RobPearce

It does sound like somebody's put the coil in backwards, and you should probably fix that.

I have no idea what that relay is. My best guess would be a rev limiter? Or a not-very-good immobiliser? Either way, it sounds like a bad idea so I'd suggest removing it.

What do you consider "a huge amount"? Are you using enough choke?

OK, that was a bit cheeky, but they can be funny when properly cold, which is what 12 hours assures you.

It is also possible that you're losing fuel from the float chambers. This can be caused by evaporation, or leaks, particularly from the flexible hose to the jet. The way to check is to whip the top off (3 screws) and look at the level. Compare how it is after 12 hours to how it looks shortly after stopping. If you are losing fuel overnight, and it's not down to a fixable leak, it may be the easiest option is an electric fuel pump. This will fill the carbs before you start cranking, unlike the original mechanical one.

Not necessarily!

On modern cars (where this type of setup is the norm) there are nearly always two breather tappings. The big one (like the 1/2 bore hose on the standard setup) feeds to the air filter side of the throttle, because it's a bulk breather. There is a tiny bit of vacuum there due to the air filter. The secondary breather, which goes downstream of the throttle, needs to be restricted, i.e. only a small hole, to prevent excessive crankcase vacuum.

This is similar to what the factory did, in fact. Early cars (certainly Mk1 Vitesses, anyway) had a manifold tapping for the breather, but needed a restrictor valve device to keep the flow down. Later cars did away with that by moving the breather to the carbs, where it feeds the "constant vacuum" section, which is before the throttle butterfly.

Most of the ones from the usual suspects are good. I've used the Canley's ones on Spitfires and Vitesses and been happy with them. The one on Toby (Mk3 Spit) needed a slight hoik with a bender to get the alignment perfect, but it's an oddball - Mk1 GT6 centre and rear on a 4-2-1 tubular manifold. Normally the downpipe attachment gives a bit of adjustment for the aligment.

Quoted from Sheepy

Choose which car next!

Quoted from ferny

Get that spitfire sorted!

Yep, that's pretty much my plan
Toby has been hoping to get a chance at RBR every run since 2002 (the GT6's second). Last year was the first time it looked like there was any hope (but turned out to be the GT6's third). Next year it's got to be Toby's turn.

No? What about hacking down a windy country A-road (A361 near Chipping Norton, for those who know it) in the dark in an 1850 Dolomite when suddenly all the electrics cut out - no lights, no engine, back out of overdrive? It all returned after a second or two, but I'd say it was pretty disconcerting :)

Not quite. The lighting stalk on GT6s (and Heralds, Vitesses and Spitfires up to early 1500?) is on the left and has down for dip, up for main. Well, actually,
- early cars (Mk1/2 GT6, Mk1-3 Spitfire, Heralds, Vitesses) have a three position stalk
      top = sidelights only
      middle = main beam
      bottom = dip beam
- Mk4 Spitfire and Mk3 GT6 had only two positions
      up = main beam
      down = dip beam

In both cases, pull to flash (although some early Heralds may not have had that)

How do you know it only leaks if left? I've had a Spitfire that used to leak from the rear seal, and only left a puddle if unused because when being driven the oil dropped on the exhaust and burnt off.

I can't see how removing a non-original part can be an MOT failure - it would require the tester to KNOW the history!
My GT6 does not have a servo. It passes the MOT.

I believe all 1147 blocks are small-journal and all 1300 are large. The odd-ball is the Mk3 Spitfire, where the camshaft itself is a carry-over Mk2 (small journal) part fitted to the large journal block with sleeve bearings (which are not easy to obtain).

I believe all 1147 blocks are small-journal and all 1300 are large. The odd-ball is the Mk3 Spitfire, where the camshaft itself is a carry-over Mk2 (small journal) part fitted to the large journal block with sleeve bearings (which are not easy to obtain).

Only 500 miles? Wow! That makes my Vitesse look decidedly good.

The failure mode you suffered is the same one Tessa does. Likely contributory factors are:
- extreme overheating (Tessa showed signs of this just before blowing the gasket on most occasions)
- bad pinking (knock), possibly related to above
- defective or worn-out head studs or nuts
- damage to block or head face (though your photos don't look bad on that front)
- defective or damaged gasket used

It depends on the gauge. The one on my Vitesse is a pure-capilliary one - has a pipe to the oil sender T-piece and a second pipe to a replacement temperature sensor capsule. I've actually disconnected that because it's rusted up and can't easily be fitted in the replacement water pump housing that I needed because a previous owner had tightened it so hard (to stop it leaking) that they cracked the housing. I'm going to revert to the original temperature gauge.

I disagree - to me it looks like the non-recessed Mk4 type (which is a definite improvement on the copper/asbestos thing on Mk1 Vitesses!)

Yes, all the complex works are assembled in the front part, the rear casing then fits over and holds the output shafts. The nose piece and 'works' are common with the small Dolomites, where they fit a live axle.

That sounds high. Modern engines often switch the fan at 100 (or even 105) but that's based on engine coolant temperature (i.e. in the thermostat housing) which will be a lot hotter than the bottom of the rad. That said, as long as the bottom hose is colder than your target engine temperature it will still cool it, so it's not at all unreasonable to have the fan switched at a higher temperature than the thermostat, which is 82 or 88 IIRC.

Particularly once the local mice have eaten through it...  >:(

I managed to replace one on my Mk3 GT6, after a so-called-friend mislaid the key and smashed the barrel in order to move the car! However, that was a dozen years ago so the supply situation will have deteriorated somewhat by now.

It's certainly possible to fit a four stud diff just by leaving two studs out. I did it on a Herald estate (1500 engine so we fitted a 1500 Spitfire diff) and I think my Vitesse is also that way.

I need to replace the diff on my GT6 too, but I need to get hold of a 3.63 (or 3.27) one first. It's currently a 4.11 off a 13/60...

First, make sure it's the column earth that's faulty, not the horn wire. Check for continuity between the contact ring and the relay, which might be easiest done by :
- remove the horn push from the wheel
- push a bare wire end through the hole so it touches the ring
- connect the other end of that wire to a good earth
If that doesn't make the horn sound, it's not an earth problem.
While you've got it apart, have a good look at the plunger that was in that hole. It should be a clear plastic tube with a brass insert at each end, one of which is spring-loaded. These ends need to be electrically connected together, and the thin bit of flexible wire that does so can fail.
Also check that the horn push makes an electrical contact when pressed (between the contact that rests on that plunger and the one on the side that rubs on the steering wheel hub).
If the problem really is that the steering wheel hub isn't earthed, the most likely cause is that one of the two earthing straps on the steering rack end is missing. There should be a strap across the flexible joint at the bottom of the column, otherwise it's non-conductive. There should also be one from the rack (under the grease nipple, usually) to the chassis and/or engine.

Hopefully that should give you some pointers

They look good! I've not yet tried fitting the ones I bought for my Mk3 Spit (which has Mk4 seats) but I'll be happy if I get them like that.

Yes, I'd say that's quite likely. In fact, when the RHS failed the LHS probably needed replacing already but whoever did it was too much of a cheapskate. If that happened relatively recently you should be fine only replacing the knackered one.

But it's the wrong one! Spike needs the driver's side  :(

Well, yes, but in the first post of this thread it says:

I'm guessing "work" was a typo for "worry", so he's saying he knows they're a different size throat, the question is whether they're also different shapes, mounting lug locations, etc. If he wasn't sure about that from your answer, then he might well be asking for clarification.

Quoted from piman

an earlier poster said that most engines are pretty tolerant of ignition timing which caused me to raise my eyebrows a bit.

I said "tolerant", I didn't say "unaffected"  
Sure, if the ignition is way out at low revs you'll definitely notice it, but if the advance curves are a bit off it's much less obvious. Highly tuned engines are often more sensitive than cookers, too.

(Worst I ever drove was when a local (TR) specialist set up my Stag, timing the wrong cylinder to a ding in the pulley instead of the actual mark. Was about 35 degrees retarded. It still ran... just!)