December 15th - Continued Efforts with Gertie2

For some time now Gertie's engine that is now fitted in the Blue car has been running hot. Even in minus temperatures and with a 75 degree thermostat in it! 

The sender unit, water pump, radiator and thermostat have all been changed in an attempt to cure the problem, but none had been successful. I even changed the temperature gauge in case I was getting a faulty reading, but no such luck. 

The car also hadn't been running right for some time and had lost its 'smoothness' that no amount of tuning could cure. (Even purchase of a 123 Tune distributor)

In desperation a decision was made to remove the cylinder head and check the head gasket just to see if this was our problem.

So, one cold morning in December, fellow Triumph enthusiasts Dave Harvey, Gavin Leggett and myself ventured into the garage to start removal of the cylinder head. 

It did put up a bit of a fight, but removal of a couple of the head studs finally saw it relinquish its grip on the block and allow us to start our investigations. 

The head gasket itself turned out to be ok with no sign of blowing or leakage. However, inspection of the cylinder head discovered that the ports had become porous in places and that exhaust gases were leaking through into the waterways and boiling the water in the head. We also discovered some serious valve seat recession on the valve seats on cylinder number four. 

Further inspection also found that most of the cam followers will need replacing as well. 

So, after a few weeks or so another head was obtained and Dave Harvey took it to Bates engineering for me where it was cleaned up, skimmed, and new valves and new springs were fitted. The valve seats were found to be in excellent condition, so no further work was required there. 

Other parts I've managed to obtain are a brand new rocker shaft and some brand new rockers, so once the head has been collected from Dave's house in Derby and I've got all of the other bits together. I'll be able to start reassembly and hopefully have a cooler and better running car again.