Nick Moore

A little more progress... The oxygen sensor is fitted to a new bung in the exhaust and working. The leaky water pump has had a new seal fitted (sent free of charge by Dave from Canley Classics - thanks again), along with a little grease, and is once again watertight. Twelve vacuum takeoffs have been added to the inlet manifold - six 4mm tubes for the manifold air pressure sensor and fuel pressure regulator (both important for tuning) and six larger tubes to provide vacuum for the brake booster and to let a little air in from the idle control valve. I would have preferred to hide the vacuum takeoffs underneath the inlet runners, but the exhaust headers were in the way. Running the engine showed that swapping the banana-shaped steel oil pan for the alloy sump has cured the large leak from the front edge of the sump. However, the front plug in the oil gallery is leaking, something that wasn't apparent compared to the large sump leak. Unfortunately the leaking plug isn't the one you can see in the photo. No, the oil trickle is coming from between the block and the alloy front engine plate. That means that the timing cover and camshaft sprockets have to come off to get to it. Bugger. Well, at least the engine itself can stay in place this time! Why is it leaking? The engine builder removed all the plugs to clean out swarf. Some plugs were mangled in the process, and because he didn't have replacement plugs with the correct thread, he retapped some of them. I can't remember which ones he worked on though, or what the old and new thread types were. All will be revealed once the front of the engine is stripped down, I guess. What else. Oh yeah, it's not running very well. I suspect I may have strained some wires during the engine removal and damaged the loom. I thought I'd got them all but missed one section of the loom. That's how it was as of three weeks ago. I got a bit discouraged when I  just couldn't get it to idle smoothly, especially as it was running quite well before I fitted the new sump. The new oil leak didn't help my mood, so I shut the garage and walked off for a while. But then - good news! - I got a new job out in the mines. Unlike previous jobs where I'd commute home for a week every couple of months, this job is Monday to Friday, so the GT6 will be trucked 400 miles south to my new home town in the next few weeks. Once it's tucked away in its new home, I'll be keen to get stuck into the running issues and oil leaks. It also needs some ram pipes, an air box and filter, and some final debugging.

Nice idea John. Although my GT6 hasn't seen rain in years, water does collect there after washing it. In fact I washed the tailgate this morning as one of our garage lizards had taken a dump on it. The lizards keep the Redbacks under control but their poo is corrosive   Water was also getting into the tailgate, but I put grommets in the top holes and drilled drain holes in the bottom. It was almost as if Triumph wanted the car to rust!

Later six cylinder engines had recesses around the top of the cylinder bores, and thicker rings in the head gaskets that fitted in those recesses. The theory was no doubt that the crushable rings would seal better. In practice, flat top engines aren't any more prone to head gasket failure, even with high compression ratios. The head gaskets with crushable rings, for blocks with recesses, are identified by tags on the rear end of the gasket. You can see them if you look between the rear of the engine and the bulkhead.

Jonny, you're a far better mechanic than me, judging from your list of cars and where you work. Can I suggest, though, that kunifer pipe would be better than copper? It's just as easy to work, but doesn't get fatigue fractures like copper is said to do.

I was thinking that it would make a great way to move a toddler around too! Ideas like that are why I'm not trusted around children   It would also be good as a mechanic's slider to scoot under the car, but not under a Triumph.

Just as Craig did, having proved that my Megasquirt (and engine for that matter) worked, I've spent a lot of hours disassembling it to fix faults, tidy the wiring and plumbing, and reassembling it all more tidily. The biggest job was exchanging the modified steel sump with an alloy one from Racetorations. I didn't fit the alloy sump first time around because it's heavier. In most places it's about 8mm thick, plus it's longer and deeper. However, the steel one leaked around the front edge, no doubt due to my hammering out recesses for the longer throw crankshaft   So, the engine was yanked halfway out and the new sump bolted on. Before I squeezed the engine back in, I turned it over and found (surprise surprise) that rod # 1 and 2's big end bolts hit the sump. I am so glad I thought to check that before dropping the engine back in the hole. An hour with a Dremel and a few trial fits later, and the engine spins over without any clonks. Phew. An earlier thread Sorry , link no longer available discussed whether an alloy sump would fit. Well, I can report that it does! I had to bevel the inner edge of the left hand alloy steering rack mount. but otherwise the new sump fits over and around the steering rack, and neatly behind the crossmember. It is deeper so that the cooling fins are in the airflow under the car. That does increase the risk of damage from rocks, but there's still nearly 5 inches ground clearance. If necessary, I could fabricate a sump guard, but that would block the airflow. The capacity is about 5L. The engine had about a mile on it when I removed the sump. I didn't find any significant metal fragments in the bottom or on the oil pump's catcher gauze. The oil was darker than new, but that's probably due to the graphite assembly paste, and wear as the rings and bores get to know each other. The MAP sensor, O2 sensor and fuel pressure regulator have been plumbed in, so once the water pump is rekitted, it should be running better than before.

Dave Pearson has sent me a picture of a water pump seal, which looks a little different to what came out of my pump. A new seal is on its way, so I'll no doubt have more revelations or questions. Probably questions. Thanks Dave! Meanwhile the exhaust system is back at Specialist #2 to get the oxygen sensor bung welded in. They were good enough to slap their own heads!

No more progress yet, but a mystery solved. I'm getting ready to lift the engine and gearbox so that I can fit the cast alloy sump. The bonnet's off and most of the ancillaries have been removed or disconnected. To make life easier I removed the exhaust manifold. Specialist #2's secondaries are a little on the short side, but as it makes removal so much easier and has eliminated the leaky slip joints, I do not care. At some point theory has to give way to practicality. It seals, and after attempts by two specialists to complete the unfinished exhaust manifold, I'm just glad to have something that works at all. Honestly, it would have been far easier and quicker to have made my own.   When I crawled under the car, I found that specialist #2 had forgotten to fit an oxygen sensor bung in the new pipe. The O2 sensor was tucked tidily out of the way in the fresh air, so it was no wonder the car thought it was running lean and tried to richen the mixture further! To get the centre section of pipe out, I had to cut off one of Specialists #1's mounts to the chassis main rail.. Hopefully it won't be needed. The offending centre pipe will go back to Specialist #2 tomorrow to get a bung fitted. And then she will be able to self-tune Greg Tunstall Mechanical couldn't help with the water pump. Greg loved the 6-vaned impeller but couldn't figure out how the internal seal is fitted - either way round, there's a rubber seal acting on a rubber seal. Still scratching the head on that one. I'll do the sump swap tomorrow. Draining the oil showed minimal metal shavings on the magnetic sump plug though, which is nice.

The car body needs to be supported, on axle stands, ramps, piles of wood... whatever you have. The weight of the car must be off the rear wheels so that the rear suspension is unloaded and free to be manipulated.

I doubt the Fuzz will worry about me testing the car in our street. Mind you, the front end oil leak makes it easy to trace. However, the oil leak may be partly washed away by a steady trickle from the brand new alloy water pump! It's been sitting on the shelf for the last few years waiting for the car to run, but has never been used until today. Presumably the seal had hardened and disintegrated on startup, or maybe the seal was rubbish anyway. I don't remember who I bought it from, so I can't send it back. Has anyone stripped down one of these pumps?

It's not hard to fit a block. Firstly you need to jack the rear of the car up and support it on axle stands or similar. You'll need to remove the rear wheels. You can access the top of the diff by removing the plate in the boot. With the top of the diff in view, unscrew the nuts holding the spring top plate on, and then remove the six studs using the two-nut method. Now you should be able to lift the spring out of its recess in the top of the diff. Once you have it high enough, slide in the alloy block between the diff case and spring. It should sit neatly in the diff case's recess and the spring should in turn sit in the recess in the top of the block. Some need to be machined slightly though. With thinner blocks, you can use the same studs. With thicker blocks though, you'll need longer studs. I read somewhere that cylinder head studs are the right thread and long enough - and certainly strong enough. In any case, once the alloy block is in place, the studs back in and the steel top plate bolted down, you can put the wheels back on and lower the car. Remember that it won't immediately assume a lower stance - you need to roll it back and forward a few times for the the wheels to find their new level. As Bill says though, you really should check the rear suspension and replace any bushes that are worn or seized. You might not even need a block.

Who remembers the opening scene from 'The World's Fastest Indian'? It's still dark when Burt wheels his Indian V-Twin racer outside, jumps on and fires it up. Sparks and chickens fly, windows are flung open and neighbours yell. I'm no Burt Munro, so I waited until the sun was up (ish). And then... https://youtu.be/11X6bgX-AtQ Last night I'd checked the camshaft position, and it was OK. However, I found that Rocker 2's locknut was loose, and so this morning checked all the valve clearances and cleaned the sooty plugs. I also swapped the coils of 2 & 5 and 3 & 4 over. Nick Jones had suggested that because #1 was showing the correct timing, I could be sure that 1 & 6's HT leads were on the right coil. However, just because the other HT leads were on the right coil posts, didn't mean I'd wired the coil up correctly. Once they were swapped, she cleared her throat and ran. It is literally years since I heard the bark of a Triumph Six, especially the sound of a Six with a big cam and PI-like throttles, but it's a sound you never forget. The neighbours won't either. I was able to drive her up and down the street, and have already started a desnagging list: Rewire ignition coils Tidy up fuel return pipe and fix the last fuel pressure regulator leak Add vacuum takeoffs for idle control and brake booster Plumb in the MAP sensor vacuum rail Tune the engine - she's running really rich Big oil leak from the front of the engine - change sump? Fan motor triggers the crank wheel sensor - move radiator forwards, or fit a larger rad? Rubbing noise from the front right brakes - check pads Fix back wheel rubbing on the mudflap Find source of intermittent rubbing noise around the rear of the gearbox Fabricate a plenum and air filter Finish fibreglass gearbox hump

Thanks Marcus, I know I have to devise some sort of shielding for the starter wiring. The drain hole is a good idea, too. Today I made small amounts of fire, lots of smoke and phenomenal amounts of noise. It's not running though, not really. I fixed all but one fuel regulator leak, and suspect that the 5/16" 'injection hose' I bought isn't the real thing. It's already softening and the outer layer is flaking off, and fuel squeezes out around one hose clamp. However, the leak is small, so I moved on to wiring up the injectors (easy) and throttle sensor. That damned TPS was tricky, as following the wiring instructions put the MS3 Pro brain into limp mode and shut down the fuel pump. The clue was that the ECU thought that the throttle was open when close and vice versa, so once the two outside wires were swapped over, it was happy. The throttle cable was next, and I used a motorbike inner cable and 90 degree guide. At the moment, the throttles don't open fully with the pedal, as the linkages want a little more pedal movement. That should be easy enough to adjust though. So, with the fuel side sorted (ish) and the throttle sensor working, I decided to try and start it. Mostly smoke and bangs happened, out the throttles. On occasion it ran for a second or so, but it felt as though the timing was off. Changing the timing wheel figure in the software changed the amount of smoke and kick-backs, but my original figure seemed to get the best, or least worst, results. Swapping the leads on the coil made it far worse, so I don't think that's the problem. Consulting the manual, it advised walking away for the day, so I did. The car got a wash and I'll charge the battery tonight. One possibility us that I haven't added the MAP vacuum takeoff yet, so the throttle opening but no changes in manifold vacuum detected may have confused it. Veteran Megasquirters, does that sound reasonable? I'll add the vacuum takeoffs before trying to start it again, and will also add a remote starter button a là Trimble so that I can use the timing light to see where the sparks are happening.

I am bloody lucky not to have made fire today. Having finished the fuel system, I pressure tested it for the first time. The garage door will probably stay up tonight to air it out   Firstly, I found that the fuel pressure regulator was oozing petrol from every orifice, the pressure gauge didn't show any pressure and yet the pump was labouring. When I undid the return line, it was pressurised and I got a face full of fuel. Fortunately there's a tap in the garage so I was able to wash my face pdq. It burned and the skin is still tender. While I retired for a nice hot shower to wash the stink of fuel off, I decided that the return line must be blocked, else it couldn't retain pressure. Back out to the garage, I detached the return line in the boot, blew into the tank and could hear happy bubbling noises. (Happy? Possibly the fumes were getting to me). So the return certainly wasn't blocked in the tank. Then another possibility struck - if I'd connected the lines up back to front, all the pressure would have gone to the regulator's return port and no further. Eventually it would just have stalled the pump, which is pretty much what was happening. I detached what was supposed to be the feed line from the front of the fuel rail, found it was dry, huffed and puffed, and again could hear bubbling from the tank. Bingo. Once the feed and return lines were hooked up the right way round, the gauge read over four bar. Then the gauge started to leak... But at least the fuel rail and other junctions were tight, which I will call a win. Tomorrow's first job will be to fit the pressure gauge with plumber's tape, and set the pressure to 3 bar. In the meantime I need another shower 🤔

The GT6 came home again yesterday, and hopefully won't need to be trucked off to any more specialists. It looked tiny next to the Mustang - what Americans call a small sports car 😀 And it had only been home a few minutes before the cat reclaimed her snoozing spot. The manifold is back on temporarily to check bonnet clearances with the fuel rail and throttle linkage mounted. The bonnet still closes, in fact there's at least half an inch clearance at the front of the fuel rail. This weekend I'll add six vacuum ports, grind down the portions of the injector pockets protruding into the inlet tracts and do a spot of polishing. Then all that's left will be the vacuum rail, and she'll be ready to start!

The exhaust is finished... again. I decided to show a couple of examples of Performance Pipes' (Acacia Ridge, Brisbane, if anyone's wondering) truly awful attempt at making secondaries and a 3-1 collector, just in case someone Googles them one day. Don't go there! The repaired manifold is also shown. It is all one piece, has short secondaries with a flat 3-1 collector, and can be easily removed from the car once the starter motor's out. It also has tons of clearance around the chassis, suspension turret and steering column. So Exhaust Innovations 1, Performance Pipes nil.

Gary, there's a chap here in Oz who re-rubbers pulleys. He did mine and it looks good. There was a conversation on Sideways about getting more done, but he doesn't do them very often and only in batches of six. The conversation stopped at that point because we didn't have six interested customers. If you have five friends...

I didn't ask Brian to recess the cups, but hopefully he'll check the available bonnet clearance with the injector pockets at the chosen angle before he makes the rail. The nipple on the top of the cup is supposed to sit in a hole drilled in the steel rail, with th body of the cup outside the rail. But you're right - recessing the cups into the rail could give a few more mm - good thinking Mr C!

Hi Marcus, It should be running in a couple of weeks. Once Brian has finished making the manifold and fuel rail, the fuel side will be almost done. Then I just have to make a vacuum chamber, mount the throttle linkage and wire up the injectors, and it will be ready to start, and drive. N

The fuel rail fittings turned up today, which was a good excuse to check on progress at the fabricator's. They've welded up the inlet runners, using a spare head I provided as a jig to make sure that the head flange didn't warp. The front injector pocket is in, and Brian is confident that at that angle, the fuel rail will clear the bonnet. Fingers crossed... He's also ripped the exhaust manifold apart again. I really hate spending money twice, but the first crew made a horrible mess of the secondaries and collector, and it would have leaked like the Titanic. I didn't take any photos of that, it's not something I want to remember.

Clive's right, the GT6 and Vitesse uprights are different to Spitfire and Herald uprights, as are the hubs, stub axles, bearings, discs and type 16 calipers. If you can find them though, they're a good upgrade. The wheel bearings are larger and so theoretically more robust. Then, if you still want more stopping power, there are various further front brake upgrades, such as Canley Classics big disc and AP calipers. I fitted the complete GT6 front and rear brake setup to my Herald, and yeah, it has enough brakes. My GT6 has the Canley setup as I've also fitted a 2.5 injected motor. If they're not enough I will look at parachutes or boat anchors.

Hmmm. I've seen the EFI Hardware vacuum chamber. (Google searches always take me to their website now, and I'm not sure whether it's because they have good stuff, or Google is tailoring its searches to my browser history). It would look like a Huntsman spider lurking under the bonnet! Nobody else has mentioned the need for equal length rubber hoses, so I'm not sure whether EFI are smarter than everyone else, or if it is marketing spin. Other firms make up long thin vacuum collectors out of alloy bar, although that might be because it's easier to make them that way. I might make something similar to EFI's spider out of PVC and see what happens. Oh, and as for my air box and filter, I want to replicate the 'log', but am still at the head scratching stage. Getting it running is my current goal, and pretty wiring won't help there 😉

Yep, Craig's car runs, so he's winning. Do I get points for tidier wiring? While the runners are getting welded up, I've been looking into how to run the vacuum lines. There are four things that need vacuum - the idle valve, brake booster, fuel pressure regulator and Manifold Air Pressure (MAP) sensor. The most sensitive is the MAP sensor. Idle and brakes: I'm thinking of running a 3/4" steel tube (the same as the fuel rail, 'cos I've got lots of it) under the throttle bodies as a vacuum collection rail. It would replicate the vacuum rail in PI manifolds. The idle valve would connect to the front end of the tube, just like a PI's idle bleed screw. The brake booster would connect at the other end of the rail. In turn, the rail would be connected to each runner to distribute the idle air and provide adequate brake booster vacuum. Does this arrangement sound sensible? MAP Sensor: While it would be easy to also use the booster and idle rail for the MAP sensor, the application of the brakes or the idle valve opening would increase the air pressure in the vacuum rail, which would give the wrong signal to the car's brain. It would think the throttles had been cracked open, and enrich the mixture. So, I've been looking at fitting a second vacuum chamber, unconnected to the first, also tapping into each intake runner. Below is a photo of a Borla manifold on a TR6 from Grassroots Motorsport with just such a vacuum collector - the box with the lines running to it from each intake runner. Hopefully an arrangement like that would provide a steady vacuum signal, but I know that if necessary, noise can be damped out with a canister fitted in the MAP vacuum line. I think Nick Jones once recommended a film canister (remember them?) or fuel filter. Fuel pressure regulator: Which vacuum takeoff would be best for the fuel pressure regulator? The large vacuum rail for the idle valve and brakes, or the smaller collector for the MAP sensor? Instinct says to use the MAP sensor's chamber, so that the regulator doesn't get confused by the brake booster or idle valve.

We're using my highly precise bonnet space gauge (also known as a piece of fuel line) to make sure the manifold and runners fit under the bonnet. For more precise measurements, we'll probably use plasticene. As you can see, Bryan spends a lot of time figuring out various ways to fit everything in, and has even started using my cardboard templates. I thought he would have sworn off Triumphs by now, but then I sneaked a look at a Cobra Daytona he's making exhaust manifolds for, and that bar steward is just as tight!

At long, long last the inlet runners are taking shape (dance) Brian at Exhaust Innovations has made up six beautifully curved runners. Rather than use pre-formed tube with sharp bends, he's used 4mm thick-wall alloy tube, curved gently using the tube bender he usually makes roll cages with. The runners are 32mm internal diameter - the same as the inlet ports - and flare out to 40mm ID at the butterflies. They're as long as they can be, about 22cm including the 10mm head flange. The butterflies are on the same slope as the engine, and splay out slightly to match the spacing of the throttle chokes. Runner #6 comes straight from the head face so that the rearmost throttle block clears the bulkhead, meaning that by the time you get to #1, the runner points slightly forward. It might be a centimetre or so longer than #6, but compare that to the different lengths of a standard GT6 inlet manifold! The injector bungs will be lined up with the inlet ports, so the shape of the front runners won't mean that the fuel rail extends further forward than it otherwise would have. Having not seen the GT6 for a couple of weeks, I had a real "damn, that looks good" moment upon seeing its tail sticking out of the workshop.