Gary Flinn

I suppose you could be right John, the commission number I quoted is the last one, it doesn't mean to say it was the last car down the Production line that got this number? All fascinating stuff, I wonder if anyone wrote on the last Vitesse anywhere🤔

I've been having discussions regarding the Last Vitesse Converible ever made on Leon's Triumph Vitesse International Facebook page and the supposed build date. I had always thought that the last one made was a convertible with the Commission Number HC58109CV and that it was manufactured on the 14th of May 1971 (Courtesy of Graham Robson's Herald/Vitesse book), however Wikipedia among others states July 1971 as the date? So I thought I would E-Mail the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust archive department at Gaydon. I was lucky enough to get a reply back from a John Bacchus stating the build date listed in the Archive is the 5th of May 1971 for this particular car. This last Vitesse was still around a couple of years ago as I saw it at one of the TSSC events, it could have been Santa Pod Does anyone know the owner of this Signal Red car? Gary

I had no end of trouble with my Old TR with Ethanol in the Fuel degrading the rubber components of the Fuel system? I did a bit of research at the time and sent out a few E-Mails, I was told by Esso, the Synergy Plus fuel sold in my area was Ethanol free, so that's what I use now. As Pete states there is a good write up in the March Courier, I think it does state the areas where the Esso Synergy Plus may have Ethanol in it, Teeside was one I believe. Here's a post from last July on the TR Register site on the Subject of Ethanol in fuel: "Once again, I am asking for your assistance. A posting I saw recently on this section informed us that Esso Synergie Supreme+ is free of the dreaded ethanol. It also reported that this did not apply in Devon, Cornwall, Teesside & Scotland. Having suffered damage to the seals in a metering unit and internal collapse of flexible fuel lines, I contacted ESSO filling stations in North Yorkshire. All are supplied from Teesside. ESSO head office was the next call. I have now phoned twice but no help has been forthcoming. How difficult can it be to send a text, email or make a 2 min phone call to tell me where the nearest station with ethanol-free fuel is located? Web searches have proved negative. Can the TR Forum guys offer any guidance? I am in North Yorks, 17 miles north of York and am prepared to travel into West or East Yorks to collect. I see that 10% of this chemical will soon be finding its way into our fuel. The politician (I prefer the description "hypocrite") announcing this change said that vehicles built before the year 2000 should not be affected. All the damage to my TR6's resulted from using fuel with only 5% ethanol. I have always used an additive claiming to protect against this problem, along with seals and flexible fuel lines, all of which claimed to be ethanol tolerant. Regards Gary

I had an Hybrid box fitted to my old Vitesse, this was 3 rail, had the Larger Mainshaft tip and J Type Over-drive, this was made up by one of the Previous Owners in the late 1980's who is still a good friend . Does anyone know when Triumph up-rated the Mainshaft Tip size and was it for the later Single rail Dolly boxes? Gary

Sunbeam Tigers look nice with Revolution 4 Spokes too, but I am biased😁 Most Tiger owners these days fit 15" or even 16" Wheels with low Profile tyres though, I'm not a big fan of this, low profile tyres spoil the cars ride but some of the styles do look good. Gary

Richard I fitted underlay I got from an Auto-jumble meant for a modern Toyota, I also used bitumen type sound deadening glued to the floor in various places before fitting the underlay. Another worthwhile modification to try and keep the car quieter and comfortable inside was fitting the same as the above to the outside of the Gearbox Cover and fitting heat reflective Type foil to the underside of the tunnel, it seemed to help a lot? All the Interior was done using Newton Commercial trim and it did look like new when finished with the re-laquered Dash & Door capping's and refurbished instruments😊 I actually saw the car got and got chatting with the new owner Martin last August at the TSSC Stratford show and the car still looked great inside (the re-trim was done around 2005/6 during the cars rebuild) MGF Seat where also fitted later using another re-trim kit off Newtons and these looked great too. Cheers Gary

I fitted the Moulded carpet set made by Newton Commercial during the rebuild of my Vitesse several years ago, but purchased the Carpets and all the Interior Re-trim items via Canley Classics at the time because it was cheaper than going direct to Newtons? Quality and fit where excellent (especially around the tricky Transmission tunnel) although they are not an exact match for the Original carpets with regards to colour and type of carpet. I know Newtons invested a lot of money way back to get tooling made for a correct fit for the Herald/Vitesse range May be worth checking they are Newton manufacture, but if they are Moulded then they should be as I don't believe any other Manufacturers do Moulded sets? Regards Gary

I got a reproduction set a few years ago at the Triumph & MG Spares show, from this company, I think I paid around £260 for 4 Including Special wheel nuts. https://www.johnbrownwheels.com/ They do look good on a dark coloured car?😊

Found a Post on Leon Guyots Vitesse Facebook page about this car. It would seem it now resides in Scotland and his Owned by a Lindsay Taylor. Hope to see it at Stratford in the summer?😎

This shows the outer column, its very easy to damage (with being aluminium) when changing the bushes? With regard to the Column wiring, there are normally some Through Connectors for the Indicator & Lighting Switch wires hidden half way down the column.

Yes, I thought it was good mark up for a car needing little doing to it? It seems to have had a good clean and valet of the interior (The seats looked filthy in the E-Bay Ad) and also the engine bay was tidied and the Rocker cover was also changed for some reason too. I Understand he's running a business and has Overheads, employee's wages, transport costs, etc It always amazes me that people are prepared to pay far more for cars off dealers, I bet if I'd bought it and tried to sell it on for a small profit I wouldn't be able to move it on for no where near the dealer asking price? Hopefully the new owners got some sort of warranty too, presumably a warranty/guarantee off the dealers is what helps the dealers move these cars on? Someones got a really nice Vitesse ready for the Summer😎 Hope I get chance to see it again. Gary

http://www.cherishedclassiccars.com/Vehicles/602/DSCN9002.JPG Now sold. Hopefully to be seen around at some of the Shows in 2020?

Shadow Blue is lighter?

Ian I purchased the covers and headrest and got a local trimmer to fit them for me. This was about 8 or 9 years ago. Newtons told me the Colour and grain type of the MGF Covers is Triumph Shadow Blue and Stag grain pattern, apparently two types of grain/vinyl finish where available at that time. If you want to PM me with an E-Mail address I have the details saved somewhere and can send them? Cheers Gary

MGF Seats do look period and are very comfy, but as stated rearward travel is restricted in the Convertibles due to the 'B' Posts intruding? I've also seen early MX5 Seats fitted and these are a lot narrower on the Back rest and are better suited to the Convertible models if you want maximum rearward travel due to being tall, although they are not quite as nice looking in my opinion. Newton Commercial do re-trim kits for MGF Seats to suit the Triumph range of interior colours, Black, Red, Blue and Tan as far as I know? Here's my Early 1999 MGF Seats when purchased and after fitting a Newton Shadow Blue re-trim kit (Not cheap though!!), they do look period and are very comfortable and safe with the headrest too😉 Regards Gary

Not sure how close they are but these people have been going years and do a great range of Repair Panels for the Small Chassis Tiumphs and also carry out repair & restoration works? http://www.chicdoig.co.uk/

I found out the offset problem when trying to put Doly Sprint wheels on my 1st Mk2 Vitesse back in the 80's😦 I had to use wheel spacers? At the front to stop the wheels fouling the Brake Caliper, (about 1/2 inch if I remember correctly) and about a 1/4" spacers on the rear to stop them fouling the Lower Wishbones I think it was🙁 Gary

These Oval Hole style wheels were also fitted to the Dolomite 1500 SE Model too, with Stainless steel rim embellishment's? Some of the very last standard range Dolomites manufactured around late 1980 also had these 5J Oval Hole wheels fitted, presumably to use up stock with the Shut down of the Canley Factory for car production😢 Regards Gary

I work in the Electrical Contracting Industry, our Panel shop uses Crimped type Connections exclusively for their Electrical Panel Wiring and they've done so for years. Electrical connections up to 300mm/SQ Cable sizes using Hydraulic Crimped connections is normal industry installation practice for Electrical loads up to 1600 Amps I have used numerous crimped type Lug connectors using good quality Ratchet type Crimps on car wiring systems for years without any issues, Ratchet type Crimps in conjunction with good quality crimp type lugs shouldn't give any problems on a car electrical systems. The cable must be stripped correctly, the right size crimp used and the electrical connection to the accessory correctly tightened to ensure no future problems. Loose connection and high currents can cause over-heating and possible fires on Electrical Systems, even on Car Systems? Gary

Here's a Formula Ford wheel, very similar if not the same!

I'm sure I've read the 5.5J Oval Dunlop wheels were used on Formula Ford single seater Racer's in the 1970's, anyone know anymore?

I Remember swapping my Mk2 Vitesse Handbrake cable during it's rebuild with the Rear Tub off the car and upside down, it was easy😉 With the car built up and the right way round it is a pain!😖

The most popular Alloy wheel and Tyre sizes seem be 5.5J X 13" with 175/70 Tyres for the small chassis Triumphs. I've used this on a couple of Vitesses's and was happy with the looks, extra grip and the steering wasn't ridiculously heavy. I've seen 14" and 15" size wheel fitted, but with low (40/50/60 Profile Tyres fitted) I personally don't like the look of them and the standard Suspension is not suited to Low profile tyres either? It's the ET Offset that determines if they will catch or not and 6J will be tight even with the correct offset? I had some Dunlop D1's 5.5J X 13" with a ET19 Offset on my last Vitesse and these didn't catch at the rear but fouled slightly the Bulkhead at the Front on Lock. Up-rated studs are a must as the originals are designed for a Herald! Gary

Sold at the NEC for the asking price apparently, is it going into a Museum maybe?