rustbuckit2011

Interested Jordan- if for nothing more than to play with! I have always been interested to see what can be squeezed ot of the 1147. I think for torque this would be quite interesting- and for a boosted application it would be a godsend- thinking about sc12 toyota superchargers again....

Try pouring a jug of boiling water on it - works for rear hubs. I used a heat gun on mine -it had however been empty since some time in the 80s. Possibly fill with water and then use heat on it- anyone done that?

Would anyone happen to know what the part number of that mk2 roto spring is? I have a couple of springs but cant work out whats what. Cheers,,

There is a chap in New Zealand selling new old stock short ones at the moment for a good price- $300 NZD / £168-  His name is Steve Douglas and he's contactable on the Triumph Herald International page on Facebook- I could probably come up with an email address if you dont do FB- Reckons he's got about 10 sets according to the ad Ive never bought repro ones but Id be wary of the chrome on anything modern- it all seems crap

Thanks Nick- Picked up a set of dolomite ones today- I havnt had a great look yet, but the the dolomite hubs appear thinner- the disc has more offset and the stub is a little different- Ill post more soon as to why this might be interesting...

Gday, Well, like the title says- Does anyone know if toledo hubs are the same as vitesse/gt6 type? Will they fit a vitesse stub? I know dolomite hubs (with the top hat discs) use a stub axle with the same bearing diameters but  the stub is shorter in length- but the toledo's with the disc mounted behind the hub- I am not sure. I have some spare vitesse uprights and I am hoping I can use toledo hubs to complete the set- Cheers

Hi Adrian, I am in a similar predicament regarding cert on a coupe- Could I ask where you getting those windows from? I am curious to know whether they can do tinted safety glass as well, Cheers, Arlo

Hi Adrian, I am in a similar predicament regarding cert on a coupe- Could I ask where you getting those windows from? I am curious to know whether they can do tinted safety glass as well, Cheers, Arlo

Great story that, John. Bloody impressed you typed it all out too!!

Yeah do it. Its easier to find and the same pump used on the 6 and apparently ford pintos. Should be ample for the 1300. Its a direct swap, no modification necessary. Having said that, I dont think there is anything wrong with the oe pump fitted to standard engines up to spitfire spec- they just require their tolerances checked and flat surfaces lapped.

Yeah do it. Its easier to find and the same pump used on the 6 and apparently ford pintos. Should be ample for the 1300. Its a direct swap, no modification necessary. Having said that, I dont think there is anything wrong with the oe pump fitted to standard engines up to spitfire spec- they just require their tolerances checked and flat surfaces lapped.

If you decide you are in the market for a high torque starter- do look out for a standard isuzu trooper 2.6 (or equivalent), 9 tooth one. The oe triumph spacer plate will need about a 1/4 inch milled off it (do measure first- don't take my word for it) and it will fit right up with a couple of basic wiring mods. I believe that is the motor they use on the high torque starter kits they sell. Should save you a couple of hundred if you get a good price. I did it years ago as I had a bad run with the lucas ones and got a bit fed up. A second hand isuzu starter didn't cost much from the wreckers and I just cant see it ever failing. It's powerful enough to move the car about

Hi Adrian, In regards to re-registration cof testing- I honestly wouldnt bother too much with originality. Being that there are so few vitesse with rotoflex going through the stations the staff literally have no idea what they are looking at. If it looks like its meant to be there it will do fine. We might spot the differences on triumph chassis' but to an untrained eye they all look the same. A number of years ago, I took in a herald to a vtnz in chch for a WOF. I wouldnt normally go to a vtnz, but I had only recently bought the car, and I figured if anyone would be unbiased  and find faults to rectify it would be a testing station as that is their specialty- they dont carry out the work so aren't looking to drum up cash. They put it up on the hoist, and from the comfort of the waiting room I could witness the ensuing confusion. Guys were being called over for opinions and lights were being shone into dark recesses. There was a worrying degree of very serious head shaking going on. A mechanic with a very worried expression came over and asked me to come look under the car as he didnt think he would be able to explain what the problem was. I stood looking up at the outwardly perfect underside of my pride and joy, preparing myself for the worst. He proceeded to point out that the sills were purely superficial and were screwed onto the car. He was adamant that somewhere along the line they had rusted away, and someone had thrown together some old steel shelving to hold it all together. It was a deathtrap he claimed. He couldn't believe the car had managed the journey into the station. He was actually quite pale. Well, not one person in the shop had ever seen a separate chassis before. I literally had to explain to them what it was, and what the WOF requirements surrounding the car were. And then show them the literature. And then show them pictures. I may have had to draw a diagram. I told them to take it down off the hoist and Ill never go back. Perhaps the worst part was that these were not young guys either. I was mid 20s at the time, they would have all been in their 30s/40s. Id do away with the lever arms. Even if you went to a cv joint axle Im quite sure you could throw a bit of road dirt at it and call it original. They really wont know any different- and the one guy who does- will know the dampers and cv's are better than new. In terms of originality and potential resale price- it wont affect it here in nz. Rotoflex is rotoflex. There are not enough cars sold with it here to be fussy about the details of originality of it. Now if it is a true convertible or not- that makes a difference!

I get the feeling you've never done it but the pi fuel filter could be adapted into a swirl pot.... I like the idea- Im not much into authenticity, but I do like mods to look factoryish, I mean, It'll never fool a triumph owner, but if it makes a mechanic scratch his head, Im into it. I'm quite fond of modern gadgetry stuffed into archaic packages. I'm even looking into a retractable spoiler and air dam for a herald. Ridiculous but true!

Thanks guys,, Mdvehicle, thankyou for thr kind offer. I'd love to swing by, alas that would be a bit of an expensive exercise as I'm in New Zealand and I'm guessing by the yellow registration plates in the background of your posts, that you are not! John I do plan to run injection via throttle bodies on an mx5 1.6 -  and my driving has never been described as sedate- so either a clever arrangement with a submersible fuel pump and a suitably sized tin can and I'll never pick up the last 2L of fuel or an external tank. A mkV golf has a very good surge tank incorporating a high pressure fuel pump and filter, so that may be the easiest route. It helps I've got it on the shelf.

Thanks for the reply Bill! That is quite interesting about the jack- I had absolutely no idea. They must be a fairly rare item now! The in-built surge "tank" is terrific news and saves a fair bit of hassle. I guess my best bet then is to find someone with an estate and fashion up copies of the floorboard rails, or find a wreck that is bad enough to justify cutting the floor out of.  -I should point out- This is being done to a replica coupe, I dont have the courage to do it to anything original!

-This is just ever so slightly off topic, but I just clicked on that Coupe Florio link on your signature- What a cracking wee vid! Certainly goes well that GT4!

Gday,, As part of a build I am hoping to be able to fit an estate tank into a coupe boot- has anyone done this before? I hear that it is a bolt in job, but I'd rather have that confirmed before I splash out on a tank! I know it reduces the depth of the boot, but has anyone come across any other drawbacks? How is removal of the spare wheel? And to add, has anyone mounted an in-tank electric fuel pump to one? I am trying to remove a bit of impact danger by taking it off the wing, but keeping the weight low is a bit of an added bonus. Cheers!,,

Dave, is yours a convertible? (*edit- just read its a mk2 saloon) Cheers

Mgf and mx5 seem to be the most popular. I have mgf's for mine. If you search on here, you should be able to find plenty of info on fitting either. Sorry , link no longer available Theres a link to start you off,

Worth it. Its more ridgid than the original  (and heavier!) and provides a better clamping force without bending. Be aware though, they often dont have a recess for the gasket. You will have to stick the gasket to the cover with liquid gasket, let dry and then fit

I cant give you a definitive answer, but the combustion chamber is the same shape as an 8 port. They did cast some in steel too, so my money is on 8 port.

Aha! Well lucky you! The head is a larger valve mk1V spitfire head. With the carbs and the small crank block (13/60), yes, your engine should go pretty well as is. I have built up an engine the same as this, and ran it in fairly standard (?) tune for a while. I then took it off the road, gave the head a good polish and port, a light skim,   3 angle valve cut and back cut standard valves. Replaced the guides for bronze and lightened and polished the valve gear. I fitted a FR83 cam and twin HS4's. I dont know what kind of power it makes, and Im not about to dyno it as Ive taken it out to fit a mazda engine in! It did, however, go like stink! By far and away more powerful than the standard 13/60, kept up well with a Mk1 2litre vitesse- and being lighter- handled better. You also appear to have an alloy bellhousing, which isnt standard for the car. Id say, somebody loved this car at some point, you could be lucky and have a good cam in it. Unfortunately, you'll have to pull the engine to check! If I were you, Id whack a good exhaust manifold on it, and jet the carbs accordingly. Bigger valves would mean slightly richer jets, but the carbs should still be within there breathing range. If you still have itchy fingers, Next you want to check the cam, as this will be what is holding the engine back. You want a mk3 spitfire cam or something aftermarket. When you change this however, you will want to start thinking about ignition- so megajolt it. That should keep you busy and give you the best bang for buck! Carburetion and head mods can come after those, as you will need to do fiddly bits like alter ignition and jetting. Thats what Id do anyway.

Mate it's just along a little from the cast numbers you have photographed. If you look at your first photo, the number should be stamped on the flat spot between the engine lifting eye and where the rubber hose comes out of the valve cover. Often quite hard to see so give the area a wipe

I sandblasted and POR15'd my chassis and suspension components . Fairly expensive, but it will only be done once. Applied two coats with a brush following directions for time frames etc. Then applied etch primer and topcoated with enamel. It doesn't need a topcoat, but Por15 isnt uv stable and I was getting a little worried ,what with the amount of light in my garage and the amount of time the resto was taking! At the very least it would be worth top coating any chassis under the bonnet, that way you can leave the engine exposed at car shows without the niggling worry....