Installing a Boot Cover on a 69 Triumph Spitfire

I purchased a boot cover from The Roadster Factory. It did not come with instructions, and I couldnt find any from a manufacturer on the web. So after watching misc videos on Youtube, I asked my wife who is an excellent clothes designer and pattern maker. Here are the key things I decided on.1. The large chrome grommets are for a hard top, and I did not install them as I don’t use a hardtop. It is just sitting on top the boot cover in the photo2. Supplies usedLeather punch with 1/8 tipLiquid penInstall tool from spitbitsHammerPainters tapeExtra snaps from spitbits in case you split one.3. Installing snapsI elected to use the plastic snaps. Nigel at Spitbits suggested this as the metal lines can buzz due to vibration when driving.I put painters tape on the anvil to keep from scratching up the male part of the snaps.Be careful when hammering the snap together. Tap, tap till firm. If you use too hard a blow you will split the plastic snap. I split one.4. Installation orderThe idea is to install the front first as it has the least adjustability. Then the middle rear to center it. Then lastly the corners, stretching it into place both front to back, and side to side simultaneously. I took it off each step, marking, punching, installing in pairs except the rear middle.- put the cover in the sun for a half hour to make pliable- marked the two frontmost snaps first with the liquid pen. The corner of the cover aligned to the corner in the chrome cap piece. See picture.- installed two frontmost snaps, attached to car.- marked the second front most pair of snaps, stretching a bit, then installed- marked middle rear snap, stretching a bit, installed- marked two snaps on either side if the middle rear stretching a bit, installed.- marked and installed the next two rear snaps, stretching slightly- stretching a bit more than the others, marked and installed the last two snaps in the middle of the bend/corner on each side.

Fuel Gauge doesn’t work – Replacing Voltage Stabilizer, swapping gauge in a Triumph Spitfire

So my fuel gauge was pegged full, and smoke on the inner glass. Then it stopped registering altogether. The fuse was blown, so I replaced that. Took me awhile to figure it out because the circuit diagram didn’t show it going through the fuse.  Still didn’t work.

The fuel and temp gauges get their power from the Voltage Stabilizer. The voltage stabilizer gives an average of 10 volts out to the gauges. It works by switching on and off, 12volts, then 0, then 12 volts, etc. The gauges react so slowly that you can’t tell.

To get at the voltage stabilizer to test it, I wiggled onto the drivers floor back down.  I tested the voltage stabilizer by first putting a test light on the B side  (battery) of the voltage stabilizer.  The B side has the male terminals sticking out on the original.  Replacements may have different  It is marked on the brown fibre board, but hard to see.  I had power to the B side.  I then checked the I side (Instrument).  It should cycle on and off with the test light.  It didn’t.  So I removed it, and took it apart.  The nichrome wire that heats up the bimetallic strip inside was broken.

I ordered a new one from British Parts Northwest for about $12.95.

It had all male connectors instead of 2 male, 2 female, so I had to make a small female to female patch cord.  The replacements are solid state, and put out a steady 10 volts to the I side.  I tested it upon arrival.  12v to B, and grounded it.  Then put a voltmeter on it.  No 10 volts out on the I side.  Dead on arrival.

There are various posts on the forums showing how to make your own inexpensively.

http://www.britishv8.org/articles/mgb-voltage-stabilizer.htm

http://www.bullfire.net/TR6/TR6-44/TR6-44.html

http://www.74tr6.com/voltagestab.htm

So I went to Santa Cruz Electronics and got the parts for about $5.95 and made my own.  At first I tried to get it to fit in the original voltage stabilizer case, then realized it wasn’t worth the effort and just assembled the bits.  It worked fine.  Output 9.46volts.  After reading the datasheets I added a .22 MFD 20 volt tantalum capacitor between the 12 volt and ground.   The .1MFD wasn’t necessary. Here is my original circuit.

Because Santa Cruz Electronics didn’t have exactly what I needed, I swapped in a NTE 1932 voltage regulator, 10V out, 1 amp rating, and a .22 MFD 100volt capacitor.

After installing it, my fuel gauge was reading past full.  So I checked the Ohms of the sender, by disconnecting both leads from the back of the tank, and checking across the two terminals, and it was at 24 Ohms.   I also checked at the black/green wire into the fuel gauge.

I found the following at  https://www.mgexp.com/forum/mgb-and-gt-forum.1/ohm-rating-for-fuel-sending-unit.2904591/

20 Ohms is full
35 Ohms is 3/4
65 Ohms is 1/2
105 Ohms is 1/4
222 Ohms is empty

Full is 20 Ohms, the tank is almost full, so it isn’t the sender.  I had replaced my temp gauge with a Smiths Dual Oil/Temp gauge, so I grabbed it.  The fuel and temp gauges have identical guts.  The Temp gauge read like approx 7/8 of a tank, or just below H.  So it must be the fuel gauge innards were damaged when it overheated.  So I swapped the innards of the temp gauge into the fuel gauge, and everything worked great!

I let BPNW know, and will probably have them send me a replacement.  Mine is kind of funky.  We will test it, see how it goes.

 

Installing a Bell Sports Performance Exhaust in a Triumph Spitfire Mk3

So I have almost finished installing this system. Documenting what I learned. I chose Bell 4 2 1 and Sports package after considerable research. I wanted good low to middle room range torque (thus 4 2 1 rather than 4 1) and not too loud.

Here is what I found installing it

1. Should I ceramic coat it? The consensus of the guys on the Triumph Experience forum was no, not for stainless. This was validated by my own research.

2. Installing Header. To get the header on I had to remove the bolts in the motor mounts, and jack the engine up until there was 3″ clearance between the flange of the oil pan and the frame rail.

3. Tailpipes sticking way out, fixed! I dry fit the system according to the instructions, which have you hang the mufflers from holes drilled in the vertical panel rearward of the spare. This had the exhaust tips sticking way out, over 5″. So instead I hung them from the floor under the spare, using some L shaped brackets I fashioned out of aluminum bar stock from Home Depot. I have them just a little proud of the rear bumper.

4. Hanger length. The “tire” hangers were too long. I drilled another hole about an inch shorter. My goal was to locate the tail pipes about a finger width from the rear flange.

5. Clamps. I do not like U bolt style clamps. They leak, and can bend the tubing. I had real trouble finding the right band clamps. The joint has a 1 3/4 OD pipe that was expanded from the 1 5/8 OD pipe it slips over. Ideally I would weld these, all but one joint (so it can detach if it catches on something rather than rip the header off). Next best is a lap joint style band clamp that has 1 5/8 on one end and 1 3/4 on the other. Couldn’t find one. Next best is a band clamp that will accept 1 3/4, and compress down from there to something more than 1 5/8. I tried a 44.5 mm clamp, which is 1 3/4, and it did not tighten enough. I finally found a 1 1/2 to 1 7/8″ stainless clamp here.

https://secure.chassisshop.com/partdetail/C73-307/

Ordered 4 of them. I should have ordered 6. I used the Ubolt clamps for the hangers. No joint to seal, so I will leave it that way.

The system is in, and connected medium tight with the u bolt clamps, waiting on the band clamps.

The clamps came, they fit perfectly

6. First start…. the engine was very hard to start. It needed a lot of choke and wouldnt run right stay running. I had to lower the jets on the SU carbs by maybe 3 to 6 flats, I didn’t count. So I am guessing I am getting far more air through the engine and it was too lean.

7. Sound – has a nice little growl it didn’t have before on acceleration, but not much louder cruising.

8. Performance- I have yet to retune it.

Installing Door Weatherstrip on a MK3 Triumph Spitfire

My old weatherstrip is the original, and it is toast. I bought replacements from Spitbits, and am really happy with it. The profile on the rubber is slightly different, but it fits very nicely. Here is how I installed it

1. Starting at the rear, trim to shape and tuck under the aluminum cap. Leaving the rubber side long allows a nice tuck.

2. Install around the flange, use a hammer to tap it home as you go3. Cut off and trim to fit under the windshield capping. Cut between the metal. You won’t be cutting through metal, so a sharp razor is fine. You will have about 4 to 6 inches left.4. Tuck under with a screwdriver

Done!

Making a Vinyl Emergency Brake Boot for A MK3 Spitfire

I replaced the rubber boot on my emergency brake, and it interfered with the “fly off” mechanism. Apparently this is a common problem.

I decided to make a vinyl cover.

1. Cut the front of the rubber boot to allow the fly off to work

2. Made a Pattern for the Vinyl

I used an old Spitbits TShirt that had a big stain on it. Just kept working with it until it folded in right

3. Used painters tape to get everything lined up for final gluing

4. Glued one joint at a time with 3M weatherstrip adhesive (contact cement)

5. Build plenty of flex into the front by including several folds. Glue them just a little at a time.

6. Here is the finished boot. I did not glue it in. There was enough vinyl going under the carpet to hold it. The carpet isnt installed fully yet, that’s why it is lumpy.

Installing Newton Carpet in a Triumph Spitfire Mk3

Now that I am finished putting in my OD gearbox and stopping any leaks, I am ready to install the carpet I bought a few years ago!  I bought it from Spitbits, and it is Newton, highly recommended on The Triumph Experience forum for both quality and price.

Just going to record some things that the instructions did not cover.  I will follow their four steps

1. REMOVE COMPLETE HOOD FRAME ASSEMBLY

I did not do this, did not find it necessary.

2.  REMOVE SEATS FROM CAR

3.  REMOVE OLD CARPET SET

The instructions state the obvious.  What wasn’t covered is how to get the old glue residue off.  I found Acetone worked well.   Removing the old glue was probably the most time consuming step.  You don’t have to remove it all, but I am kind of anal.   I also took this opportunity to touch up the paint I had refreshed a few years ago.  I also replaced the rubber floor plugs with new ones.  At this point, paint the area where the cross frame member in front of the seat meets the door sill.  This will show behind the installed carpet.  Use paint that will match the carpet.

4.  FITTING THE NEW CARPET SET

General tips about fitting carpet.

When I was in my twenties I had a small business repairing carpet.  Here are some things I learned that helped here.

a.  Use a very sharp razor knife.   The instructions say use scissors.  DON’T do that.  A very sharp razor will provide clean, straight, controlled cuts.  Scissors or a dull blade will make a mess.   When the razor quits going through the carpet effortlessly, time to change the blade.  It took 4 or 5 changes of blade side to complete this project, for a total of 2 to 3 blades.

b.  Align and glue the most complex spot first.   With a molded carpet, align the most complex molding, or if you have a curve or a corner, align that.  Always keep an eye on the overall alignment too.

c.  90 degree bends.  Use a putty knife to press the carpet into 90 degree bends.   Roll the carpet towards the bend, and press it in sharply till the carpet has a crisp bend.

d.  Molded areas.  Use a small hammer and tap the carpet into the irregular surface on the car.

e.  Trimming.   Trimming should be done with a combination of front cuts, and back cuts.  Generally, front cut long, straight cuts.  Press the putty knife in behind the carpet to be cut, and front cut against the putty knife backer.  Back cut tight corners, or places where front cuts will cut too short.   Back cut by folding the carpet back so you see the backing.  Roll it towards its final position, and cut the backer.  To get a tight fit, you have to make sure you leave enough to roll into the final position.  For me this is about a 1/4 inch more than I think it will take.  (Pictures later)

f.  Patching.   Where you fall short and leave a space, you can patch a piece in.  The tricks to an invisible patch are:

• the seam the patch fits to should be straight and crisp, as should the patch
• The patch should be cut so it is in the same orientation as the piece to be patched.  Carpet has a “grain” and direction.  For it to blend in, it has to match.  The grain can be seen from the backer.  The direction can be seen from the front.  When you think you have it right, hold it against the section to be patched and verify.

g.  Gluing.  The 3M General Trim Spray adhesive is more than strong enough.  Mask the car off like you would for paint.  Like spray paint, use multiple thin coats.  2 or 3, a few minutes apart, is enough.  Too heavy and it puddles, and it is a weaker bond.  I let the glue dry about 5-10 minutes before adhering it.

 

 Here is a piece by piece guide.

I am going to go piece by piece through the install.  The pieces are not installed in numerical order.  Here is a diagram with the piece numbers I will refer to for fitting instructions

Piece 6 and 7  Side Footwell

You are going to cover up the access to the door checkstrap installing this.  So if you are going to replace the checkstrap, do it first.  Also if you have a radio antenna, same issue.  I had my glovebox out, made it easier.  Not necessary though.  You only need to glue the outer 1″ or so of the carpet along the top and back.  This will make it easier to remove in the future if you need access.  You will need to trim the carpet where the weatherstrip flange is.  Press the putty knife in behind the carpet, and front cut it, moving the putty knife along as you go so you don’t cut the paint.  Cut only enough to allow the weatherstrip to press on.  Use the height of the horizontal flange in the doorway as a guide for how much to cut.  Don’t cut too much.

Piece 8 & 9   Sills

Before you install these pieces, paint area where the cross member in front of the seats meets the door sill in flat paint the same color as the carpet.  That is because this area may show through where the carpet doesn’t quite meet.  I didn’t see this until later, and had to mask it off and paint it later.

Remove the lower screws of the vinyl in the back and remove any remnants of carpet.  You will tuck the carpet behind this vinyl after trimming it.

Note that these pieces are cut wrong, at least for the Mk3.  If you install them as they are, you will leave a strip at the bottom.  I know, because I did exactly that.  Trim the notch a little deeper, so the carpet reaches all the way to the floor.  Here you can see mine not reaching the floor.  I patched it later.  Below you can see the technique of using a putty knife to create a sharp 90 degree bend.

Now front cut it along the sill flange.

Where it meets the vinyl piece, do two front cuts.  Be sure to cut it a little longer than you think so it will lay completely behind the vinyl.   The camera angle doesn’t really show it, but the carpet is well behind the vinyl.

And one cut around the vinyl.  This one has about an inch going up above and behind the vinyl.

Now cut the piece that wraps around the corner onto the back flange with a front cut.

Piece 10  Rear vertical flange

Align the most complex part first.  I started with the passenger side molding after checking in a dry fit that the center and other molding would also line up.  Keep an eye also on the center and be sure everything goes in aligned as a whole.  Here is the dry fit.  Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

This piece is complex.  Tapping all the surface with a hammer helps drive it home, especially around the molding, and the 90 degree flap onto the floor.

Trim it to fit.  Be careful at either end, that you leave enough to go all the way into the corner. The top should be trimmed even with the flange as in the picture below

Piece 5  Rear Ramp

The only thing notable here is defining the “plastic clip” referred to in the instructions.  It is the piece along the front edge, shown below being installed.

Piece 3   Center Floor

This is the floor piece under the seats.   You don’t want the carpet to drift or move around while you do the seat mount and seat belt holes.  Be careful that the molded part of the carpet fits true as you work.  Be especially aware of the fitment around the emergency brake handle.   Check the fitment of the ebrake and boot BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER you install this piece carpet.  If you don’t you may have to trim the carpet, or move the ebrake cardboard mount.  In my case, I fitted a new rubber ebrake boot, and it interfered with the fly off mechanism of the ebrake, not allowing the ebrake to set.  I will cover how I dealt with that, and making a nice vinyl ebrake boot in another post.  If I had a heavy duty sewing machine I would also have trimmed the edges of the ebrake hole in the carpet.

Here is a test fit of the vinyl cover I made.

To position the seat rack bolt holes, push a needle up from below, I used a test light.  Alternately, install a stud  a few turns in the hole (cut off a bolt head), sticking up a quarter inch.  Put the carpet carefully in place, and tap the carpet with a hammer so it leaves an imprint on the back of the carpet.  I actually did both, as I have Miata seats in my Spitfire, and have studs for mounting.   Think through where you start.  Start from the holes center most, and move towards the outer most.  For each hole, leave the bolt in place to be sure it doesn’t drift on you.

Now turn the carpet over, and cut an X.

For the seat belt attachment holes, I found the hole from above by pressing with a screwdriver.  Then I cut the X from the top.

Install the seat belt attachment bolts, so all the bolts are in place, and the carpet sits on the molding properly.  Now you are ready to trim around the little protrusions on the back panel.  I found it best to back cut these.  Remember when back cutting, you want to trim what looks like just a little long, maybe a quarter inch, so it folds in, and tucks into the corner.   Once you have the complex bit done, go ahead and front cut the rest.

Here the instructions tell you to replace the seats.  I did not.  Why not leave more room to work?

Pieces 1 and 3  Front Floor

These are the front floor pieces.  I used the recommended snaps.  The snap locations shown on the instructions were not the same as what was on my car.  I used the ones on my car already.

I did it differently than the recommended “needle and chalk” approach.   I installed the male side of the snaps on the car body.  Then, being very careful with the alignment, I held the carpet over the snap, and tapped the carpet with the hammer, leaving an impression on the back side of the carpet.

Then I stuck the voltage tester through the middle of the impression on the back, coming out the front.   Holding the carpet “in space”  I put the “crown” piece on, centered on the needle, and pushed it through

Next, I turned the carpet over, finished pushing the “crown” piece barbs through the carpet.  (Fuzzy picture again.  But you can see in this picture the impression the male snap left in the backer when tapped with the hammer. )

And fit the backer on, and tap the tabs over

Fitting the passenger side is a little challenging.  If you have the battery box drain tube fitted, the carpet goes around that tube.  Work with it until it is right before fitting the snaps.  (note that I have the gearbox carpet in this photo.  It doesn’t go in yet, just wanted you to see the fitment of the drain tube).

 

The pattern for the passenger side snaps looks like this, as opposed to the diagram on the instructions

Piece 4  Gearbox Cover

There is one challenge fitting the gearbox carpet, locating the bolt holes for the H bracket.  It is a bit challenging because the bolt holes do not go through, so you cannot push a needle up from below.  When you fit the H bracket, it is hard to fit it so that the holes in the H bracket line up with the holes in the floor, and find them with the needle poking down from the top through the holes.  I didn’t have the studs or extra bolts to make studs to use the trick of tapping the carpet to make impressions on the backer.

So what I did was to fit the carpet without the H bracket, being careful to fit the carpet well to the gearbox cover.  Then I found the holes in the floor with the needle (voltage tester).  Then I put blue tape on the carpet and marked on the tape where the hole is.   I then fit the H bracket.  Then I took the needle and verified the hole was correct.  I removed the H bracket, turned the carpet edge, and back cut an X through the center of the hole.  I repeated this for each of the bolts in turn, being careful to check and recheck the alignment of the carpet on the gearbox cover.  It would be tempting to mark them all at once, but experience tells me in a situation like this you will mess it up.

I didn’t take pictures of this, apologies.

Installing Patches for the Sill Pieces 8&9, and Gap Between Sill and Center

So I told you before that the notch was not cut deep enough.  I discovered this after installing the center floor piece 3.  This left two places the red of the floor was visible.  This picture shows me in the middle of installing a thin patch strip along the length of the sill.  I cut it from the piece that I trimmed off the top of this piece.  I was careful to use a fresh, new blade, and to keep the orientation of the carpet the same .  Hold the patch piece up to the carpet, and look for the direction of the grain.  Once this was installed, and brushed, it was invisible.

The second patch was to hide a sliver of red that showed in the same place as the picture above, only on the floor. 

Here is the patch.  I have it masked off to paint the cross member satin black.

I painted the cross member black

Here is the result with the patches in place.  The white thread should have been trimmed.

Knowing what I know now, I would have made the notch in the sill piece an inch deeper, and run it down all the way to the floor, and bent it 90 degrees, and run it 3/4 of an inch onto the floor.  I would have done the same thing for the top of the cross member.  This would have avoided both these patches.

Here is the finished install

needs a vacuum, doesn’t it?

How to Install a new dash pad from TRF in a Triumph Spitfire Mk3

(Note: later Spitfires are slightly different) My dash pad has a split in it on the passenger side. (picture is after removing the dash pad)

After researching, I have three choices.

1. Replace the whole dashpad with a vinyl and foam replacement from vendors such as The Roadster Factory. This solution requires some work pulling the old pad, and reuses the metal insert. Most expensive at around $250 with sale prices plus shipping.

2. Replace the vinyl only, fix the existing foam with vinyl from a fabric store or precut from a vendor like Parklane Classics, and fix the foam with RTV or expanding foam. This solution is even more work but cheaper. He has the matching vinyl for the dash edging too so if that needs replacing it all matches.

3. Cover over the damage with a plastic dash cap over the existing dash, available at the usual vendors such as Spitbits, Moss Motors, etc. This option does not require pulling the old dashpad out.

I chose the first option as TRF had a sale plus free shipping special.

Parklane classics has a great article on how to remove the dashpad. http://www.parklaneclassics.co.uk/article_02.htm

If you choose to buy your own vinyl and repair the foam here is a great article

Dash Recovering

Removing the Old Dash Pad

1. You are NOT going to remove the windshield frame or its bolts on a Mk3. The dashpad does not go between the windshield frame and the body.
2. Disconnect the battery to be safe.
3. Remove the knobs on the heater controls with an allen wrench.
4. Remove the ashtray.
5. Remove the four screws on the center dash panel, pull it forward.
6. Remove the four 7/16″ bolts that hold the heater control mechanisms, and let the mechanism rest down. They will be in the way later if you don’t.
7. 
8. Loosen as much as you can without removing them the four 3/8″ nuts that hold the side fascia dash panels in place. I could only find 3 on my car. The blue tape shows their location on the back. (I took the picture after the pad was removed).
9. 
10. Remove the six 3/8″ nuts together with washers and lock washers that hold the dash pad in place, onto the body, from underneath. Don’t remove the larger 1/2″ nuts, those are to hold the windshield frame in place. (See tip in later step for the nuts on either side of ashtray) For some of the nuts you will need a long extension and a universal swivel.
11. 
12. Here are the locations of the six 3/8″ nuts, marked with the blue tape from the top (obviously after removing the dash pad from the car).
13. 
14. Tip for nuts on either side of ashtray. Use a universal swivel if needed to get to these nuts from underneath. Reach through the ashtray opening with your other hand to align the socket on the nut if needed. (In the picture below there is blue tape towards the windscreen between the tonneau studs. Ignore that, it marked a windshield frame nut that should not be removed.)
15. 
16. Remove the four nuts that hold on the vent/demister covers, and remove the vent/demister covers. I used the long extension with the universal swivel. I reached through the ashtray cover to align the socket on the nut. I had to reach under and fiddle with the piece that attaches underneath to get the top vent cover to release even after the nuts were off. Lay on your back and look at it and you will see what I mean.
17. 
18. There are no nuts under the tonneau cover studs, ignore them during the removal process.
19. Now everything should be ready to remove the dash pad itself.
20. Loosen the “flap” that goes behind the dash fascia on each side by pushing on it with your finger all across the left and right side fascias. You can push the flap up until you see the paint, as in the picture below. I am not lifting the dashpad here. I am pushing up the flap.
21. 
22. Now you are ready to remove the dash pad itself. It lifts up, and you have to wiggle it to get the six bolts that are penetrating down into the body to clear the holes they go through. Some folks have reported some glue that has to be released by extra wiggling. I did not run into this.
23. Once you have the dashpad off, you will see the 3 bolts that hold the windshield frame on. If you plan to remove the windshield frame at some point to change the rubber gasket, this would be a good time, as you will have to remove the dashpad again later to do it anyway.
24. 

Removing the metal insert from the old dash pad without tearing up foam

My goal here is to try to remove the metal insert from the dashpad as though I were reusing the old foam, just to document how for others.

1. Remove the ashtray mount by bending the tabs.

2. Remove the tonneau studs with a 3/16″ drill. Drill only far enough to release the bracket, not into the underlying metal insert.

3. Pour lacquer thinner onto foam all around the edges. Let soak for an hour. Lacquer thinner works well on contact cement. I can’t get any other “better” adhesive solvents in California. If you can, give it a try.

4. Separate the wet foam only from the metal insert, where the contact cement has softened, with a putty knife. Do not get impatient and tear the dry foam with the putty knife. Keep pouring lacquer thinner in the separated areas, letting soak, using the putty knife for separating not tearing.

5. Eventually you will have both the “flaps” separated, leaving only the thin edge of the metal insert in the dash pad foam.

6. Gently press on the foam until the lip on the edge of the metal insert is separated.

7. The insert is now out, and you can see where I was not patient, and tore the foam some instead of focusing only on the foam that was wet, and cement that was softened.

8. This side was the first side I separated, and I was more patient. Came out cleaner.

9. Here is the foam dash and vinyl, completely released. I did not damage the foam enough to need to even repair it.

10. Removing and replacing the vinyl – I did not do this. But my approach I think would be to soak the foam in lacquer thinner, perhaps wrapped in a garbage bag to keep it from evaporating, for a few hours. Then carefully take the putty knife and separate the foam from the vinyl. If you try it, leave a comment with your results.

Installing the New Dashpad

1. Derust and paint the metal insert. I tested the adhesive and it softened the paint. So I sprayed over the paint with SEM self etching primer and retested the adhesive on it. That held up.

2. Inserted the metal into the new pad. I decided there was no need to glue the whole thing, and the chances of getting fouled up in the glue inserting the leading edge were high, to no real benefit.

3. Decided on 3M weatherstrip adhesive.

4. Glued top side of dash pad. Just a few places near demisters, and more towards the leading edge. This is contact cement, so kept sides separated till tacky.

5. Make cuts in vinyl leading edge. For the middle section, cut it long enough for a good flap. For the corners, cut Vs as needed to allow a smooth wrap around the curve. Glue the middle flap.

6. Trim and glue corners.

7. Mask and paint the demister slot foam black so the yellow doesnt show through.

8. Trim the corners and test fit. You will need to both trim the vinyl, and the foam. Use some scraps to hide the metal dash on the far left and right of the dash. At the corners where the V slot fits.

9. Trim the lower flap. You want enough left to slide behind the dash to hide the paint. Save the pieces for later.

10. Install the pegs for the tonneau cover with pop rivets. Mask and paint rivets. Use a pencil soldering iron to make holes in vinyl.

11. Install dash pad, sliding flap behind left and right dash facia pieces.

12. From underneath, use pencil soldering iron to locate holes for demister bolts. Get the iron hot, and have a friend watch from the top as you slowly push the hot soldering iron up from below. Create a dimple, then from above use the iron to finish making the hole to size.

13. Install the demister vents. You will have to adjust a bit to get them in.

14. Cover the paint behind the.center dash with scraps of vinyl you saved.

15. Install the ash tray. I installed a new one from spitbits. I had to leave the chrome trim off for it to fit.

16. Reinstall heater controls and fascia. Reconnect battery. Enjoy your new dash pad!

Fixing a Triumph Spitfire leaky valve cover with a silicone gasket

I have a very slight leak in my newly rebuilt 1296 engine valve cover. It had a slight amount of sealer on it from the rebuilder. Once I broke that seal to retorque the head, it started leaking at the rear. I have heard about the silicone gasket and decided to order it from http://www.gasketinnovations.com.

Moss Motors carries it but it was cheaper to order it direct. I will update this post once it arrives.

It arrived and I installed it per the directions. It has the consistency almost of a firm plastic fishing worm.

Only a couple of things to note:

1. Cleaning

I scrupulously cleaned all the old gasket cement off, then followed up with mineral spirits on both surfaces so there was no oil residue.

2. Valve cover

My cover is flat and straight.

3. Permatex Blue RTV

I used this as recommended. Permatex rates it for valve covers, etc. I put a little too much of a bead and it squished out slightly. I cleaned all the squish off, some after first applying it. The rest after the initial cure of an hour, including the excess in the inside so you could only see a slight blue line. It is important to have no excess as if some should get in the engine it can clog an oil passage. I would use black if I had it to better blend with the gasket.

2. Clamping valve cover to a flat surface

I didn’t use the recommended tape. Rather I used a weight on top of the valve cover, sitting on a flat board for double the recommended hour.

3. Cure

I let it cure 2 hours under the weight before installing on the car. I will let it cure 5 more days before using the car and exposing it to oil and heat, as I won’t be driving it till then anyway. Permatex says it should cure 24 hours before use. After fighting other leaks I decided to strictly observe this and more.

4. Install

I installed it with a Nitrile rubber washer on the studs against the valve cover itself to seal it, and just barely tightened it. I believe the spec is 6lbs torque.

Here are the directions that came with it

I will let you know later how well it prevents leaks.

Using UV dye and Permatex Permashield to Fix an Oil Leak in the J Type Overdrive Gearbox for a Triumph Spitfire

I installed the overdrive gearbox a couple months ago, and it leaks out the bottom cover. I took it apart with it in the car. Had to pull the exhaust, and put it up on jackstands, using two for safety. It turned out that while it was a bit of a pain to lay on my back scraping the gasket sealer, it was possible without pulling the gearbox, and quicker.

From under the car I pulled the cover. There was no sealant on the cover side of the gasket, and the gasket was broken. Thus the big leak.. I got a new gasket from Spitbits. After some research I decided to use Blue Hylomar, as being the most reliable leak proof sealant for oil. Didn’t have any in any local store, so I decided on the Permatex Equivalent, their Permatex Permashield Fuel Resistant product.

The steps I took:

1. Remove exhaust from the rear up to the joint just beyond the OD cover
2. Removed gearbox drain plug, let oil drain. Removed cover, let oil drain. Both overnight.
3. Dressed cover using a piece of 400 grit wet dry on a flat surface till evenly shiny, all low/high spots even, perfectly flat, all scratches/gouges removed.
4. 
5. Cleaned the old gasket off the underside of the OD mating surface. I used about 5 plastic knives as they kept breaking, (nothing special, just like plastic forks, spoons…). I used plastic so as to not scratch/gouge the aluminum. The knife edge also was helpful in scraping off the old hardened sealer. I also used some lacquer thinner on a paper towel to soften the old sealer occasionally.
6. Dressed the mating surface on the bottom of the OD gearbox the same way as the cover. I used a piece of 400 grit wrapped around a small length of aluminum angle instead of a flat surface, cleaned thoroughly with lacquer thinner.
7. Spread Permatex Permashield on both sides of the gasket only, not on the aluminum surfaces. The datasheet says to put it on both mating surfaces. I chose to do only the gasket because I had read it gets all over the place, and is hard to spread. I didn’t want to get excess in the OD sump. It is hard to spread. And when you do, it only goes on really thin, so I am hoping that the fact I dressed the two mating surfaces of the gasket only allows for a sufficient thin layer.
8. Let it flash off. The instructions say to let the solvent evaporate. The online datasheet says you can tell it is finished evaporating when the odor is gone. It took about twenty minutes for the acetone odor to go away. I then took a screwdriver and cleared the bolt holes in the gasket.
9. Cleaned the cover with Purple Power, rinsed, then cleaned with lacquer thinner.
10. Cleaned the screen filter that was under the cover.
11. Cleaned the underside mating surface with lacquer thinner using a paper towel.
12. Install and torque first time. According to the directions, retorque after ten minutes.
13. Retorqued, and here it is installed. I am encouraged that a little bit of the sealer has squished out, so I must have a thin layer on the whole surface.
14. 
15. So now I have to give it 24 hours to fully cure before adding oil back into the gearbox. I am hoping at this point that my not having put sealer on the aluminum surfaces does not come back to bite me.

So it is a few days later. The gearbox still leaks a ounce or two every time I park it after driving. So I decided to try UV dye to find the leak. My gearbox capacity is 44 oz, so I used 1/4 oz of the die. I used a long clear vinyl tube with suction pulled out the 1/4 oz, and inserted the tube into the gearbox fill hole and let it drain in.

I drove for about 15 minutes, then parked in the garage. My UV light is a cheap one I bought at a local hobby store. Here are the pictures.

The first two pictures show the top cover, drivers side front is leaking badly. The third picture shows the oring on the rod is leaking slightly. The last shows the passenger side rear is doing ok. I didnt take a picture of the passenger side front. It showed dye around the fill plug, from putting it in I suspect.

This dye is cool!

So I tightened the bolts on the top cover and went for a 10 minute drive. This got all of the top cover leak except for around the locating bushing/pin at the very front.

So I pulled the top cover, cleaned everything up, wet sanded the cover a on a flat surface, and coated all surfaces including both sides of the gaskets with hylomar. I let it flash off for 20 minutes and assembled. Retirqued after 10 minutes. Waited 24 hours for final cure, and took it for a test drive. No leaks dripping, and all the dye on the transmission looks like old trace that I didn’t quite wipe off from before. The drain plug is still leaking a tiny bit. I did not seal it with the hylomar. I believe I used the permatex white thread seal. Next time I drain it I will use hylomar on the plug.

Possible source of exterior mirror for driver door

http://www.texautomotive.com/classic_exterior_mirrors.html

I am just documenting this for later reference. The stem may be close to the right size.