Colin Lindsay

I did give a heads-up to Dave Rumens before the photos were posted and it was revealed as a saloon; however that chassis number of 91 must be very early indeed. What's the earliest surviving Vitesse that we know of?

A lot of items listed like that on eBay... rare so must be worth £££££££££££... then the seller finds out why it's been sitting for years and why there aren't any others left.

The old saying goes: a lock will only keep an honest man out. My mate in the breaker's yard can overcome any kind of locknut in about ten seconds.

J-type was never used on GT6, which ended their production run in 1973, so the introduction must have been after that date, or at least the closest point where production was being run down, probably late 1972.

Then after a few weeks, your long-suffering neighbours emerge, turn the engine off, walk off with the keys, and THAT cures the rattle.

Modern wheel nuts have that wavy key design that has 500000000 variations. An angle grinder only makes one, a slot across the top that a chisel or screwdriver fits into, and off go the wheels.

In these modern times, a cordless angle grinder or cordless drill will make a mockery of any kind of security. You can only try...

I fitted a Dolomite 1850 box as a straight fit to my GT6, to get the benefit of the J-type overdrive. To be honest, I've never noticed any problems with ratios and the revs drop very nicely in overdrive 4th for cruising. I'm assuming the Marina never had overdrive?

Item has just been relisted, pics below:

Thanks for the offer but no, I've got two pairs already but am upgrading to type 14s on the same uprights / adaptors. Both pairs of 12s are in the same rusty state so will need work, but the type 14s are either new or very useable, so I may as well go for the better stopping power. The shields will be very welcome, tho.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-chrome-wheel-locking-nuts-for-Triumph-and-others/184633767903?hash=item2afd07b7df:g:2E8AAOSwX7dgAzk3 Any thoughts on these being suitable?

I've rotated my pic and those look to be the guys I need. Can you spare them, if so, pm me with price, postage etc. I'll be very happy! Colin

Is that a 1998 TSSC sticker in the rear window? That's an unusual position for a brake servo, I've never seen one mounted there before. I like the rev counter; I have the same setup planned for my Herald.

Wish mine were in that condition, I've just started refurbishing a pair... whilst looking for other parts I found stainless pistons, seal kits and even the little round seal for the two caliper halves in a drawer, so as I am doing nothing else at present, I may as well. I think I'll have fun getting the pistons out of the other one...

Exactly. In the very early cars the oil seal was a scroll type, which kept the oil in the gearbox by forcing it along threads as the input shaft rotated. Once the shaft stopped rotating the oil was free to run out, particularly on a steep hill, so the easiest option was to let it run out the bottom. At least by the 1500 they'd used a proper seal, but when it goes, same result.

Is it engine oil or gearbox oil? That'll be the first thing to determine, as it will tell you which side of the assembly it's coming from. Sadly if it's an oil seal in either the gearbox or engine, it'll be the same bother to replace; a lot of disassembly to access, and two minutes to swap. One other thing: make sure that's where it's coming from, it may be coming from the sump and just dripping off the lowest point in which case a new sump gasket, or even just tightening the sump bolts, will cure it.

What's the three-letter paint code on the commission plate? Should be NAB / NAC / NAF / NCG / NCM (I think that's most of them) if it was originally white. As well as Leyland White there was Pearl white, Spa White, Triumph White, and a few more that came and went over the years but were not used in a car as late as yours. If you don't have an original colour to match, just do a simple online search for 'Triumph Spitfire Paint Codes'; there are quite a few sites with pictures as examples, and you can work out your preferred colour. Once you reckon you know the name double check by searching for, for example: "Triumph Spitfire Leyland White" which will show a range of cars all in that one colour. The link below isn't 100% accurate in shades, but it's fun... https://triumphspitfire1500.co.uk/triumph-spitfire-colours/triumph-spitfire-colours-interactive-1/

Don't go mad for Super-Duper oils which promise the earth and cost ££££s, they're a waste of money in our engines. Penrite or Comma work for me.

Thanks Peter; slightly different to the one I found but still has confirmation of the important bits - the last paragraph above re positioning the dust shield is exactly what I need. I have the Training Notes booklet on disc brakes, but as the name suggests it's for these only and does not cover either drums or the conversion. I wonder is there one for brakes in general? Sourcing the small components is proving a challenge but good fun; I have about four sets of early uprights, but only three brake caliper adaptors (why three???) and one original dust shield with two stainless steel versions that require trimming. I've managed to find the correct bolts, and have suitable locktabs, and was able to buy the rubber seals that go between the adaptor and the upright; in fact I got two original square-profile types, lost them somewhere in the garage, and had to buy another two which are just circular o-rings... I think I'll go out for a rummage later and try to unearth the original versions. They don't fit anything else...

It's always sad when a lifelong enthusiast passes on, and we lose all the experience and accumulated know-how. Best thing to do, if you can't keep the Vitesse yourself, is to make sure it goes to a good sympathetic home; someone who will get it back on the road where it belongs and use it with care. Advertise it as for sale to a good home only - and Triumph Clubs are the best place for that, as opposed to just small ads - but just one small query: I don't remember the Vitesse as a coupe in the UK, so it's either a prototype, in which case very rare indeed, or else a Vitesse convertible with either a Herald coupe roof or a hardtop added. I could be wrong, but I think the Vitesse was only ever a saloon or convertible, with other variants such as the estate being special order or owner conversions. It still doesn't detract from an early Vitesse, which is certainly worth restoration; someone always wants one! Any chance of a few photos?

That's no excuse, it's 5pm here. It's always getting-up time somewhere in the world. I've just found one that I had on the hard drive, forgot I had it, so it's been a good help. It says, as below, the disc shield should be dished outwards and, as Rob's pointed out, the bosses on the adaptor facing inwards. Another small step forward.

Confusing, isn't it? I know for a fact - it's a dead cert - that it will all fit together until the very last component is fitted, and only then will it become apparent that something is the wrong way round. I think you're correct, too, about the disc shield which sits on top of the rest - but is the dimple sitting out towards the disc, or out towards the hub? It now makes more sense to have it 'wrapped round' the adaptor, the way I have it in the photo above but just back to front. I must have a quick hunt for locking tabs, part 18 in the photo. Thanks for the help, it's starting to come together now after so long.

All you'll find these days for 127380 is that it is either unavailable or superseded, so the Lucas part number is the important bit as they were used on many cars of the period. Mine is stamped 30451A, but it's one of the early versions which had short cables soldered to the terminals to make connecting to the loom easier. Keep an eye out for them, they're worth getting.

It will be the switch; the contact on the originals is soft metal and damages easily. You can get the horizontal terminals easily, that will clear the top extension; and it's possible you may find an original one with short cables attached, which make connection slightly easier, but those are hard to find these days. BAU1074A is the unit number, in case you want to shop around.

That's the reversing switch ok, the other one is the overdrive switch which is the same switch but on a bracket that bolts on top of the box, at the front. You can see both in the photo, but yours is the one underneath. The other is for overdrive. You just unscrew the switch, screw in a replacement, and reconnect, but with that large contact block on top of yours the extension may need to come off too - it's only four nuts. You'll probably find that it's gummed up or else the contact has worn off over the years. New ones are only about £10 or so.