Roger

Hello, I think one of the best things with forums like this is the possibility to get information about part quality (thanks for telling us about this!). I have bought spin on conversion kits that I later found out contained a tremendous amount of small metal parts and debris. The kind of stuff you definitely don’t want to have inside your engine! I have bought a low pressure fuel pump that turned out to deliver a very high pressure (5 times the specified max pressure). The list just go on and on… I always make sure to give the supplier a hard time when I discover these things. Tell them that you do not only want your money back, ask for corrective actions also. Regarding the pump I also notified Swedish authorities about a company selling dangerous parts so now they have solicitors involved in the case too (controlled by government). Above all, notify other club members on the forums, maybe the suppliers will respond in a proper manner one day...

And here... http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/318-pictures-on-the-board/

Kevin, You can find out more about how to upload pictures here: http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/224-upload-pictures-for-dummies/

Hello Richard, I had already bought the pump from Eurocarb LTD when I saw your reply. Strange that I did not find Gowerlee the first time I Googled. Thanks anyway! /Roger.

Hello! I have done some reasearch on the Triumph forums, and have decided to replace this fuel pump http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/118-poor-quality-parts-again/ with a HUCO low pressure fuel pump (Max 2,1 PSI). But it seems difficult to find a dealer, can anyone recommend where to buy a HUCO low pressure fuel pump? Thanks in advance, Roger.

Hello Jack! Welcome to the forum, and good choice of car! I have a 13/60 Saloon and a Vitesse Convertible and they are both great cars, with their own pros and cons. The Vitesse will definitely put a smile on your face when you drive it and you hear and feel the six cylinder engine. However, the Strombergs might require some fiddling and two of them will not give you twice the problems, it will multiply a lot more… The simplicity of the Herald is great, it have better fuel economy, cheaper parts, more spare parts available etc. I live on The Aaland Island so unfortunately I can’t offer test driving, unless you are willing to travel! Cheers, Roger.

It's been a while since Chris posted this, but I thought I would share my own experience of poor quality parts. I had to replace the fuel pump on my Vitesse Mk I and decided to buy an electric pump (since I live in Scandinavia and original Triumph parts are hard to find here & expensive to send from the UK). I found one electric pump that according to the seller (Biltema) should have a max pressure of 1,5 PSI which would be perfect for my old Strombergs. I had a lot of problems with flooding carbs, but I trusted that the pump pressure would meet the spec from the supplier. After I had taken my Strombergs apart for about a dozen times, I finally decided to measure the fuel pressure. It was over 6 PSI (!) a lot more than the max 2,5 PSI fuel pressure specified by Triumph. No wonder they where flooding... The worst thing is not all the unnessesary hours spent trying to fix my Strombergs, but the fact that pumps with pressure above the specified max pressure can cause a fire if the fuel hits a warm exhaust (nearly happened for me, I could have seen my Vitesse go up in flames)

Looks good! And a great inspiration for us who struggle with rust and welding... I look forward to see more pics when you assemble everything. Cheers, Roger.

Hello again... I think I finally found the root cause for the problem... I always try to search on this (and other) forums about a specific problem before I post anything in order to avoid repeating the same Q&A. However, I think the cause of my problems have not been documented here or elsewhere before! When I decided to check the diaphragm I had to remove the aluminum ring and the four screws that attach the diaphragm to the air valve (piston). I noticed that the screws were very loose, I probably assembled them just with my fingers, and forgot to tighten them with a screw driver. When I assembled everything again I made sure to tighten these screws, and I also put some rubber grease in between just to make sure it would not leak. I guess that the air leak was not from the manifold, but actually inside the carb! The engine runs smooth at 800 rpm now, and everything seems to be ok. The only changes I did besides this was to reduce the float distance from 18 mm to about 16-17 mm, and I started with the jets 4 turns down, instead of 3 as in the manual. Despite this, I had to lower the jet one more turn in order to get rid of the weak mixture. So the jet is now 5 turns down from flush, which seems to be waaay too much in my thinking, but I guess it should be that way? Thanks Pete for your never ending patience with us Stromberg strugglers!

Hi Pete et al, Have just spent another exciting evening in the garage dismantling Stromberg carbs… (why do we do this to ourselves!?!). Here are my findings: Holes in piston towards engine on both carbs. Check Good point about the Smiths valve, didn’t think of that one! I took it away and closed the hole with tejp, started the engine but situation the same even when the engine is warm. Tried to lift the piston a little bit, and it stalls (too weak mixture) Turned down the jet at least one more turn, no change (4 turns down) The engine tends to stall during acceleration, I had the same problem with a Volvo 240 that I had when I lived in Sweden. It turned out to be a small hole in the diaphragm. Checked both of them, but can’t see any holes. Needles are 6H, have not checked this in manual yet, but I assume they are correct (?) since they came in a repair kit that I bought from Rimmers. Air cleaner is original, but it has not been on the engine during these test runs. Springs are fitted in both carbs Choke is thames barrier Thanks for your help so far chaps. To be continued…

Thanks for all the advices, I will check and let you know if I find the root cause.... Cheers, Roger.

Hello! I have a problem with my Stromberg carbs on my Vitesse Mk I... I know that these carbs generate a lot of questions and discussions here on the forum , so I did not make a new thread. Maybe it would be better to just have one thread “Strombergs” and collect everything in the same thread in order to avoid questions to being repeated? Anyway… This winter I have finally replaced the old Lucas 25D distributor with a new one from 123 ignition, seems to be great quality. The problem is that the engine will not idle unless I pull the choke, too lean mixture I suppose. I suspected air leaks from the manifold, so I have replaced the manifold gasket. I assembled the carbs exactly by the book, and I can’t see any reason for this idling problem. The position of the float is set at 18 mm according to the manual, but I wonder if this kind of problem still can be due to low petrol levels in the carb? Would it help to reduce the level to 16 mm and thereby get a higher petrol level? Can it be the choke assembly itself, there are many tiny things, maybe I made a mistake there? Some facts: Petrol pump was replaced during the winter (low pressure suction pump max 0,1 bar) Carbs where renovated about two years ago, very low milage since then 123 ignition fitted this winter, so I feel that it is very unlikely that I have any problems with the ignition. Can’t see (using oil) or hear any obvious air leaks I have taken them apart, and re-assembled about a dozen times due to flooding. The good thing is that there is no more flooding… Hence, they have also been cleaned a dozen times, can’t see any debris inside. Pete, you are a big fan of Strombergs, any suggestions? The only action I can think of now is Keihins…

Hi David, It's not only Herald / Spitfire that share the same parts. I bought an engine with RD-prefix which means that it is a 1296 cc engine from a FWD Triumph (Toledo 1300 I think) and I could use a lot of parts from that engine in my Herald 13/60 (the engine block among other things). I agree with Pete and Darren, compare part numbers on the internet, or buy spare part catalogues for each model to compare. Or ask someone here! Roger

Hi John, Nice project! I'm just curious, what is it that you have wrapped around the rear leaf spring, and why? Roger

Hi Kevin, Yes, I agree that the number of members can be misleading information. There are probably a lot of people who join, and only visit the forum once and never return etc. I guess the number of members online at any given time tells more about the forum status, and also if you compare "recent posts" and see if the last post was a few minutes ago, or a few days ago. But there has been a lot of progress here on the forum lately, and it is groving as you mention. You and all the other moderators do a great job. I just wish that there would be a little bit more commitment and actions from the club management regarding this forum, they don't seem to be very supportive. At least not here on the forum. Cheers, Roger.

For me it does not matter at all if the categories are based on systems or models, I'm more concerned about the fact that we are 400+ members on the forum, and it should be 4000. If model based categories would increase the number of members, then make them! But anyway, the number of members seems to increase (slowly) and some improvements has been done to the forum. Ten members online when I write this, also an improvement (6 last time...) Regards Roger.

Hi all, First of all I would like to mention that I do know that there are many people working hard (voluntarily) with this forum. Thanks Kevin, Mike and others for all your efforts! Good idea to (again) promote the forum in the Courier! I would suggest addressing members outside the UK (like me…). I do not have the possibility to visit the HQ or the monthly area meetings at the pub (I wish I had!!). For us abroad this forum is a great place to be in contact with other members. However, I see very few active “foreigners” here on the forum, there must be a potential to increase the forum members this way. Here are a few other suggestions regarding the forum: There are usually some technical articles in the Courier in every issue, but the pictures enclosed are often quite small and it is sometimes difficult to see what is on the picture (given the A5 format of the magazine). The author of the article could add high resolution pictures regarding the subject here on the forum, and encourage Courier readers to visit the forum if they want additional (better) pictures or further information. That might attract some of the club members now reading the Courier, but not yet the forum. Promote the forum during the Triumpfest at Donington. Have a Forum-table where we can meet the famous Pete “TenThousandPosts” Lewis and get his autograph! Reward those that contribute a lot here on the forum. A bit more drastic, but needed in my opinion: Let the top management within the club (or forum Admins?) brainstorm and do a SWOT analyse regarding this forum (SWOT = Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats). What are the strengths with this forum compared to other Triumph forums? What are the weaknesses? Opportunities? This would give a good picture of the situation, and then make sure that there are management commitment (and actions) to address the things discussed. I think the long time survival of the club is partly depending on the success (or failure) with this forum and/or the homepage. Especially since we need new younger members who care a lot about the internet. Just some thoughts… Regards, Roger.

Hi Paul, I haven't tried Mikunis myself (on my Vitesse) but I have read about it on other Triumph forums (GT6 with Mikunis) and the owner was very pleased.

Hi Eddie, I’m online on 3 different Triumph forums as I’m writing this. Here are the statistics: CT forum: 10400 members, 135 online at the moment TR Register forum: 8800 members, 343 users online TSSC: 479 members, 6 online (Sunday afternoon, it should be busy….) Maybe not unusual, but not impressive. I see a risk that potential new members will choose another club / forum due to the numbers above. If we need advice about our cars then the more people we can reach, the better advice we will get.

We have only 479 members on this forum, and I would guess that approximately 10% of those are active. Which means about 50 active members...That is a disaster. Advertise in the Courier. Do something!

I agree with Jase, it's not only a lack of categories, but also lack of members and activity. This forum really suffered a lot from the crash, maybe there should be some advertising in the Courier to encourage more members to join the forum?

Hello Aidan! You can practise to upload any test pictures here as long as they are decent http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/224-upload-pictures-for-dummies/ Cheers, Roger.

Welcome back Calvin!

Thanks for explaining Kevin. How many members did we have on the "old" forum, before it crasched?

Hello! I have to log in with username and password in order to get access to the forum, and this was not the case before. Have the administrators change something? Is the forum only for paying members nowadays? Just curious… Cheers, Roger.