ahebron

When I dismantled the older rack to get the correct pinion I noticed some tape on the passenger side of the rack. I gave this some thought and realised it was there to stop the boot from sliding off when it gets greasey. I wrapped some electrical tape round my rack outer put a cable tie on the boot and it worked. Fitting the boots was simple, the drivers side was a doddle and to get the passenger one over I stretched it open with my fingers inside the boot.

While I have the radiator out I decided to shorten the fan mounting boss by 10mm which was an easy job on the lathe, I just had to deepen the hole that the boss fits over the crank by about 4mm. This should give a bit more space between the fan and radiator. I noticed that the rubber bushes the fan mounts with were well past their best. I had a bar of UHMW so turned it down to two halves for each hole, a snug fit on both sides and good shove to get the metal spacer in. Hopefully using these to mount the fan will be ok but I am sure I will be told otherwise😉

Today I found the easiest way to remove the radiator is too unscrew the drain tap housing then you only have to deal with the bottom hose fitting. Why didn't I think of this before🤔 Radiator is in at a repair shop getting a check over and the crack repaired, probably get it back next week

I took the rack out drilled the anti rattle hole which is 1/4", made a anti rattle pin which is 1/4" dia by 3/16 long (dimensions supplied form Triumphexp). Removed the Herald/Spitfire pinion and fitted the Vitese/GT6 one with the appropriate number of shims. Then I set the rack slipper pad up with my vice grips again gently on the splines with a correct weight spanner hanging off the end. Once that was done a 13mm Bahco ratchet spanner fits on the splines so I was able to check for binding and general movement so I added another fine shim to the pack. I reasonably happy with the rack. Getting the rack in and out is surpisingly easy once you have done it a few times, its all about getting the clamps on the right angle. It probably helps that everything is clean and fasteners are all new.

Mine has the centreing hole but doesnt have the anti rattle plug hole. I have managed to work the lh rack clamp on and off with out adjusting the engine and I have no engine valances at present plus the car is 3 feet off the ground so all in it makes it a more pleasurable experience than it could be. It seems that the factory manual settings are an ideal for when the cars were new 50 years ago and we now set them up as best we can using the factory settings as a target to aim for. Luckily the slipper pad can be easliy accessed while the rack is still in the car so I will try set it to best feel. And just confirming Vitesse pinion is 6 tooth. .

Thenks Pete I am pretty sure I set it at centre position but will recheck tomorrow. Its fun removing the rack from the Vitesse😉 Adrian

I removed the rack from the Vitesse 6 and dismantled it to check everything over and give it a clean and grease. Working with the manual I set up the 7 tooth pinion to minimum play with the shims which was as it came apart. Bush at passenger side is ok and usable but could probably be replaced some time. Setting up the pressure pad under the large nut with the grease nipple was relatively easy using my vice grips which happen to be 8 inch lightly clamped to the pinion and a spanner that weighed 2 pounds hanging off the end. It now binds when the steering rack is central using the hole in the rack lining up with the grease hole, if I wind the nut back the binding goes away. Has anyone had this type of problem. I also tried to find the hole in the rack tube for the nylon pressure pad but this rack doesnt have one, the old Herald rack I have in spares does have the hole. Did Triumph make racks with and without the hole though I cannot see a reason for the latter. Adrian

I too fitted them and it all lined up. Is it out on both wishbones? Have your wishbones had oval holes repaired? Adrian

With the original RHD two door the noisiest place in the cabin was between the drivers ears. Well not quite but it was the area of the drivers head. I found the way to make a Niva go faster was to unlatch the bonnet, it could suck upwards about 200mm at 100kmh but you wouldnt want to stop quickly.

Got the correct size master cylinder rebuilt using the best of the parts I had, ended up using a PBR cylinder made in Australia but all the same sizes. They have nice black plastic caps that are stronger than the aluminium ones on the Girlings. Photo attached. Put some fluid in and bled the rear brakes using ther mityvac but the front calipers were not cooperating. Go and have lunch and a cuppa then back into the garage. I noticed a nice puddle of expensive silicone brake fluid on the floor just under the front floorpan which meant I hadnt tightened the coupling under the car, luckily I bought two bottles of fluid. Coupling nicely tightened but front calipers still not bleeding so I removed the hoses and miyvac-ed the fluid through but it still would not bleed the caliper so I removed the nipple front right and with a length of 4x2 I pressed the pedal a few times resulting in a nice jet of fluid across the car. Time to go back to old school brake bleeding methods and I got Rhyna involved doing the pump 3 times the open and close. This worked finally. Next was the clutch master and slave which went well again using old school methods. But I wondering have I got the correct master/slave combination for the 2 litre clutch I am running in the Dolomite 3 rail O/D box. Master is a .625 and I will have to measure the slave tomorrow. Progressing well with the work tomorrow is take the steering rack apart day.

Today was interesting. I spent a large part of it wrestling with the dust seals on the caliper pistons buit am pretty sure I won that battle. I found it easiest to fit the seal on the piton first then slide the piston into the cylinder stiil it stops. Then with dextrous fingers and using a blunt small hook I fed the seal for the housing over the lip trying to keep it in place with my fingers. I dont think the swearing was that bad. Fitting the calipers bought up an interesting problem. They had been powdercoated many many years ago as had the mounting brackets which added together meant the outer pad was forced onto the outside of the disc. Out with the chisel and remove the powder coating from the surfaces and all good. I also had to file the sides of the pads as they are too big to fit, I think they are a Ford pad originally. I was reasonably happy with that work so I removed the master cylinder and dropped into the ultrasonic cleaner which is my go to tool for cleaning car parts these days. Oddly the supplied parts did not fit so I checked all the part numbers and they should have. But at closer inspection the original seals are still in almost new condition so I must have rebuilt it in the past. Put it back together and all good or so I would have thought, the piston was not returning down the bore even with rubber lube. I found a replacement seal and fitted it but still not returning smoothly. At that point I realised I had it all wrong and didnt notice. The master cylinder was a 0.7 bore not a .625 and it was a 90 degree reservoir not an angled one. My bad and a couple of hours wasted. Into the spares dept and pull out the box of master cylinders and find I have 3 x .625 so I can salvage some bits and make a couple of working master cylinders for the brake and clutch. That will be tomorrows work😁 And a positive is I am getting more work done on the car than I have in the last 37 years!

Isnt it an unwritten rule that the simplest jobs can turn into a bit more then anticipated. I decided to start with the drum slave cylinders as these would be easy to do, not quite. On the left side the handbrake lever pin fell out as the hole was way over sized. I thought about turning a stepped pin with an oversized centre section that I could knurl before pressing it into the arm but that was too complicated. I decided to braze the pin into the arm with my acetylene bottle reading critically low level I got the job done and then cleaned up the brazing to allow it to work as it should. Right side was a simple swap out job. With time on my side the left front caliper was next. Once I got the pistons out I noticed a geasy sludge in the bottom of the cylinders and in the main feed from the flexible hose. This was cleaned up with an hour in the ultrasonic cleaner, a pipe cleaner and a paint brush. Dried it all off and sprayed with CRC to stop it rusting overnight. It will be interesting to see what is in the right side caliper.

Johny with the Escort rad will you have to trim the side brackets off to make it fit? The photos I see have what looks like a 40-50mm aluminium right angle welded to the side of them https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/radiators-cooling-systems/listing-2601990285.htm?rsqid=cb9dc29094d54bafab5bfe7a96fcd17c-001 Also a Datsun 510 610 620 710 720 L20B Manual radiator looks like it might fit

Pre the current issues it was often quicker to get stuff ex UK than from Auckland which is 650km north but on the same island.

No need to think I just read the country of origin on the packaging and unless China has become part ot of the EU or taken over Italy and the UK I can tell you that they do not appear to be made in China.

Today the parts arrived from Canleys to rebuild the Vitesse 6 front and rear brake cylinders. Seal kits for the master and calipers and complete new cylinders for the rears. Considering all that is going on in the world at present I reckon 2 weeks Royal Mail to me in NZ is pretty good.

No Idea, The car hasnt been on the road for 37 years but the radiator looks clean when I remove the cap. I straightened the fins a few weeks back and that was when I damaged the drain tap. IIRC I had the radiator worked on about 20 years ago😉 I was looking at Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000 radiators today and they look like they will almost fit and the hoses are in the correct places. But as I have temporarily become one of the unemployed I think I should reduce spending till I get work again

Hi Pete, I hate it when an answer is that simple😉 I recall seeing something similar in my parts dept a wee while ago. I looked though my manual and parts book but couldnt see anything. And looking at the video at 8:55 below I see it just in front of the b pillar so I will need to fabricate a bracket.

As the rebuild on my Vitesse progresses I reckon I should sort out the roof mounted interior lamp that is above the left side b pillar. Does anyone have a photo of what it should look like as I have a few different ones and does anyone have any knowledge of what is behind it. I will be using a 13/60 roof which didnt come with the interior lamp so dont know if I am missing some mounting brackets. It was easier to use this than rebuild the original. Thanks

I got to the radiator in my Vitesse 6 today and armed with a tape measure I deduced that the Honda rad will not fit well with the mechanical fan. So for know an I will stick with the original radiator and when I can access a radiator shop I will get the tap resoldered. Thanks for all the answers and hopefully they will help others.

And hopefully one last question. I see you have an electric fan but did you try it with the mechanical fan as according to my specs the Honda rad is 100mm shorter than the Vitesse one.

johny did you mount your Honda rad so the top is the same height as the Vitesse one? Thanks

And never forget the well known fact that spending money and changing parts on a car always seems to change the way the car runs no matter what you do😉

Verticals are 3mm Floor and hump are 5mm Black sections are not stuck down as the floor has drain holes in these areas. I have an unhealthy dislike of carpet underfelt and moisture absorbent sound deadening especialy in cars like Triumphs that can and will leak so I will always use a non absorbent when I can. And I dom not like the plastic bags triumph stuck behind the panels

I have trimmed helicoil lengths down, obviously not at the tang end😉 Last time on the Vitesse was when I was fitting the body and the thread for the bolt on the rh axle hump stripped.