RobPearce

OK, I've been out to check, and I will revise my opinion. Here's the one I have in stock, from Paddocks: That looks very much like the one you got from Rimmers. Here's what my Vitesse has: That's the late Spitfire / Dolomite / big saloon type, and it's not very much different from the new offering... but is a little, and probably significantly. I obviously didn't fit the new one to the Spitfire. Here's what it has: That, I believe, is the original dynamo type that was on the Herald we had briefly fitted this engine to.

That looks like a very poor copy of the original (alternator) version of the bracket. Better copies are available from Paddocks and others. They look like the one in the drawing. I think I have one lying around somewhere, although I may have fitted it to my Spitfire, but I can certainly try to photograph the one on my Vitesse, if that's correct. I've seen people do the conversion without needing that adjuster, as it's possible to re-use the (longer) dynamo version with an appropriate (longer) fan belt. But I get the impression you aren't actually converting from a dynamo but rather building a kit car from scratch.

No, I think that sounds a very sensible plan. Mine's garaged so it's not too much of a problem but it still ends up with puddles there. Some sort of drainage would be highly beneficial. Your only problem is going to be blockage. You're pretty restricted on the size of hole you can organise that way, and small drain holes get blocked very quickly.

Did you follow the "polarising" instructions when fitting? You need to establish a base magnetic field, which is done by momentarily connecting the smaller 'F' terminal directly to battery live, a few times.

The idea of the collapsible column is not to allow the full body movement - you'd only end up hitting your head on the windscreen instead - but rather to "soften" the impact with the steering wheel. If the column gives when subjected to a force that the wheel can withstand, then the body is decelerated at the rate commensurate with that force, over a few inches, with the contact area being the rim of the wheel. That will hurt, but not be fatal. Without the collapsible column, the impact shatters the wheel and the hub hits the middle of the chest, and probably punctures it.

Indeed. Well, specifically, I cannot see how losing the wire VR appears to be describing could do anything other than ensure the light NEVER comes on. However, loss of the brown/green from dynamo to control box might, as the bulb is driven from the brown/yellow.

Post a photo of it! Heralds do have some adjustment in the column, but not by a pull switch. If you mean that the knob has an icon that looks like adjustable column to your mind, I think that's the heater direction control.

As Darren said, it could be several things, so we need more information. Is it a dynamo or alternator? If you're not sure how to tell, post a photo of the engine bay (preferably from the front left) and we'll be able to tell you.

That's right, the alternator has a built-in regulator. It needs the warning lamp connection (and a proper filament bulb, not an LED) to get the field windings kick-started. Your wiring diagram is pretty standard - all the brown wires feeding permanent live loads come off the solenoid simply because it's a more convenient terminal than the battery, and it means there's only one (big fat) cable to each of the battery terminals, which is easier for when you need to change it.

If the alternator in question is a Lucas type with the three-big-lucar connector (well, two really big, one medium) then the connections are simple: - The two really bigs (which are probably internally connected together) have a fat brown wire to battery +ve - The other terminal goes to the warning lamp. It should be a brown/yellow wire However... the wires to a dynamo, in the standard loom, are a fat brown/yellow that goes to terminal D of the control box, and a thin brown/green that goes to terminal F. There's a thin brown/yellow from terminal 'wl' to the warning lamp. Since the need to be a fat wire trumps the colour, the quick conversion does: - Brown/Yellow at alternator to the big terminals - Brown/green at alternator to the smaller one - Fat brown/yellow at control box ('D') to the (three) fat brown wires there ('+') - Thin brown/yellow at the control box ('wl') to the brown/green ('F') If you don't have an intact wiring loom (e.g. if you're building a kit car and starting the wiring from scratch) then I'd follow the first scheme, which is the colour codes used by the factory when an alternator was fitted.

It's a good few years since I had a TR7 but I recall that the middle hoop of the frame is pivoted and can tend to sit in the wrong orientation as you stow it. It needs to be tucked low into the hood stowage to make room for the front rail to tuck in nicely. I expect Beans will be able to provide more clarity.

I didn't pass my driving test until I had finished uni, but then my first car was a decidedly multi-coloured Mk1 Vitesse saloon. It looked a bit of a wreck but was surprisingly solid and reliable.

I'm afraid I don't have any measurements for you but for maximum neatness you may be better off making your own and flaring the ends in situ. Even slight differences in routing of the longer pipes can create enough error by the far end to make the fitting ugly.

I think you may have your maths inverted. Bigger wheels make for longer gearing, as does a lower diff ratio (it's the ratio of input turns to output turns). So if you wanted to retain the Herald's 16mph/1000RPM you'd need a 4.8 diff. There was a 4.88 diff fitted to 948 Heralds but, in truth, the 4.11 is noticeably under-geared on a 13/60 and if your body is going to be lighter then you can definitely tolerate the longer legs. Many people fit the late Spitfire 3.63 diff on Heralds and don't find it too long, so if you stick with the 4.11 with your bigger wheels I think you'll be OK.

Not 3.4 but 3.27 on non-OD GT6s. Possibly also some automatic Dolomites? Although it's a different axle the diff nose and internals are very similar. There was a 3.45 diff on the 2500 saloon but it's a very different unit.

It looked quite a lot like a Mk3 Spitfire hood from what I could see, but the photos don't really give the detail. What was the giveaway that it's "definitely not"?

Somewhat odd to ask that question. It's a case of "in case I need a readily available part for a very common car, is it the same as the one in a much rarer model?". The 1300 (FWD) saloon engine's block is the same but almost nothing else is. Triumph 1300 (RWD) engines are, as Matt said, very common and easy to find. There were variations - in particular a change of main/big end bearing size fairly late in 13/60 production - but the Herald, Spitfire, Toledo and Dolomite engines are all the same for any given year.

Errr.... it's not supposed to come on then! Why would it? If you're convinced it used to then there must have been a problem of some sort that's gone away.

No, it was me! (My Spitfire failed to make the 2018 RBRR because of it, and I had to use the GT6 instead)

Don't you need an absurd amount of space under the car for that trick, on the big saloons? I know the official WSM for the Stag (where dropping the engine isn't an option) says to put the rear wheels on a lift and raise them by four feet so that the engine and gearbox can be tilted enough to come out through the bonnet aperture. Or did you mean the opposite of what I read your comment as? No need to remove the gearbox from the engine? Or no need to remove it from the car?

I think we're at cross purposes. The clutch housing bolts are, as you say, 5/16" UNF (I've just changed the clutch on my GT6). The studding I referred to was for lowering the front cross-member from the body, and I don't remember what size those bolts are.

Since the fixings in question are nut and bolt, and you're replacing that pair with studding, the exact thread doesn't matter. I think, top of head, the bolts are probably 5/16"UNF, for which M8 studding and nuts will work. If they're 3/8"UNF then you can use M10.

Ah, yes, good question Gus. Any update?

I took mine out the bottom with no way to lift the car high. Put the front of the car on ramps. Get some lengths of studding - about three feet or so - and replace one front cross-member bolt at each end with them. Then remove the remaining bolts, and gradually undo the nuts on the studding to lower the engine onto (preferably) and flat trolley. I think I may then have unbolted the engine mounts to remove the cross-member, and rolled the engine onto its side to give the clearance I needed. If you have a high lift engine crane, you can use that to lift the front of the body to get clearance. And if you don't, you have no way to lift the engine out the top either.

What is your bleeding method? Hose in a jam jar? Plugged hose with a slit? Fancy valve thing? Eezybleed? Skilled assistant?