redrat Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 Hi All , l have been after a classic to play with for some time and had my heart set on an Mgb GT as i love the design but the actual driving experience didn’t match the dream. I drove 500 miles the other weekend to view a vitesse , on the premise that the seller said ‘ i wouldn’t be disappointed “ unfortunately i was … even though it had twin exhausts, miniltes ,good chassis and floor it also had abysmal body gaps , tatty interior rough running ,noisy leaking diff and well not the best paint / bodywork. So after those disappointments something caught my eye and i have now taken the plunge and bought a 1200 Herald , went for a viewing last week, it has been with the previous owner since ‘94 and go to pick it up this weekend. It’s a reasonably clean little car with a tidy interior not perfect but that leaves me with a few things to sort in time. i am going armed with a new set of points , condenser and coil along with a carb rebuild kit and a mechanic friend as it wasn't running its best and the test drive was a little underwhelming to say the least but in its defence it hadn’t been started for 3 months. So fingers crossed the 40 mile drive home goes smoothly ! I’m sure there will be loads of questions from me including some silly ones. First upgrade will be inertia seat belts as the wife has stated no one else is getting in the car until they are installed. After that i think electronic ignition will be next on the shopping list. I’ll update after the weekend once i get it home , hopefully not on the back of a breakdown truck. 🙂 regards Mark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 Welcome - great choice of car! I love the 1200 Heralds so will watch your progress with interest. The first drive home is where you get to know your Herald, usually how fast it will go or how noisy it is, but a well-setup Herald is quiet to drive, no vibrations or creaks, and some have a surprising turn of speed so they're a great Classic and very simple to work on. I'll not come out with the stock phrase 'there are no silly questions' as the human mind knows no limits but we all have questions, no-one knows it all and I still learn new things about Heralds almost daily, so ask away. There are a few threads on here about seatbelts and mounting points, and electronic ignition, so check the search function in case someone has already posted the same query, otherwise we're all here to help and to usually deviate miles away from the original post, but it's entertaining. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 i would get to know your car before you start buying Must haves there are problems with inertia belts in that the ride is a bit choppy compared to a modern an myself and others may find the belts tighten up on your shoulder as you progress the advantage is you can reach the ign key , you wont in statics electronic just changes a mechanical switching to a electronic switching points are cheap (even the good ones) and last many miles electronics really just save you checking the gaps can be worthwhile but not essential ii would drive it for a season then open the wallet with care the cars dont have to be Original but some Must haves are just their to give you a headache have fun get the smile it will serve you well Im sure others will have views on seat belts ete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 32 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: there are problems with inertia belts in that the ride is a bit choppy compared to a modern an myself and others may find the belts tighten up on your shoulder as you progress the advantage is you can reach the ign key , you wont in statics I took the inertia reel belts out of my GT6 for this reason (and the extent of drag in the system which meant they were reluctant to lock) and reverted to the original fitment of statics. Gully 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 thanks for the welcome and advice guys. seatbelt wise if i don’t change them my wife and or daughter won’t be coming with …mmmnnn maybe that’s not a bad thing ha ha . i’ll be upsetting the purists as i fancy a slight suspension drop and some 5.5j’s all round other than that it will be case of hitting some shows next season in and around kent and just enjoying driving a basic car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 8 hours ago, redrat said: wife and or daughter won’t be comin well they will be well strapped in especially over a few speed humps where they will get strangled into the seat Ha !! Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 well that was interesting day went to pick up the car and i knew it wasn’t running right so took a carb service kit , new coil and points. after stripping and cleaning the carb , fitting and setting the points. we were off ! got about half a mile something wasn’t right. stripped the carb again and played about with it , diaphragm in back to front , i replaced it the way it came out so obviously that was wrong previously , played with the timing and we were off ! again! something still amiss but hey it’s only a 40 mile drive home what could go wrong. it really didn’t want to go up hills and at one point nearly came to a stand still much to the annoyance of a big line of traffic behind me. under load up hills the car didn’t want to rev the car just got slower and slower. so i took to attacking the hills and apparently hitting the dizzy heights of 54 mph on one downhill stretch as we took a run up to another hill. other than the running issue the car feels tight , no squeaks , rattles , no wandering ,no diff or wheel bearing whining, brakes haven’t been touched in years but felt good and pull up straight , oh it has discs i found out today didn’t notice on the original viewing . so work to do.. i took a mechanic friend with me today and we don’t think it’s a carb issue i think there is a timing issue and advance / retard isn’t working properly so will look into picking some parts up to try and fix this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted October 21, 2023 Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 Great looking Herald! Welcome aboard. Lack of power when the load increases is making me think exhaust manifold leak. Worth a quick check with the ‘stick a bit of hose in your ear and use it like a stethoscope’ trick. I’d generally agree with the comments saying don’t start buying stuff just drive it first, but I would recommend changing all rubber fuel lines for genuine ethanol proof ones unless you can be certain this has already been done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) E5 97+ron has little ethanol in it (Esso has none ), they are not designed to run well onE10 95 ron was for mowers and side valves of the day any messing with fuel lines will make the dreaded rubber slivers that get cut off when inserting metal tubes can drive you mad as they float about and block the back of the float needle valve providing the dizzy vac unit has not a failed spring inside which allows the base plate to move al over the place the vac unit in good nick will not affecter performance just economy it works most at cruising throttle openings and does nothing at full throttle . club shop sells Gates Barricade hose in 1/4" and 5/16" sizes Pete Edited October 22, 2023 by Pete Lewis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightsix Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 Redrat l can remember as a young lad driving my ford Corsair I was convinced I had a fuel problem with the carb, on light load the engine ran fine as soon as I put any load on the engine it started miss behaving. I stripped the carb down at the road side thinking I had sorted it, only to discover the fault was still there! After ringing my uncle explaining what was happening, he said i’ll come out to you with a new condenser we’ll try that, no i’m convinced it’s a fuel problem uncle. Fitted the new condenser job sorted! back on the road ....... Nice one uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 7 hours ago, Straightsix said: Redrat l can remember as a young lad driving my ford Corsair I was convinced I had a fuel problem with the carb, on light load the engine ran fine as soon as I put any load on the engine it started miss behaving. I stripped the carb down at the road side thinking I had sorted it, only to discover the fault was still there! After ringing my uncle explaining what was happening, he said i’ll come out to you with a new condenser we’ll try that, no i’m convinced it’s a fuel problem uncle. Fitted the new condenser job sorted! back on the road ....... Nice one uncle. we fitted a new condenser as well apologies i didn’t mention that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) 21 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: E5 97+ron has little ethanol in it (Esso has none ), they are not designed to run well onE10 95 ron was for mowers and side valves of the day any messing with fuel lines will make the dreaded rubber slivers that get cut off when inserting metal tubes can drive you mad as they float about and block the back of the float needle valve providing the dizzy vac unit has not a failed spring inside which allows the base plate to move al over the place the vac unit in good nick will not affecter performance just economy it works most at cruising throttle openings and does nothing at full throttle . club shop sells Gates Barricade hose in 1/4" and 5/16" sizes Pete i did add lead replacement into the petrol , as for the slivers i’ll pull the carb apart again but had already ordered a vac unit and hose after i got home so i’ll try those anyway then it will be a question of elimination so will start again if nothing changes. good call on the fuel pipe , a friend had already mentioned that too so will be another thing to add. it has a new fuel pump can these be fitted wrong in any way i.e causing . enough fuel at low revs not enough at high? although if i remember right they just slot in and no way of being wrong??? Edited October 23, 2023 by redrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 Have inertia reel seat belts in my Vitesse convertible, Securon the ones with the adjustable retractor. Regards Paul. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 2 hours ago, redrat said: although if i remember right they just slot in and no way of being wrong??? There are two different types for Triumph, one kind requires a spacer block, the other doesn't. The spacer type has a longer arm. You cannot fit the longer type with no spacer, but it may be possible to fit the shorter type with a spacer and this MAY reduce the pumping power (never tried it, just debating!) I've just found a photo on the Net which shows the very slight difference, old shorter to the top and newer longer below. I'm wondering tho if it's more of an electrical / timing problem that fuel? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) you dont need to waste money on lead addatives there is years of lead memory in the heads valve seating just buy good fuel ie 97ron+ you can fit the pump the wrong side of the cam so it does not pump well replacement pumps have a poor reputation for poor performance or vastly excessive pressure one place to look is the short hose hidden in the boot from the tank suction pipe these are ignored go hard, suck air but dont leak fuel as they are above the head of fuel , well worth a look on any H or V for fueling issues . Edited October 23, 2023 by Pete Lewis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 I have experienced problems on other non-Triumph cars loosing power when going up hill. With a light throttle opening the cylinder pressure prior to ignition is low and the electrical discharge from the coil fires the spark plug. On an uphill section with a wide throttle opening, the pressure in the cylinder is higher and it is easier for the spark to jump to earth through degraded insulation. Cleaning all the high tension components, which were later replaced, cured the problem. So, as Colin suggested, it may be an electrical fault ( or faults). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve P Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) My Herald did the same on a Round Britain run which turned out to be a 3 inch long fuel hose on the chassis rail which joined 2 metal pipes was sucking in air. Replaced at night in Aberdeen and no further issues. Engine would stutter under load and almost die but would tick over and rev fine when static. S Edited October 23, 2023 by Steve P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 9 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said: You cannot fit the longer type with no spacer Well, you can. One of our local members managed to do so and it ran, till the arm snapped off… 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Josef said: Well, you can. One of our local members managed to do so and it ran, till the arm snapped off… Is he the one that is adamant you can use metric bolts in any kind of captive nut, so long as you turn them hard enough? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 14 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said: Is he the one that is adamant you can use metric bolts in any kind of captive nut, so long as you turn them hard enough? That was one of the previous owners of my Spitfire :S 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 On 23/10/2023 at 09:47, Colin Lindsay said: There are two different types for Triumph, one kind requires a spacer block, the other doesn't. The spacer type has a longer arm. You cannot fit the longer type with no spacer, but it may be possible to fit the shorter type with a spacer and this MAY reduce the pumping power (never tried it, just debating!) I've just found a photo on the Net which shows the very slight difference, old shorter to the top and newer longer below. I'm wondering tho if it's more of an electrical / timing problem that fuel? thanks for the input are spacers available , can’t check the car at the moment to see if it has one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted October 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 (edited) thanks for all the advice guys , really is appreciated. defo. lots to look into to eliminate what is causing this. i’ll feedback what i find Edited October 24, 2023 by redrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 24, 2023 Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 the pump studs are also longer to accommodate the spacer on a long armed pump do the simple first if you let the engine idle the fuel pipe should(when disconnected) give a well defined squirt into a jam jar is so leave alone if its a weak one need to investigate do check the mentioned fuel hoses from the tank and check the tank to pump line is not full of debris which normally will collect some in the pump cavity Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted November 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 unfortunately no update as it hasn’t stopped raining when i have spare time hopefully soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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