Ben's quick fixes for little problems…
Problem: The routing of the vacuum hose on the GT6 is a bit poo. Actually I don’t know what it was like from the factory, but most engine bays I’ve seen recently have it draped around the rocker cover or across it, and that can lead to problems.
Solution: I wanted to fix the hose to one of the rocker shaft studs as a more secure solution but couldn’t find a suitable hose clamp with an appropriate drilling. Hence this: Continue reading “Vacuum hose tee and better routing on the GT6”
Problem: On a trip home from North Wales, the vacuum hose in my GT6 came loose and fell on the exhaust, melting and fusing it. Nasty sluggish acceleration resulted.
Solution: I had no tools besides a knife and no spare hose, but DID have a small can of WD40 in the boot. Continue reading “Vacuum advance hose fix with WD40 nozzle”
Problem: Years back when I first did an alternator conversion on the GT6 the very rudimentary ‘pull it hard and tighten the nut’ fan belt tensioning method really annoyed me. It seemed there should be a way to achieve finite adjustment, and not risk noisy, slack or dangerously tight belt tension.
Solution: I don’t remember where now, but somewhere I saw a rigging screw (sometimes called a Turnbuckle). They are available in a load of sizes, lengths and materials from chandlers (sailing suppliers). So I used one of these to solve the problem. I then went on to sell them for a while on eBay under the name Mere Components. Continue reading “GT6 / Spitfire DIY alternator bracket improvement”
Problem: Both rubber diaphragms under my Triumph GT6 (mk1) seats were shot, no longer able to support the seat base cushion squab thing.
Solution: Whilst these diaphragms are available (well, Mini ones are and they look pretty similar) I don’t want to spend £70 on a pair of new ones. Wife had an old summer wetsuit she didn’t want which looked perfect!
Project: I want to restore my old GT6 brake calipers and the old chipped paint us very VERY tough so I plan to use paint stripper. To do this without harming the seals and soft alloys I need to split each caliper and remove pistons.
Problem: The pistons are stuck in, and will only come out under pressure. Continue reading “Remove pistons from brake calipers without fluid/tools”
Problem: When re-fitting the ARB to the GT6 with new U Bolts, I found the new ones were too wide, and forcing them in would have resulted the badly seated washers and nuts:
Fix: The new U Bolts could be bent to shape in a metalworking vice, but there’s an easy way to make sure they remain parallel:
