RobPearce
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Everything posted by RobPearce
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can mk4 spitfire ignition key barrel be replaced?
RobPearce replied to hyperhale's topic in Electrical
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...
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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
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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.
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2003 wrote:Ah okay, would you advise either completely replacing trunnions/going down canleys route then? I find it strange one appears so much worse than the other! Its as if the RHS has failed in the past and been replaced as new. 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.
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But it's the wrong one! Spike needs the driver's side :(
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Well, yes, but in the first post of this thread it says: Quote:Don’t work about the bigger size or other required mods; that can be handled if they fit the manifold. 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.
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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!)
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - anything from inability to leave the house without cleaning the kitchen five times, down to your "perfectionist" tendency of always trying to find an improvement. Which I share 😉 As to the ignition curves... well, I don't have a 1-2-3 so I can't comment on them specifically, but I've been a developer of engine control software for 25 years if that counts... Most engines are really quite tolerant of ignition advance. This is a good thing, when you consider how unreliable the old mechanical distributors were. I had the mechanical advance completely seize up on a 2L Vitesse and it still ran well enough that an occasional driver might not have noticed anything amiss. Getting the curve absolutely spot on will give a small benefit in fuel economy (and emissions, but that's marginal). Fitting a Herald dizzy to a 1500 Spitfire engine (in a 13/60 - we didn't have the Spitfire dizzy) doesn't cause any obvious issues. So while the 16 curves are probably all "wrong" for your Triumph, half of them are probably close enough to work better than a knackered slightly worn Lucas unit.
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Richard_B wrote:But on the plus side in a Spitfire with quarterlights over 70mph, the window wont bow out due to air pressure. Probably explains why the came about on the GT6 actually? :-/ Yes, indeed. The bowing out is far more noticeable when the hardtop's on - or in a coupe - which I understand was exactly the reason the factory added quarterlights on the GT6.
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Is that the one that did RBR last year? I'd go white on that.
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It's not an overly difficult job. The door frames are the same on all but the earliest Spitfires (essentially the factory commonised them when the GT6 went into production) so you only need the internals. However, that does mean you need to source: A pair of GT6 quarterlight frames A pair of GT6 quarterlights A pair of GT6 windows A pair of GT6 weatherstrip sets (inner and outer) A pair of GT6 winder assemblies (at least parts of them) You'll almost certainly also need to replace a load of fixings (bolts, clips, etc.) The job involves dismantling the door fairly completely and reassembling with all these new bits. I think the lock and catch can stay in place but the release linkage from the internal handle might get in your way. Get a copy of the BL workshop manual - it covers the process reasonably well.
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When I had my Spitfire's chassis blast cleaned, I got them to powder coat it too. Looks lovely even after many years... of sitting in various garages waiting for me to finish the rebuild :(
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2601 wrote:Hi Tim, check carefully the wires from the column switch as some cars switch +12V and other switch Earth (0+). Roger Not completely sure on TRs but for the small cars: The D-type fitment is a ground-side switch feeding the coil of a relay that switches +12V to the solenoid. You can either wire the bulb across the relay coil (e.g. from +12V to the column switch) or across the solenoid (from the relay contact to ground). The J-type fitment does not have a relay. The switches are all on the +12V side. You would wire the bulb across the solenoid (switches to ground) as suggested earlier. I think the A-type wiring matches the D-type.
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I agree with Paudman on the glass dome - never had a leak on the Vitesse (I did rebuild it due to a sticky valve once) but the GT6 with the later type is less-than-wonderful. As to the Facet pumps - they're basically all rated high enough for a standard GT6. They tend to quote target BHP figures as that's a better indicator of fuel flow than engine size. At least, where I last looked they did, but it was a "motorsport" catalogue :)
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I agree with all the votes for moulded. My GT6 has sewn ones and they don't fit well, shfit and ruck.
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Recommendation for workshop manual Spitfire MK3?
RobPearce replied to ernstmarkus's topic in Triumph Chat
Another vote for the original Triumph (or BL reprint) here. Check whether the club shop has them - it wasn't unkown in the past. -
My local MOT man (an old-fasioned garage owner with a couple of classics himself) commented that he's taken to using a spot sand blaster on the ends of bolts and studs before trying to get the nut off. The idea is that a good grit blasting will remove most of the rust and other crud that's blocking the nut from moving. I don't know whether it will work on exhaust studs but worth a try if you have access to the kit.
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The 1500 Herald I used to own developed a truly ghastly vibration at certain engine speed (higher than yours, I think) which was down to the dynamo fan having shed half its blades.
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Engine rebuild mystery - can you ID a 1500 engine?
RobPearce replied to rockrockmcrock's topic in Engine
10126 wrote: 1300 HS2 carbs are fitted and only the inlet manifold is of 1500 design (but is incorrectly shown as a 1300 design on some websites!) Surely the 1500 inlet manifold is sized for HS4 carbs and can't easily be fitted with HS2s. The differences between late Mk4 1300 inlet and the 1500 inlet are not that huge. In fact, aren't the mounting flanges of HS2s and HS4s quite different? -
Engine rebuild mystery - can you ID a 1500 engine?
RobPearce replied to rockrockmcrock's topic in Engine
thescrapman wrote: If you have a 1300 head on a 1500 block (crank) then you will have silly compression, keep blowing head gaskets and it will just not run right. Not true. We did this to a Herald (dead 1300 engine, bought a 1500, found the head was "dud", fitted the 1300's head instead) and drove it around for quite a while without any problems. Sure the compression was high but it ran fine. -
Doug_P wrote: You are welcome to your opinion. I like these. Just thought I'd say, I agree with him. They also look quite sharp and might tear your trousers if walking past the car in a tight garage.
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I'm also suspicious of the compression readings going down, and of the "with oil" ones being exactly the same for all four. A little bit of blow-by is normal, hence the crank case breather. The oil splatter is also very common. If it was in regular short-journey use, it may just be a bit coked up. Sometimes a good blatt will recover some of the missing power.
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The inlet-to-exhaust one is underneath, through a shelf on the exhaust manifold. It may be missing - mine is, as was the one on my first Mk1. Once you've taken the manifolds off, you may find you start to get fairly regular gasket failures. The Mk1 setup is particularly bad for clamping if the manifolds have worn differently (and given that we're talking cast iron and alloy they will have) or are a tight fit against each other or have been over-tightened... you name it.
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When my GT6 had new carpets, the gearlever gaiter wasn't included. Since the old one was pretty bad, I made a new one... out of the back of a scrap seat, but any other source of a bit of vinyl will do. It's an easy sewing job. No access to any photos of it right now but if I remember...
