PatK

Thanks Pete, very helpful and informative as usual. I do want an angled one however as it is not the capacity that bugs me, but when you try and use Gunson's easy bleed which brims it, on removal you get a flood, and if you want to use a suction bleeder using compressed air then the auto fill reservoir that sits on top of the M/C will tilt and flood. Where on the M/C do you take measurements i.e. 0.7.? Is that the bore of the cylinder? I've just replaced a very old M/C with a large diameter reservoir, approx 2", would that be land Rover?

Hi All, on my Vitesse 2L Mk2 the brake master cylinder is angled forward which makes accurate filling difficult. It appears that the triangular brake support that holds the cylinder angles the cylinder downwards. Is this normal and should the master cylinder reservoir be angled back to make it horizontal I have seen several clutch M/Cs angled like this but looking to replace my master cylinder all that i find are 90degree ones, same as fitted. Is it possible to change the cylinder supports for ones that hold the M/C at 90degrees and horizontal, or does anyone know where I can buy an angled reservoir M/C? Thanks, Patrick

I've just renewed the rear brake shoes and found that the handbrake needed adjusting as it was now too tight. The nuts on the end of the threaded cable had seized solid and as you can guess, with a little too much pressure one sheared off, why oh why don't people use copper grease on threads like this! Anyway as the cable was probably 50 years old and rather grotty it was probably time to get a new one, so I ordered one from James Paddock who I find is very good for spare parts and it duly arrived two days later with a comprehensive fitting kit. I don't know how many of you have tried to renew the rear handbrake cable but it turned out to be a bu....er of a job because you have to try and get 2" of threaded rod around a small 90degree bend on both sides of the car and thread it through a semi circle channel below the bell crank lever, which sits hidden away above the exhaust and prop shaft. Anyway, after about two hours I finally managed to get it routed correctly and attached the clevis too one side and tried to pull the cable through to attach it to the other wheel cylinder lever. However try as I might I could not get it to reach the lever, so after half an hour I decided to ring up James Paddock to check if they had sent the correct part, which they had. When i told him it was too short he then said that it should be 69" long and he would go and measure the ones he had in stock for the Vitesse Mk2. After he returned he found that all the cables that he had in stock were 11/2" short at 671/2" long. So i ask him where I could get one the correct length and asked him if Canley Classics would have one and he said no because he had bought these from Canleys! He did suggest that I try Rimmers which I did, the guy there was very helpful and went to the outside building and checked their stock for the correct length. He returned after five minutes and then said that his stock was also too short by 11/2", so It looks like their suppliers, probably the same ones, had also supplied the wrong length cable. After ringing around I finally located one at Chic Doig's, who went and measured his cable which was correct at 177cms, approx 691/2" long so that was a great relief as it would seem that I was going to have to put the car SORN until another batch the correct length had been made. So as a conclusion for any one out there who is going to replace their rear handbrake cable, please check with your supplier that it is the correct length, 691/2" or 177cms long. I should have checked my new one against the old but thought that they could not possibly get such a simple thing as this wrong and the old one was probably stretched, but it is a lesson that I have learnt the hard way!

Another one for the competition, just starting to overhaul the cooling system, same car as before. Took the thermostat housing ally cover off and it had just about disintegrated with white rust, but I thought that I would check the thermostat. Would you believe it, no thermostat and so much grunge and old silicone around the housing that there is no chance of fitting one, until all this accumulation of crud is removed, and I haven't yet tried to remove the hoses from the intake manifold and smith's heater so there may be another bodge there! Happy days.

Hi Folks, how about having a bodge of the month competition? I'm sure that there are many of you like me that have bought a seemingly good car only to find bodge after bodge. My most recent one which I am entering in the bodge of the month competition is for the bodge on the clutch of my Vitesse. I first noticed a problem with the clutch pedal being about one inch lower than the brake pedal, which meant that the pedal had to hit the floor before the clutch would disengage. Removed the master cylinder and guess what? The operating lever that attaches to the top of the clutch pedal was too short! So having replaced the clutch master cylinder that cured the pedal position problem, BUT this was not the bodge of the month! The pedal still had to go nearly to the floor so the fault most likely would be the slave cylinder. I took it off and all was revealed, as shown. The bottom half of the cylinder was filled with rotted aluminium and the piston was not able to travel more than 2/3rds of it's correct distance, however here is where the bodge comes in. Some ass...le had put a very small socket into the grotty end of the cylinder, connected the push rod to that and the clutch worked after a fashion. Check out the photo, and this is my entry for bodge of the month!

Hi Folks, I'm just overhauling my Vitesse front suspension where the vertical links appear to be just a little worn but OK with no signs of pitting or cracks near the top of the screw threads. I was as usual checking all things Vitesse on e bay and came across an advert for a Vitesse vertical link, it looked like new old stock, which it turned out to be, unused still with the manufacturer's wax on, and only £29. So I bought it for £29, which I thought was a bargain since repro

Thanks Colin, I will check that out. Pat

Thanks Doug, thats helpful, I will check with the club, but it seems Haynes might be a cheaper alternative. Pat

Thanks Steve, i will check it out, but my official Triumph workshop manual has the same title as this, I think Gully is right I need the GT6 Mk1,2, and 3 and Vitesse 2L version.Pat

Thanks Gully, my manual must be the earlier version as it does not mention GT6, Mk1,2 and 3 so I guess that I bought the wrong one again! Pat

Hi folks, I bought a genuine triumph workshop manual, for GT6 and Vitesse 2 litre, however it has no info on rotoflex rear suspension and drive. Does anyone know of a workshop manual that contains the correct info on rotoflex preferably a genuine Triumph one ? Thanks. Pat

Thanks Dave, more useful info. I managed to buy a manifold complete with 150 Strombergs on e bay for £65 a bit tatty but I think that they will clean up nice this winter. Point taken, larger aperture slower gas speed. Thanks Dave.

Thanks Pete. I have managed to buy an airbag and now need to sort out the throttle cable routing and get the Strombergs overhauled this winter. A kindly neighbour, ex garage owner, gave me several Stromberg 150 diaphragms so that will be a start. Thanks Pete.

Thanks Dave, good info, I hope to put it back to 1.5 Strombergs eventually when I have assembled all of the parts. It seems to run fine with the HS6's but I'm having a problem with a sticking choke on the Nr2 carb. I have just realised today that the choke tube is slightly bent ( I think ) and a slight sideways pressure pops it back in. Oh the fun of classic cars!

Thanks Pet, good advice as usual, so now I can go ahead and order a gasket set. Pat

Hi All, can you please identify the intake manifold on my 2L, Mk2 Vitesse. It has been fitted with twin HS6, SU's. I have recently bought a 2L Vitesse intake manifold complete with 150 Strombergs and it is different to the one fitted. It is a Stanpart manifold and the numbers are Stanpart V3186, D03 and the letters RKCO have also been stamped onto the casting. I want to remove the manifold and fit a completely new exhaust system and would like to order a new gasket set for the manifold once I know from which car it came. Any help would be much appreciated folks. Thanks Pat. PS I have tried to put a photo here so I hope it works!

Thanks Shanngi, I will make a note of this, as I don't immediately need them doing, but will do so later in the rebuild. Just welding rust patches at the moment!

Thanks Pete it's much clearer now and I will do that after I have welded in the new floor pan, it's going to take a long time to fettle it as you said it is not an exact replica or fit. Pat

Thanks Pete, yes the pedal is on the back stop. I'm not quite sure what you mean about slotting the cylinder bracket. Do you mean slotting the master cylinder mounting bracket Pete? I'm still trying to weld in the floor pan Pete and that is how I became aware of the different distance between the brake pedal and clutch When eventually I get it welded in I can then get round to removing the cylinder. If only there were 48 hours in a day! thanks Pete.

Hi All, I've just noticed that the clutch pedal on my Vitesse 2L is approx 1" further forward than the brake pedal. It's fully back on the backstop, held by the spring. Is it because the car has a wrong clutch master cylinder? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. Pat

Many thanks Steve, I will check him out and I'm sure that there will be many more members of the club who would probably be interested.

Thanks Pete and Juppy. I know that Frosts do kits to remove anodising and to plate with it, so I thought there would be some company that does restoration of aluminium, not necessarily for cars but for industry in general. After all, chrome plating is probably much more expensive and complex than refurbishing aluminium would be. There must be hundreds of classic car owners who would use this service, aluminium windscreen surrounds for one.

Hi Everyone, does anyone know if the aluminium bumpers fitted to the Vitesse can be restored to like new condition. Is there a company that could do this, I guess that they would have to be stripped, any dings sorted and re anodised. Or can they be sorted and polished by oneself? Many Thanks. Pat

Hi All, just been into Poole Aldi and they are selling Workzone Digital Calipers for £7.99p! 0-6", 3yrs warranty, guaranteed accurate to .001" spare battery and press button zero and mm if required.

Thanks Pete, I've just bought a new spherical post from Canley Classics, as this will sort it out for the next few years hopefully.