Ian Vincent

I bought my pump reconditioning kit from an Australian supplier specifically because it included the seal. Rgds Ian

If I recall, there is a small seal that prevents that happening. Rgds Ian

The TR Shop gasket arrived today and when I put the original failed gasket over the top of it, it is clear that it is unlikely to last long. A lot of the fire ring will be inside the cylinder and the amount crimped between the head and the liner in the critical areas would be minimal with virtually no improvement on the previous stock gasket. So a Racetorations item it will have to be. Rgds Ian

Pete, Many thanks for your very informative post. Looks like I shall be sending my TR Shop gasket straight back and forking out the extra for the Racetorations one. I am pretty confident that the latter will do the job because I printed out a copy of their website picture at an appropriate scale to match the stud holes up and it gave the clearance I needed. Rgds Ian

Petrol will dissolve most contact adhesives. Rgds Ian

Apparently the TR Shop one is also shaped for larger valves but if it doesn't fit it will go back. Rgds Ian

Agreed Monty but I have had conversations with people who have been unhappy with Racetorations products / services. Previous products that I have had from TR Shop have been good. In the end you pay your money and take your choice. If it doesn't work I'll resurrect this post. And once again many thanks for pointing me in a different direction. Rgds Ian

Many thanks for the helpful comments. With regard to the solid copper head gasket, there seem to be two schools of thought, one says they are only good for engines that are stripped down regularly - i.e Racing, and there are at least two users on here who have no problems with them. Because I don't want to have to remove the head again - it has already been off twice in the last 12 months, I have opted for what looks the safer option of an expensive composite gasket that will suit up to 89mm bores and should fit my liners. I haven't however gone for the Racetorations version as TR Shop are offering a similar item at £90 instead of £138 with an undertaking that they will provide a refund (minus postage) if it doesn't fit. I'll let you all know how I get on. Rgds Ian PS What's the view on using sealants with this type of composite gasket. Does the fact that they have silicon beads around them mean that sealant is unnecessary?

Head is now off and yep it had blown. Quite difficult to spot but if you look at the attached photo at the point of the speech bubble you can see where the rolled edge of the cylinder head gasket just 'misses' the top edge of the liner. If you compare it with the adjacent liner you can see the difference. There is a corresponding build up of carbon on the face of the head gasket. The liners were opened out at that point to accommodate the previous cylinder head which was aluminium and had been skimmed by about 50 thou and opened out for big valves. The liner protrusions are all within spec. Clearly if I try to refit a standard composite gasket I will have the same problem but I do have a solid copper gasket 1mm thick with plenty of meat in that area because in addition to it not having the rolled edge, the water passages are smaller than on the composite variety. So I reckon I have two possible solutions: Refit the head with a solid copper gasket. Spend about £250 on parts replacing the liners (87mm), rings and Fo8s (and BE shells while I'm in there?) and probably another £30 - £40 for a machine shop to adjust the liner heights. Option 2 would be the 'belt and braces' solution but it does involve a fair bit of work on top of the cost of the new parts. How good a job does a solid copper gasket do? and what best to seal it with? Heldtite or Wellseal? Any advice welcome. Rgds Ian PS I'm going to get the head checked for flatness anyway. PPS The liners were shaped to accommodate larger inlet valves but if it had been the exhaust valves then there wouldn't have been any problems with the rim of the gasket. So...if I rotated the liners the shaping would be in the right place but what are the chances of the deck heights being right?

I was prompted by David Ferry's post about brakes to comment on the brakes on my TR3a. They are totally standard albeit I rebuilt the callipers and fitted new cylinders / seals all round when I rebuilt the car. Having just come back from completing the LBL Rally I can confirm that they coped with the Stelvio, Gavia and Penne passes without any drama. No fade just a bit of a squeal developed towards the bottom of the Stelvio on the second time around - since gone. By all means fit dual circuit brakes if you want to remove a single point of failure but the rest of the braking system appears to be well up to coping with the performance of a slightly uprated car and will cheerfully lock the wheels when someone steps in front of you. Rgds Ian

So when is the moment of truth Bob? Rgds Ian

I totally agree with the comment about Ethanol being 'Greenwash'. The problem with fossil fuels is not that the earth will run out - EVER - it's that if we burn all the existing known reserves of fossil fuel, the earth will become uninhabitable. We need less fuel, not more. Rgds Ian

PM me if you still need Pete Cox’s contact details. Rgds Ian

Thks Charlie, I've never seen a metal grip. Is yours an early car or a late one? Rgds ian

Sidescreen cars have a black plastic grip at the top of the handbrake. During application of the handbrake there is a tendency to apply a twisting action to this grip which results in the plastic thread area breaking off. I think I am on about grip number four despite my being extremely careful with it. Does anyone know a source of less fragile grips or have a trick for making the fragile ones a bit more durable? Thks Ian