Nick Jones

Is this not what the Ignitor II and III are? (Not the Ignitor 1, Powerspark etc though, which are exactly as you say)

Possibly contentious but in my view, once you have EI, most of the reasons for the ballast resistor go away, so it might as well be removed and the wiring simplified? Obviously the correct voltage coil must be used. This is the route I’ve taken on my GT6 with the Powerspark unit. What’s your view Rob?

Can’t remember what the differences are between the distributor types. I thought they were pretty similar…. Edit: Did a little checking…. Pertronix suppliers do list different part numbers and costs for the 22D6 vs 25D6. But it’s not clear why. Simon BBC/Powerspark list the same part, which is what I was remembering as I have one of those in the 25D6 fitted to my GT6. This implies the physical fitting is the same. Also worth noting that the Powerspark units are £35, so you can buy at least 4 for the price of the Pertronix…. I guess the questions are -Do you get a spark from the coil HT lead when the engine is rotating (or if you rotate the distributor body enough that the magnet passes the sensor)? - If yes, do you actually get sparks at the spark plugs? - If yes, how have you got it timed? My preferred basic setting method is to turn the engine to 10degrees before TDC on the firing stroke (remove rocker cover to check the rockers on #1 are loose and the ones on #6 are rocking), then slacken the distributor body, rotate it clockwise as far as it wants to go then slowly bring it back anti-clockwise until you hear/see the spark jump. Then nip up the clamp. If you are still getting no firing, try a blast of carb cleaner into the intake. If it does fire then, you definitely have a fuel problem.

Yes, 20/50 with a suitable level of ZDDP. It’s a bit specialist these days. There are various UK suppliers, (not very helpful to you), but Valvoline VR1 is a decent oil and may be available in France? Yes, DoT 4 is fine Water/ethylene glycol. Conventional blue/green stuff. Not the pink OAT stuff.

Agreed.

From the dashboard pic that’s an RVI tacho and the trigger wire on those actually goes through the tacho without connecting to anything inside apart from a loop of wire through a current transformer. That should actually be the coil supply wire as the tacho works by detecting the current pulses to it. Works even when using coil packs triggered by an ECU.

Used for setting up the pressure relief valve shimming. Set pressures vary according to the vehicle/engine size the OD is used with.

You could always mod the engine to match the redline 😛 This much quicker and cost effective though! Good tip.

Having messed about with seats in various Triumphs over the years my conclusion is that in most cases the OE seats (or sometimes a later version from the later models) work best when in good condition. Honourable exception to this being Herald/Vitesse where MGF or MX5 seats work very well. Your experience may vary according to your size. I am very tall so for Spitfire /GT6 it is important for me that the seats are no higher than the OE and go back at least as far. Nothing I’ve found meets this criteria. No1 son (also tall) has Mk1 MX5 separate- headrest seats in his Spit. Initially way too high and not enough leg room so we spent ages modifying the corners and runners to go as low and far back as possible. The leg-room issue is solved. The height issue, not really. Inspite of a significant “foamectomy”. After much consideration and based on this experience I rebuilt some later OE seats with headrests for my GT6 and I fit comfortably in that. Possibly the vertically challenged might appreciate the extra height of modern seats, but be wary! Nick

This… they should be ashamed of themselves. Garage without a timing light?! Really?

Does it use much oil or any water? Suspect you are getting a bit of water in no.1. Possibly head gasket but also possible it’s getting in through the water rail in the inlet manifold, which occasionally go porous at the ends where the pipe stubs are cast in. Had this with my Vitesse years ago though at the other end on cylinder 6. Found largely by chance though I had been aware of a slight unexplained coolant lost for a good while and also wondered why that plug always looked a bit different.

Rotherham? Especially around club kicking out time…. I still have flashbacks from an HCR many years ago….. Also Weymouth!

Halfshaft UJs see approximately 4x the torque of the prop shaft (multiply by diff ratio), and more angle change to accommodate and the suspension loads to handle at the same time…. They do run at lower speeds though. I’d say the the driveshaft UJs are the harder working and more critical component. This seems to be supported by the failure rate in the real world! Don’t skimp…… Nick

This.... is an important clue. Possibly the fuel pump wiring has been altered and this alteration may also be responsible for the lack of ignition. Regret that I no longer have a Mk2 WSM or wiring diagram but I would be chicking (with multimeter or 12v test lamp) whether you get power to the oil pressure switch, alternator exciter wire (as Rob has already touched on) and coil +ve terminal. If there is power to the oil light and alternator (note that if the warning bulbs in the dash are blow, there won't be) but not the coil, it's just possible that there's a problem with the ballast resistor wiring. You don't want the ballast resistor in circuit with the Pertronix as it wants 12v not 6v. Ignition switch controlled, non-fused power wires are white. Wiring from the ballast resistor is white with a yellow stripe IIRC.... I'm afraid I can't remember where the fuel pump wiring comes off as standard, but there should be an inertia cut-off switch (grey plastic cylinder in rear LH corner of the engine bay on RHD car) and given that there is a Bosch pump fitted, someone may well have added a relay (good idea if done right!) Bon Chance! Nick

Basically, when the sill are done, if the door fit is still good, you have to brace well before chopping out. If not, you have to reset the broken bones and adjust the tub shape to fit the doors. Fitting a factory hard-top helps by fixing the top of the a-pillar. Doors usually hold their shape fairly well during re-skinning unless major frame repairs are needed too. fairly extreme example here https://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/7107-chriss-mkiv-basket-case-restored-to-glory/#comments

OD on a 1500 is a no-brainer IMHO. You can get some idea of gearbox condition with a few simple checks. Try to wiggle the input shaft tip. 2 - 3 mm at the tip is not the end of the world, but much more than that suggests that the mainshaft tip bearing and/or input shaft bearing are tired. Select all gears in turn and try rotating the input shaft and output shaft. Should feel smooth in all all with moderate drag. Drain oil. If already drained, take a look at the drain plug, which should be magnetic. A quantity of fine “fur” on there (which can look quite scary), is normal, provided there are no bigger chunks. Whole teeth, rollers, bits of spring etc are bad signs. Drop the rectangular cover of the bottom of the OD (new gasket for reassembly strongly recommended). There’s a filter gauze and a magnet in there. A little black slime/fine metallic sludge is normal. Chunks are not. Lots of black hairy stuff suggests the OD clutch lining is in trouble. The above will tell you little about synchro condition or layshaft condition, though badly worn layshaft generally means lots of coarser “fines” on the magnet. Not an especially difficult box to rebuild though good quality spares are not that easy to find if you need more than synchros, bearings and seals. Nearly all parts are interchangeable with your non-of box. Personally, I like the single rail box gear change, especially if the lever is modified to remove the rubber isolator. It avoids the issues of the bushes falling apart in the remote that plague the 3 rail. Nick

Yes, good point, that’s probably why they do it. Been a while since I did a 4 pot so can’t remember whether they have different threads in the front and rear of the oil gallery like the 6 pots do. It’s an irritating detail. Nick

Experience suggests that it does. Though my experience is only as a fairly minor leak rather than full-on gush as here. IIRC the backplate is drilled at the point where the plug is so there is a path through. Nick

As John says, almost certainly a missing or very loose gallery plug (missing seems more likely given the rate of loss!) at the back of the engine. Assemble with a decent sealant as this plug can also be the source of large and persistent leaks. Nick

Was that not in Switzerland? Estimate seems low…..

Pics Lotus Eclat wheels on 2000 mk2 K & N Minator 15 x 6 on my old 2.5PI

I prefer the Nissan ones. The others are certainly too “racey” (or something) for me. Lotus Eclat wheels fit and look good on the mk2 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294797771136?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338703918&toolid=20006%26customid%3Ds%3AGS%3Bgc%3ACj0KCQjwhsmaBhCvARIsAIbEbH7crw406B8pK66nV5Ql6A96SKd7pEoHqDgw4b4PZcRbbqpAY4OcHzUaAmIVEALw_wcB%3Bpt%3A1%3Bchoc%3A2&customid=s%3AGS%3Bgc%3ACj0KCQjwhsmaBhCvARIsAIbEbH7crw406B8pK66nV5Ql6A96SKd7pEoHqDgw4b4PZcRbbqpAY4OcHzUaAmIVEALw_wcB%3Bpt%3A1%3Bchoc%3A1 I have a pic on my PC. Also consider 15”. I put 15” K&N Minators on mine with 205/60 tyres iirc. Whichever size, care is needed with offset/ET as the big difference in track between front and rear makes it more or less impossible to find a combination that fills the front arches properly without interference at the rear. Mk1 have a narrower track rear which is easier.

Pics & stats please 🙂 Nick

Ah yes - how could I forget that? We didn’t spend long in the Czech Republic. Bumpy roads. Bailed and returned to nice smooth German roads. Then trying to sleep in a lay-by in Austria and being woken by tarts touting for trade….🙄

I'm not sure what offset/ET variants there are out there for the 5.5J steels, but I do know that the set I bought a couple of years back sit out too far for the front of a GT6/Spitfire, causing tyre rubbing problems. However, they are just perfect for the rear of the rotoflex cars where the rear track is 2" narrower than the front and the narrower wheels look lost. So I've ended up with 5.5" on the rear and 5" as fitted to the last of the 1500 Spitfires on the front with 175/70 tyres all round. All arches nicely filled - and subtle. Son has done the same on his roto converted Spitfire