Gary Flinn

Johny You are correct, the Over-drive was retro fitted recently I think, I don't know if the owners also retro fitted an Over-drive badge after the photo's where taken? He told me he's fitted the standard Cowl switch, a relay and the additional wiring loom via a separate fused circuit. You never know with these cars till you actually view them close up in the Metal, I think the only near perfect Vitesse is the one in the TSSC Museum, so I don't expect it to be perfect. I certainly can't afford the asking price, I was hoping to get a really decent car for around the £12K mark, this seems to be over an above that, it's just a matter how much the owner is going to compromise on the price and how much I'm willing to go up? I've been looking for 10 months now, as you probably know and it's starting to get a bit tiresome to say the least, there's a lot of mis described cars and one mans perfect is another mans average as I've been finding out over the past year or so. I'll keep you posted on what I find, I'm taking my good friend John with me who's forgotten more about these cars than I will ever know, I'll take is opinion on board, he's got a very good eye. I'll try and not go all goggled Eyed when I see it😁 Gary

Colin I think I could live with that?😁 I'm going to view it on Saturday (If it doesn't sell in the meantime) What do you think it's worth. Gary

This car was recently listed on E-Bay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256487768223?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20230811123856%26meid%3D15e6694fbec44131a9217acfd035b012%26pid%3D101770%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26itm%3D256487768223%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4375194%26algv%3DRecentlyViewedItemsV2&_trksid=p4375194.c101770.m146925&_trkparms=parentrq%3A0f3f013b18f0a56643c99492ffff5e20|pageci%3Aa0b0ba5c-0215-11ef-a35c-fef2fc93da3d|iid%3A1|vlpname%3Avlp_homepage I've never seen the car in the Metal, anyone seen this car close up and if so what do they think of it? Regards Gary

Peter Yes, a lot of the door catches and anti-burst catches get seized as well as worn, which isn't going to help. I spent an age adjusting the doors and bonnet for a good fit and also easy closing on my old Vitesse, I managed to source some decent catches off a low mileage 13/60 Herald Saloon and with the correct 'J' Section door seals and unseizing of the Anti-burst catches, they shut well. I'm sure that when the cars were new slamming wasn't required, but 50+ years on things are bound to have worn and the bubble type seals don't help matters. Gary

Hi Jonny Yes, I presume you mean the Damson car? I've been in touch with the owner via messenger who I have had correspondence with in the past on the Vitesse Facebook group, I will call him tonight to discuss. The asking price is out my remit though so unless there's some movement I won't be viewing it. I actually went and viewed the other one listed on E-Bay (White Mk2 Convertible) yesterday as it's quite local to me. This had been subjected to a Chassis up rebuild and a lot of expenditure, it only needed the Hood frame fitting, a new hood and a few other minor jobs to finish it, however I was put off by the panel fit and the lack of over-drive. There seems to be a lot of Heralds/Vitesse's that need the doors slamming to shut properly, and I'm sure its not just incorrect profile door seals. The interior (Ox-blood colour with White Piping) wasn't my cup of tea either. More cars seem to be appearing for sale now it's spring so I'm hopeful of getting one soon. Regards Gary

Slick 50?

I shall be travelling down from Up North, not good news☹️

Colin I believe Andrew moved to France, I actually helped a Mate with the rewire of his premises in Belper in the early 1990's on Derwent Street in Belper, I do currently live quite local to Belper. I often wonder what happened to John Hills at Redditch, I had loads of stuff off them in the mid 1980's. Regards Gary

I can remember ordering the steel trim pieces and the outer/inner door weather strips from my local BL dealer in the mid 80's for my first Vitesse, a place called Service Motors in Leabrooks, Derbyshire. It's long gone now, there's a Co-op Supermarket on the site, they call it progress!! Regards Gary

It looks like its been ran over and bent, the end should be at 90 degrees I reckon. I don't recognise it as a Triumph Part. Regards Gary

For anyone looking for N.O.S. Aluminium bumper capping's for a Vitesse rebuild, someone is listing 3 on E-Bay presently https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196337268000?itmmeta=01HV64NTV36SV2TQHBXGRF06YT&hash=item2db69cf520:g:8SEAAOSwO1xmFYn- I can remember searching for N.O.S. during the rebuild of my Vitesse 20 years ago, I only ever found one at the Stoneleigh Triumph Spares day, I gave up in the end and had a good second hand set stripped, polished and re-anodised for less than the cost of one of these?! Regards Gary

You've been very busy Colin, great work. I too dread working on the inside of the doors on a Herald/Vitesse, too many fiddly clips and sharp edges, fitting the round clips that retain the window channels to the winding mechanism is a fiddly job, there must be a knack to it but I've never mastered it yet. Think positive, it will start first time, prime the fuel pump and make sure you have a spark and away she will go🙂 Regards Gary

Pete Interesting, I thought the uprated Swing Springs for the Herald/Vitesse were the way to go to tame the rear? However from your experience it would seem the stiffer/flatter Courier Specification spring and a lowering block is the way to go. Gary

Yes, I believe that's what happened. The shape/set of a Roto-flex type spring is different too if you look at the measurements in the chart from John Thomason, its got far more curve to it, presumably something to do with getting the correct camber throughout the suspension travel when fitted. Although the Mk2 Roto-flex type suspension works well, it is a pain to work on and expensive to rebuild, I can see why people fit CV joints or the uprated Swing Springs to the MK2 Vitesse models. Gary

I purchased a supposed Mk2 spring in the mid 1980's for my Mk2 Vitesse from John Hills the Triumph people in Redditch, it turned out to be for a Mk1 model and I ended up ruining the Roto-flex drive couplings! The John Thomason article mentions using an earlier 2 Litre Swing axle spring to lower and stiffen up the rear suspension on a Mk2 model, but I wouldn't advise it unless you have the CV driveshafts fitted. Regards Gary

Bob If you can weld they are not too difficult to make, alternatively some 41x41 Unistrut type Channel and some sturdy 'U' Clamps/bolts can be used, I don't think the TSSC sell them although you may be able to borrow one off a nearby Club member, I had one but sold it when I sold my Vitesse. Here's a picture of One I've pinched from a previous post and the dimensions from a Workshop Manual, also one in use on my old Vitesse Spring Lifter Dimensions.pdf

Bob It looks like the spring's been modified then, or is possibly a GT6 one? Although the chart states a GT6 MK2/Early Mk3 spring (Roto-flex type) should have 6 leaves not 7? Be careful with some of the Repro springs, I fitted one during the rebuild of my Vitesse and it sagged after 12 months or so, if you can find a good second hand one that is within the dimensions stated in the chart above then you can strip it clean and refurbish it with new Thrust buttons and Spring Eye bushes for minimal expense Alternatively, a new one will be around £300, I believe Canley Classics have them made by a UK Company so it's worth getting in touch with them. Be aware that ideally you will need a spring lifting tool to remove and replace the spring safely (This supports the spring till all the tension is removed), keep us posted how you get on. Regards Gary

Hi Bob It's hard to tell how many leaves you have fitted but it looks like a few have been removed to presumably lower the car, or you may have a GT6 Mk2 or early Mk3 Spring fitted which won't be strong enough. As stated by Works Spitfire a Mk2 Vitesse spring should have 11 Leaves in total and it is a different set to the earlier cars Here's an article done by a guy called John Thomason which was featured in the courier magazine and also a photo of a an original Mk2 spring I refurbished for my old Mk2 Vitesse Be aware that there are 4 of the rubber Buttons per side and note the dimensions and free arc height of the spring when fitted and when out of the car. The offset of your wheels won't affect the camber to any great extent which should be slightly positive 1 or 2 degrees max on a Mk2 Vitesse Regards Gary

The same Part Numbers 130036 Blade & 130034 Arm are listed for all Herald/Vitesse models, if you have a later Herald 13/60 manufactured after early 1970 it may have the wider spaced Wipers but the part numbers I believe stay the same. I'm sure I fitted some slightly wider (12" maybe) blades that were slightly offset to my old Vitesse with the wider wiper spacings and I didn't have any issues with them catching. PS - I do know the number of teeth on the Motor Gear wheel affects the amount of sweep degree's, a 130 Degree sweep is normal for the earlier cars up to early 1970, I'm sure the later cars are different but I can't remember how many degrees🤔

The last time I had a full respray and some minor Bodywork repairs done was in 2004 and this cost £3,000.00 I had several quotes at the time ranging from £2,000 up to £4,500, it lasted well for 10 years or so, but I believe a few issues have now arisen and it could do with further work. A bare metal job is the way to go if you want it to last. Regards Gary

Not always Colin I had one fail on my Vitesse at 60MPH! It was a bit scary to say the least, luckily it was on a straight bit of road that wasn't too busy, luckily I didn't lose my brakes and there was a layby for me to skid into. The vertical link snapped at the end of the threaded section due to fatigue from a previous accident/kerbing which I presume had bent it, I should have changed the Vertical Link really but back then (The mid 1980's) money was tight and I didn't know it was failing. Gary

Originally the Vitesse 6 and Early 2 Litre Vitesse's didn't have the flexible hoses fitted, the Mk2's did though. It is certainly a good idea to fit them though and get cold air into the Carbs/Engine. Gary

Doug I have seen that one listed, it looks very nice but I've set my heart on a Mk2 Convertible, preferably with Over-drive. I can remember chatting to a guy at the Stafford TSSC Show several years ago and he'd owned his White MK2 Convertible since 1974, a guy called Gordon Stokes from Birmingham also attended Stafford a couple of times and he'd owned his lovely 1965 Signal Red Vitesse 6 from new, but that was sold via a dealer a few years ago now. I did view a 3 owner car earlier this year with 47K miles genuine miles on the clock, but this had too many Mechanical issues for me although I did make what I though was a realistic offer for it which was refused. Gary

As a lot of you will know I've been on the lookout for an original low mileage/low ownership Vitesse for quite a few months now. Does anyone know of any club cars that have been owned by the same person from new? It must be a long shot with even the later Spitfires and Dolomites being 40+ years old now I would love to find an original, one owner low mileage car but I'm beginning to think there aren't any left these days. Regards Gary

They fit as per your second (bottom) photo on the TR's glued to the 'A' Post, so presumably the same way on your Spitfire. The same seal is fitted to the Stag's and later Herald/Vitesse models too I believe. Regards Gary