New GT6 MK2 Purchase - The journey of improving it further!

[Pete Lewis]

with help from here its amazing what many have achieved and surprised themselves when delving into the ups and downs of classic triumphs 

most jobs are quite easy with very few tools ,  you have seen the support this forum can offer ,hope you have joined the club to get the full spectrum of support 

pete

[avivalasvegas]

Not yet but would like to.

[thescrapman]

I would I would say the moving rack is that the spreader plates were not spread when the rack was tightened down.

5 minute job to tighten correctly.

[Jim-GT6]

On 15/11/2020 at 12:24, Pete Lewis said:

so add a voltage stabiliser to your list 

its on the back of the speedo 

they are polarity conscious so must match the battery earth of the car  as  there are pos and neg versions 

get some sticky plasters if working on the back of the dash   Ha!

Pete - Was just reading through this thread for general interest, and saw your description of symptoms for over voltage. My GT6 (recently acquired first triumph) reads ~65% hot and the fuel gauge doesn't really drop below ¼ full. It reads about 120% full when I fill it, and sits there for about 50 miles, with the needle slammed against what must be an end stop. The situation is not exactly a problem, as I just treat ¼ as empty and don't worry too much if it looks a little warm. I didn't know there might be a simple fix though!

I own a multi-meter. Can anyone give any guidance on which points I could take a PD reading between to see if I'm over 10.5V on the gauges? I'd need dumbo level instructions, but can usually follow those

[Pete Lewis]

i would probe between the  i supply to gauges  (the B terminal is the ign feed ) on the stabiliser and earth 

it will be a pulsed 10.5    sort of 10-0-10-0-10  as the points inside open and close 

the stabiliser must have its case Earthed

pete

 

[NonMember]

14 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

it will be a pulsed 10.5    sort of 10-0-10-0-10

Not quite.  If it's an original bi-metallic type then it's a pulsed Vbatt - a sequence of 13-0-13-0-13-0 that averages out at 10.5 (roughly), You would need an oscilloscope to fully check the sequence - an analogue multimeter will swing wildly, a digital one will probably get hopelessly confused. Remember that the gauges being supplied by this are bi-metallic strip types with a response time measured in seconds, so they don't care that it's all choppy at a Hertz or so.

IF the stabiliser has been replaced in the last twenty years then the replacement is probably an electronic one. This should give a steady 10.5V reading (but probably won't as the quality on these bits of Chinese tat is awful).

[dougbgt6]

I got mine off eBay, less than £10. Only a few solid state components so shouldn’t really go wrong. Also so light it doesn’t need fixing to the back of the speedo. It just needs 12v, earth and 10.5v output attaching, mine just dangles behind the dash.

Doug

[Gully]

I went the electronic version route when I replaced my voltage stabiliser. Instead of clipping onto the back of the speedo, I slid the eyelet on the case over the speedo mounting bracket thread and held it in place with the knurled nut. Orientation isn't important with the solid state ones.

I have found that even with the right supply voltage, my GT6 fuel gauge never quite drops to empty, even when the sender is at its lowest position. I think a few people have found this with the current (no pun intended!) crop of senders.

Gully

[Jim-GT6]

Thanks chaps! No oscilloscope, so I'll take a look and see which type of stabiliser I've got. Worth a punt for a tenner if I can't be sure.

That said, I think my digi multimeter might be able to do square wave DC. I'll do some manual reading!

Cheers,

Jim

[johny]

1 hour ago, Gully said:

I went the electronic version route when I replaced my voltage stabiliser. Instead of clipping onto the back of the speedo, I slid the eyelet on the case over the speedo mounting bracket thread and held it in place with the knurled nut. Orientation isn't important with the solid state ones.

I have found that even with the right supply voltage, my GT6 fuel gauge never quite drops to empty, even when the sender is at its lowest position. I think a few people have found this with the current (no pun intended!) crop of senders.

Gully

yes Ive gone that route with a component delivered at 1.28 then solder on some wires, heat shrink and connect up👍

[avivalasvegas]

Here's the list of issues identified to date:

1) Severe steering wheel shudder (vertical and horizontally) over any surface imperfections. (Feels as if both tie rods are missing when turning)

 

2) Braking lacks substantial stopping power. I would describe it as unsafe. 

 

3) Oil leak emanating from the oil cap and rear of the rocker cover.

 

4) Speedometer cable danced and then stopped entirely. 

 

5) Temperature gauge and hazard light switch not working. 

 

6) Clutch fluid appears low

 

7) SU Carbs appear to have been incorrectly set up. This may be why the car idles around 1350 rpm, does not start without application of Choke and misfires at high rpm.

 

8) Fuel gauge is over optimistic (caused me to run out of fuel on my way back). Perhaps it’s the voltage stabilizer if not the fuel sender?

 

9) Prominent rattle, increasing when the headlights are turned on, adding load to the alternator. 

 

10) Horn does not work

 

Out of curiosity, has anyone installed additional gauges where the stereo would normally rest? I can see good use for an oil pressure, voltmeter etc. A picture would be nice if so!

[dougbgt6]

Ha!

The Amps gauge is now Volts, I do think Amps tells more, but unfortunately it needs heavy duty cables which tend to get hot.

Doug

[Pete Lewis]

the alternator rattle can be the fan belt some have a hard kevlar band which can make a lot of clatter and creaky noises,  a rub with the dipstick normally makes it go quiet but keep away from the fan or you need A&E to get it removed 

split alternator pulley

loose or fractured alternator lugs 

fractured adjusting strap

any car ive come across with HS6 run much better when reverted back to CDS150 strombergs with factory needles and a std air filter box 

clutch fluid  , top it up keep an eye on it  it will be either master cyl or slave or just never been topped up, level  does drop as clutch wears 

do you mean the temp gauge does not work or its panel light ?

if the gauge is not working  take the lead off the sender on the thermostat housing and earth it , if the gauge moves you need a new GTR108 sender unit , if it doenst ...  its possible back to the suspect stabiliser is not connected to the gauge (with ign  on)

as for more gauges  only when you can drive without gritting teeth 

wandering about the road and can stop 

dont wish them  to divert your attention   !!

pete

 

 

 

[Steve P]

26 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

any car ive come across with HS6 run much better when reverted back to CDS150 strombergs with factory needles and a std air filter box 

I think with the supposed engine spec he has(PH2 cam,10.5:1CR etc)the HS6 will work better if setup correctly Pete.I have them on my 2.5 Vitesse and they are fine.I think the GT6 would further benefit from a decent 6-3-1 manifold.

Steve

[Colin Lindsay]

3 hours ago, avivalasvegas said:

Out of curiosity, has anyone installed additional gauges where the stereo would normally rest? I can see good use for an oil pressure, voltmeter etc. A picture would be nice if so!

They don't call them worry gauges for nothing. The more you fit, the more paranoid you get.

[daverclasper]

14 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

They don't call them worry gauges for nothing. The more you fit, the more paranoid you get.

Vouch for that. Ignorance is bliss.

[dougbgt6]

30 minutes ago, daverclasper said:

They don't call them worry gauges for nothing. The more you fit, the more paranoid you get

If you worry what the gauge says yes, that’s paranoia, but It doesn’t matter what it says, it’s purpose is to tell you, is it the same as last time? 

Except the vacuum gauge which is a babe magnet, never fails.

“What’s that?!! Why’s it doing that?!!”

“Well my dear it’s a very complicated piece of engineering, but basically.......”

db

 

[Peter Truman]

i've always wanted to fit a Vac gauge BUT how to interpret its meaning has always scared the hell out of me to such an extent I've never had the guts to fit one! I reckon it's the ultimate tool whilst being the ultimate measure of being paranoid !

[dougbgt6]

Setting timing by ear, turn the dizzy until the revs stop climbing, then back a gnats. Take it for a run and if it pinks, back a bit more.

You can do the same thing with the vac gauge. Turn the dizzy until the gauge stops climbing, then back one bar. It mirrors “by ear” identically.

As for the rest of the time you can control your fuel consumption by keeping the vac needle in the right area. But I don’t care about that, I just like to make it whizz back and forth.

Doug

[Nigel Clark]

16 hours ago, avivalasvegas said:

Out of curiosity, has anyone installed additional gauges where the stereo would normally rest? I can see good use for an oil pressure, voltmeter etc. A picture would be nice if so!

Here's a pic of the gauges I fitted in my Mk3 in place of a radio. There's an oil pressure gauge, voltmeter and in the centre is a control knob for intermittent wipers.

The wooden panel was the same colour as the dash when I made it 20 years ago.

Nigel

[Pete Lewis]

11 hours ago, Peter Truman said:

scared the hell out of me

really it just replicates your right foot

open throttle might drop to around 0

close throttles you get around 26-28 "hg

idle  around 18-21"hg

cruise  around 10"hg

so when driving the higher the vac the better your MPG 

so that removes all the fun and makes you a bit slow and desperate

you do need a bit of crimped up tube to dampen the induction /needle vibrations 

Pete

 

[Peter Truman]

So fitting one other than the possible tuning advantage really ain’t much fun if you try and use it properly so I’ll give it a miss fitted an oil pressure gauge into the Dolly Sprint today not as easy as a Spit or Vitebsk the double bulkhead and soundproofing made alignment difficult but it works on a hot day running 50psi and idle around 20, might try another Smiths gauge as the original of dubious heritage, had in the surplus box for 40 years

[Nigel Clark]

I fitted a vacuum gauge to my TR6 as it's very useful when adjusting the mixture on the PI metering unit. With the engine warmed up and ticking over, ignition timing correctly set, the metering unit can be adjusted to give the maximum vacuum then that's the mixture optimised. When I first tried this, the vacuum reading increased from 10" to 13" Hg and idle speed increased from 800 to almost 1,000rpm (until I slowed it back down). On the road, acceleration was noticeably improved. Fuel economy was never a Lucas PI strong point but I can get over 30mpg on a run, with plenty of cruising in overdrive.

I was taught this trick by John Franklin of the TSSC Devon Area. Back in the day, he used to service the Lucas PI systems on the 2.5PI police cars.

Though I've fitted the vacuum gauge permanently in the TR6 centre console, it's really only needed occasionally. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a vac gauge on a carburettor fuelled car.

Nigel

[avivalasvegas]

Took the GT6 to Dale today. He spent well over an hour driving and then examining the car on the ramp, and did not charge me for his time today. His takeaways are below:

- RKM 596G is a solid car with a few minor but significant safety issues in need of addressing, namely unsafe tires, very unsafe brakes and suspension linkages/ bushings that need replacing. More on this below.

- Dale is clearly not a fan of the SU Carb + Kent Fast Road Camshaft setup and shared he does not believe the car will ever run right. (The car did smell like it was running rich.) I later learnt that he meant that he does not believe it will never idle smoothly at 800 rpm like a stock car would. (I would very much like to prove him wrong)

- Dale asked if the carbs had short stacks installed. They do not. He insists that they are essential for high rpm fuel/ air mixture. 

- Dale did not find a leak at the brake master cylinder, begging the question if a leak existed elsewhere, perhaps in the rear drum assembly, given the very long brake pedal play/ weak braking. He suggested full adjustment and a servo installation. We agreed to avoid the servo installation for now and to sort its standard brakes first. Dale also did not believe that Mintex 1144 pads were the right match for a slow driving city car, given their performance when cold.

- Clutch fluid was found to be dangerously low which he kindly topped up right away.

- Oil leak at the rear of the valve cover had him perplexed as the car does not vent gas through the oil cap at idle (aka no oil blowby), making us wonder why the rocker cover rear and dipstick are leaking oil. He does not believe the oil catch can is helping matters at all.

That's most of his findings - I am awaiting an estimate before taking it back in. Do any of these issues sound familiar?

[Colin Lindsay]

28 minutes ago, avivalasvegas said:

Oil leak at the rear of the valve cover had him perplexed as the car does not vent gas through the oil cap at idle (aka no oil blowby

Possibly distortion of the rocker cover due to overtightening - check it on a straight edge when you remove it - but it's more likely just an old and deformed gasket. You can buy silicone versions which are a better seal.