yorkshire_spam

My OCD couldn't cope with 3 uppy gauges and 1 downy gauge.... I spent hours and hours and hours on eBay etc until I found a pressure gauge to "match" (Still not 100% happy as it has slightly different type-face)

MOT for the Dolomite tomorrow.... if it passes that's both the Triumphs back on the road.

Fingers crossed it's just a bit tight with the rebuild and just needs to bed in. But if I were a pessimist I'd check rockers/valve gear make sure nothing is too tight and binding up when warm. Were the ring gaps checked before fitting? Worst case scenario - rings are too long/insufficient gaps and expansion is causing them to grab the bore. (My money is on #1 though... just needs to bed in)

They are at it again!

Get the feeling somebody liked Spitfires/GT6s?

Today's Guardian quick crossword (spoiler!)

Looking GREAT! Spitfire passed it's MOT!

It could be that I'm a numpty. The MOT specific checker is working as expected, the more generic "dvla vehicle check" https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ shows no MOT data!

MOT tomorrow for the Spitfire, if it passes then I'll book the Dolomite in for next Saturday morning, if it fails I'll book the retest. Interestingly for both cars if I do an online MOT check it now shows as "no information" even though both have had plenty of tests in the last few years. Probably something to do with them both being MOT exempt.

You have to wonder if the toothpaste tube was invented by M C Escher and is using some sort of non-euclidean geometry internally.

Bienvenue @frenchiemk2, la mkII, c'est une jolie voiture ! Welcome to the forum and the Triumph madness.

Proper Yorkshire engineering... just up the road from us! :-)

Good point! I tend to fill with premium (usually VPower) and tune to suit, if some of the volatiles have gone in the last 12 months it won't be quite right.

What's up with the back end? 0 or +ve camber? "jacking up" under hard cornering? What's the overall vehicle mass like compared to stock?

Spitfire out of the garage.... first time since (I think) May 2020! Started, ran ok, a quick run up the road and back to see how she's set for the MOT. Engine not so smooth at very light throttle, but pulls nicely all the way up to 5500 RPM. Slight pull to the off side under very heavy braking (maybe some rust on the discs?) Very happy. A few more checks and I'll be confident to book the MOT.

I believe that's the theory. I never had any issues with it and the threads on the trunnions and uprights were fine when I replaced them - I just wanted the peace of mind of the trunnionless for the 10CR The one-shot grease is described as: STC3435 One shot gives ‘filled for life’ protection > Formulated for all leaf & coil spring Land Rover, Discovery and Range Rover models - 1951 - to date. > Lubricates swivel pins and housing seals, protects spheres. > A semi-fluid grease designed to withstand shock loading in oscillating joints. > Reinforced with solid lubricants, highly resistant to water and salt corrosion. > Better lubrication while driving, less leaks while standing. > One shot gives ‘filled for life’ protection. Land Rover originally specified ep90 for the swivels and it was "superceded" by this stuff.

My 2p's worth... 1) Expensive option: Just go trunnionless 2) Controversial option: Use Land Rover "1-shot" swivel housing grease. It's a special grease formulated to replace EP90 in Series/Defender swivel housings. I used option 2 for years before I invested in the trunnionless kit.

I tend to use LRDirect for them, it allows you to choose which maker you want. https://www.lrdirect.com/TVF100000-Universal-Joint/?keep_https=yes

Brilliant, but given the title "Soil Sifter 2000" I was expecting it to be powered by a Triumph straight 6, not an electric drill!

If this was in Bradford there'd be another car to the right of the one at the junction, too impatient to wait, also turning left, but overtaking the stationary car at the junction ;-) Rules of the road mean nothing around here!

I paid just over 50 each for Falkens fitted, balanced and old tyre disposal with a mobile fitter, so I'd say that's a bargain price!

You young hoodlum!

I run Falken Sincera SN832 Ecorun (175/70 R13 ) on my Spitfire 1500 and I'm very happy with performance and price. I'm afraid when it comes to tyres and brakes I'm happy to have something that looks a little "modern" but is safer. Sorry, no experience of the Mitchelins you mentioned.

On the Spitfire I just run the best branded quality non-adjustables I can source when/if I need them and shortened stiffer front springs. On the Dolomite I'm running ride adjustable but not height (I've tweaked the ride with spring choice), all I can offer is.... when putting ride adjustable shocks on a road car, set to the SOFTEST setting and then back 1 adjustment and road test thoroughly! 🙂 My limited experience suggests that ride adjustable can be a bit hard for road use except at the soft end of the adjustment scale. (Unless you enjoy a shattered spine at every pothole)

Went out to the garage the other night to clean/paint some metal parts for an arcade machine I'm restoring, so I decided to see if the Triumphs were in a good mood and tried firing them up. The Dolomite behaved and fire up no problems, but the Spitfire is clearly sulking, struggled to start, when it did it over-rev'd and then died.... and then it pee'd fuel out of the rear carb. Might need a bit of TLC.