Richiow

A quick update on the project. We have been cleaning up the suspension and had a trial fitting today. By next week we might be in the position to attach all 4 corners.

Chassis has been fully painted now. Due to cost, it was decided to hand paint it in a black chassis paint. We will spend the saved money on ensuring the body work is professionally done. Also spent a bit of time starting to clear up the parts. Will get the suspension cleaned up, stripped down and painted next weekend. Thank you for all your advice so far. Its proving so useful.

I was amazed by Peters rebuild and how good his fabrication skills are. Thanks for the link

Thanks John. We have a welders and I have looked into local courses but being on the isle of wight we are limited for courses like that. We had the outrigger repaired by a family member, but i will start practicing as its a skill i want to learn.

Hi John, I would not do a GRP repair on steel. I was just saying that i wish the repairs were in GRP as my welding is not as good as my laminating.

Hi Pete, Many thanks for the advice on the mounts for the body. That is something that I would never of thought of doing. Although the body was cleaned up, we will not be in a position to spray it for a long time. We will just focus on getting all the suspension and engine attached to the chassis before sending the body off to be prepared and sprayed. Is there anyone else on here who has documented the entire rebuild of a vitesse. It would be interesting to read another persons experience. Thanks

Hi Ben, Where are these reinforcing box caps? Do you have any examples or pictures of them? Thanks Richard

A few photos of the build moving along slowly. Due to wedding planning i have not done as much as I would have liked. We have welded the outrigger where the small bit of corrision was. Completely painted the chassis in red oxide and just finished painting one side with chassis paint. We have also sent the suspension off to be sand blasted. The tub has also been cleaned out ready for sand blasting and repair.

I'm loving the Vitesse race car John. To be honest i would prefer doing repairs in GRP, as i used to build carbon fibre racing yachts. My welding on the other hand is not so good, but i get the feeling the vitesse is going to need it to get better. My dad is pretty confident he can do the welding work though.

Hi john, Many thanks for the advice, it is something that I did not even consider. I think we will do a dry run before having the body sprayed and ensure all the panels fit. How long did your body off restoration take?

Well we flipped the chassis over today to start the prep on the underside and discovered our first bit of damage/rust. It is on the main beam where the outrigger joins it. We will cut out the rust and hopefully will be able to weld a plate over it.

Hi Tom, From what i understand from the previous owner, they did some research and it is a primrose yellow with tan interior. Both of which was not a factory option. The original tan leather seats need a few small repairs but are otherwise in good condition. There is no overdrive and do not plan on adding it, as I would like to keep it original. We have both metal and fibreglass front ends. Both needs work and I think we will try and get the metal front end repaired. Apart from a bit of rust in the footwells and a small amount around the arches it is in good condition. It is our first car restoration, so I hope we will do the little triumph proud and keep her on the road for many years to come.

Thanks Tom, I understand the car originally came from cornwall, but had some minor damage to the front. My dads work colleague bought it as a project. They only got as far as repairing the chassis and has been sat in the shed for 20 years. It is a mk2 2ltr vitesse and it is the original yellow from factory. Apparently the mk2 should not of come in this colour yellow and it was a special request to the factory. It is completely original and has 50,000 miles on the clock.

Managed to get the chasis prepared and and painted in red oxide. Ignore the black paint. My dad got excited and wanted to see what it looked like with the chasis paint

Recently collected our Triumph Vitesse project car. In pieces when we got it, but hoping to get it back on the road and running. Also means I get to spend some quality time to spend with my dad.