Something for the Weekend

After a chance discussion on the Isle of Wight a few weeks ago, this turned up on Thursday -

It appears to be in fair condition, but the only way to tell is to fit it and see.

Prior to installation, the manifold bolt threads have been cleaned out, new bolts sourced, made new manifold gaskets, switched over the pulleys, swapped the oil feed adapter, cleaned out the metering pin and flushed the internals with petrol.

After a lot of cursing, eventually got the shorrock installed with belts and manifolds. Battery is now on charge for another attempt at firing up.

Throughout the whole process, I've been ably assisted by Callum who was having more fun blowing up rubber gloves.

Recession? What Recession...

Finally got a reconditioned cylinder head for the 2000 saloon this week.

Removal of the old head confirmed my suspicions as to why the car was lacking that certain 'umph...

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Completed Engine Bay

I forgot to take photos of the engine bay before leaving for Stafford last weekend, so here's a few I took today. Please excuse the scabby Spitfire wheels on the front - just a temporary measure while the tyre/wheelarch clearance issue is fixed.

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.

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.

Engine and Gearbox

The engine and gearbox are finally back in the car.

The engine now sports a modified 4 branch stainless steel exhaust manifold. Modifications were required to clear the Shorrock inlet manifold on primaries no. 2 and 3, and no. 1 needed pulling in to clear the Shorrock unit itself. Underneath, the Y piece exits at 1 5/8" running all the way to the back with a single silencer just clearing the towbar bracket. The front of the cylinder head has been drilled and tapped out to accept a bigger stud to handle the weight of the Shorrock unit. On my previous Shorrock installation, the original bolt broke and I'm hoping the bigger stud will alleviate the problem.

The 3 rail gearbox internals are now housed in a new aluminium gearbox casing from Canley Classics. The bell housing is an original aluminium item sourced many years ago from Bill Davies at Rarebits4classics. On the back of the box is a D type overdrive unit.

It's coming together really well, and I can't wait to get it on the road!

We Have an Engine!

It took longer than originally expected, but on Saturday I collected my engine. The basic spec is as follows -

BORE : Plus 0.040"
STROKE : 76mm
SWEPT VOLUME : 1183.6cc
COMPRESSION RATIO : 7.76:1
CON RODS : Lightened, balanced and shot peened
CRANKSHAFT : Shaped, nitrided and balanced
FLYWHEEL : Lightweight and balanced

Here it is hanging on the crane after receiving a few coats of paint.