiding action by swerving into the hard shoulder...

Hi Aiden, Sorry for the late response, have just spotted your post. I am sorry you are having such a pig of a job with this, it must be very frustrating. I am wondering (and perhaps "guru Pete" can advise here) if you have not got a 16P caliper that someone has fitted with the later type pistons? My train of thought is that it is usually the pistons which corrode, as they rely on a hard chrome plate for corrosion protection. This is why some after market ones are available in stainless. The cheaper route to reconditioning a caliper is to fit new pistons and a seal kit, and clean up and blow out the castings, rather than sending them off to be done or buying recon units. If yours are a "mongrel" made up of 16P castings and later pistons and dust seals, it might explain a lot. Pete - thoughts? Regards Steve

That looks like one of the later type, as shown on the Buckeye site, where the groove in the piston is wider, to take one of the wire clips, and there should be a corresponding groove on the surface of the caliper (visible on the buckeye pics) to take the other.(visible in the left hand pic of the three showing the dust seal, where the piston is covered in red rubber grease). Is this not present on yours? If not, maybe someone in the past has changed the pistons over? Just thoughts... Regards Steve

Hi Aiden I did mine on the bench, and even there it was a flipping fiddle. in essence it is a case of getting the two lips of the seal located, one sits at the top of the piston, and the other inside the top of the bore. Although I could not find you a video of a 16P caliper, the trick as demonstrated on this video is pretty much the same: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t59DInB1Xio If you get totally frustrated to the point of chucking spanners, this lot are a good alternative: http://www.biggred.co.uk/index.php Regards Steve

And at the risk of SBO, once you have re torqued the head, don't forget to check the valve clearances and re-set if needed. Steve C

Not surprised somebody repainted it! Is Russet Brown the "official" shade for that seventies-tastic poo brown?

I would stick with the standard wheels and get them powder coated as Kevin says. You should have no problems with rust breaking out if they are done properly. The bit you really need to watch is actually the part inside the wheel where the tyre bead sits. If this is heavily corroded or pitted it can cause slow leaks, which can be a right pain. If in doubt, better second hand wheels are out there, and powder coat one with a good inner rim instead. Fancy alloy wheels are undoubtedly nice, but they are vulnerable to kerb damage, expensive and there can be issues with fouling with some wheel and tyre combinations, as previously documented on this forum. Regards Steve C

I think Dave C's last point above invites reflection. Just because it is possible to do something is not, of itself, a reason for doing it! I looked hard at the T9 option when my first (allegedly) rebuilt 1500 box started to sound like a coffee grinder, and in particular at the long and illustrated how-to guide which was (if memory serves) on the old forum. I came to the conclusion that it involved a lot of hacking lumps out of car and gearbox, and a lot of parts mixing and matching neither of which to me seemed ideal. It also seemed bizarre that a conversion using a box which is as common as dirt should cost more than the best available rebuild on what has now become quite a rare item by comparison, with limited spares availability. I also spoke to one of our most respected and long-standing specialist suppliers, who advised me to stick with the Triumph box. Overall I came to the conclusion that the T9 was a lot of time and money, for a mongrel solution. If there had been a more straightforward option, with a compact modern box and a simple adaptor plate, I might have been tempted, but I am glad I stayed with the Triumph parts bin. As always, it comes down to individual preference, and how you use your car. If anyone is going down the T9 route, I believe Triumph World ran an illustrated feature on the conversion a while back. Steve C

I would be concerned about putting a seat belt top mount through the channel section that forms the top of the inner hood well panels, as that is fairly lightly constructed. On mine the mount is further forward, through the metalwork of the B post proper, and there is a small radiussed cut-out in the front top corner of the trim panel to accommodate the belt eyelet swivelling. Regards Steve C

The original 1200 convertible top mountings were to the rear inner arches, (via the slot in the 1200 rear trim panel), while saloons were mounted on the top of the B post, although remember that none of these cars were required to have belts when new, and they tend to come with a mix of either dealer-option Stanpart belts, or various after-market alternatives from Britax et.al. The original Stanpart saloon mounting was to a tapped steel block behind the steel at the top of the B post. The problem with replicating the original convertible style was that it was designed around static belts, not today's inertia reels. The inertia reel relies on being mounted vertically, or it locks, because it has a little pendulum device in it designed to lock the belts if the vehicle is flipping over. (this can drive you quietly insane with steep road cambers when parked...)This is why the inertia kit comes with a wedge plate to sit between the reel and the floor pan to keep the reel at 90 degrees to the floor. Ergo, if you want static belts, stick to the original design, but if you want inertias, you will need to use the top of the B post to run the belt through down to the reel on the floor, but with suitable reinforcement behind it. Extra strengthening is certainly a good idea if you can do it without fouling the hood, but the convertible B post is stronger anyway because of the additional steelwork, and I seam-welded mine up when I restored the car. I would suggest that any accident capable of deforming that lot is not one I am going to be walking away from anyway, but opinions differ! Good luck Steve C

I transplanted the whole Vitesse setup, including the master cylinder, to my own Herald, except the larger rear drums, but then I have a tuned 1500 in the car, and my original brakes were Herald drums, which are fine for pootling preservationists, but not much use for anything else. As Kevin says, unless you want to go for a lot more power, the standard type 14 brakes in good order should be enough with decent pads. I also swear by the Goodridge-type brake hoses. In my own case I had the GT6 uprights and callipers given to me from a car that had been totalled after spinning backwards into a tree, so it was a no-brainer. If you do decide to do it, it is all pretty straightforward backyard mechanics. Regards Steve C

If Halfords have been recommending this one to you, I have been using it for years without problems: http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/gearbox-oil/halfords-gear-oil-ep-80w-90-gl-4-1l Proper EP90 GL4 is also available from Canley Classics. As Kevin says, GL5 is only an issue when in the challenging environment of a diff or gearbox, when it comes under extreme pressure and gets flipping hot. Some formulations apparently attack phosphor-bronze and other "yellow metal" components found in these assemblies under those conditions. On a point of information, where engine oil is concerned I read somewhere that Halfords Classic 20w50 is an identical formulation to the original Castrol GTX, but I am sure someone out there will correct me if this is wrong. For myself, I have tended to steer clear of synthetic engine oils, although I know John Kipping swore by Mobil 1! Regards Steve C

Most of the original matrixes out there will be in similar condition inside. They have, after all, been in service for a very long time, and if they were a central heating rad in your home you would probably have replaced them long ago! I tried back-flushing, kettle de-scalent and central heating de-scalent on my old matrix before I bit the bullet and got a recon (Smiths) matrix from Demisterman. As soon as I felt the weight of it compared with the old I knew the old one was kippered. I could not believe the difference in heater output when I fitted the recon unit. I had always just assumed that my car had a poor heater because that was what heaters were like in the 60s. The reality was that heaters in old bangers with ancient matrixes were like that, but when they were new they probably were not bad! Having them reconditioned by a radiator specialist is just as good as buying recon if you can find someone who can do it. It is after all, in essence only a small radiator. Radiator specialists do a surprising amount of bespoke work when you talk to them. Our local one here does fuel tank repairs and radiators fro everything from a bus to a mini. Regards Steve C

DaveR If you send me an e-mail address at steve.cropper@wmc.ac.uk I will ask him to contact you. Regards Steve

Yep, I have run (variously) standard Mintex, and Mintex "fast road" (DS11 equivalent) pads with sintered metal (can't remember the number but they are still in the garage somewhere, that was in my boy racer phase...) but I just prefer Green Stuff, which for me feel nicely progressive, but with enough bite to haul up quickly if the situation demands. Yes, they do generate dust, but whenever I take the front wheels off for anything, a quick wipe with a rag and some white spirit easily shifts it. It is always going to be a subjective judgement, and will also depend a lot on tyres and individual driving style, but for me they work. I also have to declare an aversion to asbestos, as thoroughly nasty stuff which should be consigned to history, along with rickets and bubonic plague, but to each his own! Best wishes Steve

One of our regulars in the Liverpool area has MX5 seats in his GT6, and they work well in what is always going to be a claustrophobic cockpit! He is actually a Club Triumph member (we are a broad church up here in Liverpool, it comes from having two cathedrals, two footy teams and a thousand opinions..) but I am sure he would send you some pix if asked. He bought the car with the seats in place, and had them recovered in wrinkle-effect leather which looks very cool. Regards Steve

I can't speak for the Vitesse, as it is an altogether different drive, (due to having the world's heaviest 2-litre engine up front!) I love the Green stuff pads on my Herald 1500. which runs Vitesse front brakes and master cylinder with type 16P callipers and no servo, and silicone fluid. They do seem to polarise opinion, but I would fit them again, and I have had no concerns with braking on this set-up. I have contemplated a servo, but only because it eliminates the acclimatisation period when hopping from one of my moderns into the Triumph. Regards Steve-C