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Steve C

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Everything posted by Steve C

  1. I am not qualified to pronounce on the engineering, but Frankly the fact that the spiel reads like something that has been mangled by Google translator would make me suspicious, as does the obvious thought that if this is such a simple fix for the well-documented problems of small cassis Triumph IRS, how come no-one else has thought of it before? Regards Steve C
  2. I have only ever seen the small 948 type, and the later, larger peaked ones that I have on my own car, but according to this: http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID005449 there are two varieties! Regards Steve C
  3. If my memory serves me correctly, the early 948cc cars had smaller side lamp / indicator units, with a smaller hole in the bonnet, with one bulb. Later cars had twin bulb units, with either a peaked or smooth glass lens, and a bigger hole in the bonnet. According to Rimmer's website, the changeover to the larger units was gradual, (probably as the factory used up existing older pattern bonnet pressings), and there is no clear changeover date, but it is around 1964. The latter two units are interchangeable, although clearly you would want a matching pair. If re-using old parts, make sure the domed orange cover for the indicator bulb is present in the units, as these can get lost over time and are not easy to find. Good luck Steve C
  4. Hi Laurie If it is just leaking oil, the pinion shaft oil seal can be changed in situ, although frankly it is almost worth paying a garage to do it, because it is a lot easier and safer on an overhead lift to apply the required force to undo the nut securing the input flange, and everything is a easier standing up! I believe the output shaft seals (117952 on the parts manual) can also be done in situ, although I have never tried it. These are secured with allen socket screws, so no brute force needed, just a fiddle behind the flanges to get at them. If your diff is actually making a racket and ready for changing, then yes, you can do it with ramps, although they will limit your access from the sides. When I swapped mine out for a 3.89 on the herald, the biggest pain was (a) having to get the exhaust out of the way and ( the two rear mountings on the diff case, which required some immoral brute force with a big bar to get them lined up so that the bolts would pass through on re-assembly. Again, all so much easier on a lift with a trans jack to support things, instead of having to provide all the strength from your shoulders while lying on concrete. The aches and pains wore off after a couple of days and some Ibuprofen... Bon chance! (as they say in France) Steve C
  5. If there is water in the engine, and the hoses are getting hot, it sounds to me like a bunged-up valve or matrix. I rebuilt mine with a new valve (the original was solid with yellow crud and corroded under the hoses) and a new matrix. Although folk do suggest various remedies like kettle de-scaler, back-flushing etc. for the matrices, I would caution that they are now all very old indeed, and go for a new one if funds allow, or, as suggested, get a radiator shop to rebuild it. You won't believe the difference in heater performance. I got mine online from Demisterman, who has an e-bay shop, and gives good service. I did find that I had to relieve the inlet/outlet holes in the heater front plate a bit with a small stone on a drill to let the pipes which pass through it fit properly, as they are slightly wider apart on the repro version than the original, but it is all straightforward stuff, and he even provides all the sealing strips for the box. I had always assumed that herald heaters were crap because the car was from a different era, but with a good matrix they are actually surprisingly good. Regards Steve
  6. Steve C

    Facebook

    Personally I think there is a place for both. I value this forum for the opportunity to share detailed technical information, or to have a reasoned debate on a topic. Facebook is handy for quick communications at local level, such as requests for assistance/has anyone got one of these?/we are on the left hand side of the field as you drive in/ bring emergency beer supplies etc. What is absolutely unacceptable to me on Facebook, and the reason I don't use it more, are pig-ignorant comments, bad manners and foul and abusive language. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but if they cannot express it like a gentleman, they should keep it to themselves. As to those who are too free with their opinions about other people's cars, fine, but before you get too critical, at least go and build one yourself, then people will take your views more seriously. I have a great bumper sticker given to me by a lovely guy with a Lincoln Continental clap-door Continental low-rider at our local cruise. It says "Before you point out all the faults on my car, where is yours?" I think that nails it. Regards Steve C
  7. Blimey! I just had a look at his website out of curiosity, and he seems to be one angry man... Is he the same character who used to specialise in overdrive units way back, and appeared in the Courier more than once, or are my aged grey cells confusing him with another Gareth? Regards Steve C
  8. Hi Jezza If determined to do it, my preference would be for either a D or later J type overdrive conversion, as opposed to the (by no means simple) Ford T9 conversion, for which Clive has given a fair summation of the amount of work involved, and for which a look out there on t'interweb will give you some pictorial evidence. The Ford is undoubtedly a good box, but they are expensive, considering they made so many of them, and the engineering involved is (IMHO) a bit of a hotch-potch. It would probably be simpler to fit the Pinto or Zetec as well, but then is it still a Triumph? Since no-one seems to be offering conversion kits any more, you will probably be looking at an overdrive box and a prop shaft out of wreck, or that has been sitting in someone's shed. If it can't be tested running, assume the worst and budget for a rebuild - most gearboxes out of cars came out for a reason. You might get lucky, but it is more typical to acquire a box that will have had a hard life being thrashed in a sports car, that was a bit marginal when new! Neither route is cheap, and if your existing non-OD set up is working well, and you are only doing a limited annual mileage, you may wish to ponder the option of leaving well alone. With all such exercises, the law of diminishing returns comes in to play, and it does pay to remember that non-OD cars were produced in large numbers and did work perfectly well in period! Good luck with your choice Steve C
  9. And to you Andy, and all on beautiful Ellan Vannin! As Pete says, check out the club shop. Big Red are also worth a quote for show standard calliper rebuilds, and I would also recommend the Goodridge braided hoses. Best wishes Steve C
  10. Depends on condition really. I did my own (I have type 16P callipers and discs from a crashed GT6 on the Herald) but they had been in use, and I got away with cleaning up and painting the castings with VHT, blowing through with an airline and fitting new pistons, seals and bleed nipples. If yours are in good nick, they are not complicated things to do. If, on the other hand, you want a show finish, or yours are a rusty old mess that have seized up, then it is probably easier to farm them out to one of the reconditioners or buy in a pair of exchange units and save yourself the work. Regards Steve C
  11. Fear not John, I yield to no-one in my respect for Mike and his work, but he has substantially re-engineered the rather marginal original product to make it work properly. Stick 120 brake through a standard Herald or spit box or diff and you had better bring a dustpan and brush! Season's greetings, and have a great holiday. By the way, I noticed today that Kit Car magazine (which we take here in college as part of my programme to introduce our students to proper Fred Dibnah back-yard mechaniking) is produced by Silverback productions. Are you running a sideline? Best regards Steve C
  12. Come come Pete... You should know by now that Triumph gearboxes and diffs are consumable service parts when required to handle over 39 BHP! Regards Steve C
  13. The two bolts on the rear axle hump are under rubber grommets if I remember correctly? Also any unrestored herald will have had outrigger work and perhaps patching around body mounts at some point in its life, so not unusual to find that someone has been a bit enthusiastic with the welder. Try some gentle levering to isolate where it is stuck - there is enough flex in the body tub to see where it is holding on. Regards Steve C
  14. The bugbear with all the club cars is the narrowness of the interior space, which severely limits available choices. I did once think of looking at those Rascal-type forward control mini-vans that several of the oriental makers knock out, to see if the seats from one of those would provide an option. Anyone tried it? Regards Steve C
  15. The scuttle to heater box gasket was NLA when I did mine, and I used a good bead of silicone sealant instead. I can't emphasise enough how worthwhile either having the matrix done by a radiator specialist, or buying a new one from Demisterman online is in terms of heater performance. You often hear owners saying these cars have feeble heaters - they don't. What they actually have are heaters that are around 50 years old and knackered, and various suggested remedies, like descaling solutions etc. don't always work. I can understand owners impatient to get a restored car back on the road after expending a lot of time and money, putting the heater on the "to be done later when I can afford it" list, but while you have the thing off the car, it really is worth doing properly. I made this mistake, and after I had treated it to a new matrix and valve, I can now drive up a motorway with the top down on a cold day and be warm enough. In good order, they really are not bad. Regards Steve C
  16. I too have never understood the height thing, but then I am five seven, so like Mijt, I am looking through the screen on my Herald, not over it. Mine are on 10mm steel bars bolted to the original mounts, so not completely flat to the floor, and I find the traditional Herald problem of the steering wheel polishing your left leg is also gone. MX5 are one of the few options for a Herald convertible, and I would not go back to the old seats at any price. All down to individual preference and physique I guess. Regards Steve C
  17. Hi Clive I agree - none of us would wish to see the financial stability of the club put at risk. The way to do it with this, or any other rare parts, would be in small batches, with a hefty deposit up front to discourage daydreamers. As our cars become older, and inevitably, rarer (it is a sobering thought that my own is now half a century old..)I can foresee a time when remanufacturing NLA parts will be the only way of keeping them on the road. Regards Steve C
  18. I can only echo MishMosh's comments, and have my name down with Bob for a pair if the run goes ahead. It would have been nice if the club had supported this venture, as these really are "Holy Grail" parts for those of us who have Herald 1200s, and I would have thought remanufacturing unobtainable parts was a primary function of an owner's club. Other clubs seem to do this? Regards Steve C
  19. Hi Rich I used old seatbelt webbing to replace mine, and pop-riveted new "keeper plates" made from scrap stainless steel into the little recesses on the rear hood well lip, in the recesses on the two "floating" sticks which sit ahead of the rear window, then tensioning at the header rail end and used self-tappers on the front two keeper plates into the recesses in the front face of the header rail. If the old webbing is still there, do one side at a time to keep the relative positions of the two rearmost hood sticks. If it has gone, you are going to need to do some accurate measuring from the rear hood edge to the seam above the window, which is where the rearmost stick needs to sit. Having the hood to hand, and using garden twine looped and tensioned around the sticks to hold them in their positions helps. The webbing is clamped in four places along its length: rearmost hood well lip, the two rearmost sticks and at the header rail. The webbing is in two pieces, joined and angled on the rearmost stick, because it effectively changes direction here, and this cannot be accommodated with a single piece of webbing. It sounds more complicated writing it down than it really is when you have the job in front of you. The important bits are making sure that the finished plates and fasteners sit nice and flat (or you will have pimples in your hood..) and getting the position of the rearmost sticks correct. A good oiling of all pivot points ahead of the job will also do no harm, but be sure to wipe up any excess. Regards Steve
  20. And as a follow-on to Pete's point about pop rivet guns not having a riveting head that will fit inside a pop fastener, he is dead right! I got around this by finding a bolt of the same thread as the four riveting heads that came with my Stanley rivet gun, clamping it up straight in the drill vice on my bench drill and drilling it down the middle to the same diameter as a rivet pin. I then cut a portion of the thread to the required length, and because I don't have a lathe, clamped it in the drill chuck and used a file to "turn" off the threads on the part that was to become the "nose", and chamfered the edges to finish. It works, but machine screws are a lot easier! Great tip from Gary about the Screwfix M3.5 screws, I will try those! Regards Steve C
  21. Hi Rich You can use pop rivets, or small machine screws with nuts and lock washers, or self-tappers, and I have seen all three on various cars! The latter tend to be used when the holes have become elongated or enlarged, so that a pop rivet can't get a good bite one the back of the metal. Whatever you use, the critical thing is to make sure that the fastener sits nice and low down inside the pop button. If you don't, what then happens is that when you come to fit the hood cover with the hood down, you won't be able to get the other half of the fastener to pop on. I prefer machine screws, because they go on nice and tight, even if the holes are a bit iffy, and you don't have the faff of drilling them all out when you come to change a hood. Just make sure the hood is nicely centred - a strip of masking tape dead centre on the deck panel and some careful measuring will help. Good luck, and take your time. Regards Steve C
  22. "stitched" means that the carpet is pinched and gathered at specific places and then stitched to hold it that position to allow it to bend around corners and curves on the floor pan and gearbox. They are the cheaper solution to steam-moulding the carpet into a permanent shape, and don't fit as well. None of the repro carpets out there match the quality and fit of the originals, but unless you are lucky enough to find a mint set of those(think Holy Grail here...) IMHO the best option are moulded repro from Newton Commercial who supply many of the specialists, and curiously, they are sometimes cheaper bought through third parties. See: http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/cars/triumph-herald/model-156/carpet-and-boot/2760-products-2760/ A have them in my own car and they are as good as it gets for fit and quality. Three tips: one, buy a can of their strong spray-on glue, as it makes getting a good fit a lot easier. Two, be careful not to get bunched carpet behind the throttle pedal, or you will suffer a sudden and inexplicable loss of power, and three, be careful when trimming as some edges are not that generous, particularly the bit by your left foot. If you have the cash, trimming companies can do bespoke carpeting with leather-bound edges and all the rest of it, but it does not come cheap. Good luck Steve C
  23. Steve C

    typical......

    A stitch in time indeed...Try one of the Teflon-coated bike cables from a specialist bike shop, you won't believe the difference. So many of the repro cables now are shocking quality. Regards Steve C
  24. From my own experiences, rear end noises on Heralds are an absolute s*d to pin down. My car developed a horrible squeak, which only manifested itself going downhill, slowly on one particular local road. You could not hear it under any other condition. After swapping the diff for a 3.89 and changing to the larger flanges, to suit the O/D better, the UJs were fine, but the noise persisted. In the end, because the bearings had been done by a garage contact some years earlier who had the Churchill tool, I opted to chuck some money at the problem, bit the bullet and ordered two rebuilt half-shaft assemblies from Canley's and fitted them. The noise went and has not returned. The amount of time I spent looking for "dry" suspension bushes, bearing play, slack in UJs, squeaky shocks and squawking spring leaves was unreal. Why Triumph persisted with the "widow maker" rear-end, in defiance of all rational logic, is still a source of wonder. A recent article in "Triumph World" claims that a prototype Spit, with a TR4-style rear suspension was scrapped on the orders of senior managers, despite infinitely safer and better handling, because the Marketing department was committed to the sales pitch for all-round independent suspension. It sounds plausible enough to be true. Regards Steve C
  25. Late single-rail boxes have reverse forward and right, where 5th would be in a modern. They are Marina--derived and have the BL "plughole" log cast in to the alloy, and in O/D form come with J-type Laycock overdrives. Not a bad box either, contrary to what your read, especially if the plastic selector bushes are renewed... Regards Steve C
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