Baxter

Thanks Tim (thought I replied last night but now see it not) - I will look into that kit, but not for a while as I've been spending a lot of time and money on both cars lately. I wanted to let you know that I'm borrowing some MGF seats for the Vitesse for RBRR. I'll get on to sorting steel bars to fix them just as soon as I've got the engine back in. Sump now pancake flat so hope to do that on Sunday.

Thanks @yorkshire_spam Nice to share and get comments. My first attempt at seats and I had to backtrack a couple of times, following the helpful advice from Owen at Park Lane: take time to get it right and be rewarded each time you sit in the car. I showed a friend who was very impressed by my upholstery skills; so I explained the nature of the foams and covers and am now told it's about the same expertise as putting a jumper on!

I just fitted new foams and covers to the mk3 seats in my GT6 mk1 - treating a bit of rust on the frames and repainting them along the way. Very happy with how they've turned out. I'm going to recover the padded thing below the handbrake next. Then I think I'll need to do something to my steering wheel. I don't like everything looking new and shiny in my old car, but it's getting quite rough. Any tips? And is it leather? I'm pretty sure it's the original mk1 wheel, but have heard talk of them just looking like leather. Too many miles away for me to pop back for a closer look now!

Took my sump off to finally get round to fixing the drip from the front. All the hole surrounds are raised and the front is bent downwards, so there's a bit more reshaping work than I was hoping for.

I'm only just taking my engine out! Just when I thought I was onto final fettling plus putting in some comfy seats, an oil leak has suddenly got much worse so I'm going to at least refit the sump pan. Looking forward to seeing you at the start 🤞

I worked it out...back plate is the same either side.

Anyone know if the backplate of these L584 units is handed, or just the lens and rubber seal? I need a LH base but can only find a RH one in driving distance to get today. The seller says there's a slight curve at the top, but I can only see this on the seal. In the picture below it looks like I could just flip the unit over

Thanks for your help. I'll go back and take the headlamp out. I already have a flexi-driver with various bits, so maybe that will work. Typical classic car timing that I've only just had the headlamps out to fit LEDs and spent ages tidying up the cables and securing the control units. Hopefully I won't disturb much of that work. If not I'll just tell myself that's why we love this hobby!

I've found out why my front left indicator on my Vitesse 6 convertible has recently stopped flashing - the wire has become detached from the spring-loaded positive contact button. Can't see how to repair, so assume I need a new L584 back plate. But how do I reach the nut the far side of the unit, deep in the recess? I can't even contort myself to get my finger to touch it.

Hey Tim, we all love pics so I am happy to oblige. Aren't you thinking of my GT6 though? Here's one of the two together. I'll look for a recent Vitesse one ...

Ben, thanks for importing and finding it helpful. I feel a bit stressed reading the thread again! Support from forum members has been fantastic throughout, and the new website seems to have greatly increased activity. As for the fix - a lot of wet weather and covid restrictions have limited outings since my previous post. No problems yet, and two longish runs albeit in not such warm weather as when I suffered the breakdowns. Too many variables for me to say for sure one change fixed things. However, I didn't have problems untill I put the Huco pump in in place of the facet. Ive persisted with the Huco and I think replacing the fuel line tank to carbs (50% better flow) and removing the filter (vaporisation suspect) have even the two most influential factors. I'll keep you posted after a couple of long runs on hot days. Needs proving before RBRR! B

Great progress Hazen! Nice to see you back in these parts 🙂

I think the PO was after a very low car - I struggle to get my low-profile trolley jack under it, back or front. I'll compare the spring profile with new and old ones from my recent upgrade on my Vitesse before deciding if it's okay to re-use and if I need the lowering block, as these springs seem to sag after a while. Actually, I'll postpone this job while I finish the rebuild on the rest of the car, and then try it in lowered mode while road testing. The front springs will need replacing once I raise the back, and maybe the dampers too. More important things to press on with now I'm reassured there's probably no major problem causing the rear spring to sit so high. BTW thanks for your advice to file a bit off the lowering block. I tapped the last one in with a rubber mallet and regretted it.

Cheers glang! I used a 1/2" alloy block and standard studs on my Vitesse and all fitted fine...eventually. It was fiddly getting everything lined-up, as the block was a very tight fit into the groove on top of the diff. You make a good point about 'fixes' and I've had to source or replace quite a few parts since taking on the half-completed project. Fortunately there's now very little left on the car that I've not worked on.

Thanks chaps. Turns out there is one massive home-made lowering block under there. I'll swap it out for a 1/2" block I have spare, and buy the correct studs. Hopefully with the smaller block the pivot box and protruding studs will come down below the access cover plate.

What is happening here?  GT6 mk1, swing spring conversion by PO. Is there a problem with how the spring is mounted on the diff, or the diff to the chassis, or is the body perhaps not mounted correctly on the chassis?  I'll try to see what it looks like from below and take some photos B  

Update: I did a longer drive at the weekend, only 24 miles/50 mins; but no sign of trouble. I'm fairly confident it's fixed now. And no longer kicking myself for not taking my own advice and removing the fuel filter earlier - taking the slow route to the solution led to the discovery of restricted fuel flow. Since changing the whole line from tank to carbs the car can now go up some local hills without losing speed. Happy days.

Guys - thanks for all the comments! Fluid dynamics is taking things beyond anything I recall from my physics A-level! Pete S, you are on the ball with your '2nd post' comment! I kick myself now - as to why I wouldn't have swapped the filter out on a subsequent breakdown...I even added spare hose and clips to my onboard spares box. What a fool. You also recall that my filter 'was' vertical. Here's my new layout: No more high points, and all lines shorter (especially round the other side between carbs 1 and 2). In the second photo you can see the filter is not completely full of fuel. This is how it typically looked in its former position for the previous 2 years, and during most of that time it worked fine. What struck me on Sunday was that the fuel level was below the top of the filter on both sides. Now I'm onto layout #3, sans filter. I really hope this was the problem. I'll crack open that cold beer in the driver's seat in the garage once I've completed a long test drive. (Of course, the weather has now changed for the cooler and wetter so I'll need to go twice as far before I'm happy. BTW is there a post on here regarding rain water collecting in the Vitesse boot? Mine is as efficient as any water butt. That'll be the last thing I need to fix before it's ready for daily use.) As for the filter, I only added it to the layout I inherited as I found the 'thimble' filters at the inlet to each fuel bowl to have lots of small brown/black deposits. I'll happily clean these out every few months. (Oh, question from Pete L, I think, re filter I just removed - it still has rubber hose attached to each end, so I can't say for sure whether either end had been crushed.) B    

Update: So, I completed the fitting of a new fuel line from tank to carbs and headed out for my test drive, eager to see what difference I'd made with the higher flow rate. Have I cured some of the 'lack of power' on hills that has long bothered me? It certainly seemed promising. Then, after just 15 miles and 40 mins (including a long spell behind a tractor), the misfire appeared and developed to stalling within a few hundred metres. Leaving me stranded, as I'd expected either to be trouble-free, or at least have 17/18 miles range plus another 1 or 2 limping home. On the upside, I was stuck in a beautiful Cotswold village and got to see about 50 lovely classics drive by while waiting for a lift: https://www.cotswoldclassicrun.co.uk/ I changed the coil, just to definitively rule this out. Car started and revved cleanly, but misfired as soon as I pulled away. I got a lift home and returned 5 hours later with towing necessities. Tried running in case a little cooling down had temporarily fixed things, but it ran very roughly just revving in neutral. Then I swapped out the fuel filter - which seemed to have had too much air penetrate it - for a piece of straight hose and tried again. This time it revved sweetly and I set off with my wife following in the tow car. I made it 5 miles back to my workshop; waited for the final straight to test it accelerating hard, and even that went smoothly. Has this whole nightmare been caused by a fuel filter? Certainly the pattern seems to fit with vaporisation, and the filters are said to be a weak spot for this. I'll need to wait till the weekend to be able to do a long run to test this. As for what's coming out the tank along with the fuel, there were already quite a few small black specks in the new filter after just 15 miles, but nothing more sinister. Likewise with the filter that had been on the last year or so. Thanks for all the support and suggestions. I'll let you know if it's sorted. I hope so, because I've had my fill of breaking down the last few weeks!  

Pete, this is an interesting one. I'll have to look at mine again. I have a rubber hose coming down through the boot floor into which I fitted and clamped my new fuel pipe, just in front of the drain plug. Not sure what happens inside the boot behind the tank but am thinking this might not be standard. I also don't seem to have the lever on the top to turn the feed pipe round to reach the reserve fuel supply

Pete L, Guppy, thanks for your suggestions. Never heard of these dreaded slivers before. I am familiar with cleaning out SUs - I seem to have had to do it too often. I did service these 3 last summer and replaced needle valves and reset float levels. I also renewed the rubber hoses at the same time. They've been on and off a few times since, so maybe there are a few slivers cut off? I'll check this next. Pete S, I checked the Huco pump model number and it is the correct suction model (PN 133010). I was happy to find I'd fitted the right one, then suddenly disappointed that I hadn't just discovered an easy-to-fix mistake! I was reading Practical Classics Thursday evening and saw the following (on a list of advice for dealing with a car struggling up hills): I was already concerned about measuring only 800ml/min to carb #1 so decided to proceed immediately with replacing the fuel line from tank to pump. Did that this morning and flow rate went up to 940ml/min. I then measured at the pump outlet and got 1,250ml/min, so I'm now halfway through replacing the pipe round the front of the engine. Hopefully I'll be test driving in the morning.  

Pete, great idea...all these straws need checking and I hadn't thought of that one. Will have to check tomorrow if I get over to the workshop. Certainly intended to buy the suction one. I'm wondering whether to replace fuel line from tank to pump, just in case. Concerned about getting 800 ml/min when the pump is rated at 2.1l/min. I'll finish improving the current filter-pump-carb layout first in case that helps. Trying to make and test changes one at a time. I've also been advised locally to measure coil voltage next time it happens and consider running a direct live from battery to coil to see if that fixes it.

Jonsel, here's my GT6 mk1 steering wheel alongside your mystery wheel...

Paul, thanks for your ongoing support - I'll be sure to let you know the outcome. Pretty certain a ballast has not been added. Worth checking. Rob, my pump is a Huco which is highly recommended by someone on this forum, wasn't cheap and seems well made. I did only manage 2 runs on this pump before the problem started; but the first was a good hour long and 35 miles each way (in August). I wonder if my noisy old facet pump had the power to overcome deficiencies in my fuel line routing? I don't want to refit it. I'll persist with improving routing. Is the 800ml/min my flow rate test measured from the Huco sufficient? I've not yet investigated tank to filter for issues/restrictions. Tank is newish, but fuel line is old I think. Peter, I've been wanting a timing light for a while...thanks for the excuse