Radiator thoughts

With getting closer to running the engine in, thoughts have turned to the cooling system. OK I know the standard Triumph cooling system could be a lot better, but for now I will have to work with what I have without spending out too much money, well for now atleast.

A couple of months ago I picked-up a Peugeot 205 radiator from eBay, so I intend to fit that in place of the original GT6 rad.The 205 rad should offer a greater cooling surface area, at a fraction of the cost of re-coring the GT6 one. In addition to this, I sourced a brand new swirl pot, delivered for £25, a lot cheaper than those in Demon tweaks. The swirl pot will sit inbetween the top hose of the rad and the water pump, its purpose is to purge out and air that might be in the cooling system, preventing airlocks.
This is a tried and tested system with a lot of the design and brain work having been done by David Powell (davesideways), he of crazy spitfire blog I can see no point in re-inventing the wheel when someone has already done the work, perhaps I shall find some improvments as it develops?

Bit of sealing and tunnelling

Right, the fuel tank sealant arrived on Friday, so that evening I set to making use of it. The fuel tank was easy to remove, it has not been in all that long and has not seen any fuel from me yet, a couple of bolts and a pair of hoses removed and the tank was out. The tank needed to be clean before using the sealant, so after removing the level sender unit, a length of chain was fed into the tank and the whole tank shaken, with the chain inside, for a good ten minutes in order to remove any loose material from inside the tank.
Next step was to remove the chain and the loosened material from the tank, once clear the sealant could be added. The manufacturers recommend a pint of sealant for a nine gallon tank, as used in the GT6, however after coating the inside of the tank and letting the excess drain out, three quarters of it was left spare. Not wanting to waste the sealant, my spare fuel tank was quickly prepared and the sealant used in that swell. The spare tank had noticeable failures close to the outlet, where water from the road had risen up and caused corrosion on the outside, the sealant seems to have made a good job of blocking this up.

The gearbox tunnel in coming on, it is being made in two sections, the front six inches of it will be fixed semi-permanently with pop-rivets, the rest of it being held down in the usual Triumph manner of large screws and spire clips. The front piece now has its basic shape and after a bit more welding and a couple of coats of paint, it should be ready for fitting. Before it is fitted, I must remember to fit the heater box, its all a bit cramped under there now and will not go in with the front piece of the gearbox tunnel in.

Got to get some enthusiasm

The GT6 project has hit a bit of a slow patch, I want to get the engine running soon, but before that I need to fit a fuel regulator as the Facet fuel pump I brought a couple of months ago has a output pressure of 4-6psi, way too high for the Stromberg carburettors fitted at the moment. I have been advised to fit a Filter King fuel pressure regulator, probably will get this from Merlin Motorsport.
The fuel tank in the GT6 has been welded at some point previously and so to save myself from the risks of leaks due to poor repairs; I plan to use POR15 fuel tank sealer. A one pint can of it should do the job, just have to remove the fuel sender, remove any loose material from within the tank and then seal up most or the apertures in the tank before emptying the contents of the fuel tank sealer into the tank and then work it around all of the internal surfaces. Once coated it will need to cure for about four days, should give me plenty of time to get the fuel regulator.
Meanwhile I have started making the custom gearbox tunnel, I tried fitting the standard tunnel, but it would need so much modification to make it fit that it would not have been worthwhile. This is also on hold now until I have the gearshift extension cut-down, it is a piece of die cast aluminium and needs to have six inches cut from the centre to put the gearshift in a more comfortable position and allow proper use of the hand brake.

It’s been quite a struggle to make myself get out into the shed of an evening again, what with the night drawing in and the cold and wet weather. Must try harder eh?

Pleasant surprise

I just a pleasant surprise through from the DVLA, I taxed my 1972 Spitfire last month at the post office. But as I could not change the taxation class there I had to pay the £60.50 to get a tax disc, and then get myself off the DVLA local office to change the taxation class and reclaim the tax.
To my astonishment I had a letter in the post today from the DVLA telling me I had paid too much for the tax, offering me a new tax disc and to pay me back for the tax. Makes a nice change when you get a cheque from the DVLA and a greater surprise when they offer it to you without asking.

RBRR 2006

Over again for a couple of years now, the Round Britain Reliabilty Run organised by Club Triumph was held over the last weekend. The run had 94 Triumph cars starting from Enfield to John o Groats then down to Lands end, finishing back at Enfield, having covered about 2000 miles in 48 hours. When the application forms went out for this run I had no intention of doing it as neither of my cars were in a suitable state, however following a request for a co-driver on the Club Triumph Forum, I put myself forward and was accepted.

The intention was to do the run in a Herald 13/60 estate, but due to some last minute problems they had to change cars and instead used a 2000 Mk2 estate. Perhaps I will do the run in the GT6 for the next RBRR in 2008, but one thing you reay appreciate is having a third person in the car who can navigate whilst the other driver is resting. Perhaps thats why I saw so many Triumph owers with sat nav?
Thanks to Alison and Richard Brake for allowing me to be their co-driver.

Changing Starters

Well the GT6 project is progressing again with the arival of the starter motor kit, allowing me to fit a modern high torque starter motor to the car. When I tried to start the recently re-built engine, the starter motor did not have enough power to turn it over fast enough, so to overcome this problem I bought a high torque starter motor that was designed to go on a Midi Van.
With a kit from Canley Classics I was able to fit it to my car. Its worth noting that any 9 tooth Nippon Denso starter can be modified to fit your Spitfire or GT6 and can come in a lot cheaper than the ready converted one you get from some suppliers.



I had the added fun of repositioning the adaptor plate on the starter in order to make it fit in the new bulkhead, but there's what you get for moving the engine.