Nick Jones

Early (coarse, square spline) or late (fine spline)? Nick

🤔 huh….. well, spare a thought for us “oversize” versions 🙄 MGF seats in a Vitesse convertible don’t recline either. I remember being roused from a fitful doze in an Austrian lay-by at about 3am after a very long day by a “lady” offering “services”. 😳 I can still manage one night on the road and actually prefer not to stop for “break” because I can’t sleep anyway. Nick

Is the odometer out by a similar amount? And do you care about that? If yes, and you do care then either you need to try and source a different drive gear or get the speedo recalibrated. If the odo is about right, or you don’t care, it should be possible, if a bit fiddly, to pull the needle off the spindle and reposition a few degrees round. Could also be helpful to know the root cause - maybe a taller diff or a wheel/tyre combination with greater rolling radius. Nick

I know a couple of people who have them…. And they like them. Pretty much the same as VWTiguan / Seat Ateca / Audi Q5. Some versions of the 2L TDI had self-destruct tendencies related to balance shaft and oil pump drive. I’m not sure whether any of the affected versions were ever used in the Yeti.

I would say yes, definitely. Possibly you might struggle to get agreement on the format! Though I found it interesting that the 10CR sold out in a few hours in spite of there being more or less no information on the route (which I found very off-putting) - so maybe people don't care that much.... Nick

I'm of the mindset that all things are possible until proven otherwise. But I'm also a skinflint, which is a serious disability in this context! I have considered the forklift motor route, but so far I'm feeling it involves efficiency & function compromises that spoil the point of the project and could well not actually turn out cheaper for the first-timer finding their way. Another thing that has put me off a little is that my brother has been working on a battery safety enhancement project for a major UK car manufacturer and has some eyebrow-raising "war-stories". The scope for major mayhem and life changing/ending injury is significant when working with high power battery packs. Apparently their shipping container based test area has been pretty much ruined. He observed that knowledge gained on this project has made him alot more picky about whose EVs (or even hybrids) he'd be prepared to own or even travel in. Nick

Here’s one in build. Being done the way I’d like to do it. I’m watching with interest! https://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/8863-ev-spitfire-345v/ (He also does fitting kits for R160 diffs)

Always assuming you can a) find something flammable to put in the tank b). Afford to buy it…… Reckon I’ll be keeping at least one noisy, smelly old car in IC form for similar purposes. The cars may be lying there but the batteries won’t, too many valuables inside to be left to rot.

Not a particularly light watch (!) but interesting and thought provoking. And not the conclusion you are likely expecting Nick

Similar thread on TSSC forum https://forum.tssc.org.uk/topic/9195-electric-herald/ And this is what I wrote there: I’ve looked into this in some detail as the thought of converting my GT6 won’t leave. I’ve even spoken to “Moggy” of Vintage Voltage fame about it. He wanted £60k for a turnkey job or £35-40k in parts. That's definitely well on the high side, but unless you take the route of cobbling something together with old fork lift motors, home-brewed controllers and lead acid batteries (which is entirely possible), you will be looking at at least £10 - 14k in parts alone. Nick To try to answer the “why would you?”, in my case it was (and to an extent still is) the following. I had a knackered engine and gearbox anyway The challenge; extending my tinkering skills into new areas. Finishing up with a genuinely useful vehicle (albeit in a slightly different way to the original). The time may well be coming when this is the only way we’ll get to use our classics except in very restricted ways. I still find the idea won’t quite leave….. however, having now driven nearly 2k miles in my GT6 in a form largely as Triumph intended, I rather like it as it is. And the cost…… that’s a biggie! Though potentially that will improve as more EV parts become available on the used market. Though from what I’ve seen to date the designers have completely failed to take any future use in old Triumphs into consideration. Nick

I’m no Spitfire /GT6 expert, but I believe so. With the possible exception of the very early stuff. Almost wish I’d put Mk2 (GT6) door/handles on my GT6, so much more sensible and robust! Nick

Was rear-ended in a Mk1 Golf many years ago while waiting at a junction. I was stationary, but Sherpa van (gas man) that hit me was doing a fair bit more than 5mph…. Was a hard hit…. Still have a dodgy neck to this day. That car had headrests. Hate to think what the outcome would have been without headrests. Nick

You do have a VIN number? On a stamped plate on the bulkhead? That’s the the only one the DVLA recognise and this is what needs to match the one on your V5 logbook. The chassis originally had a number on a welded tag on a front outrigger (iirc). I’ve seen few tags remaining over the years, but never one that was legible. Not sure whether the bodies even had them. Nick

No TR7s owned so far. I have had Dolomites though (and contact with Mk3, 4 & 5 Cortinas), which suffer in the same way. Void bushes are the devils work. Trouble is that quite often when you fit solid bushes, especially if also higher shore hardness, it exposes the imperfections in the geometry with harsh ride, increased noise transmission and occasionally breaks brackets due to extra twist forces on them. Had all of those with my Sprint and ended up doing what Roger suggests.

I’ve never found anything that outlasts the OE rubber…… My Vitesse “does” a set of Superflex lower wishbone bushes every 5 years or so, though the others seem to last ok. Rubber bushes available today (unless you can find genuine NOS) seem to last less than a year. Nick

Preaching to the converted here Chris. I have a 25 year old Audi TDI with 337k on it. In purely CO2 terms I reckon it takes some beating, though maybe not so rosy on NOx and particulates. It is old and primitive enough to run on used chip oil too (though I don’t at this time). Doesn’t stop me getting occasional abuse from the green washed but ignorant. Nick

For the front, Koni….. That is all. May still be cheaper to buy direct from Bastuck in Germany in spite of Al de Piffles foolery. Certainly worth checking. For the rear, possibly the same answer unless you can track down KYB ones. The swing axle versions are definitely present in the UK but not very easy to find, though if you local motor factor deals with KYB they can get them for you. I did buy some cheapest Monroe branded ones for the rest of my GT6 ( using chassis brackets). They are a little soft. Certainly a huge improvement on the non-adjustable Spax ones which were hammering the jam out of my spinal doughnuts. Nick

If you are feeling strong….. this is actually pretty interesting, with full EV and PHEV not coming out that well

Pic would probably help? Nick

Yep, the old hot metal glue gun is a very useful garage pet! Nick

Good to know that something is afoot.... 😊 For our own mental preparation though, it would be really helpful to know dates and roughly where the route might take us. Not sure whether the info is already out there and I have missed it? Don't do faceache / meta or whatever it's called this week..... Thanks Nick

Hmmm, I’ve planted 6 trees, 20m of beech hedge and 25m of yew hedge in the last few years…… not sure it’s enough though…..🤔 Need more land! Nick

Also be aware that if you deck the block enough to remove the fire-recesses, you’ll end up with some piston “pop-up”. Probably between 0.015 -0.020”, which is too much for comfort. So you’ll also need to deck the pistons. I did just this on the 2L engine now in my Vitesse which has 0.005” pop-up. To get to the power figures you are naming will take some high quality head work, especially if you want it to play nicely with CD carbs which limits cam choice a bit. I got just under 150bhp with my PI engine using the standard 308778 cam, TR6 cast manifold (down pipes are a difficult fabrication!) with Megasquirt controlling fuelling and sparks. Not a massive number but with >160lb/ft from 1800 - 5,200 it actually went rather well and 30+mpg even when “making progress” was good too. Lightened flywheel and a good quality balancing job are huge benefits Nick

Wow! That’s a bit of a transformation Mike. Looks great. Hopefully your deckchair will see some action (though armchair by the fire more suited to current season) Nick

They pretty much all have some rot there as the water gets between the spot welded layers. The inner arch panels usually fail first because they are thinner, but it doesn’t much show as it’s in the cabin under glued down carpet. On mine, one side was showing signs of bubbling and bulging on the inside (carpet removed) but looked ok in the arch. The inside looked fine. Both sides go removed by drilling out the many spot welds and on both sides the inner arch panels were well rotted with large sections cut out and new metal let in. I’ve gone directly to the chassis with the dampers now so the brackets were left off. Nick