hardhatharry Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 Got to the slave cylinder which needed a few taps to get it out and found there was more solidified brake fluid but nothing that brake cleaner couldn't remove easily. and the new one went in easy enough Struggling to connect the brake pipe but left that for another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 Next job to fit the vacuum hose which went in well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 Also bought these stop help with the stopping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 6 hours ago, hardhatharry said: Okay onto the clutch slave cylinder. Stripped out the transmission tunnel and was surprised it was made of compressed paper, is it worth swapping to fibreglass? There was quite a bit on oily black grease on the passenger side of the tunnel is this normal? I certinly wouldn't use a fibreglass tunnel. If yours is largely undamaged (areas of damage can be repaired with fibreglass or similar) I would reuse it over a new FG tunnel. The ABS tunnels are good, but at £100 expensive and in reality will not do a better job. The oily stuff is the result of 50 years of oil leaks/spillage etc etc. Bit of white spirit will shift that, but be gentle. The insulation/bag look remarkably good from that picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 If you are looking to improve stopping power... Mintex 1144 compound pads made a big difference on my Spitfire 1500, I have no servo, no fancy discs - just a rebuilt system and 1144 pads and it stops great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted April 30, 2020 Author Share Posted April 30, 2020 I have the green stuff pads plus rebuilt brake system both pipes and hoses. My discs were very rusty so needed a replacement anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 Managed to get the clutch pipe connected today and bled up as best I could with just me doing it. I have a returning pedal now and no leaks which will do for now. While I have the gearbox tunnel off I might as well get her back in the air and change the gearbox oil, be rude not to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Been a bit busy, needed a new gearbox sump plug from rimmers as the old was was looking rather second hand so thats been replaced. Also fitted gas struts to the bonnet for some ease of use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Also fitted a blingy fuel filter too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 That looks good. Are you happy with the way the gas struts work? If so would you mind posting up their details (pic of part no or something) so it’s in the record as it were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteStupps Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Does all look good Harry. Have you run with a fuel filter in that position before? My 1300fwd had chronic issues with vapour lock after a rebuild, which I eventually found was due to the inline fuel filter being too high and too hot. A bubble of vapour soon formed and couldn't go anywhere, so blocked the fuel line. Moved the filter lower than the pump and problem disappeared. Yours is a different type of filter though and airflow through the Spitfire engine bay is better, so my experience might be irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 The struts work very well, the bonnets been up and down quite a few times over the weekend The brackets are ebay no 254608272445, if they have been sold just ask him to list another set. The struts are Rover 200 the eBay listing includes the ball joints that fit the brackets eBay no 232776790845 The whole lot cost less than £40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 The fuel filter also includes a regulator, first spitfire so never fitted one there before but its not near the exhaust manifold and is at the same height as the old fuel pipework. Will let you know if there are any issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Looks smart. Do the struts provide much assistance for lifting the bonnet? And do they stop the dreaded twist effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 You still need to lift to about 20 degrees then the struts take over, its very smooth and doesn't jar the bonnet at the end of the lift. The bonnet is supported at both sides so the twist is much less. I do have to twist slightly when I open the bonnet but that's because the cones are shot and haven't got round to replacing them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossmonaco Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 17 hours ago, PeteStupps said: Does all look good Harry. Have you run with a fuel filter in that position before? My 1300fwd had chronic issues with vapour lock after a rebuild, which I eventually found was due to the inline fuel filter being too high and too hot. A bubble of vapour soon formed and couldn't go anywhere, so blocked the fuel line. Moved the filter lower than the pump and problem disappeared. Yours is a different type of filter though and airflow through the Spitfire engine bay is better, so my experience might be irrelevant. many years ago in my student days I had a 1300fwd that also had cronic vapour lock issues- typicaly it would be when I got to a queue of stationary contraflow at the end of a stretch of motorway, the engine would die and refuse to restart. The temporary cure was to disconnect the fuel feed to the carb, remove the fuel filler cap and blow a couple of lungfulls into the tank, the reconnect and try for a start. The battery was almost dead, and the spare battery I always carried in the passenger footwell wasnt much better, but the engine was worn so compression was low and I got quite adept at push starting it by myself. Changing the metal fuel pipe that ran from the pump around the head to the carb to a plastic pipe helped but it still happened...I got into the habit of always slowing down as much as possible before roadworks looking for somewhere to pull over (preferably with a gradient) and puting the heater on full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 13 hours ago, hardhatharry said: The brackets are ebay no 254608272445, if they have been sold just ask him to list another set. I went looking for that item or similar brackets and couldn't find them... any chance of a link to the ebay seller's page? Cheers, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Ebay listing details cross reference to this https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2061-rover-200-boot-strut OEM part BHE38025 or GST120 which in turn cross references to this Stabilus reference with the details Ebay links die in time..... While not quite the same design (and can't confirm whether the struts are the same or not), Chris's Spit bonnet works much the same way as Harry describes. Subjectively, twist on lifting seems less that the GT6 which still has the standard arrangement.  IMO Chris's struts are slightly too short as the bonnet doesn't open as far as standard. The other point of note, a warning really, is that unlike the standard arrangement, this WILL blow shut. It takes a fair gust from dead ahead, but it has happened. Fortunately no one was in there and damage was limited to paint chips where the bonnet kissed the lip below the screen. Hell of a crash though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 @yorkshire_spam the user is https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/adunn9 they keep selling really fast but just ask him to list another set.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatharry Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 The SGS struts are over twice the price and dont come with the ball end connectors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 21 minutes ago, hardhatharry said: @yorkshire_spam the user is https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/adunn9 they keep selling really fast but just ask him to list another set.  Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprint95m Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 10 hours ago, mossmonaco said: many years ago in my student days I had a 1300fwd that also had cronic vapour lock issues- typicaly it would be when I got to a queue of stationary contraflow at the end of a stretch of motorway, the engine would die and refuse to restart. The temporary cure was to disconnect the fuel feed to the carb, remove the fuel filler cap and blow a couple of lungfulls into the tank, the reconnect and try for a start. The battery was almost dead, and the spare battery I always carried in the passenger footwell wasnt much better, but the engine was worn so compression was low and I got quite adept at push starting it by myself. Changing the metal fuel pipe that ran from the pump around the head to the carb to a plastic pipe helped but it still happened...I got into the habit of always slowing down as much as possible before roadworks looking for somewhere to pull over (preferably with a gradient) and puting the heater on full. That is very informative. Quite a number of years ago, I was once asked about such a scenario on a 1300 but hadn't heard of it, but the thing is I ran a Dolomite Sprint so I wasn't the person to ask anyway!! However I did think it could be a vapour lock, something I knew about from the Rover P6 3500 V8. The owner had taken his 1300 to the local Rover dealership but they couldn't get it to repeat the non-starting but had nonetheless tried fitting a heatshield, which alas didn't cure the fault. The 1300 had misbehaved a few times at car shows but always drove there and back without any fuss.   Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 9 hours ago, hardhatharry said: The SGS struts are over twice the price and dont come with the ball end connectors Yeah, not necessarily a recommendation to purchase from them, just a site with useful info and cross-references.  Vapour locks that actually stop the car completely rather than just running rough are generally in the fuel pump itself. Problem being the heat conducted into the pump from it's mounting to the block in addition to the general heat around it. Water poured over the pump tends to get things working again for a short while. Hence the insulating plastic spacers on the the later cars, or recirculating systems giving a higher continuous fuel flow to keep things cooler. The P6 V8 could certainly do vapour locks...... Goodness knows what they are like now with modern fuel. Years ago my Grandparents had a Hillman Avenger and that always used to "need a little rest" in particular layby at the top of High Wycombe hill. Except one day road works meant it didn't get that far..... On the GT6 I specifically used an electric pump and ran the fuel lines as far from hot places as possible to minimise the problem. No heat shields on the carbs as yet - need to venture out on a hot day and see if they are needed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteStupps Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Sorry for the thread hi-jack Harry, it sounds like vapour lock is much more a problem for the 1300fwd. I should know this, as it hasn't been an issue on my Spitfire! And just to correct my first comment, now Nick has reminded me: it wasn't solely down to the fuel filter position at all. Moving the filter made an incremental difference, but the actual solution was fitting an electric pump. Last breakdown with the mechanical pump was resolved by dousing it with cold water, don't know how I forgot that part of the story. The FWD engine bay is completely boxed in around the mech fuel pump so not surprising it gets too hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Nick. My first car was a Hillman Avenger. Used to have similar problems with the fuel pump. It never actually cut out on me but got very rough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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