Steve P

Another update,car is back at the engine builders,they are saying no damage to the head or block,just the gasket gone,car has never overheated or been over 2800 revs. It has ARP head bolts which i don`t have the tool for so it was not re-torqued after running up. They are going to get it running again and check the issue with excessive oil in the top end,even with a 1mm restriction in the banjo. I had a thought about the Aluminium rad that i fitted,the expansion tank was always cold,i wondered if the cooling system was over pressurised and unable to vent to the bottle?. Could this have contributed? Steve

My new engine has (see other thread) roller rockers and an external feed,even with a 1mm restriction there was far too much oil in the rocker cover,so much so it filled up the catch tank from the vent with oil in about 200 miles,trying to work out if it is suffering from too much crankcase pressure blowing to the top. Steve

Another update,not a good one. Yesterday we went to the coast in the Herald,engine has covered 485 easy miles,including an oil and filter change. Even with the 1mm hole in the rocker feed it was still losing oil from the cover breather,yesterday as we were going along near Basingstoke at about 30mph it started misfiring,then i noticed grey smoke from the exhaust behind me.Immediately pulled over and checked,the upshot is No 2 bore is full of coolant,so its screwed. Got picked up by a recovery truck which then proceeded to break down.Got home after a second truck came out.Can`t even be bothered to look atm. S

Have you balanced the carbs?,recently did mine nd it made a big difference to tickoverand general pickup. Steve

No restriction on the feed,the catch tank is full of oil giving and indication of how much was going into the rocker box,ordered another banjo bolt today to modify. Steve

Looking like there is no restriction in the oil feed banjo bolt,going to remove it tomorrow to confirm,what is the best way of restricting it?.fill the hole in the centre somehow?. Surely you cant put a washer or something in front of it as the copper washer the other end won`t seal?. Water issue:I`m going to run it with the rad cap off to clear any air locks to start with. Steve

Thanks Pete and John, Engine is newly built and as stated above has done 200 miles,oil issue came to light on the first longish run i did.I am going to check the restriction on it.Also need to check the cap depth. Steve

Update:200 miles covered including 90 today boiling my head with the roof down. Changed all the fuel hoses throughout as i found a couple had gone soft and split,stripped the carbs as one of the jets would not return fully home on the carb body,this was a rebuilt pair by a well known supplier a few years ago,sorted with a hammer and fine wet and dry.Car running great now,but a couple more issues to deal with. It`s runnig hot,i changed the cap for a 13lb one as the one with the rad said 1.1 bar,which is around 16lb.The overflow is always cold and never gets the expansion from the rad.Anyone know whats supposed to happen?.Needle on the gauge goes from just over half to almost in the red(though not in) never actually overheated or blew steam out. though. Also there is a fair amount of oil coming out of the cap vent hole,it has Goodparts roller rockers and needs the addition of a rocker oil feed,i think it needs more restriction? Could it be too much crankcase pressure?. Steve

Had a look today,put new plugs in again,just because i had some,checked the floats,lines from carb to carb,checked the pump and found the below on the outlet side. It is one of 2 things,a piece of gaffer tape which i had used to close off the pump in/out connections whilst the engine was in the shed,which i thought i had removed all of,or the tank lining stuff i put in 4 years ago Can`t make up my mind,took the car out and did about 5 miles with no misfiring. Steve

Feltham Propshafts did mine,West London/Surrey. Steve

Thanks Colin, I set it to pretty much what Sparky Spit said,topping out at 20 degrees,it was running much smoother until it developed a bad misfire,had a quick look at the plugs today,front 2 look hot and the rear 2 are sooty.Going to reset everything but i don`t want to let it idle. Steve.

Took some of the advance off the map. and took it out tonight,was driving much better,after 5 miles it developed a bad misfire,feels like fuelling to me. Something else to find. Steve

Plan is to get it on the rollers as soon as i put some miles on it,i was looking to get it running as well as i can to run it in,i`m using Driven break in oil for the first few hundred miles. Steve

So this weekend i finally managed to get everything done on my new 1500 lump in my Herald,spec is +20 bore,head from a racer i bought from e bay,ported,flowed with bullet nosed valves. decent spec cam (newmans)nitrided crank,all fully balanced.10:1 comp ratio with roller rockers. 123 Tune usb dizzy,4-1 manifold into a home made Vitesse system.HS4 carbs with K+N filters with stub stacks inside and an air box from another forum member. Single rail o/d box and 3:63 diff. Never used a 123 before but wired as per the instructions,got the nearest to static timing i could.After spinning with no plugs to get the oil going round,it fired right up first go. Couple of minor water leaks from the pump and a fuel leak from one of the float bowls where the jet pipe goes in,sorted easily enough. Did 20 miles locally today to make sure its ok,needs a tune up,and the dipstick seems to be weeping from the top,i can`t seem to get the thing all the way in because of the angle,and the exhaust and carb heatshield gets in the way. Couple of question,i searched for static timing for the engine and found variations from 6 to 10 degrees btdc,i set to 6.Is this right?. Also i have the ali rad from e bay,is this the right cap?.What poundage should it be?. Next job,strip the front suspension and fit the 4 pot calipers i have. Cheers Steve

Hard to say from those pics but i think the carrier looks like the short version intended for the Saloon. Can`t really comment on travel compared to mine as i have a big saloon box but, if it`s a saloon flywheel it should work,if it`s a Vitesse/GT6 flywheel it will give travel issues. Is that a rocker oil feed line i spy in the second Pic?. Steve

Do you know what flywheel is fitted ?.I`m guessing it must be the 2 litre one with the spigot machined in? From the angle of the arm in the picture i`d say it may have a bit of a mismatch with the bearing carrier. S

Been there and got all the t shirts with this one,see other thread "Vitesse ongoing clutch trouble" Tell us what gearbox ,flywheel and slave cylinder you have and i might be able to help. Steve

+ 1 for the club shop moulded set,looks good in my 13/60.And i have the Herald branded mats as well. Steve

I would leave it alone,sounds fine. I would also put a better oil of your choice in,a lot recommend Millers,i use Valvoline VR1 in both mine.Pressure is definitely better when hot with a better oil. Steve

My local old style garage is on the site of an old coach house,still has old fashioned (decommissioned) petrol pumps outside.Run by a chap called Derek who did his apprenticeship at a Jaguar dealer 50 years ago.he even has a Triumph Stag under a cover that a customer left for resto 20 years ago.He doesn`t even know if the chap is still alive or not. Always fair with the Mot`s as he worked on all these cars all his life. Steve

I remember way back when in 1985 when i bought my Vitesse,all taxed and Mot`d,Cressex industrial estate in High Wycombe,by the roadside. Didnt really look over it properly but handed over the £700. Within a few days of driving it i found the rear shocks were doing nothing,driving round corners made the back end judder across the road,the side rails,outriggers and one rear leg under the boot were knackered,and the amount of filler i eventually found in the doors and body must have weighed half a ton.Carb diaphragms shot to pieces. Here we are 34 years later and i am still in possession of triggers broom,and i love it. Steve

2 years ago during the MOT the tester (old school classic friendly) told me the rear brakes were doing zilch on the offside,i had no idea,felt normal when driving.The fault was a modern wheel cylinder that lasted about 6 months before p..ing fluid everywhere. Regular maintenance yes,but i think regular/all year round use is more important,mine goes wrong after sitting in the garage doing nothing. Steve

Mines been off the road with clutch trouble since October in which time the MOT ran out,one of the first things i did after fixing it was get an MOT 2 weeks ago,one of the more dopey(among many) decisions to exempt old cars IMHO. Steve

Another update.. The garage removed the box and we fitted another new bearing with a steel saloon carrier which is about 10mm shorter than the Brass Vitesse one. So far all is good,bite point is about 3/4 up and its nice and light,and no noises as there is plenty of free play for the release bearing. Lost overdrive on the test but that is probably electrical,going to put some miles on it over the weekend and see. Hopefully good for SEM. Steve

It`s the other way Pete,when the car has been driven and warmed up,the noise comes when the clutch is depressed,no noise when off the pedal. The only reason i think the bearing is spinning all the time is because the pedal is so high,literally a feather touch on the pedal allows gear changes. No slipping when driven though,that could just be because of the paddle type plate. Steve