Hello all,
Got to spend some time assessing my new Herald today, so I have a bunch of
questions.
The good news is that the car drives quite well. It starts first turn of
the key, the brakes work well, and other than a bad steering U-joint the
suspension seems nice and tight.
Bad news is it is in dire need of paint, and ALL the rubber trim on the car
needs to be replaced. Luckily not that much of it on a Herald convertible.
It was originally white, then it looks like two different shades of red, so
all the paint is going to have to come off - yuck. I am thinking cream over
navy blue two-tone for the the new paint. The interior is pretty good,
white with black piping on the seats.
First question - is a Herald steering coupling the same as a 74 Spitfire
one? If so, I have one in spares.
The accelerator pedal seems to be loosely attached at the bottom, and
hanging from the accelerator cable at the top - doesn't seem quite right -
it wobbles all over the place.
It has the single Solex carb, and seems to be running WAY rich. I have the
Factory workshop manual, but I can't seem to find anything in there on
adjusting the mixture. Maybe I am getting lost in the British English of
the manual... ;-)
I am going to need to replace one outer sill panel (big dent) - do these
just screw\bolt on?
What is the difference in exhaust systems between single and dual carb
1147's? Rimmers lists different systems for each. My car is a single carb
at the moment, but I have a dual SU setup to go on once I have the carbs
rebuilt.
How do you adjust the reach of the steering column? Judging by the
scratches on it, it is all the way out. Since I am not exactly slim, this
makes for a very poor driving position! Is there any way to get the seat
back farther? I have about 6" between the back of the front seat and the
rear seat.
The doors are VERY hard to open and shut - any pointers on what to look for
in the latch area?
Are there any US suppliers of Herald parts? Other than the bits that are
the same as a Spitfire, of course! Certainly there are no shortage of them
in the UK, but shipping over the pond is not exactly cheap. I have the
Rimmer Bros. catalog - looks like they carry everything, but I shudder to
think what the shipping on a complete interior or some such will be.
Thanks for any and all help!
Kevin Rhodes
Portland, Maine
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