Why not a Spitfire?

Why a GT6 and not a Spitfire?

Square tail Spitfire just doesn't have the same appeal to me

My favourite part of the car, the roof line, rear quarter, tailgate and rear vents

GT6 Mk1 Very 60s and very nice but still prefer Mk3

Spitfire MKIV plain bonnet, not for me

Thank god the 6 cylinder didn't fit without that glorious bonnet bulge

For me apart from the bonnet bulge which is nice its the roof line and rear quarter window which makes the GT6 stand out as a great looking car. You just dont get the same lines with a Spitfire even with a hard top as the roof line is totally different. I prefer the early Spits with the round tail but the square tail GT6 for me competes easily when it comes to aesthetics with the round tail GT6 Mk1 and Mk2. It all personal opinion and taste and this is mine.

Rocker Cover Gasket

Got round to changing the rocker cover gasket as it has been leaking oil since day one.

Purchased parts from Rimmer Bros again but when it came to fitting I realised that I have 3 studs going through the rocker cover and I think it should be 2 studs and 1 bolt. Anyway sorted it out no problem and checked rocker clearances at the same time. All seems okay.

Rocker cover off

Getting the old cork gasket off was a bit of a bitch

 

Non of your shiny chrome finish rubbish. This is a Triumph not a vanity mirror.

Rear Brakes

Decided to have a look at the rear brakes and also check to see if there was any obvious problem with the wheel bearings, rotoflex coupling and UJ's.

Using the trusty jack that came with the car I remove the wheels and then the brake drums. I tweaked the manual adjuster to ensure no additional drag and to be honest the wheel bearings appear to be fine with no noise or additional play. The rotoflex couplings although a bit weathered are also okay and completely intact. There is a very slight amount of backlash when rotating the hub before the diff UJ moves, approx 2mm of movement I would say. Don't know if this is normal or if this indicates UJ wear so I will have to look into this. The brake shoes themselves also look good with plenty of life left in them. Also realised that I don't have Koni shocks all the way round as the rears are actually Spax with Koni just on the front. Also managed to get some grease into the handbrake cable guides.

Tuning Carbs

Finally got round to trying to sort the carbs out as they have always been a little bit lean. Took the car for a drive to get her up to temperature and then I removed the airfilters.

Started the process by loosening the throttle nuts so both carbs worked independently and then I gave my new Gunson Carbalancer a go. Unfortunatley the Gunson gizmo didnt fit between the cap head screws on the filter back plates so had to remove them as well.

Anyway, rotating the bezel on the Gunson I got a reading from carb 1 and then moved across to carb 2 which was slightly different so I tweaked the idle screw to match the airflow on both carbs. I then moved on to the mixture and using the lift pins on both carbs the revs died very quickly confirming they were both running lean.

Starting on carb 1 I rotated the bottom nut anticlockwise (when viewed from underneath) to adjust the jet and enrich the mixture. Each time I moved 2 flats (6 flats to 360 degrees) I used the lift pin to check what was happening and after 8 flats the revs just increased before settling back again, perfect. I then repeated the process on carb 2 and this time reached the same outcome after 4 flats anticlockwise.

The throttle nuts were then tightened up ensuring both carb pistons rise together when using the throttle (that bit wasn't as easy I thought) and then retested both airflow and the lift pins again and all was the same. The idle RPM had changed slightly and so I adjusted the idle set screws to 700 RPM and then went out for a spin.

Definitely a good result and the car was smoother and seemed to have a little more power. Now comes the downer.... I'm not 100% sure but I think something is rumbling from the rear. I get lots of cabin noise from rear boards anyway and the tools are also stuck down by the spare wheel and the roads are pretty bumpy and the Koni shocks are very firm ride but mmm... I hope I'm wrong and its just road noise or the harsh ride, we'll see.

History Part 2

If you remember last year I had decided to change the steering wheel, dash facia, gauge bezels and a few other cosmetic bits and pieces. Well, as I've got to know the car I've had a change of heart and I'm going to leave it as it is, in as far as I know, original condition. If I wanted it to look new I should have got a new car rather than one thats 40 years old this year. The seat covers I hope I will still change back to the vinyl at some point though, as cloth covers are not what should be there.

Photos

Latest photos of the car as the sun was out.