Tim Bancroft

My car has the repro, seals fitted, these don't have the indents and have gathered at the points that are clipped to the door skin.

Thinking of buying TR6 seals asthey have the cut outs and cutting them down.

Clive is correct, Ellis is being held up with just one important part of the jigsaw still in negotiations...once finalised, I am sure he will inform about the announcement.

This is all rather maddening, you would think an insurance company would take an enlightened view and think of young people driving old cars as a business opportunity...its all very conservative and risk averse...what a sterile and boring world we now live in!

Hi Albert,

To be honest, we are hearing of very high premiums for young drivers who wish to insure old cars. Probably best to all a company like Cherished Vehicle Insurance and see what they quote you.

Maybe an idea to do this when sitting down.

I was talking to a 19 year old lad at the NEC old car show the other Sunday and his quotes were very high. 

If this is the case, its all rather dissapointing as obviously it will discourage young people joining in with our lovely hobby.

How different was the weather from the previous breakfast stop at JOG!

Er, nice laces!

Is the 'Trackerjack' conversion not available...what has happened to John?

At the moment there is a supply issue with Huco pumps, they have been taken over by Hitachi and the min order is something like 200 units, so companies are not buying them. I spoke to Southern Carburettors to find this out.

I had a chat with MIke Papworth at the NEC last weekend, he is still making conversion units. I am amazed that there is still a market for them.

Must say, I rather the three rail change, in a Spittie I found the change to be very good. Single rail I used in the 1500 an ex had, always felt clumsy in comparison.

2 supplers are either Mike P or Paul Hughes of 2Spec near Solihul. Dave Pearson may have some core though.

As Glang states, totally agree. I have them in all three of my cars and all very simple to install. Big fan of them. The one in my Saloon has been in there for about 15 years and has proved itself to be very reliable. If on a trip, I carry a spare cap and rotor arm, just in case.

Tim,

Depends how far you wish to go with it?

J type Overdrive gearbox would be the first job.

Then suspension and brakes:

Suspension: Superflex bushes,Konis,Slightly shorter front springs,Uprated ARB links

Brakes: Rebuild them and fit a good pad material.

Power increase last!

This site is good: https://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/

A Spitty that handles is a marvellous car and as you have stated a great way to get into old cars.

Good luck.

What type of fuel upump have you fitted?

As NIck suggests, do fit a fuel cut off switch, here is an example:

Bruce,

Well done on purchasing Moby.

My Saloon is not here, so cannot look. Will ask around though.

Fitting door seals is not fun, takes about an hour per door!

Mike,

RBRR Marshal: That would be great, but would rather see you both in Moby 2 taking part. Sounds an interesting project. 20G tank sounds interesting. Dave Langrick has a 15 gallon tank in his GT6/Spitfire hybrid...makes events less stressful.

Good luck,

Tim

Sorry Sam, but to be contrary, the price includes the following: rods, big end bolts and bearings

Alternatively:

4 rods:  Rimmer's original at £55 a rod

4 sets of ARP bolts...best I can find is £120 a set

4 big end bearings say £30/set

So £370 against £369 for a set of these...price seems ok to me. 

When we weighed the M'speed roads we found them to be identical within a gram or two of each other. 

Hi Paul,

Maxingspeed rods were for sale on ebay, does one have to go directly to them to purchase?

Good luck with it all.

Mike and Alastair, what are your plans now, hope you can divulge? 

Good news this, well done both parties.

I cannot think of a more underrated old car than the Triumph big saloon range...absolutely superb motor cars and I still think Triumph's best product.

My 2.5Pi engine has a set of them fitted. After years of stress and as I want to be able to rev the thing, we fitted a set and have encountered no problem. These coupled with a light flywheel has resulted in a very smooth engine that loves to rev. And as Sam mentions, they were cheaper than trying to buy new std rods...no brainer.

I would think that fitting a set to a 1500 engine makes sense as they are very long stroked, same stroke length as 2500 six cyl rods if I remember correctly.

First things first though, have a good look at ensure adequate oil supply to the front engine bearing...don't they suffer from a degree of oil starvation?

Mike,

Google 'Auxillary Fan wiring diagram', you will find lots of very simple circuits that are very simple to install.

I have electric fans on all my cars and use a fan switch screwed into a boss on the bottom tank of the radiators. Simple toggle switch operates the over-ride.

I had a good chat with Mike Papworth at the NEC on Sunday.

He is actively looking at having parts remade and can still do overdrive conversion kits/sets.

Sorry to hijack this thread.

Ah, Staines by pass, the scene of my last diff explosion.....3.63 let go! The car had just done about 3 autosolos and the diff was very tired, I have the pinion gear somewhere!

When I used my GT6 as a daily driver in the 80s, I always drove with the lights on. The car is Royal blue.

Can't see the point of fitting DRLs to my GT6, would almost look inappriopriate, so I switch the lights on.

Cannot believe we are arguing about this, the 3.63:1 diff is the best compromise for a car to have reasonable acceleration and cruising speed.

My GT6 was a non overdrive model when purchased in 83, 3.27:1, not great as it blunted the acceleration of what is a sports car. Have had a 3.63:1 coupled with J type overdrive in her for 35 years now, by far the best compromise.

If a 2.5L car, then a 3.27:1 might be a realistic option, but aren't the carriers week and therefore susceptible to failure due to torque?

Keep going Douglas!

From my experience, the 3.63:1 Spitfire diff is the best diff ratio I have fitted to my GT6. The car was a non overdrive version when I purchased her, the fitting of the 3.63:1 diff and a J type overdrive have been a massive benefit.