npanne

To support the answer you already got - this is an extract from the DVLA guidance on what constitutes significant change with regards to historical status:

Engine – alternative cubic capacities of the same basic engine and alternative original equipment engines are not considered a substantial change. If the number of cylinders in an engine is different from the original, it is likely to be, but not necessarily, the case that the current engine is not alternative original equipment.

full doc here : https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/670431/vehicles-of-historical-interest-substantial-change-guidance.pdf

43 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:

Did he teach you Neil....? 

Nick

Indeed he did.

We learnt a lot about setting different things alight. 
 

There was probably other stuff too.

And he used to rock up every day in a yellow Mk3 Spit that became blue one summer (or was it the other way around?)

On 05/08/2021 at 08:02, Clive said:

Did 10 years as a full time science teacher.

I can confirm that Clive was a (mostly) adequate Science teacher.

Yeah - they must be scams.

Along the lines of : you email the “seller”, get told that someone else is coming later, but if you’re prepared to bank-transfer a deposit then they’ll hold the car for you - you feel pressured because you don’t want to miss such a good bargain, so you send cash, then they disappear without trace. 
 eBay and F.Book marketplace full of such ads - looks like they’re getting everywhere.

Any idea what time cars arrive in Brighton Martin?

I was thinking about popping down and having a look around, but couldn't find any times advertised.

Mine’s still fairly new to me and had sat mostly dormant for 18 months or so, so the “done” and “to-do” lists are basically the little niggly things that surface when a car gets put back into active duty. 
Various electrical gremlins have been sorted, a new boot carpet has been fitted - next it’s a service, a new gasket on the rocker cover and maybe some trial fitting of different wheels...

Having given it some thought, I’ve concluded that despite only being used a couple of times a year, my favourite tool has to be the air powered grease gun.

Maybe a strange choice, but you can’t beat the satisfying sound it makes - and the fact that you KNOW you’ve greased those parts when you use it.

4 hours ago, Clive said:

Ah, I supplied him the engine. But it was 20 years ago, maybe more. And it was the princely sum of £25 I think. 

So you’re saying that the warranty has expired then?

🙂

18 minutes ago, Clive said:

Astra GTE. I remember him fitting them.....

Ron was always a bit of a character. Decent chap though.

Funnily enough I’d just found a picture online identifying them as Astra GTE vents. 
 

Even those are growing on me - the bonnet will need some tidying and a blow-over at some point, and I need to make my mind up about the vents and the mirrors before then.

And the least said about the oil pressure the better 🙂

Thanks Ben.

I’ve never been a massive fan of slot mags, but these are growing on me - although I have a few other options to try given time. They kind-of match with some of the questionable features - like the...ummm... interesting bonnet vents that seem to have come from a Vauxhall, or something GM anyway.

It’s a bit like getting a rescue pet - its imperfections give it character 🙂

It’s been a while since since I posted on a CT page - I’ll be honest and admit that the old forum drove me mad, so I jumped ship for a while - but glad to see that things are on the up.

Anyone paying attention will remember the first project - my blue Spitty that gained its 6-pot some years back, but continues to put up resistance. Not much has moved on that TBH - I’ve bought a few bits for it, but mostly it’s sat under a cover awaiting my attention.

What’s a man to do when he can’t drive his Triumph? Obvious answer - buy another one, of course 🙂

The red Spit6 was acquired a couple of months back - converted many years ago by the previous owner who sadly passed away and whose family put the car up for sale close to me - it seemed too convenient to turn down - despite what my wife thinks. There’s a lot about it that isn’t to my taste, so don’t judge me - but I must admit that things like the odd mirrors and MX5 seats might look out of place, but they work annoyingly well, so the jury remains out for now. 
 

So that’s me and my Triumph fleet - plenty of tinkering to be done, but hopefully interspersed with some driving this year, if there’s anywhere open to drive to 🙂

Loving the new-look website - vast improvement.

Top work by everyone involved.

None of the six-cylinder engines that have passed through my hands (only three, but still) have had the “right” head according to the reference lists.
At this age I guess it’s possible that they’ve all been swapped or machined in the past - or it’s possible that Triumph were mixing and matching whatever they had lying around in the 60s and 70s.

Totally agree Nick.

For the price of fuel hose, and the relative simplicity of replacing, I now consider it as a service item and change it all at the annual service. One thing you DON'T want is fuel leaking under the bonnet.

Risks are probably minimal for the home mechanic who changes a set of pads once every couple of years,  but maybe it's a bit different if you work at a fitters and change four or five sets a day?

I think part-worns get a bad reputation as a lot come from scrap yards and less-than-reputable back-street traders, but as long as they are properly inspected and within age etc, they're no different to any tyre that you've had on your car for 5k miles +

If you can see and inspect the tyres for internal damage prior to fitting, and you've checked the date markings to make sure that they aren't particularly old, there's nothing wrong with part-worns at all.

Maybe not worth the hassle if new tyres are £30-35 a pop, but plenty are the other side of £150 each.

Got some recently from a reputable source for £20 (equiv new were £120) that still had 6mm tread left. They'll last for a good couple of years.

Canleys show a spacer, but list it as no longer available.

Quoted from byakk0

In using the sync tool I ended up with my idle speed sitting between 2-3k!
All signs point to a vacuum leak...

Well, I think I found the source of my vacuum problems.
Chalk it up to this DCO (Dumb current owner )
I mixed gaskets on the intake side and have a huge air gap. I'll get the right gaskets and spacers installed and go from there.


More to come...

I would have thought that keeping the system pressurised for a prolonged period would put a huge strain on the seals. I stand to be corrected though.

£35 on Amazon : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008BQV5HM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i8eXyb51AZ2JZ

Won't this just push petrol through the carbs or air out of the overflow? The floats aren't massively buoyant, even relatively modest pressure will push them back down.
Best way to test them is to just take the float bowl lid off, hold it the right way up and blow into the inlet port whilst lifting the float to see if it seals.

Is they are worn (or clogged) and not sealing properly, the carb float bowls could be overflowing.
Depending on model / year, this overflow might be obvious (all over exhaust), or less obvious (if there's pipe work taking the overflow down and away from the engine.
If it's doing this, and dumping fuel on the road as you go, you will obviously have an increase in fuel consumption.

As winter draws in I'm thinking of getting a battery conditioner to keep the charge level up - does anyone have any recommendations?
Also - a couple of other questions:
1) Can these be used with the battery still connected? In reality it would only be the radio that would be connected, as I have a cut-off switch that disconnects everything else - I'm planning to by-pass this just for the radio memory feed, but I don't want to toast the radio.

2) Is it possible to fit a remote socket or similar so that I don't need to get the bonnet up and mess around with battery clips every time I need to connect / disconnect?

FWIW, I've just had two such leaks in the space of a week - both caused by crud that an extra filter will catch in the future - but it doesn't take much for the needle valve not to seal, and with an electric pump you do get quite a lot of fuel quite quickly - I'm talking about a constant trickle rather than a drip drip drip type leak.
Yes it smells, and yes it's better to know about it, but I'd rather have it dumping somewhere away from hot exhausts and electrics.