Nick Jones Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Ah...... the H frame...... There's another of Coventry's sons whose arse needs a firm kicking - the H-frame designer..... Stripped the tattered remains of the old cover and foam off. Scraped off several layers of old glue. Once cleanish - try for fit. No fit. Our tunnel cover may be a bit fatter that usual as Chris made it. It also has carpet with a layer of foam under that. So the frame got some fettling - until it did fit with a bit to spare and I could get all the bolts in. Then recovered with foam (front face and sides only) and matching vinyl. Which went ok..... Then to fit. Apparently I didn't make enough spare. Got it on in the end, though it seems to have subtly reshaped the dash frame as the wood doesn't fit as nicely as it did. Then I went to fit the glove boxes....... which has to be done before the H frame is fitted....... I now know...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 10 hours ago, Nick Jones said: Ah...... the H frame...... There's another of Coventry's sons whose arse needs a firm kicking - the H-frame designer..... Stripped the tattered remains of the old cover and foam off. Scraped off several layers of old glue. Once cleanish - try for fit. No fit. Our tunnel cover may be a bit fatter that usual as Chris made it. It also has carpet with a layer of foam under that. So the frame got some fettling - until it did fit with a bit to spare and I could get all the bolts in. Then recovered with foam (front face and sides only) and matching vinyl. Which went ok..... Then to fit. Apparently I didn't make enough spare. Got it on in the end, though it seems to have subtly reshaped the dash frame as the wood doesn't fit as nicely as it did. Then I went to fit the glove boxes....... which has to be done before the H frame is fitted....... I now know...... I had to make a new H frame for my car, and yes, trial fitting (luckily tacked only) revealed I had taken measurements without carpets. Later I realised I did not have enough space for hex head bolts. Cap-heads purchased. But still a sod to get in/out. I must get a set of ball-end allen keys....(I will do it now, otherwise I will forget until I need them again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Have been contemplating wheel options. Have 5" steels fitted and the fronts are perfect. However, the narrow-track roto rear means the rears look a bit lost. 6mm spacers helped a bit but I'd been contemplating getting some of my 4.5" stock banded out to 6" on the basis that I'd never find any affordable 5.5" and run staggered wheels. Then a tip for a possible set of 5.5" on a whatsapp group. I was a bit dubious - looked alot like my 5" ones and sets of 5 x 5.5" aren't exactly common. Messaged the seller for more info. Nothing stamped on them (or covered by powder coat), but he reckoned they were about 6" across the bowl +/- 1/2" maybe..... As the listing ended at a convenient time I was able to bid live and with only 1 very reasonable bid on with 30 seconds to go I thought it worth a punt..... Turned out there were two others sat watching too.... so there was a bit of a late flurry. Nick wins...... ......but the price has gone up a bit. Still an excellent price for 5.5" but a bit steep for 5"........ have I messed up? Collected today. Very pleasant man with a long Triumph history and what sounds like quite a serious Vespa fetish....... Sent him some links, so he may show up on here. Even on collection I wasn't sure if I'd done right. Look a heck of alot like my 5"...... Back home, even side by side with a 5" I'm still struggling to say. Look almost the same but not quite. Break out the measuring equipment. Yep, 5.5" and less backspace. No wonder they didn't fit his Dolomite! On the GT6 rear they are perfect. Fill the arches much better and best of all, it's really subtle as the visible dish is virtually identical to the 5" on the front. We'll probably repeat the trick on Chris's Spit as that currently has 6" cross-spoke alloys, which look nice, but have a bit too much poke at the front and spoil the steering feel. Just need to sort the tyres. Though the tyres supplied look pretty reasonable the date codes reveal that the youngest one (a completely unused Toyo) is 10 years old and three of the others are over 20! For all that, they look less perished than the 2 year old Dunlops on the TT! Nevertheless, 20 is too damn old for comfort. Turned out well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 That's a result! Nice one. I have a set from years ago. Look good on all small chassis triumphs, had clearance problems before depending on which model and wether fitted with rotoflex or swing spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiTurbo228 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Just read through this Bit of a saga! I like to think that classic cars are a bit like rescue dogs. Some of them were treated brilliantly by their previous owners and are lovely well adjsuted things. Others were abused and take a lot of coaxing to work properly! My Fiat's definitely the latter, although some of the abuse was from me putting it through a hedge so I think it's just holding a grudge about that! Still, bloody love the colour. Such a great choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 3 hours ago, BiTurbo228 said: Others were abused and take a lot of coaxing to work properly! This was beyond abused. It was dead and dismantled. Each time I do one of these I swear I'll never take on another already dismantled one...… This is the third..... Vitesse was the first and the Spit the second. Spit was the most extreme. The only bolts unturned on this one are in the diff. The 4 holding the bearings caps and those holding the crown wheel on the carrier. Every other has been turned. Dunno what I'm going to do next, but not another like this!! I like the colour too. It's supposed to be damson. I think it's actually a modern version which is a bit redder - somewhere between damson and carmine. Carmine was also on the short list so I got to have my cake and eat it! I polished it at the weekend. Quite rewarding - which is not something I'm used to..... on most cars in our fleet it's just an opportunity to inspect the multitude of blemishes more closely! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 Some pics....... There's still some chrome wants polishing - which isn't going to be very rewarding. Suspect there's still some mechanical fettling to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpbarrett Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 that does look very nice... Is it a keeper or have you got ideas for something new? Electric power is tempting but very expensive at the moment. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 It's a keeper at the moment. I've been thinking about electric as you know...... but I'd want to do it right and the economics are.... challenging. Also thinking what a monster it would be with a Vitesse-like power train in it, though it bowls along nicely as it is. One line of thought is that the GT6 gets the Vitesse 2L + 3.63 Blackline and I build a 2.5 for the Vitesse to go with the W58 and Subaru 3.54 lsd. That would definitely mean injection required for the GT6 (don't think the Vitesse engine would play nicely with anything less than one barrel per pot on the carb front)....... Also means I'd have to figure out how to get the Subaru diff into the Vitesse. Reckon we'll just get to know it better and try to iron the bugs out in the short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John I Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Nick Jones said: Some pics....... There's still some chrome wants polishing - which isn't going to be very rewarding. Suspect there's still some mechanical fettling to be done. A very nice looking motor Nick. How long have you dedicated to this, and how much skin is embedded with her? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 45 minutes ago, John I said: A very nice looking motor Nick. How long have you dedicated to this, and how much skin is embedded with her? Pretty much exactly 3 years since we started work on it, though I'd had it maybe 6 months by then. There's alot of skin...... and blood, swat and tears gone in, not just mine, but son Chris also, who has put alot of skilled effort in as well. Senior Management also deserves a mention for carpet and trim work as well as bit of paint stripping. Subbed out the paint and had to get a little machining of the engine and gearbox parts done offsite. The rest is all in house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiTurbo228 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 What a lovely machine! 3 years is not too bad at all ocnsidering the amount of work gone into it. I'm liking the idea of the switcheroo betwen the Vitesse and this, although there's something to be said for having two running cars instead of none for a time (although I'm sure you'd get it sorted in no time at all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 8 minutes ago, BiTurbo228 said: although there's something to be said for having two running cars instead of none That's the truth, though it wouldn't make alot of odds in the winter. Could always stick the 2.5 in the GT6 I suppose, though I'd rather not put a 2.5 on a small chassis gearbox (even a beefed up one). Dunno. When the dust has settled I'll have a sort through my engine remains and see how much extra would be needed to build a middling 2.5. There'll be a re-bore, pistons and shells for sure, but I reckon I have the rest. I do have another W58 gearbox too, but no bell housing, and that's alot of effort! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiTurbo228 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 True. Wintertime project then. Could get all the bits built and ready to just swap over to have minimal time off the road. If you run out of other things to do of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpbarrett Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 my old GT6 that had a rather nice fully balanced Moss 2.5L recon engine in it. It got thru 4 gearboxes and 3 diffs before I had enough and sold it... To be honest we didn't get along.....very pretty car but I spent so much time fixing it... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 Yeah..... hence why I’ve tended to avoid 2.5s in small chassis cars. The final “good” 2.5 in my PI was a fine engine. Would have turned the Vitesse into a tyre shredding monster - until the diff broke..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Exactly why i didn't take the GT6 any further which would have been easy, been there and done that on the Sprite, 6 gearboxes and 3 diffs, took a while but i do eventually take a telling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 My old 2.5 Spitfire also ate gearboxes until I finally bit the bullet and fitted a Sprint OD box with the close ratio gearset. Ridiculously high first gear (40mph at 5500 rpm) but the 2.5 coped without issue, even the time the clutch slave cylinder failed and I had to start it in gear at every red light on the way home! Diffs were a bit more of a problem including the time it one broke on the line at Carlisle airport at the start of a night navigational rally. "Hello, is that the AA, I've broken down and will need recovery" "I'm at Carlisle airport, next to the Vulcan, in a green Spitfire" Fitting a Quaife did reduce the wear and tear to a relatively acceptable level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulAA Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Wow, Nick, that's very nice! On 6/18/2020 at 1:03 PM, Nick Jones said: That would definitely mean injection required for the GT6 (don't think the Vitesse engine would play nicely with anything less than one barrel per pot on the carb front)....... .... or Keihins CRs: Now that really does look like fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 Balancing /tuning 6 carbs That gives me the fear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiTurbo228 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Glad to hear the saloon/Sprint gearbox and a quaifed diff don't break (at least initially) behind a 2.5 as that's what I've got! I've been hoarding bits for an R160 swap (as it'll also give me better rear wheel bearings and easier disc brake options), but seeing as I've already got the rear together it seems a shame to re-engineer it all (it's one of the few bits that's done on my car!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 It's a joint victory really as all three Triumphs gained new MoTs this afternoon, but as the GT6 last passed an MoT in June 1989 (my 22nd birthday!), it deserves a special mention! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 It's still around. Hasn't done many miles (up to about 860 now). I have used it for my commute a few times and Senior Management and I had a bit of an outing to Wareham in it. Goes ok. Oil use has slowed, but the engine still makes vaguely threatening noises. Gearbox works but doesn't sound that sweet. Overdrive isn't well. I swapped the rock hard non-adjustable Spaxes for some "standard" alleged Monroes, which are too soft and reveal that the spring is too saggy. The propshaft UJs, which appeared near new and perfect and were thus left alone have proved not to be. So, there will be some dismantling. The gearbox will come out. I can then try my MX5 gearbox conversion project in there to see if there is any prayer of it fitting. If not then I have a W58 in reserve, or I could just revisit the Triumph gearbox/OD (or just bash my head on the wall a few times ). Oh, and something has fallen off inside the door so the inner door handle no longer works...... quite irritating. Speaking of irritating.....I've still got the chrome finisher for the screen rubber to fit too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 First time reading this thread, seems I've got quite a lot of catching up to do on the forum. What a fabulous job you've done together on this car Nick. The tailgate repair and attention to detail being particularly inspiring. Puts many pro restorations to shame! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 P.s. Great choice on wheels, 5.5J steels look the dogs biscuit IMO and I've got them on my Spitfire. I just wish they weren't so heavy, I'd pay a decent price to get alloy wheels that look like the original Dunlops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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