Gary Flinn

Could well be a late Vitesse 6 Speedo, all the 2 litre Vitesse Speedo's read up to 120 MPH Regards Gary

Andy Ok thanks for the info, I didn't realise that happened regarding the M-O-T History but it makes sense. I always keep a look out for Red Stags with Private plates at Classic car shows or Triumph meets to see if it might be my old one, no luck as yet though? I suspect the TR5 will probably be tucked up being pampered in some garage after being sold by the Dealer, it was in near concours condition I had a look out for it at the recent TR Register meet last Saturday at the car Museum at Ambergate but again didn't see it or any Valencia TR5's with Private plates. Cheers

I would imagine it was more for sound deadening that heat. However, there is a lot of heat that comes off the Vitesse engine with it being a big lump of cast iron, apparently most is from hot air being pushed back from the radiator? I suppose the exhaust and manifold don't help either. I lined the lower/outside of my GRP Gearbox Cover with silver type stick on heat resisting type foil purchased from an Autojumble, I also used nuts and bolts at a few positions on the underside in case the glue failed due to the heat. An additional layer of bitumen type sound deadening was added to the top of the cover, then a layer of underlay and the carpet helped keep a lot of the noise and heat out too. Gary

Colin It was a guy who runs a restoration company in Northern Ireland and is a serial Sunbeam Tiger racer, a guy called Jackie Cochrane. He is well know in Tiger circles and a very successful racing driver. The car was advertised with its original Registration Number by the dealer BUP 4F here's a photo when I owned it Gary

Do you mean the Stag is no more and a baked bean can?!!! I hope not, it was in excellent condition so I hope it is still around somewhere with a new registration number The TR5 was sold to a car collector in Northern Ireland to finance the purchase of my current classic, he then subsequently sold it on early last year I believe and it was advertised for sale last summer at a Classic car dealer for £50K+ I should imagine that is now wearing a personalised plate.

Colin The changes in connection with Data Protection issued a few years ago although introduced for good reason are a pain in the A*** if you trying to trace the history of a car you've recently purchased. I have tried a couple of times to trace the history of my current classic via DVLA and drawn a blank, unless there is some legal problem/dispute over ownership then they don't want to know. Long gone are the days when you get send a SAE and a cheque for £5 to get photo-copies of the old log books detailing names and addresses of the previous owners 😒 Gary

Can anyone offer any advice on the following query:- I owned a lovely Pimento Red Triumph Stag in the late 80's early 90's and sold it on in 1994, the Registration number of the car was XHD 444R If you do a search on the registration number for M.o.t & Tax history there are no details found for it? Could this be because the car was fitted with a personalised number plate, or maybe the car was written off. Can anyone offer any advice? PS - I also owned briefly a TR5 and this was sold on in 2018, again there is no M-o-t or Tax history listed for this car when you do a search so I'm assuming again it now as a different registration number. Regards Gary

It looks very straight and original, I hope it finds a good home? I often wonder what happened to my old Stag - Registration XHD 444R, I sold it in 1994 No M-O-T or Tax history is listed for it so I presume it was either given a Private Plate or written off, I hope it was the former? Gary

Dealer prices for you Then again, try and restore one to the same standard for £25K? It really is a stunning example, now if it was a similar condition Mk2 Vitesse Convertible I would be sorely tempted🤑 Gary

What about this bit of Time Warp history for sale? https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1491541 Looks ready for the concours circuit to me. Regards Gary

Here's a link to the Herald https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354221746883?hash=item527942eac3:g:OjEAAOSwhAti91cI&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoImJK2n4OLc5b6Yz6fYvvSTeTds%2BXavLTODqjCjiiOGnJJRktiR1nqS%2BJhgvA1vDX1PlcTDLIt0I9yB4X%2BPKWZaIEWY2fAt3R1PXp7wrCbHaP5oTJUBLRj%2BI12%2Bi0HZWEfOS0bAY7rTuz7p9%2B%2B%2B8fBkOp3MiDpBi3rtf9Xf8FWGYNn0vhKEBCABYUtBssNQWJLUd%2FzaibYsHDkR3BGRQDFU%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR76mosbVYA

Yes A Panther Rio, here's a link https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjzwruW5Ln5AhVtQUEAHeQIAboQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aronline.co.uk%2Fcars%2Fpanther%2Fpanther-rio%2F&usg=AOvVaw30N5eE7yAOLKdbfOV31rh1 Regards Gary

Chris Maybe you had some faulty Mini dampers with the Chassis extension brackets? As I've said, the Koni Classic 80-1717 gave an excellent ride on my MK2 Vitesse It sounds like you've got your car riding Ok now so tick with the SPAX Dampers using the Wheel arch top mounts Gary

That's good to know another ones being saved. I wonder how many more N.O.S Vitesse Bonnets are out there stashed away, there can be many surely? I do know of a Later Herald/Vitesse convertible front bulkhead that is stashed in some ones Shed (Or a last it was a few years ago?) Gary

Hi Paul I was the guy sitting with Colin last night, nice to meet you I know what you mean about Stafford, I was leaving it till nearer the date to get my tickets for fear of some family event or Covid meaning I couldn't get. I've had some great times there during the 90's and noughties when it was the favoured site for the TSSC International, maybe next year it will happen again I hope so? Gary

Chris I've noticed you have queried the Mini damper conversion previously, what make of Mini damper did use and are you sure they where the correct open/closed lengths? The Koni 80-1717 worked well on my Mk2 Vitesse and are the correct Open/Closed lengths Gary

I, like a lot of people it seems was going to attend but hadn't pre-booked my tickets, again I didn't realise there was any discount for booking early? I've had some great times at Stafford over the years, selling stuff, admiring cars and chatting with like minded enthusiasts There were a couple of reasons I didn't pre-book, one of them the thought of catching Covid the week prior (Which seems to be spreading worse now than ever!) and also the possibility of some family event taking precedence One thing to bear in mind, which is certainly affecting my visits to car shows and no doubt others too is the cost of Fuel to get there and back, and also the increasing costs of everything at the moment Lets hope the event happens somewhere in 2023, I will be there. Gary

If someone is doing a Concours resto on a Vitesse and doesn't have a decent bonnet then it will save a lot of time in repairs and panels? I wonder how much a new bonnet costs for a BMW 3 Series, probably more than £2K off BMW?

Paul It would need closer inspection to see if it was a genuine N.O.S. one, I know a Company called John Hills used to offer reconditioned bonnets in the 1980's, it could be one of these? I know if I was spending over £2K on a single panel I would want to inspect it first, I hope it is a N.O.S. one for the new owner, it will be sure to fit properly then. Gary

I can remember travelling down with a mate towing a Trailer to fetch the Herald Convertible back, I paid £100 Cash! Dave lived on the end of a Cul-de-sac somewhere near to the M1 on the West side, possibly Junction 2. We had a puncture on the way back on the trailer, had no spare and had to go to a scrapyard near Bedford to get a spare Mini wheel for the trailer! Good to know that Dave is still around and the Bonnet😁

Thought it would make 4 figures but not quite that much Then again it would cost a lot in repair panels and take a lot of time and skill to repair a bad one? Gary

Up to near on £700 now with 7 hours to go, will it make 4 figures?

The Choke mechanism on the CD150S carbs is not the best set up in my opinion, an SU carb is a far simpler arrangement which works better. I had to be careful not to flood mine when using the Choke from cold, one thing to check is that the fast idle set up is adjusted correctly to give a tick over of around 1,200 to 1,500 RPM when on Full choke. Full choke should only be needed in the depths of Winter, half choke should be ok this time of year. Priming the fuel pump helped with starting mine from cold, but it didn't always start first time then? Regards Gary

See Club Events regarding the STAR 100 event being planeed

A couple of questions, is your car fitted with the standard CD150 Stromberg Carbs and a Mechanical Fuel Pump? Also, is the problem when starting from cold or is it the same when its fully warmed up? On my Standard Mk2 Vitesse (Mechanically the same as a standard Mk2 GT6) if I left the car for any length of time, a few days or more you get the fuel draining back or evaporating. I always used to prime the mechanical fuel pump using the lever underneath to fill up the carb float bowls with fuel, or it would take several sessions of turning the engine over before it eventually fired, when the engine was hot/warm it would start first time? Regards Gary