I recently purchased a '76 Spitfire 1500. I've slowly been "fixing" (or trying
to fix) its most obvious problems, but 2 of them elude my repair attempts (and
it's starting to get expensive, so I need some help before I enable the
Victoria-British Ltd. folks to retire prematurely in style).
Anyhoo, here are my issues.
1) The speedometer doesn't work. I've replaced the upper cable, and it worked
for a few miles, then stopped again. I've placed a copper washer between the
upper cable and the right angle drive, as recommended by Vic-Brit, but that
didn't help. The upper cable is too short to bypass the right angle drive and
hook straight into the white service interval indicator box, which is what I'd
really like to do. I think the lower cable is ok (since the speedo did work
for a while after replacing upper cable). I've ordered a right angle drive,
but a mechanic friend has told me that is rarely the culprit, and it was $$ and
I'd like to return it if there's little chance it'll fix the problem. So, is
there any way to bypass the service interval indicator and/or the right angle
drive? That would require some sort of coupling unit because the ends of the
lower and upper cables are both male. Or, I should probably ask, is there some
other easy way to diagnose and fix this little bugger?
2) All 4 turn signals don't work. I have found in the catalogs 2 seemingly
suspect parts: the "flasher unit," and the "relay-flasher" (Vic-Brit part
names). What's the difference between the 2? The relay costs significantly
more than the flasher unit so should I try to replace the latter first (if so,
where the heck is it? I found its twin under the bonnet, but it is apparently
the hazard flasher unit)? Am I even on the right track to fixing it?
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
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