Nick Jones

Original Herald/Vitesse carpets were definitely moulded, especially the tunnel cover section, which is very moulded and difficult to replicate. Never seen a stitched one that didn't look horrible..... Some moulded ones look pretty nasty too. The decent moulded ones are pricey though. I made mine from scratch apart from having an original (if well used) underlay for the tunnel. Came out ok Made in a total of 6 sections including two separate sections glued directly to the inner sills/a-pillar bases which make both the rear section and footwell sections simpler. The carpet cloth over the tunnel underlay had to be cut and shut to follow the curves. Not quite the result I wanted, but better than the stitched ones. I also had tunnel mods to clear the "fat boy" W58 gearbox but only right at the rear and the gear lever comes out in the usual place The fibreglass cover is a very poor fit, but actually better after this surgery! Nick

Reverse operating lever pivots on the thread of that stud, or fulcrum pin as you call it. No, you can't get it in/out with the box assembled...... and I really tried. Snapped the fulcrum bolt doing an autotest....... no reverse and some slightly threatening noises caused by the lever rubbing on stuff........ Cheap easy fix, except you have remove and substantially dismantle the gearbox to get the new one in. Having not long pulled the gearbox and rebuilt it following a previous autotest I really didn't want to repeat the exercise but, in the end, repeat it I did. I don't see how it's the root of your problem though? Nick

Your starting point looks horribly familiar - exactly what mine looks like...... except mine (was) alot rustier around the edges. Now you've perfected the technique, would you like to do another....? ? Nick

Is that not the 1500 Spitfires? Seems rather odd either way as Switzerland isn't the flattest place around...... Probably a legislation work-around. Decent 2L will pull the taller 3.63 gearing no problem. Good for 0 -60 times too as you can get there in 2nd with only mild disregard for the redline. Nick

3,500rpm gives me 85-ish and comes in very handy on the continent where you can cruise for long periods at those speed. Can't disagree with you on the wind noise though! With those tyres your speedo may well be under-reading a bit. Originally calibrated for 155/80 13s (175/70 13 pretty close also). The OP will find his speedo under-reading a lot with a 3.27 diff unless the speedo head or drive gear are swapped to match. Nick

It's most likely an HE that has not been properly stamped. HE is normal, HF not. Nick

Saloons have 7/16 UNF fittings, not sure on the pipe size Nick

Somerset County Council are skint and apparently won't be gritting this winter..... Nick

AFAIK the only small chassis Triumph that used a 3.27 diff was the non-overdrive GT6. All 2L Vitesses, Mk1 or Mk2, with or without overdrive had 3.89 as did all overdrive equipped GT6s. That's only what the factory did though and the non-OD Vitesse especially is horribly under-geared. The 3.27 will make a much better cruiser, especially with OD. Does make for a fairly high first gear though. Nick

The factory position on the later cars is the one you have on the passenger side. Nick

2.0L Vitesse is under-geared from the factory. Having run one for the last 14 years, I'd consider the 3.63 to be what they should have had. My 2L, somewhat modified, would pull a taller diff ratio in spite of having a 0.79 5th gear, though I'm not sure I'd want to go as far as 3.27. For a 2.5 engined car a 3.27 is ideal, though the 3.27 is not the strongest size. Nick

I've always used the Bosal exhaust paste and had good results. Best way to avoid the "living hell" on dismantling is to use Mikalor clamps at the joints rather than the more usual U-bolt type which deform the tubes. The Bosal paste sets relatively brittle and a tapping around the the outside of the joint area with a hammer after removing the clamp breaks the bond. Suspect this wouldn't be the case for high temp silicone. FWIW my only experience of the high temp silicone was unsuccessful, but using it on the collector of a 6-3-1 was possibly a bit hopeful anyway. It just burnt away. Nick

We've bought sets from Paddocks in the past which are mixtures of Superflex and Superpro. Actually I'd be happier to use new ordinary rubber ones if they were OE quality and not made of some fake "rubber" that appears to be based on dog poop which dries up and blows away in the wind after a year or two. Nick

Capri discs are the best option for the T16 callipers too.

There does seem to be a degree of mission-creep setting in. As stated, the standard 2L brakes are really pretty good provided decent pads are fitted. My Vitesse now has somewhere in the region of 135-140bhp and gets used with enthusiasm. Brakes are std 2L apart from DS2500 pads and are fine for all but most extreme (Alpine hooliganism and track days). This will be addressed by spacing the T16 callipers and vented discs. The tears will then be the weakest link. Nick

If single inlet they are not Princess callipers - which raises the question of what they actually are..... Have you calculated the piston area and compared to type 14 and 16? Triumph used 5/8 MC with 14 and 0.7 with 16. Nick

Point to watch with the MGF vertical link is that there is no natural attachment point for the damper. This is why John has engineered his wishbone assembly to include it. Should be pointed out, if you are not already aware, that it's possible to have CV shafts without machining the Triumph vertical links or using MGF links as shafts are available from Rimmers, TSSC, Classic Driving Developments & Jigsaw that retain the original rotoflex hubs and bearings. There is also a way using a mixture of OEM Ford and Volvo parts (the way I did my first conversion) though the parts will be quite hard to find now. Quite a few ways to skin this particular cat, all with pros and cons..... Nick

Same pitch as type 14 IIRC. Very heavy callipers and troublesome to plumb in due to having two separate circuits. Hispec do an alloy version that gets around both issues. Can't remember whether you use the Spitfire or GT6 disc with them but really no point unless it's the GT6 Nick

Sounds like engagement is marginal even when it does engage. Possibly Pete's reverse detent stop (can't picture it, been >25 years since I had a single rail box apart). Either that or something simple but hard to spot with the external linkage that is restricting movement. Don't think the missing tooth scenario works - you'd need to be missing more than one tooth to get zero drive and you'd definitely hear that on the occasions you do get drive. Nick

If you just want the vertical links (eg for CV conversion basis) then it might be worth speaking to Canleys/Rimmers/Paddocks etc. Although relatively pricey, you should at least end up with decent usable parts, whereas buying used sets from ebay or wherever that have been freed from a rusty wreck is a bit of a lottery as they are prone to damage in a variety of difficult and expensive to fix ways and it can sometimes take a couple of days to get them far enough apart to even see they are damaged. I have too many of those T-shirts. For roto shafts (inner and outer), hubs and wishbones I have various kicking about, though I am at the opposite end of the country. Nick

Yes Nick

You did well there..... those usually make surprisingly big money. The type 12/14 ones are the really hard to find ones though Nick

The saloon/Sprint/Stag box is somewhat notorious for problems with the attachment for the fork to the cross-shaft....... though this wouldn't explain your slippage problems. Pretty sure that my PI had a 5/8" MC, which should be what your Vitesse has? Saloon clutch lever usually has a choice of holes for pushrod attachment, does yours? Do you know whether the slave cylinder is 7/8" (original I think) or 1" (Landrover). You might also want to take a look at the arc of movement of the external clutch lever. Ideally it should reach vertical about half-way through the operating arc. If substantially offset one way or the other then motion is lost. You could try making and adjustable pushrod so you can get the ideal length, but if there is no lost motion and still not enough stroke you really have not option but to try a 0.7" MC. This will make the pedal action heavier but usefully increase slave travel. As an aside, or illustration, I have the same issue, though probably for different reason(s). I have a Toyota W58 5 speed gearbox fitted. This uses a hybrid bell housing and hybrid clutch. The clutch itself is a BW pressure plate with a specially made Helix friction plate. The release bearing is a Toyota one that happens to have the right diameter and profile. The release mechanism is hydraulic and is the Toyota system complete, including slave cylinder. The master is Girling. When first assembled it had a 5/8" cylinder, was wonderfully light in operation and biting point close to the top. However, over first 5k miles of use the pedal action got steadily heavier and the biting point lower until getting gears was problematic unless pedal mashed into the carpet. Couldn't find any air or lost motion so I fixed the symptoms with a 0.7" MC. This has also worked for about 5 - 6K but once again the biting point has gone from near the top to near the bottom and I was considering my next move when the MC started leaking a bit and I've ended up fitting a 3/4" MC because I had one handy - which has got the clutch working properly again, though rather heavier than it was. Clearly there is something wrong with the geometry, but I can't see what as the Toyota mechanism is very similar in operation to the original Vitesse one...... In my case it's possible that the fact that the Vitesse clutch is quite alot smaller in diameter than the really quite large Supra one, the greater angle change of the diaphragm fingers with wear is causing the problem. It's pretty irritating though. Nick

Pretty sure that the rear brakes are the same as Dolomite (except Sprint) and Toledo. Possibly also TR7 (early 4 speed only), even Marina. Nick

That's an interesting conversion - at last an MGB gets a real engine! What gearbox was used? Tubular manifolds inevitable increase the underbonnet heat. A cast TR6 manifold for win down-pipes provides and decent alternative. Nick