Removing the diff was not a difficult chore but was time-consuming, taking all morning and into the early afternoon. The car is still on 6 jackstands since I previously removed the transmission. I marked the unions between the propshaft and trans before removing the trans, so I did the same with the propshaft at the diff to insure correct balance upon re-assembly.

Following instructions in the manuals I have, it was a matter of removing the outer axles, the transverse spring (unbolt at top and at the eyebolts on the ends.) and unbolt the diff itself.

I found that if I unbolt the rear first and put a thick drift into the hole on one side, it remains steady as I unbolt the front bolts. Then, when ready, I slid underneath it and, with a sheet of heavy cardboard on my chest, I slid out the punch and wiggled the diff free.

I cleaned it with copious amounts of brake cleaner and undid the stub axles. I love how the factory illustrations show a disembodied hand removing the stub axle with pinkie extended as if it were the easiest thing in the world. While they were not pressed into place, it took two flat-head screwdrivers (one on each side) to prise it free.

Then the case bolts were removed and a ubiquitous 5-in-one painters tool was used to pry the halves apart. Presto!

Once apart, the back half was thoroughly cleaned and the spot where there used to be a drain plug on earlier models was drilled and tapped. Now I have a drain plug! Yee-Ha!

The gears are in astonishingly good condition, with absolutely no signs of wear! Whoever put this Frankenstein's monster together at least got this right!

New seals were purchased along with bearings. A friend at a local restoration shop took it apart and pressed the bearings in for me for no charge (I gave him $20 & told him to buy himself something pretty)
Th outside has been repainted and it's back together. Putting it back into the car this weekend.

My transmission shipped today from Quantum Mechanics (He had it for 6 WEEKS!) and should be here this next week. I am Jonesing from not driving my car as Spring flies past. Wish me luck!

I have related in the forum how a needle bearing in the Trans exploded and sent little steel cylinders all over the trans, locking all gears except 3rd. More precisely, I should say that 3rd gear is locked into place and not even neutral is accessible.

Managing a 15 mile trip home, God was kind and delivered me home with NO stoplights! Up on jackstands, the exhaust and prop shaft were removed and the engine was (and remains) supported on the jack with a large, flat 1"x6". After removing the console "H" brace, trans tunnel and passenger carpet, I unbolted the trans bell and, straddling the handbrake, with a foot on either cross-brace, pulled back on the trans and O/D. It came free fairly easily. I pulled the assembly towards the passenger side and got it into my lap and out to the workbench, where I removed the aluminum bell.

I found a heavy-duty double-wall box at UPS that it just fit into and placed a pine 1"x6" board across the bottom and each end to prevent it from "punching out". I then took plastic trash bags and placed them around the trans/overdrive assembly and filled each with "Great Stuff" expanding foam and filled all the voids between the box and the trans. It took two days to properly cure.

John Esposito at Quantum Mechanics agreed that my trans is from a Vitesse (Sports 6) and thought that, in order to properly rebuild and make sure all surfaces mate together, he should have both the trans and J-Type Laycock overdrive. He will check out the O/D and pressure test it while he has it.

As of this writing, he has the assembly and will get to work on it next week.

About a year ago (Could it have been longer?), Brian Dougherty (rhitee93) was kind enough to make a set of Teflon "Button" bushings for my transverse leaf spring.

Some time ago I rebuilt the right rear wheel bearings and had a look at the spring, noticing that the leaves were quite compressed and seemed to have mashed the OE rubber bushes.

Well the other day I decided it was time to remove the spring and refresh the bushings with those that Brian made for me. I never really had a complaint about the ride but did notice that the rear end ride height was low.

Removing the rear spring was much easier than I imagined (This was the only thing holding me back all this time) and I was glad for advice from Eric Kieboom & Jacob Poortstra's excellent site:
http://www.triumphspitfire.nl/rearspringpads.html
and BPNW's YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BPNorthwest#p/u/2/4E5rb2shsKc

From start to finish was about four hours, including paint time.
The rubber bushings had completely deteriorated, leaving only a rusty reddish dust where they should have been. I brushed each leaf on a brass wire wheel to remove rush and prepare for paint, using a good primer and a semi-gloss black finish coat. Silicone grease was liberally applied to the "buttons" to hold them in place during assembly as well as to provide lubrication (redundant, I know) between the leaves. I also applied silicone grease to the rubber buffer in the "top hat" where it contacts the top leaf.

All I can say is "WOW!" I wish I had done this sooner. I didn't realize how bad the ride was until I went for a spin with the new Teflon bushings in place. The ride is much more comfortable and the rear end seems planted more firmly.

Thanks again, Brian!

With the car completely apart, I decided to add an oil pressure gauge so that I might keep an eye on that critical function. James Paddock, Ltd. in the UK had the best price on a mechanical Smiths gauge kit (about $75 US) so I added that to an order I placed.

The kit included the gauge, capillary tubing, and a "Tee" adapter. The brass Tee simply screwed into the block where the OE sender for the idiot light installs and provides a threaded hole for both the sender and the hose that goes to the gauge.

I removed the center dash panel, and, after measuring the center point to drill, created a pilot hole. Then, with a 2" hole saw from Home Depot, I cut a hole between the Gas and Temp gauges. In order not to mar the finish of my bird's eye maple veneer (see my "how-to" article http://www.triumphexperience.com/article/new-wood-dash-veneer.html )
I masked the face of the veneer with 3M blue painter's tape.

Installation was simply a matter of connecting the capillary to the gauge and pressing the gauge through the wood. The bracket holds the gauge firmly from behind.

The Smiths gauge, though pointing 'downward', matches the look of the OE gauges and looks as though it belongs there. I had to move the headlight switch up above the gauges (I could have mounted it anywhere, I suppose), and I simply marked the hole and cut it open, first with pilot holes made with a drill bit, then expanded it with a scroll saw.

I realized that with the head still off, I have an opportunity to align the cam and crank very simply. This has been a quandary, since replacement sprockets (manufactured by County and sold everywhere.) have no timing marks.

By temporarily fitting the timing cover and sliding on the timing pulley, I can "dial in" the crankshaft to 0 degrees @ TDC, visually checking the timing mark on the pulley with the timing arrow on the cover.

Rotating the cam to between the lobes on cylinder #1 (As per the Bentley manual) puts both closed, so I then installed the head. Checking the valves with pushrods in place, I was still on the money, so I removed the cover and pulley and installed the new duplex chain.

Since I can't leave well enough alone, I decided to make a new, larger (Bigger is better, right?) heat shield for my carbs.

The previous shield was probably sufficient, but I wanted to extend the shield forward for more protection against hot radiator fan 'wash'. For the original shield, I had used thin poster board to make a template by pressing against the intake manifold and cutting out the holes.

Always wear eye and ear protection when working with power tools and sheet metal. As well, I wear heavy gloves to protect against sharp edges.

This time, I merely used the previously made shield as the template and made the required openings as small as possible. Some of the 'extra' holes are necessary to allow the linkages and bellcranks to rotate freely. These were cut out with a hand-held scroll saw. The carburetor throat holes were cut with a 1-1/2" hole saw in my hand drill.

The aluminum used for this shield is much thicker than the sheet metal I used for the radiator shroud and consequently was far more difficult to work with. I was fortunate to have a friend, who does a great deal of automotive fabrication, give me a generous sheet of this to work with. I couldn't find it this thick at any home improvement store. It's about 1/8" thick and very sturdy.

Using the same basic technique of clamping to a table with a 2x4 and furniture clamps, I bent it by 'hand' (read: grunt) along the lines I scribed with a Dremel tool. This gave me very rounded edges, so I used a 'dead-head' hammer against a small piece of 2x4 to pound it to the right angle "L" shape I wanted.
We'll have to see how well it fits on the engine when it's all in the car...

Wish me luck!