Peter Bates

I am intrigued by this topic and various others about splitting the brake calipers. A piston has seized in the ns caliper of my Vitesse which is why I am looking. Back in the 70's when I had a 13/60 I had exactly the same problem. The only way to free the pistons was to separate the 2 halves of the calipers. And the O ring wasn't available. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I put the calipers back on the car and bled the brakes and bled the brakes and bled the brakes....However much I bled them I couldn't get rid of a certain spongy feel. The brakes seemed to work ok but just this spongy feel. So I rang Girling Technical Service Department. After a sharp intake of breath the gentleman at the other end said that you weren't supposed to separate the calipers. Under normal circumstances, he said, you wouldn't be able to tighten them up enough. What was probably happening was that when pressing the brake pedal the 2 halves were being forced apart slightly because they weren't tight enough. So I had a trip to the breakers yard to get some replacements. I am now in the same situation and wouldn't have dreamed of splitting the calipers after that episode, but every thread I read on this and other forums seems to say it is OK. Confused of Northumberland

Update: When flushing out the washing soda I found that I still had a blockage (in the banjo) That was a nightmare to clear out. Had to use one of my Dad's small wood chisels (sorry Dad) and a mallet to clear it. When I attached a hose there was a satisfying pop when the blockage cleared. Replaced the thermostat. Everything seems to be working OK. The heater works. Still haven't managed to clear the drain from the engine block. I have decided to leave that for another time. The 13lb radiator cap didn't fit because the lugs were too big.

Thanks for all the suggestions. At the moment I have put washing soda in (as per one of Pete Lewis' threads) will leave it for a day or two before draining and flushing again. By which time, hopefully, the new thermostat will have arrived.

That clears that up then 🙂 Might as well try a 13lb as ordering a thermostat & gasket

OK. Sounds like a new thermostat then. What about radiator cap? Mine is 7lbs which agrees with the handbook I have and a Haynes manual but I am sure I have read on one of these threads that it should be 13 lbs

.Last weekend I went for a run out. Normally the temperature gauge reaches 1/2 way and stays there. This time it started to rise upto 3/4. Nothing serious but took it easy. Having stopped for an hour or two I set off on the return journey. The temperature gauge only reached 1/4. And the heater has never worked since I bought it in 2014 So I thought it time to have a look Having located and removed the tap and body almost nothing came out. Have poked around with wire but without much success. Have managed to get a black gooey dribble but that is all Having read various threads on this forum decided to proceed with other recommendations. The pipe that runs along the top of the manifold had a bit of a blockage but nothing major The heater valve was completely blocked with a pinky gunge. Ran a hose through the heater both ways and it seems clear Ran Holts Speedflush through and have now tried Pete's washing soda (this is in at the moment) I have taken the car for several runs of around 10 miles but whatever I do the temperature gauge doesn't get past 1/4 and the heater still doesn't work. The hoses don't feel particularly hot Have disconnected the top heater hose with engine running and water is coming out. Disconnected the bottom heater hose and again water is coming out (not very warm) I am confused. If there was a problem I would expect the engine to overheat not underheat. Haven't looked at thermostat on the basis that after a long run it should be fully open anyway and if it wasn't it would be overheating.

Thanks for your suggestions Dick & Pete.

Whoops. Thanks Pete. Found it

Draining the cooling system on my Vitesse 2L But which is the engine drain plug? Is it the one at the top that requires an allen key or the one below that requires a spanner? And what is the other one?

I decided to do this. Except the socket that the flasher unit plugs into is made of what looks like bakelite. The 3 wires go into the socket but there is no obvious way of disconnecting them without breaking the unit. So i had to cut a wire anyway. Connected up and hey presto it worked..Sort of The warning light flashed but not consistently. The brightness of the light was inconsistent. The first flash was ok but then the next was not as bright and the next then it would go bright again and so on. I screamed and put it back to what it was to start off with and will look for the jewel lens (out of stock at James Paddock)

This is how mine looks. Not connected up yet but it looks OK 15 amps/180w bulb. Hopefully that is wrong. Might have a few other issues if it isn't.

Good idea Thanks Richard

OK Thanks for your comments. Looks like I just have to go for it.

Looks like a separate output pin for the warning light. I have tested that it works by sticking the wires into the existing bulb holder and it flashes both left and right. I want to be absolutely certain before I chop the existing bulb holder out.

https://visual-performance.co.uk/panel-dashboard-light-green-3039-p.asp But will it work?

Apologies. Lack of clarity on my part. It isn't an LED bulb but a little self contained unit as per attached picture It fits very neatly into the hole in the dash. The existing unit, which looks like it must be original, is just pushed through from behind with no means of securing it and the green cover hardly gets to be seen. Although looking at it a bit more closely I wonder if the green lens is broken, leaving just the screw in bit.

The turn indicator light on my 1970 Vitesse is useless so I decided to buy an LED warning light. I have tested it and it works. I tested it by removing the bulb from the existing holder and connecting the LED via the contact points on the bulb holder. But now to fit it properly I have to cut the wires to the existing holder (I can’t see any other way) and connect the LED in its place. I have read threads which say that replacing indicator bulbs with LED’s isn’t straight forward because the LEDs have such low resistance the indicator unit thinks there is no bulb and flashes rapidly. I am concerned that having removed the existing holder and replaced it with the LED that I will end up with that result. There is so little of the existing wire to play with and not much room behind the dash I don’t want to commit myself to removing the existing holder until I am certain it will work. Any advice greatly appreciated.

I agree. How do we go about that? I must have read about this in other posts. Not the whole lip. Just the very edge which seems to stop the seal being squeezed when tightening the screws

Having come to the conclusion from earlier posts that it is the tunnel that is the problem and not my attempt at fitting it I have decided to enlarge the hole at the back and cover the enlarged hole with a piece of aluminium plate I found with the right size hole in it. Haven't finished it yet so won't post a picture until I have. I haven't had to do anything with the mounting holes.. They seem to line up ok. I need a new gaiter as well which i have ordered. The next problem is , again from previous posts, that the general opinion seems to be that the lip that goes all round the edge of the tunnel needs to be removed. I have already fixed the sealing strip in place. So if I now try and cut the lip off I am going to make a mess of the sealing strip. To buy a new strip from the shop is £35 and includes all the fixings as well. So I have ordered a thin sealing strip off ebay and will see if I can use the 2 together without removing the lip.

So it looks like I am going to have to find/make a plate. But if this part, supposedly for a Vitesse doesn't fit shouldn't the manufacturer be told? I read an article in this month's Courier about that 🙂

I had/have exactly the same problem. I have a 1971 2 litre Vitesse. I bought a tunnel from the shop about 2 years ago. Probably didn't do anything with it for a while then when I came to fit it the hole for the gear lever is almost exactly the same as shown in one of the photos. i.e. you can't push the tunnel as far forward as it needs to go to meet the bulkhead because the rear of the gear lever hole stops it. But it needs to go further forward for the fixing holes to line up. I then tried to modify it by enlarging the hole. Made a pigs ear out of that and then the hole is too big for the rubber gaiter. But having done that didn't think I could send it back. So have put up with a real bodge job and would like to finish it properly but don't want to buy another tunnel and find it is exactly the same. Has there been a resolution of this problem?

You are right...bit expensive And not sure what it means by "square hole"

Hi Paul I've never actually measured the gap between the crossbar and the switch section (until today) doh! Just looked at it and thought it wasn't big enough. Thanks for the tip

It's a 4 hole. 3.2" diameter What I've looked at online don't ssem to have the dimensions

Hi I have a 1972 Vitesse I also have a Les Leston steering wheel What I don't have is the boss to enable me to fit one to the other. I have looked on ebay and whilst there are Les Leston steering wheels I can find no bosses. Does anyone know if I can use a boss from another wheel (Mota Lita? Mountney?) and modify that to fit? Pete