rlubikey

Or ... if the flashers are both good, it's an indication of low battery volts. Check you battery and alternator. In my experience, a bit slow with the engine off is normal. Cheers, Richard

If it is pringle-shaped you can fix it with sheet metal rollers. My experience was that the clutch will judder as you feed in drive. However, my clutch did last 4 years until I eventually stripped the engine down (for a different problem). On discovering the offending pringle-like article (the gorilla at the main dealer without a clutch alignment tool) I found that back plates were NLA new! (This was 1993) So I gave it to my friend in our company model shop who put it through the rollers, turning it over and around by 90' each time, and slightly reducing the bend (increasing the roller distance) until the back plate was dead flat. Voilà! - it's a bit like demagnetising something. Cheers, Richard

I had two Gold Seal "The No-Con Re-Con" 1500's back in 1989 - the second one under guarantee. The first drank oil at 1l every 100 miles and the second one would loose power in a stuttering way at sustained high speed. Oh, and the gorilla at the local dealer who did the replacement didn't line up the clutch and swore blind that the resulting clutch judder is "what you sometimes got with these". I didn't know about "pringle" shaped back plates in those days. I was later told that these Gold Seals were put out to tender and done by the lowest cost outfit who would tick all the boxes. What I would say is that it's probably a good basis for a careful rebuild, eye-balling every part. Good luck, Richard

Hi JimEB. For the O-Rings in the injectors, I measured the ones supplied by a well respected vendor as 4.5x1.6mm, so I would say your first size is indeed correct. An article on changing the O-rings in the TR Register comic pointed out that new rings should be Viton to resist modern fuel and suggested using an oversized c/s of 2mm. Knowing that Viton takes a set - more so than some other materials - I tried 4.5x2mm and can confirm that they j- j- j- just about fit. I used Silicone grease to prevent damage during assembly. Cheers, Richard

Just what I was thinking. Modify the "Log" manifold so the carb port is facing upwards. Merry Christmas, Richard

Bill, RTV Silicone (AKA silicone bath sealant) run into the seam to seal the blow, covered in a suitable baked bean can (don't tell me, you're sick of beans!) and a big jubilee clamp or twisted wire strap - all this to shore up the lousy box until the stainless jobbie comes available? I've been keeping exhausts going on my moderns years past their use-by date - never fails! Cheers, Richard

Thanks guys Sounds like it doesn't it! Oh well, see if I can borrow the Churchill tool of my local group and change the seal round. My 1500 Spit Repair Operation Manual is the 2 pages on 1 reprint and deffo. says "until grease comes out" - no mention of how many strokes. I did 5 strokes and had a good look, then another 5, etc. So anyway, when I take the hub apart, is it worth adding the hole as I'm guessing it defines the route for fresh grease, from the nipple, through the bearing, and out. What do you think? Cheers, Richard

So, this afternoon I'm greasing the rear hubs on the Spit for the first time (I've only been a Triumph owner for 25 years!) so I insult the workshop manual.

Well, provided the blades are doing a reasonably efficient job of work, the motor power is a good indication of how much air they're moving. Looking for a fan which has an effective aerofoil section (i.e. does *not* have symmetrical blades like the "reverse the contacts to make it push" Kenlowe type) and a decent cowl (especially if it's a pusher) should guarantee this. Your fictitious one-bladed fan (OK, let's say it's 2-bladed so it doesn't shake itself to bits!) either won't actually draw 120W, even though that's the motor rating, or it will spin bloody fast and move the air. That would make one heck of a racket (which would sap some power and lower efficiency) so it's unlikely a production car would have such a thing. I am of course ignoring the possibility that the blade tips are supersonic - that would be even louder! Just for the record, I used a single XJ6/XJ40 "auxiliary" radiator pusher fan (Fleabay one in Oz) on my blue 2.5 Spit (no mechanical fan) and found it was *just* enough in hot weather. When the same setup was put in my red Spit I used two of these fans and they easily keep the temperature under control on the hottest days. The main reason for dual fans was redundancy so the engine wouldn't cook if one fan failed (separate relays & fuses). The one thing I'd like to change is to add an under-bonnet temperature sensor so the fans come on at a slow speed when things get a bit warm - in slow/stationary traffic, or when I slow down after enthusiastic application of the throttle pedal! Keeping the engine fan would do much the same. Cheers, Richard

Fuse the headlamps individually. One fault won't take out all your lighting. You need duplicate cables (e.g. from another loom) so one for left headlamp, one for right, but you can do this as part of your program to beef up the headlamp wiring. Richard

That's a really interesting idea bennygoodman. An under-bonnet thermostat to suck air forward when it's hot - i.e. when you're not moving. But, as JOhn et al point out, changing to the conventional (blow) direction when the *coolant* thermostat says the engine's too hot so it gets maximum cooling.  :) A couple of things; The fan won't work as well when it's running in the wrong direction, as the blades aren't symmetrical. Also, sucking air isn't as effective as blowing - unless there's a cowling to duct the air. (You don't get so cool standing *behind* a desk fan) Give it a try! Maybe have an on-off-on switch in the cab while you're experimenting so you can reverse the direction if the engine's getting a bit :o Richard

How *not* to make a Spitfire-sized fuse/relay box ... and (off-topic) the Corsa-C EPS with Spit steering spliced on ... Richard

As an initial step, I look for oils that have "Racing" or "Classic" in their name or application (VR-1 - the "R" stands for Racing). Then, as Cliftyhanger says, check the specification - anything up to CL (I think that's right) will be OK, but the latest oils have reduced levels of a crucial wear reducing agent called ZDDP (Zinc DialkylDithioPhosphate) as it sloooowly kills catalytic converters in modern cars. Racing and Classic oils should have the correct levels of ZDDP, but the spec. tells you for sure. After that, choose a 20W50 or similar. 20W60 will give better pressure on a worn engine and 15W50 may give slightly easier cold starting. Hope this helps, Richard

Baz, it's a Corsa-C EPS with a home-made box of tricks to wake it up. I was going to make it speed sensitive but find it isn't really necessary - I still will one day! It's worth it on a 6-pot Spit (fast rack, small steering wheel) for a 7-stone weakling like me but I think it may add a certain "vagueness". Richard

I protected all the switches with fuses, moved all the high current stuff to relays and separated all the circuits (you know how Triumph had several wires into one fuse crimp) to individual fuses. What I *didn't* do was buy one of those modular fuse & relay kits - wish I had because the fuse & relay box I made is ENORMOUS and takes up most of the passenger parcel shelf. The shell was being painted at the time so I didn't realise how small the available space was! Here's my schematic - Red_Spit_Wiring+Fusing.pdf - not suggesting you copy it but might give you some ideas. Richard