heraldcoupe
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Everything posted by heraldcoupe
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They are interchangeable, sort of. The handle, lock and internal door release need to be changed together as a set. When the new door locks were introduced in 1962, the cut-outs in the door shell were altered at the same time. I have swapped early and late components within a door, early mechanisms into a late door shell if I remember correctly. Everything fitted properly, but having the wrong cutouts made getting my fingers into the necessary places rather more difficult. Fitting late locks into an earlier door might raise bigger issues, but at worst it's likely to be no more than easing a few cutouts with a Dremel. On the other hand, I can confirm that a late drivers door push-button can be used to convert the passenger door to external locking. On any later car, this would be my chosen path, the early locking mechanisms being somewhat fragile, Cheers, Bill.
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The plastic ones were all that was available for a long time, but I've been selling a pretty close copy of the originals for the past couple of years. Cheers, Bill.
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Do you have any pictures and dimensions of where the tube sits? Cheers, Bill.
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I have something of a special project on the go. It looks like I'll have to get a custom propshaft made as the length needs to be 34". The closest lengths I can find off the shelf are 35.5" for an overdrive GT6, or 32" for some MGBs. Before I get something made-up, does anyone know of a readily available propshaft which would match my needs? I don't have figures for any of the TR propshafts and wondered if there might be anything suitable from that range, Cheers, Bill.
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The exhaust mount at the bellhousing makes matter worse, if you see the exhaust as a large lever, this puts a fulcrum point closer to the vulnerable joint. I was changing this gasket every 3000 miles on my wife's old Dolomite 1500, until I read about the problems caused by that mounting. Cheers, Bill.
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The exhaust mount at the bellhousing makes matter worse, if you see the exhaust as a large lever, this puts a fulcrum point closer to the vulnerable joint. I was changing this gasket every 3000 miles on my wife's old Dolomite 1500, until I read about the problems caused by that mounting. Cheers, Bill.
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The clips are available, but as already alluded to, quality is highly variable. When you get some, check that they're not too thick, or too thin. Also check the dimples on one of the clips which locate in holes on the other clip, locking them together. Some are made with very shallow dimples which simply don't engage positively, causing the clips to drop out as the cylinder slides... While you're at it, also check that the handbrake pivot is free to move. This engages in a slot in the slave cylinder body. There are plenty of aftermarket cylinders where the slot is too shallow, so when the clips are fitted, the whole lot is held tight against the backplate and won't slide easily. If it's been fitted like this, it's another potential cause for having lost the clips, ie the cylinder has moved under force while the clip didn't. A few operations like this and the whole assembly can release, Cheers, Bill.
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Point 'd' is correct for the front datum. As a sanity check, the rear datum is a vertical line through the back face of the rear damper mounting point, the horizontal distance between both points measuring 242.42cm to 243.05cm. Cheers, Bill.
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Grommet fitted in the wing first. Lots of Autoglym's Vinyl & Rubber Care as a lubricant, push the neck through the grommet then reverse the removal sequence. It's always easier getting them back in, Cheers, Bill.
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Disconnect the stay, then take out the small bracket it's attached to. Push the drain plug up through the floor - be prepared to push the floor downward to gain clearance in some cases. Once clear, swing the front lower end of the tank in towards the centre of the boot. Now you can slide the back end of the tank downwards and into the boot, pulling the filler neck through it's opening as you go. It gets simpler once you've done it a few hundred times... Cheers, Bill.
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795mm is certainly wrong, but as you've said, correcting it will move things the wrong way. The alignment between bonnet top and bulkhead doesn't look bad in the photos, but I'll take your word for it that it's worse than it appears. To move the bonnet rearwards, it's been common to make extended bonnet attachment links (121254). It's a simple flat plate with two holes, one of them elongated into a slot, I believe longer versions have been offered on ebay in the past. There is also mileage in tilting the bulkhead as already mentioned, but ensure your roof will fit correctly before fixing in a revised position. Cheers, Bill.
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Check that 800mm measurement I gave you earlier between the bulkhead to overrider brackets. There are fixes, but we need to know where the problem lies before making recommendations. Cheers, Bill.
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The door looks like it's too far forward already, there should be better clearance between the quarterlight and windscreen frame. Is it possible your bulkhead is too far back? As a rough and dirty measurement, it should measure 800mm between the overrider mounting and the front face of the bulkhead, Cheers, Bill.
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The door you describe is from a 1959 or 1960 Herald. There were three different patterns of door used during 1959, with the third type lasting into 1960 - this was the last design to have the exposed quarterlight screw, so it predates Vitesse production. The panel fit however shouldn't be affected by a different door type, there was no change in the aperture they're intended to fit. Where in particular are the problems evident? Cheers, Bill.
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That's what's been fitted to the Alexander conversions I've handled, Cheers, Bill.
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There was a period conversion by Alexander, it used the original manifold with a pair of angled adaptors to mount the sidedraught replacement carburettors. They're surprisingly common, as are cars converted to the later factory Stromberg setup, cars with the original Solex setup seem to have become pretty rare, Cheers, Bill.
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Did you rebuild the slave cylinder at the same time as the master? If not, you're stuck in a cycle of cross contamination. You fit the new seals, pump through fresh fluid and believe all is well. Residue from the failed seals will have contaminated the old fluid, leaving traces on and around the undisturbed seal. In addition to attacking the seal itself, your new fluid will be contaminated. Two years is about what expect from a partial system rebuild. The only surprise is that the slave hasn't failed ahead of the new master cylinder seals, Cheers, Bill.
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For all the little niggles, the current 13/60 front wings can be fitted and made to look very good. The repro 1200 wings are another matter, being modified from the 13/60 pressings with a handmade section let-in at the front. Fitting even Stanpart rear wings can be a nightmare, the original shell is so often deformed that a perfectly made wing will no longer fit where it should, Cheers, Bill.
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I fold the flange back to roughly flat using pliers/grips, then dress it properly flat with hammer & dolly. Once it's smoothed out, draw a line where the flange should be and form a new fold in the correct direction. If possible, it's good to clamp between tow straight edges to form a clean angle, not so easily done with large panel though
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The new 13/60 wings aren't fully finished and need to have the front flanges folded back. Other anomalies include the lack of step in the rear vertical reinforcement. If left unmodified, the wing will be made flush with the side of the bonnet top, where it should in fact step outwards by about 1/4". Many of us take out the new reinforcement and re-use the one salvaged from the old wing, Cheers, Bill.
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Based on my own observations and as far as 1200s are concerned, the recessed dashboard was obsolete at the very end of 1962 or early in 1963. The padded dashboard was introduced on 1200s by early 1964, though it was one of the standard refinements on the very first 12/50s and Vitesses. Making assumptions of some logic being applied (not always a safe bet), I would expect all except possibly the very first the very first Vitesses to have the flat dash. I don't ever remember seeing a padded surround which lacked the large cutouts for the capping mounted switches, Cheers, Bill.
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thermostat or no thermostat, that is the question
heraldcoupe replied to supergreenmachine73's topic in Engine
With the thermostat closed, there is a smaller volume of water being heated by the engine. Opening (or removing) the thermostat increases the volume of water through which the engine's heat is dissipated. To put it in it's simplest terms, try boiling a kettle full of water, then try it with only a cupful. They don't boil at the same rate... The thermostat is there to get the engine up to it's optimum temperature as quickly as possible, then to maintain that temperature with minimal fluctuation. Cheers, Bill. -
Horn sounding randomly is nearly always caused by play in the steering column bushes, in cases where an original wheel is fitted. Where an aftermarket wheel is fitted, that in itself is often the cause, clearances can be very poor. I've made Mountney wheels work by making a larger contact plate from brass shim and attaching it to the underside of the horn push. The contact brush is rarely a good match in terms of length, so I've made custom versions using original contacts assembled into Evergreen Plastic tubes (modellers supplies), the braid being s piece of desoldering wick. You still need to set all the distances between inner and outer column carefully and ensure bushes are in good order. Mountney wheels are the worst offenders though and take some effort to work properly in the first place, Cheers, Bill.
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If you're changing the seals (or entire cylinder) at one end of the system, you ought to re-seal the other end at the same time. If you fail to do this, your aged seals will compromise the new fluid, which will in turn compromise the new seals. If you only do half the job you will be revisiting the other end of the system within a couple of years. Rebuild both ends together and flush properly, then you should get many years without further trouble, Cheers, Bill.
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Do you have any pictures of the car? Cheers, Bill.