mikew

Not sure, the Sprint will have a new engine by then, to a fairly serious specification, EFI, Jenvey Throttle Bodies, forged pistons and rods and a few other goodies so I am quite tempted to take the Sprint round again, or it could be the FF Estate as its the 50th, on the other hand the 5 has an engine to serious spec too, and a 6 pot does sound nicer.... decisions decisions 🙂

Delivered mine last night, on my way back from London, after working on the Festival of Remembrance - sorry about the green ball point pen ink - it was all I could find at the time (apart from Black Sharpie - that wasn't sharp anymore!)

heraldcoupe wrote:That's not something I've previously encountered. I guess it would be fairly easily made by someone with access to a large mill, and possibly a scrap head? Cheers, Bill. Its best made from a piece of steel plate, not some soft casting - machine the head down too much and it will be somewhat flexible (due to the material, water ways etc) a flat 1" steel plate with holes for the bores and the studs is what is required

sparky_spit wrote:I bought the last set of Spitfire large crank Vandervell VP2 shells left in the world, from Doug Foreman's stall at Stoneleigh 2 or 3 years ago.  That's what he told me anyway  ;) I'm going to put them in my "new" 1500 engine if I don't die first. Are not "large crank" 1300 and 1500 main journals the same size as 6 cylinder mains, and the bearings interchangeable - they have a different part number, but isn't that due to the quantity of the bearings in a pack Bearing diameter in both cases is 2.311 inches

The "can" is a cv joint - not really repairable - could repack and regrease it, but it will still have play

Slimboyfat wrote:I'll let you know that I have filled them to the brim several times in the last 15 odd years! However never when I do a track day, autosolo, or such like as it gets very heavy with 16 gallons of fuel in the back! Its only really useful extra capacity for the long stretch's of the RBRR, 10 Countries, etc. I am tempted to reply that its not the weight of the fuel that you need to worry about, but then I cannot say much on that front either  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Slimboyfat wrote: Strange, its never happened to me. Only because you are too "tight" to fill them both to the top ££   ;)   ;D ;D

Gearbox cover out every time. - should take no more than 40 minutes. The other advantage is you can closely inspect the cross shaft / actuating arm welds - they have a habit of tearing, letting the lever rotate and causing clutch issues. To pull the cover remove gear knob and tray on top of tunnel. parcel shelf next now carpet over cover and O ring that secures the gear lever gaiter then remove gearbox cover fixings and out it will pop While its out check the gearbox oil level as the filler plug is also easier to get at

thescrapman wrote: Are they old enough yet for a bit of Autosoloing?? Or would they be likely to show you up? Cheers Colin That's an idea, but i think they may still be a little vertically challenged, and i suspect the heavy Sprint steering will be an issue, but maybe next year.

I'll be there if work or daughter don't intrude

10349 wrote:Hi, I wondered if anybody can advise me where the inhibitor switch should be on a stag a type gearbox/ top extension. I have found the reverse light switch which works and identified all the relevant wiring for the overdrive but can't find or see provision for its inhibitor switch! It should be another similar switch to the reverse lamp on top of the cover, not far from the reverse switcch. If its missing and there's no hole - then the selector mechanism and cover are from a non overdrive box - but you will note on the extension cover some "blank" circles - these could be drilled and tapped to fit the switch - or simply change the extension. You really should have the inhibitor switch as driving in reverse with OD engaged will destroy the overdrive

Team 6 finally booked 12 out, 2 return

I hate to say this  ;), but well done Mr Charlton  (clap)

Is no one voting on the Poll Mr Charlton set up - I did ! Could be confusing adding written "likes" to the Poll vote, especially to someone of Mr Charlton's years  ;D

The bearings need removing from the inside to the outside. Tapping on the input shaft will not remove the bearing. assuming you have removed the layshaft, so the layshaft cluster drops to the bottom of the box, out of mesh with the main shaft gears, the drifts then need to be used inside the gearbox - usually at the top and sides of the main shaft hearings , Another method is to affix a slide hammer to the tailshaft (easy via the output shaft using the drive flange and nut) and use this to pull the main cluster out, removing the bearing as it comes out - you then have room to get at the input shaft bearing

If you are careful you can get a small pair of molegrips on the end of the brass heater valve and rotate it - but if you pull you will end up with the contents of the water jacket and radiator inside the car  ??) as its only the actuating leaver that retains the valve in the radiator pipes

The Lumenition system is good - and Rimmers are doing a price match on it - one of the other suppliers (minisport ??) has it for much less

TR5 had chrome covers

The input pipe to the slave needs a copper washer. The ID is not too important, providing the washer forms a circular seal under the fitting. Maybe you need to anneal the washer - if its been used once it will harden and be of no use. ALso check the depth of the threads and the hole in the fitting, its possible the fitting is bottoming out in  the hole and cannot compress the copper washer enough - do you have any gap between the fitting and the slave if there is no washer fitted. the final check is to see that both the face of the slave and the fitting are smooth, and also that the bore is parallel to the face of the slave

piman wrote:Hello Ridgetone, I wouldn't like to try it. As mentioned on another post somewhere, sometimes a screw puller is more effective than a direct hydraulic  press. Screw the puller up tight then shock the jacking screw with a hammer, that certainly seems to work well without damaging the components. That's how I split the rear hub taper also. Alec When using a press, you can apply a similar shock load with a steel drift and a BIG lump hammer, while the item in question has a few tons of force applied to it in the press. Simply wack the drift when it is applied to the housing - usueally in the area of the taper, works for me when I am worried that the 10 tons of pressure  ??) isn't releasing the shaft

michael_charlton wrote: ...what? on these treads..? you just go round and round in circles  :)

michael_charlton wrote: No wonder Bibendum is losing money.... :-/ I'm "tyred" of comments like this  ;)  ;D

Some silicon lubricant  8) significantly speeds the process, helps it slip into the grove faster, I get them done in about 40 minutes this way, but still my most unfavourite job

Some silicon lubricant  8) significantly speeds the process, helps it slip into the grove faster, I get them done in about 40 minutes this way, but still my most unfavourite job

10038 wrote:Thanks fellas for the exellent replies,i must admit i never thought about the balance of the pistons,im now going to measure the volume of the combustion chambers before deciding.i forgot to say that the best cylinder head(the right one) sits on top of the highest protruding pistons.what if i take an equal amount from all the pistons say 10 thou. With a standard gasket on the right  and extra thick on the left. thanks again dennis. Protruding pistons don't hurt, providing they don't touch the head. It all depends how much money you want to spend - pull the pistons and you will probably end up replacing the bearing shells and the rings and need to hone the bores - machine shops won't want to deck pistons with the rings still fitted and you are bound to break at least one during removal  :( - then  you should have the pistons rebalanced - or at least the weights checked and on and on you go spending money. Check the chamber volumes first, and get the heads checked for flatness i.e. no warping - if all is OK cheapest answer is to bang some gaskets on reassemble and run - don't forget stags only want one head bolted tight until the inlet manifold is fitted and bolted in place, then tighten the other head down. if you go further, and want to rebuild, fit iwis german chains (from ldparts) - I wouldn't replace the chain tensioneers though - there are some VERY nasty repros on sale at the moment - reuse the old ones if possible, also dont buy nos water pumps - there were a VERY bad batch about (and some still in circulation) with poor case hardening that wrecks the pump and jackshaft (and then warps the heads due to over heating) - always get the old pump rebuilt - again ld parts for the bits and a local machine shop to resurface the impeller face good luck