Don R

I did suspect that the carrier might be part of it, and I don’t recall seeing the dimple (though I may just have missed it). Thanks for the tip

Thanks Pete, that is a relief- imagining all sorts of things but the diaphragm fingers on bearing fits all symptoms. I’ll dig out the make of clutch. All the actuating bits have been apart and cleaned/disturbed and with the new bits i guess it’ll take a while to settle down. A light spring sounds the most accessible fix, I’ll start there…

Could be electrical? Just finished mine after 5 year rebuild, and after a run through town with fan cutting in and out the tickover started dropping. Got home and tried to restart it and it was dead. The alternator seems to out out enough to make the voltmeter move but when you put load on it there is nothing left- electrical boffin friend said the old alternator diodes deteriorate over time, mines now 12 years old (with the lay-up).

I’ve just finished the rebuild on my vitesse and it’s running (dropped valve fixed after first attempt..). However, it’s developed a rattling noise from the clutch /gearbox. It is a light noise, like tappets, a rattle that gets faster and slower with engine revs. It happens in and out of gear and disappears with a slight load on the clutch pedal. It has started after 100 miles running in and I think it’s getting a more insistent. (The car has a new clutch, a new release bearing and the engine has had a complete rebuild inc. crank grind and bottom end.) I’m thinking unlikely to be engine end float. my suspicions are around the release bearing and carrier, the release fork or the clutch itself. Has anyone heard of this, is it serious/ urgent and is there an easy fix (or is it drop the gearbox time again… thanks!!

Thanks Pete, that great- I’ll put it back tomorrow

Amazing job, looks really good -well done! I’m still going on just the reassembly after a year.

Thanks for all the replies, I think frustrating is the word- I suspected the doors would be a bit of a challenge. Will have a go and report back. still waiting for the bonnet back from the spray shop, really hoping it just drops on in the right place 😬

It’s part 33! I couldn’t find the old holes in the bulkhead but given the amount of new metal and paint they may well have disappeared. Thanks for the clarification- I will investigate further....!

I thought that bracket was the quarterlight lower mount bracket?!

I’ve just put my dashboard and surround(much papier-mâché) back in. However, I didn’t take enough photos and I have two brackets left over, and I really can’t work out where they go. At the moment the surround attaches to the bulkhead at the top and the rail at the bottom, and the dash screws into the surround. I cannot see where the plates would fit. Can anyone help? Thanks!

I’m just refitting my quarterlights after a full rebuild. I’ve just found Colin’s “ too much metal at the top of the door” issue, I’ve got a decent gap now but it took a lot of fiddling. my issue is the other way, laterally across the car. With the doors on and gapped the quarterlight on one side has 15mm ish gap to the windscreen flange (that the door seal clips onto). But on the other side the gap is about 5mm, consistent from top of door to top of windscreen (so I can’t bend the quarterlight out). Is that where Colin means use the p seal or omit it depending on the gap? If I omit it how do I get a seal down there? thanks!

Pete, Garth, Thanks for the replies, interesting comments. I won't be as cynical about the recolouring in future! I've been looking as the cost of refurbing mine however, the bits (as you say) are expensive and leather would be nice. I want to avoid the looking too modern - some MX5 seats are a little too '90's' - but the MGFs look possible and I'll check out the Jag ones too. Good luck with the heating! cheers Don

I'm taking my Vitesse Mk1 to bits to sort out the chassis. In amongst the various wrecked / "life expired" bits the seats are pretty rough. The covers are OK so I guess I could rebuild them but is it worth it? I could do without hot weather sweaty sensations and they've never been very comfy (though they've always been pretty saggy when I've had the car). I've heard talk of MX5 or other leather ones that fit but it is shadow blue inside and MX5s seem to be black or brown, someone also said you could recolour them but that sounds a bit Heath Robinson - any suggestions? Thanks!