Technical

Alternator Conversion

As many of us add various electrical accessories to our classics, the need for more reliable charging becomes increasingly important. Whilst the old dynamo & control box set up was perfectly adequate in the days when even a heater was a optional extra, nowadays halogen headlamps and other electrical goodies make the old set-up borderline at best. Converting your Herald (or any other Triumph) to run on an Alternator is pretty straightforward, but is a question that gets asked on forums etc. on a regular basis, so here's one more article on the subject.

Brighter Headlights

There are two ways of improving the brightness of the headlights on your Triumph, or any classic come to that. Firstly you can replace the sealed beam units for halogen headlamps, available from all the usual traders and your Club Shop.

Wheel Stud Upgrade

The wheel studs on the small chassis Triumphs are pretty marginal at the best of times, at just 3/8" it doesn't take much for them to let go when you don't want to. Especially likely if you have fitted alloys and/or wider tyres, all add to the strain on the short, thin threads.

Engine Running On

For those of you that have experienced their cars running on (often referred to as dieseling) even when the ignition is switched off and have tried all the usual remedies for this such as adjusting timing, fuel mixture or removing carbon build up in the combustion chamber but still didn’t manage to cure it. There is one cheap and easy thing to try, particularly if you have converted to an alternator and/or have had other modifications on the wiring.

Intermittent Wipers - (Part 2)

It's been over 2 years now since I installed the first incarnation of intermittent wiper control to my Herald 13/60, if you wish to refresh your memory then you can see above. Whilst this piece of kit has served me well it was starting to get a bit temperamental, so I needed to consider either replacing what I had with the same again or try an alternative.

Intermittent Wipers (Part 1)

Many years ago I had to replace the windscreen wiper switch on the Herald, at the time only the two speed ones were available, meaning I had two 'off' positions as the motor is single speed, which was a minor irritation. I had also longed for something a little more than just on or off so I looked at adding an intermittent option. After a little Googling I found what seemed ideal being sold by Maplin, it was under £9.00, so I ordered it.

Handbrake Improvers

I doubt whether I'm the only Herald owner who's had the discussion with the MoT tester regarding the handbrake efficiency of our cars, despite the fact than I have far more confidence in it than my main car, a Mercedes SLK. When parked on a hill I always leave the SLK in gearwith the wheels into the kerb, whereas the Herald I never think twice, just pull up the handbrake and leave it.