GFL

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

I bought a radio mounting plate finished as per the dashboard with the facility for two addition 2" Diameter Gauges, this was mounted to the centre as shown Looks good and means you don't have to cut the dash, someone used to sell similar metal engraved ones on E-Bay but not seen them for a while?

The Camber Compensator was available in the 60's to try and prevent the dreaded swing axle tuck under? Gary

Found it Mike, good luck with the sale

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1479247 Looks a beauty, a few improvements needed to the interior but what a cracking car. I'm sure the cars been feature on the TSSC Site here somewhere?

Colin I feel your pain😞 What about this for solving the problem from a post by Paul on here at the moment? NOS Vitesse Bonnet on EBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185504268809? Currently £350 . What’s it going to sell for ? Paul I'm afraid if the Car/Bonnets been involved in an accident you've not got much chance of getting it to fit correctly without major surgery? You said in a previous post that you have made up longer bonnet adjustment brackets at the front, the ones that mount to the Over-rider brackets, how much longer are they? I made some up in Stainless steel ones for my car about an inch longer with longer slots too, this may enable you to raise the height at the front to twist the bonnet to get the rear wing edges parallel with the doors? Gary

That is a rare item these days! Some of the rusting to the top panel looks pretty deep on it, so not in that good a condition and will definitely need a bit of work, some of the welds around the front wings to the front panel look a bit dodgy too and not factory spot welds, it could have been made up of N.O.S. Panels and giving a coat of primer after? I'm not convinced that type of Red Oxide Primer is factory, Factory Primer on replacement panels was a slightly different colour I reckon? If so, there may be issues with lining up with the doors, a company based in Redditch called John Hills used to offer reconditioned bonnets in the 1980's, I once purchased a recon 13/60 Bonnet for my first Herald off them, the fit wasn't that good at all. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it get up to 4 figure though I remember back in the mid 1980's purchasing a complete Herald 1200 Convertible off a guy in North London to convert my Vitesse saloon to a convertible, I think his name was Dave Jones. He had a N.O.S Vitesse Bonnet stashed away in his Shed, no Idea if he's still around or what happened to it? Gary

Be sure to check the surface of the Drive flange that rubs on the seal, make sure its smooth with no major rust pitting or you will still get a leak!😞 Gary

I would have thought these flaps are designed to feed any water down the Door shut part of the 'B' post so it can drain away onto the top of the sill then down away onto the Road? Didn't the later Spitfires have some some of extended seal on the 'A' Post when brand new to seal up under the hardtop above the door windows for weather proofing? Gary

Not sure what type of starter a 1985 Mini would be fitted with, probably the Pre-engaged type with the solenoid on the Starter Motor? If its failing to engage a check and clean of the drive gear with WD40 or similar may help but I don't think access is that good with a Pre-engaged starter motor from memory If it is the earlier Inertia type with a separate Solenoid then, a clean with WD40 and checking the Bendix mechanism works and springs back smoothly usually sorts them out. Disconnect the battery to be on the safe side if you are removing the Starter Motor Gary

That's a great job, the dash looks factory fresh😊 In answer to Josef's query, all the literature I've ever read and the specialists I've talked to state the Vitesse & Herald dashes where American Walnut veneer? I had the Dash and capping's on my car refurbished by the Specialists Chapman & Cliff and that's what thy told me and used on my car There is a post on the TR Register website about dash veneers, I think stating the TR5 & 6 Dashes where often described as Teak https://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/80554-original-style-dashboard/&do=findComment&comment=766003 Gary

Pete No cold air Inlet tubes originally fitted on the 2 Litre Mk1 Vitesse's (Although it is a good idea to fit them) It looks a very nice example, good panel fit and an excellent looking interior with sensible upgraded MGF Leather seats with Headrests It needs some Hub caps/Wheel trims fitting though (Or Alloys) Is the Owner going to get the car resprayed before sale? Gary

I always thought the holes where for any fuel overflow to drain or possibly if water got into the airbox for that to drain out too? Some air boxes (Doly 1850 maybe?) have a slot instead of holes Gary

Looks like a private seller, it's the only item listed by him? I've saved it as one of my watched items, we will see what it gets up to. Regards Gary

Yet another original Low mileage car just appeared on E-Bay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195131780226?hash=item2d6ec2ac82:g:xlMAAOSw~vlipj-j Not sure I would like to be driving on 56 year old Cross ply tyres though?!!😮

Here's a link to the Auction sale back in March https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2022-03-12/cars/ref-141-1964-triumph-vitesse-dl/ If I'm reading the T&C's correctly, it's a 10% charge on the sale price then 20% V.A.T. on the 10% so just over £9K in total.

Colin It is rather nice, even fitted with the original flecked grey carpets? It was sold at Auction in March for just over £8K plus the premiums, it doesn't seem to have had much done to if so that is some mark up! Regards Gary

Just spotted this beauty, 20K Miles from new and looks absolutely Fabulous? https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1464699 The only downside is no Over-drive Gary

Not sure if you can fit the K&N's inside the original Air filter box? But surely if you can, this would be a slight improvement so long as you keep the air feed pipes on to feed cold Air into the filters I can remember fitting HS6 Doly Sprint carbs and K&N's to my first Vitesse, all it did was make it drink more fuel😞 Gary