Peter Truman

Didn’t have enough power to spin it’s wheels so didn’t get bogged just slowly walked over the sand! A fantastic achievement those Heralds and Atlas. Vans did!

20 years ago I converted my daughters Mk2 Spit to a MkIV pedal & cable, hated the rod and lever system and all that weight offended me! I didn't have to modify the wiper bracket, a hole in the clear area of the horiz bulkhead area was found and I have size 11.5 feet! I'll be down her way today so will try to remember to take a photo of the pedals mounting and cable hole thro the bulkhead.

I know the LSD in my Dolly Sprint takes a little abuse to get it to work correctly after a period of layup or controlled driving! Get on a backroad revs up drop the clutch then test by dropping the left wheel onto the soft edge. The Sprint is a Leyland Aus special, one of 49 produced with LSD for the mid 70's Bathurst 1000 Mountain car race homologation of the Sprint. It hasn't been out for a month due to rebuilt carb issues so today a good run is proposed down the Peninsula pickup the daughter then up Arthurs Seat an old public road hill climb event lots of hairpins! What I don't test she will, but poor syncro on third will catch her out always does, never mastered double de-clutching!

The News keeps telling us the cost of our Electricity is going to jump, for why its locally produced and consumed from local resources, coal (yes supposed shut down in around 5 years), gas, solar (incl batteries), hydro, turbine (no nuclear) we don't rely on any outside country supply. Presumably money costs ie interest and loans is a driver or is it just gouging by a CEO of an oil company divested into power Ha?

Well things have settled a bit here in Aus we were up at $2.20/litre then the Federal Gov halved the tax so went down to just under $2/litre and yesterday I paid $1.58/litre for 91 Ron petrol BUT it’s Easter so it’ll probably go up again as the petrol co’s gouge. haven’t heard of any max purchases, around last Nov it was down to just over a $1/litre for quite a while!

Could have used some of that this arvo started the Sprint then a weird whooping noise fan belt had come off why! It had come off the crank pulley, belt is ok no cracking evident. loosened alternator refit the belt all now ok took it a drive no noise all ok

Is I assume the later bulkhead common btwn models so it fitted Vitesse and Herald as the Vitesse starter is on the RHS, so is the aftermarket GT6 gearbox cover more suited? like ahebron' s solution a semi permanent solution.

only 10 personnel or family cars since 1963, of which 5 were Triumphs, BUT I had 30 company cars in 27 years, which were replaced at 45.000klm or 2 years, I averaged over 45,000klm/annum as an operations engineer for Melb Water. The first 17 years were Govt registered & number plated vehicles which got you into or park anywhere, before switching to private leased vehicles. when on leased vehicles my MD rang me after the Lease Co queried why I needed new tyres at 25,000klm, thought a moment then replied, Brian doesn't your son drive your car, I had to have words with junior, no more drag racing in the McDonalds car park! All my work cars were specially fitted with upgraded brakes, LSD's, manual box's, special Roo bars, and engine/gearbox sump guards, for serious off road catchment & pipetrack driving. Management tried unsuccessfully to get me to select 4WD Rangies or T Cruisers, my response I ain't driving a truck, I was quite happy with Fairmont Ghia's or similar Aussie made luxury models, anyway SWMBO drove them too & no way would she drive a truck! If I was going deep into the catchments which could be over 100klm deep I would purloin a 4WD truck as some of those remote access and fire tracks were seriously rough! Our catchments are closed (water quality) ie the public don't have access driving or walking so you can really have a go!

Thanks Colin eons ago in the UK I used Don vinyl tops for both the Sprite and Herald both times good quality and easy to fit. I found Robins NOS for a good price locally here for Spit and Vitesse the Mk2 Spit with the folding under bar has worn maybe should be of thicker material all up a bad original Triumph design! I have another new Robins in store for a Mk3 Spit and over the years have assembled the parts to convert the Mk2 to a fold down type Mk3 but the different B pillars have deterred me so over this winter must see if I can convert to a removable Mk2 type!

Thats some serious effort as it's a free bolt so you would have to hold a ring spanner on one end and socket on the other not easy to input that amount of torque to shear that bolt I'd assume the bolt was faulty!

What about Burlin do they do Stroms? locally here I use SU Midel who I believe use Burlin stock

Colin considering the research what was the reason for switching DD to Vinyl, other than maybe cost. After 20 years the daughters Mk2 Spit hood (American Robins) is showing its age and I need a replacement, my Vitesse is also Robins all purchased at good prices locally as NOS. In the 60's when I had a 1200 Conv I fitted a new Don Hood and I had no issues a royal blue body with white hood looked good! Unfortunately don't have a pic with hood up, that's the ultimately mother in law in the rear seat, photo Osmotherly Moors.

Circa 1959 aged 14 and on holiday in England from Aus and staying at a posh hotel in York staff take us to our rooms mum leaves me in my room and goes down corridor to her room I go from my room to corridor with porcelain bowl from under bed “what’s this for mum” !

Pongs a bit for a few days but lasts about 5 years

Not in Aus Pete! And esp with a powder coated chassis this winter will fill the chassis inside with fish oil!

Here's an article from our local Club Mag TV on my DIY solution to the oil head leak on the daughter Mk2 Spit, i have subsequently lifted the head and correctly fixed the oil leak, but our Ed loves having a shot at engineers solutions. It was a well engineered BODGE, the cloth/wrag was held in place by a stretched spring over the top of it which was clipped to two hooks held by two of the bell housing bolts all very neat and easy to service!!! Hope it amuses, where there's a will there's a way!

You forgot one input BLOOD, I dare not count the number of stitch's my Dr has sewn me up with after cutting and tearing flesh, scared for life maybe I'm just clumsy!

Ref Omega watch glass yep mine scratch's easy too so I give it a polish with Autosol and it looks new, tickety boo! Daughter brought a 2yr old Mazda CX5 last month the centre console PDNR plastic cover had an etched stain in it around 2in long (nail varnish remover or possibly Covid disinfectant alcohol?) 10min with Autosol and plastic covers like new, she's happy!

Hey the radio face is called PATINA! I have an Omega Seamaster Watch I brought in 62 aged 16 duty free in Copenhagen waiting for my dad to fly in from Aus on a 2 day business trip, I still use the watch every day and get it cleaned and serviced every 3 years the face has sun spots on it so a while ago I asked my little Jewish Jeweler to source a new face for it he said definitely NOT its the watch's patina, it's showing it's age with pride!

OK for Trunnions?

I thought the engineering rule was there should be 1 to 2 full threads protruding from the nut!

I think that’s also why I used the threaded bar joiner threaded barrel nut to get the extra length of threaded end reqd. I did also locknut the threaded barrel nut.

I’ve just completed the Vitesse’s Fibre glass gearbox cover with Dynomat on the inner and a 1/2in fibre carpet bitumen covered underlay on the outside. Dynomat is a thick bituminous sheet with a thick aluminium flexible outer which is easily moulded to the shape required and sticks like hell never to be removed. The fibre underlay was a kit I brought for a Herald locally here in Aus off eBay a full kit good quality and fitted well. Where the kit was made I have no idea but each section was individually sealed in a plastic bag with sticker saying where it went the bituminous cover stops it fraying too much.

I fitted one to daughters Spit around 15 years ago (Delco) still going strong initially she carried points etc in case, but now there is a spare Accuspark with rotor and coil in the space behind the battery. Thought it wise to get a spare as Delco distributor Accuspark units not as easy to get & just in case they went out of business! Similary the Vitesse has a spare but that’s a long story which involves a Sprints incorrectly advertised unit?

Just come up on ebay here in Aus and advertised as a Herald Radio $20 start price Item 255468629952 Radio obviously not the usual one fitted in the 70/s big saloons, it's obviously early 60's vintage. The face lists the available stations of the time by the Aus States