Peter Truman

On your original Triumph brass impellor pumps when dismantled have you found the shaft corroded & possibly cavitated where it goes into the impellor before it goes into the seal. Like you I have rebuilt several original pumps, but on a couple I had to replace the shaft, using a SS bar suitably machined for woodruff keys and circlips. I was fortunate on one rebuild to buy an Australian NOS Repco Triumph Rebuild kit, purchased from the USA on Fleabay, how's that for coals to Newcastle! The kit had everything, seals, circlips woodruff key, bearings and spacers. The last rebuild I've still to finish the impellor seal was a general aftermarket part from the local bearing supplier, which needed a little trim (Dremmel) on the rear inside of the impellor to seat snugley, it came with a fixed non rotating running seal face (seat) too which I might machine into the pump body, not really necessary, but what the heck, it's all fun. Interestingly the shaft on this pump showed only minor signs of corrosion/cavitation., so the shaft wasn't replaced. A local Triumph service provider here in Melbourne was providing a rebuilt pump with a Nissan Impellor, which has a proper radiating impellor design, not the crude Triumph right angle upright fins. There is a thought to reduce cavitation in the pump the Triumph pump impellor fins should be cut vertically where it joins the pump impellor body, so there's a gap, Similarly there's a chap in the USA does something similar, impellor replacement, the cost of both of these modified units were about $200, You could go Davies Craig Electric Water Pump, easily done in the bottom radiator hose, complete with electronic controller. Can provide photos of one fitted to a Saloon if reqd. Regards Peter Truman

I know its 6 months ago but just trawling thro and found it! I have a 76 Dolly Sprint here in OZ and no problems the quarter light glass on both sides just pulled out & slotted back in easy I had to glue them in with a Silkaflex adhesive, won't come out now. Maybe its a Aussie heat thing that shrinks or does something to the rubber. Regards Peter T

When I converted my Mk2 Saloon to a Convertible using a proper Conv body Tub I had to transfer the handbrake guide assemblies from the saloon tub to the convertible tub if I remember correctly the cable was too short & more importantly too (bl+++y) difficult to feed the long threaded ends thro the guides. So I cut the threaded ends where it goes into the yoke leaving it long enough to fit a 1in long threaded barrel nipple with lock nuts on each end with a longer treaded bar anchoring into the yoke square bolt and enabling the handbrake adjustment. Works well with adequate adjustment but there again I don't often use a handbrake. I think the above is how and why I did the mods but it was some time ago. Regards Peter T

Thanks for the responses they were very helpful & have made me think of a pump/fan installation as promised photo's attached. Simple but effective the controller is on the back of the parcel shelf and controls both pump speed and fan Peter T

All very tight isn't it! a friend with a 2500TC hotted up to 180bhp at the REAR wheels has fitted a Davies Craig micro controlled Water Pump in the lower rad lower hose horizontally where it comes out of the rad. It's a very neat fix & the hoses insulate the pump vibrations no separate brackets needed. Might have a look at the Vitesse and see if there's enough horizontal space and go for broke pump & fan, as it removes the old mech pump complete providing a good increase in space. Will provide a photo of the 2500TC after reducing Mb. Peter T

I've always fitted Elect Rad Fans to our older classic cars the exception has always been my Mk2 Vitesse, the reason obviously the lack of space for either a pusher or sucker. I've researched the search options of various Triumph club sites including the TSSC Magazine Archives to no avail as to how best to do it & if there is adequate room. I don't like the option of ties through the radiator core & would rather use a frame attached to the outer rad supports. Can anyone give me advice and reference to any articles/threads on how to do the installation and size of fan used. I'll probably use an Australian Davies Craig fan there of good quality and hopefully I can get a club discount. Vitesse cooling is marginal especially in Australian summers with the mech fan on the crankshaft which at idle is relatively slow, besides which I've always wanted to do it! Regards Peter Truman

make sure you keep or get the springs with any replacement I found them hard to get the correct size and expensive to replace Peter T

We have a 66 Mk2, but in Vic, eons ago I found this Mk2 Handbook copy on the www. Also have a Mk3 if needed If there's an issue re size (4.8Mb) send your email address & I'll send to you direct Hope it helps Regards Peter T Spitfire Mk2 Handbook.pdf

interesting info. but that's a really bashed up old vice & still doing service! David it must be your grandfather's, grandfathers! Peter T

My Sprint idles well on startup and generally when pottering around BUT after a fast 100kph, 15klm Freeway run at 2700rpm in O/D 4th coming off the freeway it won't idle at the traffic lights, just stalls. Sometimes all comes good at the second set of lights but other times it plays up all the way home say 10klm or 15mins. Next time I start it's all OK. The HS6 SU spindles are worn, I've put some "O' rings tight up against the body to minimize air leaks & I'm currently rebuilding a replacement set of HS6 carbs, new shafts, bearings, needle valves, jets and full set of gaskets, & dashpot pistons. I'll fit them in the next couple of weeks I'm currently still on points and condenser, but will upgrade to Lumenition Magnetronic Electronic Ignition MTK007 next month, its the only type that appears to fit in the distributor. The exhaust valve seals leak a bit but not too bad a little puff of smoke if idling for a while, I have new seals ready but don't want to go there just yet. 20yrs ago my daughters Sprint had the head rebuilt by a very reputable local Melbourne Triumph experienced garage & they started to do the same (leak) within 6 months so I think it's inherent flaw with the slant engine Any idea's what else it could be?? Regards Peter Truman Member 70692

Well Nick you've got the grey matter going there are only a few import 13/60 Heralds here, the 1200 or here 12/50 variant with Vitesse bonnet was CKD assembled from 62 to 65 by AAMI but after that no subsequent Herald models. NZ has a lot of them but to ship from NZ is as expensive as the UK! Now locally here in Melbourne ironically there is a rebuilt 3:27 rebuilt GT6 Diff for sale with new original crown wheel and pinion for $900. That can go in the Mk2 Vitesse and it's 3:89 into the Spitfire Mk2 with my rebuilt 1500 J Type 3 rail overdrive, that should keep the daughter happy, She loves the 1147 rev-ability, which is a conflict to her past work with GMH here, where she worked on the powertrain of the Commodores including the go faster V8's SS etc, and also the Pontiac V8 7litre conversion of the local Monaro for the US market, ALL long sloggers. She scared the sh*t out of her mum with the latter when taking her on a test drive, we live in a court and she'd have to do a 3 point turn to get around I casually told her to spin it out, for once in her life she did what I told her. We didn't hear the end of it for days! Peter T

I did the same with a college friends clutch plate in a MG Midget in the mid 60's. We had to meet our then girl friends for lunch & after putting the engine back, doing everything up I looked over to the bench and behold the new clutch plate, it took us 2hrs to strip and replace we were an hour late for lunch at the Kings Head I think in Great Ayton, just in time for desert, coffee & pay the bill! I'm just rebuilding a Spit 1500 engine for my daughters Mk2, as a spare, now Nick has me questioning "have I put the thrust washers in right", I checked and checked but did I do it right!! She wants a Mk3 1300 engine, as an upgrade for the original 1147, but there RARE over here now. Yes Guppy I'm in Melbourne. Peter T

Some very interesting discussions here, and very sorry for Guppy re the extent of damage to his engine. Ref the valve springs binding I understand everything locking up but I would have thought that the weakest link would be the valve pushrod wouldn't they bend, before the cam journals & bearings were damaged so badly? I do however accede to your combined extensive knowledge though. Eons ago around 1971whilst driving my wife to Teesside airport our Mk2 Vitesse which normally ran at 75psi (still does) the running oil pressure dropped to 40, I reasoned that as it was still 40 and all was quiet I'd get her to her flight OK, whilst there I removed the blow off valve, and refitted it all back the oil pressure reverted to normal ie 95psi on start up and running warm at 75, it only drops to 60 here in OZ on really hot days around 40C. It's only had the head removed once around 1973 a sticking valve we think, just before its shipment home to OZ. So why did the oil pressure drop, I always thought the blow off valve didn't seat properly, and removing and refitting; reseated it. I know you'll all say the oil pressure is too high, but its always been like that a change of oil pressure gauges didn't change anything, even fitting a works proven calibration test gauge. Last weekend I drove a friends TR4 as he has a hopefully temporary medical condition. The engine was rebuilt around 5yrs ago and has probably only covered 10Klm, I happened to notice the oil pressure had dropped to 20 running and around 5 at idle. Once again no noises we ran this way for around 25klm before finding a garage NO OIL a good top up and back to 60psi. My friends misfortune has enabled me to drive his concour fleet of TR4, Mini Cooper S, Jag 3.8 Mk2, and 68 series 2 E Type Roadster (bare metal restoration with everything NEW), and hopefully in the near future his Stag with Leyland Aus installed 4 litre P76 V8, married to a Supra 5 speed box, currently undergoing a strip and bare metal respray, I thought it was OK! Hope Guppy's rebuild fix's the problem but you always like to know the cause. Peter T

Interesting Clive pls stay as one from the antipodes I appreciate your input, the advantage of a FORUM is the diverse thoughts, experiences and ideas. Yep we all get caught sometimes saying what we said, BUT its a result from our experience or knowledge & others can either use it or ignore it. As one who also sometimes gets into shallow water passing on knowledge I always appear to float and survive! So don't go on sabbatical please! On the comment of Spitfire adapters, we've had my daughters Mk2 Spit 17yrs and I converted it very early on & use a BMW refluxed filter and never had a problem, sometimes during the oil change the adapter unscrews from the block, I think there's about 3/4in length of thread on both ends, with a hex between the two threads. Eons ago I was following a complete stranger in a Spit along St Kilda Beach Rd here in Melb, when he pulled over I stopped to help, it appeared it had pumped ALL the oil out between the block & filter. It had just been fitted with a filter adapter & filter supplied by a local Triumph protagonist here in Melbourne, it had gone around 30klm and the filter/joint failed pumping the oil out, nowt on the dip stick. Interesting the filter was tight on it's thread? so had the adapter failed ie jumped/locked a thread or had the filter seal failed, I didn't find out, the owner RACV trailered the car away. I did subsequently hear negative comments re this suppliers adapters, short threads and no hex between the two threads. Regards Peter T

I'm rebuilding a Spit 1500 engine. actually it's a MG Midget 1500, I'm currently reconditioning the cylinder head & I'm missing one of the two lower spring collar washers, the one that locates the bigger outer spring, ie the lower bottom collar I lent one to a college but it was never replaced! Ref the attached photo, top collar is the top unit and is machined (takes the collets), the centre holds the smaller inner spring at the bottom and the bottom collar fits under the centre one and locates the outer spring. The bottom collar is a cup washer with a raised cup on the inner and outer circumferences, the inner being a snug fit over the valve guide. Rimmer's and other suppliers don't show the two part lower collar, but have a one piece machined unit with NO raised outer lip. In fact I cannot find anything in the parts catalogues that are similar to the two part lower collar. What was the original fitment on the later 1500 engines, the two piece pressed steel lower collars or a one piece machined type, part No. 157510, or is that after market? The inner spring is a snug fit over the raised centre section of the centre collar and the bigger outer spring a snug fit in the outer cup of the bottom washer. Interestingly there's a bit of pitting on some of the bottom cup washers, but no apparent corrosion anywhere on the head or its other parts. The corrosion is minor and won't affect the collars performance. I have found a replacement lower cup washer in my general parts bin, BUT it only has the raised cup on the outside and the inner dia is a little larger than the valve guide, but the inner lower collar holds the two lower collars in place and the two collars hold the dual valve springs? with virtually no side play. Question were the two pressed steel lower collars standard fitment on the 1500 engine, or the single machined collar and if the two collars are original where can I get a replacement lower cup collar from. Regards Peter Truman

Well as someone from the hot ANTIPODES, the comment re the rubber washers on the Vitesse Rad is interesting & I'll implement Aluminum ones. Some interesting facts we have a Spit Mk2 with no mech fan but an electric pusher fan, a Chinese cheapie, up to now its been a manual over-ride, but will convert to temp control in the next weeks. On hot days say around 40C if you don't switch it on early in anticipation and the engine gets hot it takes some considerable time to drop it to normal. I've been thinking for some time of putting a removable floor between the chassis legs in front of the rad as it being open underneath I think it causes too much turbulence affecting the air flow through the fan & radiator. Ref pusher or puller fan there seems to be stalwarts for both. A fan designer friend prefers a puller with a full radiator shroud except over the swept area, ie. so the fan pulls air through all the radiator fins. Ref the original Mech fan, on a Vitesse its mounted to the crankshaft pulley so at idle it only spins at engine speed say 700rpm, but with a Spit the fans mounted on the water pump pulley running at say smooth engine idle of 900rpm and with a crank pulley of 6in with a water pump pulley of 5in the fan will spin at around 1100rpm, supposedly providing better cooling. Here in the hotter climes and in peak traffic its normal with the std mech fan to increase the engine speed using the throttle to say around 1500rpm to aid cooling with increased air flow through the rad, it seems to help keeping the gauge from rising too much. On a club run BBQ a couple of summers ago coming back from the beach/bay when the temp rose to 42C, say hotter on the tarmac road and the sun blazing down with no shade and too boot a 1/2hr stationary traffic jam it gets Bl++dy hot, a day to be in a modern A/C tin top not a Mk2 Spit, there's no way you would put the heater on to aid cooling. Modern convertibles use their A/C flat out with the roof off but its still HOT! I must say the Spit performed faultlessly on the day, didn't overheat or vapour lock, I checked the dip stick when I got home and the oil was so thin it ran off the stick like water, but she still held just under 20psi at idle, not like a club members 1500 Spit who's oil light was on at idle and only 40 psi running at 3000rpm Oh they do need the oil cooler. The Dolly Sprint we have runs a std viscous fan and just gets above the halfway mark in 36C type weather, I wouldn't trust her at > 40C I've been thinking of treating the Spit to a puller fan and a larger reputable Davies Craig Fan, but the cast iron head takes some abuse. Regards Peter T.

It's possibly not related, but the wife's X Type Jag which where've had nearly from new (14yrs) when it's been in the garage say a week unused, and running on Australian 95 fuel it can get a slight Sulphur smell for the first minute after starting, its only happened a couple of times and only if unused. It could be fuel related as our fuel goes off fast! I use BP here in Victoria it has no sun flower rubbish YET, other makes can/do up to 10% esp in other States. I frequently use Injector cleaner I wonder if its after that and coincidental with being stored? must keep a record. Talk about a slightly smokey exhaust esp on startup run a Dolly Sprint, those exhaust valve seals appear next to useless, 6 to 9 months life & I ain't pulling the head!, No oil top up between services so it can stay, and it appears worst on start up. Peter T

A local supplier here in Melbourne had Triumph 6 potter water pumps on special at around $60 the aftermarket specials? the pulley offset was not quite right for a friends 2500 so he took it back & their solution was to push the pulley further onto the shaft, all still working OK. I brought a Repco (Aus) repair kit on ebay for the 6 potter (Vitesse) curiously from America and have rebuilt the original brass impellor pump, using a home made S/S shaft haven't used it yet its a spare on the shelf. I notice the pump seals are available for the UK suppliers. I should have purchased an Ally pump body from the UK as the original lump of cast iron offends me. Regards Peter T

A year ahead of us at a prestigeous private school here in Melbourne wired a suitably earthed telecom 90v battery (if I remember correctly) to the brass door handle of the teachers common room, this caused some hilarity amongst the pupils, no detention on the last day of school. At the end of middle school (around 14yrs old) we put the French teachers Fiat 500 in the tennis court, easy to unweave cyclone fencing, punishment was to wash the head of middle schools Chrysler Imperial, we removed carb and fitted a full face cardboard gasket then re-assembled!! Got a 40 pound bill at the start of next term plus a weeks detention, mum didn't tell dad! Aah the good old days. When we got to senior school the school head decided to channel our enthusiasm by putting us in charge of the physics an chem labs, not a good move, but the school and us survived that too! Regards Peter T

mind you don't get any carpet jammed in the bolt or the captive nut threads it can lock/sieze it up solid so you cannot tighten or undo the bolt. I usually get an old soldering iron or piece of pipe heat them up and burn singe the carpet back local to the bolt holes. I had a top of the range Mits Verada here in Aus and mounting a grandkids rear seat anchor on the back shelf got it seized with carpet it tore the anchored bolt out! regards Peter T

Attached are photos of our J type cone which I replaced with a reco unit around $90Aus ex UK ebay when I rebuilt a single rail internals into a 3 rail gearbox with J type attached using the single rail O/D mainshaft. The cone internal band was OK and hardly worn, but the outer was just above min thickness and showed signs of spoiling at the outer edge. I opted for a separate reco unit rather than reco-ing the original purely on cost, to get the original reco'd in Oz was $600, I didn't understand why it was so expensive when it appears a similar material/structure to an auto gearbox band which are relatively cheap to reco. There is a small taper on the O/D cone, but that didn't seem to worry the reconditioner's. I was told the bonding is simply Aradalite cured in an oven? Yeh or Nah? The relatively small surface area on the cone wearing surface for the loads transmitted has resulted in numerous clubhouse discussions on the beast way to engage O/D, ie slam it on, back off a little then engage, or even depress the clutch! I use the back off method. What's your thoughts. As a teenager (now near 73) I remember riveting brake linings onto a Mk1Sprites brake shoes when at college in the NE of England, easier to replace the O/D linings than bonding Regards Peter Truman

Here's my specialist Sockets for the Bezel removal & more importantly tightening them up! They are ex USA Specialist Tool manufacturer brought individually over several years, there for 1 in, & 7/8in multi prong and a 3/4 cross slot bezels. There well engineered and the prongs are very strong, the only down side is they have two flats for an open spanner to tighten, but in reality their not needed as you can get adequate purchase with your hand to tighten up enough If needed I can find the US supplier, they weren't cheap at around $30ea plus expensive USA international postage. Regards & how do you remove the second image Peter T

Never thought about being able to fit the UJ cross piece in backwards, but eons ago I modified an extended grease nipple as suggested ie a thin bit of copper tube about 1in long (ex oil pressure gauge) & it fits easily after 20yrs and frequent use on our small chassis fleet still OK & hasn't broken BUT you do have to be gentle when using esp fitting the grease gun hydraulic end on and off, as it is soft copper. Oh and yes it is just soft solder in. I've attached a very poor quality photo taken with the phone, but you get the idea. Regards Peter T

If wanted I can remove the over rider on my Mk2 and take a photo, if you need help I'm just hear in Melbourne, and I've had my Mk2, 47yrs both in the UK and Aus, there isn't a nut or bolt on it I don't personally know at least once! Peter T

You will also notice I have replaced that HORRIBLE rod and lever throttle arrangement with a later 1500 style throttle pedal & simple bike cable system (15yrs ago), so throttle clearance wasn't an issue as its fed from the top.