Nick Jones

You have a Bosch pump (or a copy) fitted already. Can you see the part number on it? Generally with Bosch you need to choose a pump as used on one of the K-jet cars in order to get the pressure capability. This usually means a big flow too. Much more than the original Lucas gear pump. This can cause problems with the relief valve and also on the suction side. The suction side is important as the Bosch pumps don’t suck all that well and are prone to cavitation. Looks like you have two filters on the suction side and that might well cause problems and be restricting the pumps flow. Normally with Bosch pump installs they have only a coarse strainer on the inlet side, a finer strainer inside the pump itself and the proper, fine filter after their pump. Nick

Saloon with OD fairly straightforward but not very easy to bodge, especially since it’s usually soaked in gear oil making it hard to get the Tiger Seal to stick….. Buy cheap buy twice (or more) with those.

Ah - had forgotten it's auto..... Complicates matters. Mike Charlton had similar issues of value vs. recovery cost (because broken driveshaft = 3 wheels on wagon making shifting the car between transporters "too hard") in 2017 and mounted his own rescue mission a few weeks later which was at least partly covered by the insurance. In that case repairing the car to drive it back wasn't too hard though. Also, same year, I think, we met up with a couple of Italian Dolomite owners at an overnight stop in Coldrano. Not sure exactly where they were from though.... Best wishes Nick

Very sorry to hear this. 🙁 Failed in what way? Unable to select gears or no drive in any gear?

Excellent - well done! Not so easy when someone else took it apart years ago. Good luck with the first start - and synchronising the throttles! Nick

I tried both PTFE spray and a dry lube moly spray. Graphite powder was waaay better. Nick

Normal French parking….. if the gap isn’t big enough, apply more throttle….😳 That Eecoo light looks excellent for the money. Nick

I have only once had a problem. I was heckled by a Swiss “gentleman” in a Swiss motorway rest area in 2017. I think his objection was mostly that I left the engine running for the few moments it took us to change drivers (the starter had had a couple of misdemeanours that day and I wasn’t looking to give it another opportunity). Difficult to be sure as he was harangueing me in Schweitzer Deutsch. However, as he was driving a Merc S600 (yes, the V12 one, he needed a big car though, corpulent really doesn’t do him justice), I was not inclined to be lectured by him and told him so, and why….. Not rude, but firm. Reckon he understood me well enough 🙂 Nick

Thanks for that Rob, those numbers look more like I remember. 60 - 75 is wide range though! I’ve found that the studs and nuts both survive well, unlike the 3/8 UNF ones where the nuts are usually half dead. Just be sure to use the original washers. They are hardened so they don’t squash! Nick

The bigger studs/nuts actually have a higher torque specification. TR6 factory manual (same engine near enough) states 80 lb/ft dry. That’s a bit higher than I remember… I thought it was 72lb/ft…

I did this to my MS2 back in 2009. Just enabled it and left it on default settings. Not sure it’s perfect but certainly good enough….

Speeduino problems down to three main issues. Speeduino is a rather variable thing with quite a few ECUs/daughter board combinations available from various suppliers all over the world, some better / more professional than others. Megasquirt (for example) is a much more consistent thing. Lack of decent documentation was quite a contrast to my previous Megasquirt experiences where the documentation was just amazing - though these days there is so much, finding the right stuff can be a challenge. Electrical noise. Endless issues with electrical noise, especially with the very critical crankshaft position signal, which was problematic right up until the point we switched from using a Hall effect sensor (which should have been less susceptible) to a VR sensor with extra conditioning board. That has made a vast difference - pity it's taken 3 years to get there. Dependent on your level of (electrical/electronic) knowledge I'd be inclined to suggest using Microsquirt with a Volkswagen coil pack with built-in ignitors. A bit dearer than Speeduino probably and fewer features, but it does have the features you actually need and it seems to work reliably. Know several on here and elsewhere in the Triumph world who have them on Spitfires and Heralds with good results. BTW, ignition-only is a good halfway house and a good first learning step. Any ECU that will do both will be capable of ignition only. Just watch out for Megajolt, which does ignition only (in conjunction with Ford hardware) and will not do fuel control. Nick

Is your PI the earlier “132” or later “125”. Latter is an identical engine to the CR TR6. I can post the 3D ignition map (when I’m back at my computer) from my now departed 132Mk2, though as that was converted to single throttle body the vacuum figures won’t be directly comparable.

Yep, bloody legends 🙂

Do those numbers actually translate directly to crankshaft degrees or do you have some timing lead to add? Seems quite conservative at the top end - should be able to take at least 30? Would also suggest t-ing off the MU vac signal line and making use of the third dimension. No road car should be without it….

What Clive says. Graphite powder, sold as lock lubricant, is the business on these…..

Um, it’s a small chassis Triumph……They don’t really do refined, there’s simply not enough suspension travel. Konis are the most refined of the “performance” offerings and do a decent job of damping without making the ride any more harsh. Wheel/tyre combinations have a fairly large effect - what do you have fitted?

🙁😤🤬 Sorry to hear this Mike…. Diff changes are no fun…

Is that 26 degrees total @4000rpm including static? If so, it’ll probably stand a bit more - 30 to 32 total @4000 typically. How much idle advance do you have with that 26 deg? Nick

Ah, thanks for that……. I knew I have one knocking about but just couldn’t place it!

Tub looks pretty good for a convertible one - seems to have floors! The trick always used to be to convert a sound saloon tub by separating along the wing seams and transplanting but looks like it would need to be a very good saloon tub to make it worth doing in this case.

As the south west has been mostly dry and warm of late, my Vitesse has been on daily driver duties, adding over 900 miles in July. There were a few days when it was actually a bit too hot for a convertible…. Steering wheel too hot to hold and seats singeing the hindquarters after an hour parked in the sun. Though as the alternative is a black estate car with no sunroof and busted AC, it’s Hobson’s choice - just a matter of choosing your cooking method…. Nick

Propshaft? The small chassis cars are badly afflicted by propshaft vibration, I think due to the relatively light and flexibly mounted diff which provides little damping. In my experience, even propshafts that have been balanced and rebalanced off the car can still cause problems and I’ve resorted to on-car balancing with jubilee clips more than once. Conversely I’ve had bent wheels, driveshafts and hub flanges that have been bent enough to bring comments from following traffic that did not produce vibration. GT6 with its relatively short prop has less weight to throw about but is perhaps more prone to unfavourable operating angles. Nick

Unless you are short (even very short) the MX5 seats sit you too high and don’t go far enough back. It is possible, though quite involved to mod the seats to go back further but getting low enough isn’t really possible for a 6’ plus driver at least. Refurbed OE is like to give best results. Nick

I have one in my Vitesse bought from 2Spec Transmissions. Seems to work. Drives normally on the road and definitely has more traction, though if you truly lift a wheel it just spins (normal for ATB diff). Main reason for buying it was finding that every one of the 4 diffs I had in stock had some sort of problem with the carrier or cross pin and I fancied something stronger. Done maybe 3k miles and a couple of track days, so still some way to go before I’d consider it proven longevity/reliability wise but signs are entirely positive so far. Nick