soundrediscovery

Yes John, I see your point what I meant was that the actual alternator is an easy swap in terms of brackets, size, bolting points etc. In terms of going down that road I would have to take the more significant step (in my mind) to swap from positive earth. I haven't made that decision yet (so probably didn't express my comment particularly well) I am sure I located a step by step guide to both swap to negative earth and then fit an alternator and 'filed' it away for future reference......

sorry on this one.....

Is that a brake servo I see in the background?

Mine shows 'Full' when nearing empty, and 'Empty' immediately after filling up Until I fix it I try to keep it in the middle....

So the radiator is fixed, but a few more electrical gremlins.... not charging I have been reluctant to do this too soon but am getting around to deciding that the dash has to come out. Before I do, are there any cautionary tales that can be shared before I do avoidable damage by pulling cables/wires too hard I will refer again to my period Haynes but have found that owner experience is often more valuable/accurate. It's a good job I only have 4 cars to keep running......

I love these stories.... makes me feel better about finally fixing the lock on the shed door to make it more secure and then having to break it with a crow bar because I couldn't get it unlocked again.....

as it happens I have strombergs in the boot and an alternator from Mrs F's old Rover 200 which I am sure I read somewhere is just a straight swap.... I agree that originality is a conviction choice.... prior to purchase I was in favour of 'change as much as I can to my own spec for 21CN use', but post service I was surprised at how well original running was on the previously unbalanced Solex carbs. When I posted a muse around to stay out of the box or 'modernise' I had two offers of first refusal if I wanted to sell in original state..... It seems the relative rarity of the Saloon 6 might tip the balance toward originality, but I'm not sure that is what was I was looking for..... Maybe I need to trade for a Vitesse Convertible Mk2 2 litre, and then buy and fit the nitrous oxide engine that I saw advertised recently that had been running in a drag strip Herald.....

Thanks Pete, it is still on positive earth and I am on the look out for a new voltage regulator to test that The dynamo was new last March/April so I am hoping I can rule out failure there for the time being. I anticipate I will need to replace the brush set as it seems that where new parts were installed (prior to my ownership) it was the bare minimum to get things running rather than a full job (which is fine because I quite like dealing with the challenge and have been expecting them ). The reason for the query is that I can't see that I have touched ANY wires in removing and replacing the radiator so wanted to check that there aren't any I may not have seen or should have disconnected prior to removal for some reason. The car is standard apart from the driving lamps (which don't work at present) and the combined oil pressure/water temp gauge. The heater doesn't work though. I think the problem for previous owners has been the electrics which I am gradually tidying up/checking - e.g. I can cope with knowing that the petrol gauge reads full when it is actually empty now that I know, but will still need to sort it when I remove the dashboard to clean it up and put a new ignition switch in etc...

1963 Vitesse 6 1600 I had the original radiator re-cored via the TSSC shop as the 1600 rads are not manufactured (excellent service to be recommended!). 4 bolts and reconnected hoses plus antifreeze later I looked forward to using again on a daily basis. Started first time, warmed to temperature, no leaks, no smoke, oil pressure OK, .... BUT......ignition light not going out..... So in between standing for a couple of weeks and putting everything back together the dynamo is no longer picking up charge. The fan belt is good and all the connections seem sound, I haven't touched any earths.... I have also fully charged the battery on a trickle charger to see if the lost charge whilst standing may have been a cause but has not made a difference. Where shall I start? I am not averse to calling out my friends in the RAC who are very helpful, but it seems odd that post MOT service everything was fine but now is not.... I had been hoping to sort out the heater/blower next but now have a different challenge (and not the one where the petrol gauge shows full when empty and vice versa )

spoke to Garth yesterday on phone about radiator, saw John today as finally got around to joining as a member (Mrs F didn't take the hint for Birthday/Christmas subscription and Miss F didn't do it for Fathers Day either.....)

Having investigated the radiator it seems to be leaking at the base but is probably full of crud having not been used as a daily vehicle until this spring for over 20 years. I think the fins look a bit shaky too. Although I used it a bit last year whilst seeing what needed doing it did stand over the winter too..... A recore and replacing hoses is probably the best option in the long term (rather than putting two eggs in the system as a temporary fix) For the lamps I am inclined toward the bulbs having gone at this point in time as I agree they should (in theory) work on Main Beam (they don't!). The only other thing I haven't investigated yet is whether they are Fog Lamps similar to those my father's D Reg 2000 saloon had back in the day..... I don't think they are but can't be sure as have not yet identified some of the unexplained switches fitted

Hi Pete, yes an obvious check (when it is dark ), the trouble with electrics is although I don't mind working out what can be done I tend to forget what has been checked and what hasn't after a while. The Vitesse has had period driving lamps added and I have a switch with a live feed (which is 'live' because it sparks when I touch it) but what I don't know is whether or not it is as simple as the bulbs having gone! the bulbs are not that accessible either..... By tracing back the wiring all seems to be good, but I don't know if the driving lamps were set to light on main beam only, or dipped, or to operate independently.... So far I have managed to get the reversing light to work, the interior light and the radio (particularly pleased with that one) but then the speaker wire decided to disconnect itself from the back of the unit Today the radiator has developed a leak so I probably need to concentrate on that.... ho hum....

I am trying to tidy up the dash switches etc as my 1963 1600 is pretty original I suspect the wiring has been butchered at some point because the heater doesn't work and neither do the lights behind the speedo dial and there are various other switches that perform no obvious function at present. So I want to remove those that are not needed and put those that should be there in the right (original) place if I can. For example it looks as though the pull out reversing light switch has been fitted where the screen wash push button started..... I will try and get a picture of my dash posted here later for comments.... (photo now attached) Many thanks

1963 Vitesse 6 1600 Mechanically and cosmetically sound but electrics and dashboard need tidying. Do I go for modern seats and upgrade fuelling, alternator etc? Or keep standard? I was not expecting this to be quite so original when I purchased this time last year and I had anticipated that the mechanics might be needing more attention than a good service. Part of me is tempted to go for something that has already been partially modified instead so that I don't ruin a good original example. I might consider a part exchange/swap if anybody has the reverse dilemma.

Appreciate all the advice on this as Pete's increase in BHP is immediately interesting. So I guess the next Q is whether or not the same manifold and set up was across all the 2 litre 6 cylinder Triumphs as pricing of second hand manifolds with Strombergs varies greatly. I am in no particular rush to make the switch as the recent major service has greatly improved running (albeit the fuel gauge shows empty when it is full and vice versa ) - it is a case of deciding what my priorities are and whether I want to move away from something which at the moment is 95% original.....