Triumph Repair: Shifter, denver colorado usa, moss motors

Question
I have a '72 Spitfire Mark IV. I live in Denver, Colorado, USA and I am looking for a supplier and/or mechanic. Recently the shifter has become much looser. It still works fine. When you take the shifter boot off, you can see, what seems to be a plastic piece, that is connected between the actual shifter handle and the top of the transmission is broken. It almost looks like it works like a human joint/socket, that allows the shifter handle to move freely on top of the transmission. What is the name of this piece? Are there any pointers on how to replace? Where may I locate this piece?

Thanks for whatever help you can provide.

Answer
Joe,

You're experiencing a problem common with Spitfires that old... the plastic/rubber pieces in the top shifter extension have dry rotted/or cracked.

There is a nice kit which contains all the pieces to rebuild the top extension.  Usually it's referred to as a shifter extension rebuild kit, for the three rail gearbox (Mk I-IV).  It's Rover part # 519770 or possibly Moss Motors part number 848-955, judging by the spare kit I have on hand at the moment.  The cost was in the neighborhood of $20 or so.

It's not a tough job to replace the pieces, but it will mean pulling the transmission tunnel from the car.  

As to sources?  A good place to start would be to look at the parts suppliers link off of the VTR (Vintage Triumph Register) website at www.vtr.org.  Under the list of links they have most of the major sources listed.  I try not to push specific suppliers, but you should have good luck with most any of the suppliers listed on the VTR website.

At the same time, look under the link for "VTR Chapters" (http://www.vtr.org/chapters.html) to see what clubs are active in the Denver area.  You should be able to contact one of the officers to get recommendations for repair shops in the area... or possibly some of the club members would be happy to help their new member (hint hint) out with a minor car repair.

If you're going to get serious about working on the car yourself I highly recommend picking up one of the Bentley Workshop manuals.  The Bentley Manuals are reprints of the original drivers handbook and the factory repair manual for the car.  The one I purchased when I started working on my '73 1500 covers the Mk III, Mk IV and 1500, 1968- 1974.  They're not cheap, but well worth the expense by eliminating the guess work.  Sometimes they're available  on eBay.  If you don't want to take your chances there, most of the suppliers will have the manual available.


Cheers,

Jim