** ON TO THE NEXT BIT ** Nose to Tail - 1972 Spitfire MkIV restoration upgrades!!

[Badwolf]

Naw, do it two different ways, then there is a chance that one of them is correct!!! Like spelling at school, spell the same word several different ways in the hope that one if them would be spelt right.

Seriously, yes, that is was I intend to do. Got the bl**dy thing upside down on my bench in the garage and keep turning it around, finding mistakes and making adjustments.  Then it all has to be taken apart again ready for the next stages

[Badwolf]

Is it really 5 months since I last did any work on the car? After protecting the bonnet with 2k primer when the wet weather came, the hardtop was moved into the garage from the shed and work went on, finding more and more rust and making more and more panels. Then came the really cold weather along with hibernation for both the hardtop and me. I have had two attempts to catch up on forum reading and have got a little more inspiration to get going again. The problem now is...where was I? Oh yes, under that huge pile of cr*p which has been piled on top of my bench with all the paint, panels, sanding stuff and yes, you guessed it, panel bond..which I hope hasn't gone off. So, as the warmer weather approaches I venture into the garage to continue the work, well actually tidy up. I will, of course, continue to pass on the ugly, the bad and the good in due course in the hope that it helps someone to read how not to do it. Watch this space...something will happen soon.

[Badwolf]

Here's a bit a thread drift, just for a change. To get on with something meaningful (instead of spending all day here upsetting JohnD & N/M),I have dug the old calor gas heater out of the shed along with a nearly full gas cylinder. I can get the pilot to light but not the main jets. Indeed, the pilot goes out when I try to turn the control to anything else but the pilot/ignition setting. I suspect that the thermocouple safety interlock is goosed, but before I blow up myself and the garage ,does anyone have any experience of these heaters. Failing that it's off to the tip when allowed.

[PeteH]

5 hours ago, Badwolf said:

I suspect that the thermocouple safety interlock is goosed

Yep, probably correct, you could try a good clean. But not holding breath on that one. I`ve still got a Parraffin stove!. used to use it in the greenhouse, Don`t know if it works though.

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

yes easily available and plenty of yuo tube how to's  its just get the right one  !!!

eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/gas-thermocouple/s?k=gas+thermocouple

 

[Badwolf]

Thanks folks. Got it sorted and now no excuses, the garage is warming up. Cleaned up everything. Amazing who much muck has accumulated but a good vac and poke around appears to have sorted it. Turns out it was the regulator turn knob that was gunged up inside so it would not turn all the way to send the plunger thingy down to fully open the valve.

[Badwolf]

Advise needed...again!!

In view of all the posts regarding perished rubber (no, not that type of 'rubber'), would the sealing ring around the valve of a calor gas bottle perish with time and poor storage? Went into the garage this morning to have a rather nasty smell of butane in the air. Vented the garage immediately and checked the gas cylinder. After sorting out the problems yesterday I had disconnected the regulator for safety, so no problems there. Now this cylinder is several years old and this is the first time for over a year since it has been used. Before I squirt soapy water on the valve to test it does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing. It may, of course just be the residual gas in the heater pipes leaching out, and I am paranoid, but I want to be sure. I haven't spent 12 months avoiding covid to now go and blow myself up.

[Colin Lindsay]

You'll get a residual smell of gas off old pipes that haven't seen a cylinder in years, but it all depends on how strong the smell you're getting is. You may be correct in that when you disconnected the regulator, gas already in the hoses has leaked backwards, but the hoses themselves do perish and I've had to replace mine on the old Super Ser gas heater - easily done once you locate the new hose that you require.

I bought one of the squat Calor Cube heaters a few years back; then found no-one locally sold the gas cylinders that it requires so it's never been used. By the time I do use it I'll probably have to replace the hoses first.

[Pete Lewis]

when there's petrol and spirits about i would prefer electric giving   a black heat so you cant ignite 

some inadvertently forgotten flammable stuff  hiding lets go .

happy toastie 

Pete 

[Badwolf]

Thanks Pete - Will be toastie again soon, problems with the gas sorted - I hope.

Its been a mixed day for jobs, starting with the gas cylinder. I squirted some soapy water down into the cylinder valve which erupted like shaving foam.  So... dried off and carefully inserted plastic chopstick (who says that all that junk is useless) into the valve and pushed until the gas whooshed out. Not done in the garage I hasten to add.  Did this a couple of times and checked again with the soapy water. Great, no foam, no bubbles... sorted. Looks like I had forced some crud into the valve that had been in the regulator, so the valve would not fully close.

Then the next job, on a day when I really didn't want to do anything much was find the case for the Spitfire key fob. A little background.  Picking up some stuff from the car a couple of weeks ago I inadvertently picked up a set of keys. Walked outside and the keys dropped onto the drive next to the drain (you know where this is going). The vintage Moss alarm key fob which I hadn't seen, exploded into its component parts. Found the circuit board, battery and case back but the front with the push button had disappeared.  Couldn't find it and couldn't be a*sed looking down the drain so left it. Flushed with success with the gas cylinder today and with it being dry, I decided to clear out the drain to look for the fob front. No joy, just a load of mud and soggy leaves.. oh well!! So then I though, what if the fob was already in bits inside the car.... lifted the drivers seat and.. yes there it was. Great day, two things sorted, but what's that  I see on the foot mat in the drivers footwell? Its looks wet and shiny.. very much like brake fluid.. check the reservoirs and the clutch master is nearly empty. B*gger!!!

So, what is the easiest way to sort it. It was re-rubbered about 2 years ago maybe three.  Obviously to strip the master cylinder down means tunnel cover out to bleed etc etc. Can anyone offer an easy way to deal with this. It could, of course be as simple as tightening the pipe to cylinder nut or it might need another washer. I would value anyone's experience with this one before I take it apart and make a big job out of something trivial.

[Mathew]

I always mod the gearbox tunnel with a hatch to access the clutch slave and topup the oil, saves time. I cut a hole and plated over when made.

[Badwolf]

If the tunnel has to come out again, it will get a major modification. Access covers along with a coating of fibreglass as per Colin's instructions elsewhere.

Had another look at the clutch master. Its leaking from the main piston seal. Not happy!! So much for quality parts (yes, here we go again!!). Might as well of got them of fleabay. The 'rubber' boots are cr*p as well. Appear to have hardened up like concrete. I always though that rubber was supposed to be flexible. Oh well. At least I will now be warm while stripping it all down... again. Maybe I can get away with cling film over the pipe as the level hasn't dropped as low as I thought and there is no air in the system... yet.

[Badwolf]

So, now the question which has been covered to death in all manner on other threads and even mentioned previously by myself. Rubber. I have found in my spares box a complete master cyl seals kit from several years ago. There are also the sets on fleabay, and of course the 'quality' ones from the usual suspects who will charge a fortune in carriage for a small item. The rubber seal that is weeping came from a Chester supplier. So the inevitable question to stir up the hornets, should I use the old set as it might be better but older rubber (ok, composite), go for cheap and cheerful as it is probably from the same source as the major suppliers (including the club shop) or pay the money and carriage with one of the 'names'? I only want to do this once... but that's what I thought last time.

Edit - ok, I give up, can anyone please post a link to the clutch M/S service kit in the club shop.

 

 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

Can't find a repair kit in the Club Shop - complete cylinder, yes, but no kit.

If the one you have has been well stored it should be fine; however I deal with this seller all the time and can recommend him:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-TR7-Spitfire-Brake-Clutch-MASTER-CYLINDER-REPAIR-SEALS-KIT/222977590472?hash=item33ea8004c8:g:ikAAAOxyRhBS6rOr

This one is NOS original Lockheed 5/8, I'll assume even despite the age it's still perfectly serviceable:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSB936-clutch-master-cylinder-repair-kit-fits-triumph-2000-SUNBEAM-Alpine-minx/383873935948?epid=727420177&hash=item5960ab6a4c%3Ag%3AETcAAOSwq~Nf5JS1&LH_ItemCondition=3

[Badwolf]

Thanks Colin. I spent ages looking for the repair kit in the club shop. I notice that the search routine is still wanting and that several items still have photos missing. Taking a great risk here I know, but I will say that I thought that the club might have taken the lockdown as a good time to bring everything up to date, but then with the increase in on line trading and furlough, maybe not.

Thanks for the links and the advice. It's good to have fleabay recommendations and for that, I am very grateful. Incidentally Jumblemaster also lists this..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-Spitfire-Herald-CLUTCH-SLAVE-CYLINDER-REPAIR-SEALS-KIT-1965-82/192599635397?hash=item2cd7d535c5:g:IHQAAOxyA4ZRKqV

which is a pound cheaper. Is it just a cut down version. If so, as I only need the piston seal it would be good. The dust boot and cap washer I have plenty of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

That's a slave cylinder kit: is it the slave or master you need?

[Badwolf]

Whoops, sorry. Yes it's the master cylinder kit I need. He has an interesting selection of stuff. A lot of duplicated listings which fooled me...not difficult, I know. Thanks for putting me right.

[Anglefire]

On 12/03/2021 at 13:10, Badwolf said:

I haven't spent 12 months avoiding covid to now go and blow myself up.

TBH if you are going to get it, you are going to get it - my wife got it a month ago despite not being out over about twice since Christmas. 

[Badwolf]

Mark - We have now both been vaxed (see vaccination thread) so we feel much more confident. However, we believe that we had it in Dec 2019, before the balloon went up. All the symptoms, our local medic told us in Nov 20, that it was in the country in August '19 and if we had shown those symptoms in Apr 20 we would have been given anti body tests. Believe it or not, we have never been so ill even after having flu vax months earlier. 

[Badwolf]

Can someone in the know please advise me about the club shop. I mentioned a few posts back about the problems that I had trying to find a clutch master cylinder service kit (thanks Colin, now on order from Jumblemaster along with some other bits), but I noticed in the interior trim section https://shop.tssc.org.uk/category/spitfire-11?page=0%2C0 that out of 5 pages, there is not one picture of the product listed. While I have no intention of criticising the shop, in this day of on-line commerce, I feel that it is vital to be able to view the goods before ordering. Is there a problem in adding product photos to the entry or is it a question of sourcing picture? I would happily have ordered the bits that I needed over the weekend but the search facility and lack of description/photos put me off. I must point out that I have ordered by phone on previous occasions and received excellent service (thanks Angie), but for me the on-line facility is letting the club down.

[Mathew]

The quality and club service is good an i have used it from time to time. I bet it takes ages to photo each item and load it to the correct part of the web site. Looks like when the pandemic is over we may need to volunteer to help photo and loading up! As i can imagine it would take weeks if not months for the club to get it done with the staff available. 

[Badwolf]

I know that what I am about to ask is basic, but I want to be ready to try to save some work (which I doubt that I will get away with).

Does anyone know if the diameter of a trunnion oil nipple is the same or at least similar to the flanged end of the clutch master cylinder feed pipe. What I am hoping to do is take off the pipe and quickly cap it with the bleed nipple rubber (I know this sounds like it should be on Doug's other site... sorry) to prevent air getting in so that I won't have to bleed the pipe. I know I could simply unscrew the lock nut pull out the pipe and measure it, but then it would be too late. As I said I doubt that it will work and so the tunnel cover etc will need to come out which leads to a whole can of worms.

While the tunnel is out I feel that I will be obliged to... Repair the tunnel cover, cut access holes for clutch slave access and gear box oil top up, fettle the carpets, retrim the radio plate, H bracket and parcel shelf, fit the fag lighter or usb plate, oh and fit the speaker pods properly on the parcel shelf.  On second thoughts I might just top up the master cylinder, clean up the mess on the floor/carpet and put a rag under the leak!!!.... OK, maybe not!!!

[Pete Lewis]

the normal slave bleed nipple is threaded 3/8" x 24 unf  

some moderns copies   have metric  threads 

to make a remote bleeder ive used ( way back )   a long brake hose with female sleeve nut and a bleed nipple 

im sure the trunnion thread is quite smaller   

Pete

[PeteH]

On 13/03/2021 at 15:37, Badwolf said:

Mark - We have now both been vaxed (see vaccination thread) so we feel much more confident. However, we believe that we had it in Dec 2019, before the balloon went up. All the symptoms, our local medic told us in Nov 20, that it was in the country in August '19 and if we had shown those symptoms in Apr 20 we would have been given anti body tests. Believe it or not, we have never been so ill even after having flu vax months earlier. 

SWMBO. had a similar very nasty, Flue like illness Just before and over Xmas 2019. Later on we discovered one of the loacl Doctors also ahd the same. She (the doc) is convinced that it was CV-19.?

Pete

[Badwolf]

Right. So I have had a cursory look at the clutch master cylinder and the first thing that I notice is that the 'rubber' boot appears to have hardened to the constituency of concrete. I'm sure that these are supposed to be flexible to a point. So before I do something stupid and cause unnecessary damage and extra work, is there some trick to get these off. I thought that it was just going to be... gently lever out the bottom section where it pushes into the bulkhead, un-link the pedal, disconnect the bolts holding the unit to the bracket, unscrew the pipe and lift it clear... but I appear to have failed at the first hurdle. Such is life.