Ace Plates

I tried cleaning up the original "Ace" number plates with little success. The front plate was badly battered and twisted.

I've been sitting on a stock of NOS "Bluemels" number plate digits for a few years, and I managed to strike a deal with a supplier of the Ace plates for the Bluemels stock.

The Ace plates really are nice. Made from cast aluminium, the digits are 3½" high - the correct size for pre 1963 vehicles.

10CR Seats

Just won these MGF half leather seats on eBay thanks to Auction Sniper - who in their right mind sets an auction to end at 3.00am?!

Absolute bargain at only £30!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270439852009




Than plan is to make the MGF seats easily interchangeable with the original Herald items, as I only need a reclining passenger seat for events like the 10CR and RBRR.

Right now the problem is getting them home from Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Anyone from South Yorks going to Stafford next weekend?!

Really Close

I knew getting the radiator to fit was going to be problematic.

I decided from the start I wanted to remove the engine bay valences that support the radiator on the Herald setup and go with supporting cradle and mounting brackets as per the Spitfire.

I also wanted to fit an electric fan in place of the mechanical one preferably sited behind the radiator.

The longer crankshaft pulley, Shorrock pulley and belts shouldn't make that much difference to positioning the radiator in it's original position.

However the fan mounting brackets have pushed the fan forward ever so slightly, and somehow various modifications have compounded to make the radiator top tube fail to align with the thermostat housing. There was no way we were going to get the original top hose on there.






As a rather drastic solution, we've cut the end off the radiator top tube in an attempt to alleviate the angles involved. This isn't my preferred solution, but hopefully I can address this problem better before the 10CR next month. Right now we want to get the car MOT and ready for Stafford at the end of the week. In place of the original top hose is a cut down bottom hose that fits pretty well.





Paul has done a really good job modifing the engine breather pipe to clear the branch manifold.

Interior and Engine

The interior is now going into the Coupe - not long now. Paul and Shaun did a great job fitting a new headlining as the original item was torn and badly discoloured in a few places. The original interior light setup in the Herald is pretty basic, so there's now a roof mounted lamp as per the Triumph 2000 saloon that comes on inconjuction with the light over the dash.


The carpet, seats and door trims are all the original items given a thorough clean. The patina of the faded rear seat is lovely. The results of an old toothbrush, a little hot water, a dab of bicarbonate of soda and a little elbow grease worked wonders on the original vinyl trim.


Under the bonnet, the "Filter King" fuel filter/regulator has been fitted on the bulkhead between the master cylinders and heater, ready to supply the SU HS4 that sits just to the side of the heater valve.


Paul did a fantastic job modifying a Triumph 2000 airbox to fit the single SU. Not sure yet whether to place a filter in the airbox or go for trumpet socks on the front of the ducting pipes. Either way I'd like to fit a stub stack to ease the flow of air into the carb.


Unfortunately the radiator still isn't ready to go in, and the Shorrock drive belts I ordered turned out to be a size too big. Damn.

Spitfire Sold

I should have posted this a few weeks ago, but never got around to it. This week someone contacted me to enquire if the Spitfire was still for sale, and I had to tell them it was sold.

We sold Sarah's Spitfire to Neil McDonnell. He came down with Rob Southern, and after an hour or so the deal was done. Sarah's going to miss her Spitfire for sure, but we hope Neil enjoys it as much as we did.

Here's a link to Neil's blog : http://spit1300mk3.blogspot.com/

Shorrock Trial Fit

Here's the Shorrock unit trial fitted to the engine to ensure alignment with the manifolds, carb, pulleys, etc. The inlet manifolds have been bead blasted and the HS4 SU has been rebuilt by Andrew Turner.

Now the crank and Shorrock pulleys are in position I can measure the distance and order the right size belts. The Shorrock is driven from two 'V' belts. The length of the belts is critical as there is no means to tension them. I have been considering a belt tensioner or jockey wheel, but I hope some decent belts of the correct size will do the job.

The full width radiator is currently away being re-cored.

Round the other side of the engine, the 123 distributor is now fitted along with a set of Magnecor KV85 HT leads.

Roof On!

I go away on holiday for the week, and come back to find Paul has got the headlining in, roof on, windscreen in, sills on, brightwork on, bootlid on, rear lights in, fuel tank in, exhaust system on, wheels on! It looks gorgeous! Just need to get the radiator and plumbing sorted before firing it up.