Kevin R

I have never done this myself before so at risk of sounding totally stupid this is only a SUGGESTION.. Turn the 1/4 shafts 10 rotations which would amplify the output to approx 39 / 36 which would be easier to see the difference. Would need the help an assistant. 🤔 Would it work ?

If you are interested, the current series of Dream Car Fixers features a Triumph Herald. The presenters replace the soft top during the program and make it look quite easy !!! 😂 although I have suspicions about the authenticity of what they actually do. In a different episode they refurb an original SU Morris Traveller fuel pump. At the final reveal this has morphed into a very new looking replacement unit complete with a bright yellow SU sticker on it.🤔

Someone is bound to say that it would be too dangerous having a load of old cars together on a ferry! Not as dangerous as EVs. They are not banned - YET

My Spitfire 1500 has a Bastuk Full width rad and have only ever used 13 lb. Have done Border Raiders NC500 etc etc and temp gauge hardly fluctuates. Never had any problems.

I want to replace the aluminium windscreen capping that is riveted to the top of the windscreen so would be very grateful if anyone could give any advice on removal and refitting. I had planned to drill out the old rivets but I do not know if there is a seal underneath or whether it is also 'glued' to prevent water ingress. If glued is it very easy to remove once the rivets are drilled out ? I am not sure if silicone sealants were freely available and used when the original was fitted. Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.

Might be worth cleaning the headlight flasher contacts - they tend to oxidise more as they are used less than the other functions on the stalk. Cured mine.

Just as BMW did with the Mini, they could produce a steroid induced enlarged version of the Spitfire and rename it as the Stag 😬

There are all of the touristy bits of course and you will end up walking about more than you imagined so take some comfortable shoes and waterproofs/umbrellas - weather is often unpredictable. Just off the busy tourist trail it is worth having a walk around the New Town (fabulous Georgian streets and houses) and if you are a NT member the restored house in Charlotte Square is very interesting. Calton Hill is good for views of the city and estuary. You will probably end up on the Royal mile at some point but walk to the end and have a look at Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament building. For food I can recommend Cafe Marlayne on Thistle Street which is lovely French bistro very popular with the locals and much better value than the main tourist areas. Great for lunch and serves fantastic coffee. You said you had booked accommodation but have a look at the Royal Scot's Club. It is a private club and hotel owned by the Army but recently opened to the public. We booked there last time and really enjoyed our stay. Just a few other ideas on the fringe of the busy areas - you won't be bored !

Procter & Gamble (P&G) make it even less obvious - they are bigger in washing powder brands than Unilever both in the UK and globally. Procter is also usually incorrectly spelled with an O (Proctor). Good point though.

I would recommend Don Hoods. I think they offer a fitting service but we fitted it ourselves and still looks as good as new after 5 years.

You can be very unlucky as there are plenty of idiots around but there are many ways to drive defensively to substantially reduce the risk of being rear-ended. Usually the rear-enders and rear-ended meet for the first time exchanging insurance details.

1980 Spitfire 1500. Original horns. I still have some airhorns to fit to mine but want to adapt the stalk to work either/or. Will get around to it soon !!!!!!

I agree - good service and very helpful with advice too. Should be within rummaging distance of you Sam.

What has been omitted from this discussion is that headlights and especially the upgraded versions really need motor driven units to dynamically correct the beam. If there is no facility to control this they can be a nuisance and not the cheap and simple upgrade they seem, moreso in short wheelbase cars . My previous modern (2004) with halogens had a dial on the headlamp switch so that the beam could be adjusted remotely to suit if you were unloaded/loaded or pulling a trailer. My current modern (2013) has Xenon lights that are motor driven and dynamically respond to the movement of the car via a range sensor and 3 suspension sensors - NSF OSF and 1 at the rear. This year all 3 have failed one by one at a cost of £200 each inc labour ! Sadly, when the sensors fail, the headlights instead of defaulting to a mid position just point straight down which is like trying to drive with sidelights. The way forwards is backwards.

The main problem with the Spitfire 1500 engine is that it gets very hot compared with the 1300 unit in the Mark IV etc. Despite this Triumph still fitted the same radiator to it as used in the Mark IV which is bordering on inadequate. Fitting an electric fan is a very complicated way of trying to improve cooling in a Spitfire. The simplest way and one of the best upgrades to a Spitfire 1500 is to fit a bigger full width radiator. The one I fitted to mine 6 years ago is made by Bastuck (pictured), bolts straight in and looks very original. The only difference is that you need a slightly longer bottom hose. The extra capacity is more than adequate and I have found that the temp gauge does not fluctuate much whatever the ambient temperature or driving conditions. Despite having a fair complexion the car gets used and driven hard and has recently completed the NC500 (Aug 2021) including Applecross Pass and Border Raiders (great event) 2022 & 2023 plus holidays etc. Yes, electric fans do have other advantages eg faster warm up in cold weather but do use your car in winter ?- if so there are cheap and easy ways to circumvent this. Before finally taking the plunge there is a very good section on Overheating in the technical archive on the Canley Classics website that is worth reading. PS The extra fuel filter was fitted as a temporary precaution after I serviced the fuel pump. Now back to metal pipe.

Lawless Clans If you have one of the following surnames in your family lineage you may well be descended from a Border Reiver: Armstrong; Beattie, Bell and Burn. Carr, Charlton, Collingwood. Cranston and Crozier. Dacre, Davison, Dixon, Douglas and Dodd. Elliot, Fenwick and Forster. Graham, Gray and Grey. Hall, Hedley and Heron. Laidlawand Little. Middlemass, Milburn and Moffat. Nixon and Noble. Ogle and Oliver. Potts and Pringle. Reed, Ridleyand Robson. Routledge, Rowell and Rutherford. Scott, Shaftoe, Stokoe and Storey. Tait and Thompson. Trotterand Turnbull, Widdrington, Yarrow and Young. The above are just some of the surnames, many of which are still common throughout North East England and the Scottish Borders, that were associated with Border Reiving in times gone by. I copied this off the Website - Is your surname on the list ? Mr Charlton definitely has questions to answer as do we - our surname is Robson !

Mine has foglights on both sides and they are both identical LUCAS units and looks as though they came with the car. However, although the car was built in April 1980 it was not registered until Sept 1981 so maybe the regulations changed making 2 compulsory. My Spitfire has an X registration so always wondered how many if any any others there are around.

😅

I have been following these threads with interest regarding GL4/GL5, sulphur content and yellow metal. To throw a spanner in the works I was checking by chance for cooling system capacities in the handbook that came with my 1980 Spitfire 1500 and noticed that it specifies GL5 Hypoid for both gearbox and final drive. So, is 1980's GL5 sulphur-free or is my late car free of yellow metal 🤔

Thanks Andy for posting the pic - beyond my capabilities. My Spitfire is a late model 1500 (Apr 1980) but rear bumper replaced at some stage with a MkIV - which I think looks better anyway. Mine has the black door handles and rear foglights which I assume were standard as they are original Lucas units and there is a proper foglight switch on the dash(top right) which illuminates when switched on.

That's a serious amount of work in a short space of time. 👍

Has anyone seen the new easyJet advert which briefly features a white Triumph Spitfire. Looks like a MkIV of 1500 but difficult to tell as it is LHD and may have been debadged for the advert with the Triumph sign missing from the rear numberplate.

I had my Morris Minor delivered a few years go by a company called Shiply who were very good. They have a pool of approved contacts that they forward your requirements to. They then make contact and tender for the job so that you can pick which you prefer. Make sure the company that you use has all of the necessary insurance cover.

Removed carbs and air intake for rebuild and refurb so with better access decided to repaint the bulkhead, chassis rails, suspension linkages and clean and repaint the engine. Replaced water pump, timing cover and fixings and now ready to rebuild the rest, flush the cooling system and fit new hoses. Renew fuel lines, fit filters and service fuel pump then refit and recommission the carbs. After that fit new seals in the clutch master cylinder and fit Mintex 1144 brake pads. Hopefully it will then go again and stop.

As an aside but related problem, I replaced the four high wattage halogen bulbs in our cooker hood with the lumen output equivalent LEDs and they did not work. By chance I put one of the halogens back in and the remaining three LEDs worked fine so presume it is fulfilling the ballast resistor role. Some sort of improvement (75% ish) but not a total success. ☹️