Clive

I tighten up gently with a spanner, then back off until I can JUST feel a tiny amount of play.

Oh, yes, I missed the V5 thing. As long as the commission number is there you should be OK. An ali plate, about the size of a credit card. You are looking for a number beginning G********CV Without it, life would be very difficult...

£750 if it really is not rusty. Of course, if there are a load of new parts, add the value of those at 50% of new cost from canleys etc.

The side screws are the original type, the hex ones into the siderail who knows (somebody will!) as I have seen the straps welded, screwed, pop riveted and even just bent round the siderail, and sometimes missing altogether. There are also a couple of fixings up into the rear wing.... As to stubborn screws, an impact screwdriver can be helpful as it twists as you hit it. Otherwise a hammer-through screwdriver (or improvise) and a few whacks can get them moving. If all that fails drilling will work fine. But a hammer is your friend for loosening screws, bolts etc.

It is an absolute must that you get the body completely fitted and check gaps etc before painting anything. Sure, get the suspension fitted and get the chassis rolling, but then get all the bodywork fitted. All too easy to assume it will all fit when the reality can mean cutting and welding, and other forms of brutality. As to siderail boxing, you can just about make it out in the diagram below: http://www.canleyclassics.com/triumph-vitesse-mkii-chassis Talking of chassis, I hope you have thoroughly tested the whole thing with a hammer. One I had looked ok, but both main rails were so thin a light hammer opened it up. Now is the time to check everything is good, don't be afraid of what you find now, so much easier than 2 years down the line.

In my vitesse I had speakers fitted in the footwell kickboards. I cut some new boards in hardboard so I kept the originals, and simply painted them black. Could be vinyl covered (very cheap off ebay!) and used 6 1/2" speakers from memory. They survived a dozen years of everyday use with no problems. Bear in mind any "quality" of sound will be marred by the car, I didn't want to over-complicate things. I have often thought a pair of speakers may fit in the under-dash millboard? None of the positions are ideal, so I would suggest go for subtle. On that note, I just used a small power amp hidden under the dash, originally I used a portable CD player. Thesedays a little MP3 player does the job. Trouble is no radio, but then again I reckon I would be hard pushed to hear the talky bits, so mp3 on shuffle is what I get.

Worth checking the pump when off the car. Short notice hose dipped in fuel and manually move the lever.it is possible one of the valves as come out or the diaphragm has an issue.

There are some non-isocyanate 2kpaints about. I have no experience, nor knowledge. However, if reviews reckon it is OK I would use.that as the primer on the basis 2k barely sinks at all. Celly does, sometimes months after you finished. I have a t shirt... I have a.belt.drive sip, paid £120 used, but not much. Sold my direct drive sip for £100, and the belt drive is MUCH quieter. But I have lent my compressor out to friends, as it doesn't get regular use. So may be asking about and see if you can borrow one?

Have a look on the MIG welding forum. There is a section dedicated to painting that will be useful My Spit was sprayed at home using a 3hp 50L compressor and came out well. I used 2k paint and an air fed mask. Top tip is get some acrylic stopper ... That aside, good extraction is vital, I used 2 car rad fans fitted into an open window with hardboard as a mounting board. And the garage was lined with poly sheet. Still plenty of bits got in the paint, but with effort it gets there in the end. In terms of guns, a 1.3 nozzle hvlp gravity gun and a 0.8 hvlp touch up gun. The little one gave a better finish, but would take an age to do big areas. Useful for awkward bits, and the two guns cost a total of approx £30!

If you can find some nos or genuine jag valve springs it may not hurt otherwise don't change them.however, well worth checking those followers. I managed under 15k on a reground cam and new followers. Properly looked after too. One lobe was almost round and the follower disintegrating.

I heard the latest repro angle drives are OK, but no personal experience, still using genuine old ones. You can repair the agle drive with a bit of effort. Get the flat plate off(old ones had 3pressed bits that need sorting to get off) then the internal bits come out. Knock out the remains of the broken drive, then get an old speedo cable and cut the ends off. Pop into where the old broken bit wasand fix. I have used in weld and proper MIG. Reassemble, and good to go. I replace a speedo cable if the angle drive breaks, as easy to do and often/usually the cause of the break. One more thing, don't be fooled around into thinking suppliers keep a variety of (in this case angle drives) for each model,they are often generi. Even things like spitfire front springs many sellone sizefits all,which explains the ride height issues seen on many.

I would pull the cam followers and check for damage, and see how the cam lobes are. As to decarboning a wirebruch in a drill works and doesn't damage the valve seats. If the head is not converted to unleaded then check for valve seat recession on the exhaust valves, if non best not to grind in at all as it will expose.fresh soft head that is more likely to suffer recession. Or get the head converted. Or a better cam or whatever you wish to achieve, but the short answer is good a,few checks unless you want to start tuning...

Stay away, that sounds nasty. And FWD stuff is hard to find compared to so many other cars. At £500 allowing 1K for engine work it may be OK, but no more. Plenty of much better cars out there.

Over-pressure is a well known and reported issue. IIRC some are 5psi or mmaybe more. Not sure if there is an easy fix either, apart from reconditioning the old pump or a good used one.

I bet a£100 wasn't recent! Round here all the repair shops are disappearing, what few there were, as modern disposable rads don't get repaired/reconned but just replaced. There are still rad specialists about, but you may have to travel. Or the usual suspects (canleys etc) should have them on an exchange basis. Using a modern alternative can be more complicated that expected. Some of us are very adept at making/adapting stuff for our cars, but if you aren't then get a straight replacement.

The treadplates are readily available. The proper repair involves buying 2 for each side, flattening the inner lip on one to weld to the floorpan and then adding the second, which gives you the lip for the doorseal. New body mount too. Think chick does a ready-made up double skinned repair. You may end up making a few bits, chic is good with all these bits and bobs so worth a call. Often speaking is rather more productive than email.

Heavy carpet underlay (as in house) works well, the rubber waffle stuff made a hudge difference in my car when I fitted it. However, it does absorb water. Mine was used for the RBRR and I reckoned it was worthwhile for a 48hour non-stop drive (but sadly we never got to the start, long story) but came out after. Will be refitting for this years event.

My thoughts were that the oil pressure light, wipers etc may being fed via the voltage stabiliser, which actually achieves 10V by switching on/off. Try disconnecting it, see what happens. Got to be worth a try as a starting point, if only yo discount it.

A possibility is the voltage stabiliser has been connected incorrectly, that could explain the flashing.

Why spawn of the devil? They were fitted by Triumph to early heralds as standard. And I have been using them for over 20 years /100K+ miles with no problems or complaints at all (and I did have issues with the rubber bushes). And a huge part of that mileage has been done with a solid UJ in the column, fitted to all my Triumphs in the last 10 years or so (that is 4 cars! 2 still in my possession) However, some people do prefer the less direct feel, I guess with a wood steering wheel solid mounts may feel harsh.

And knocking UJs are fixed with oversized circlips, worth getting some as even the best quality genuine landrover ones will click if the circlips are not holding the uj tight. This is an issue that many owner know nothing of, and the fix is pennies and very easy, the shaft can stay on the car.

I did. Presume the bushes are still available and same quality (it was Witor who supplied, enviable reputation)

And his tech articles are still missed......

BTW I would try it for a bit, see how it goes. If you find the spring too hard or high, you could remove one of the small leaves.

As an aside, what diff are you using? with small diameter tyres the speedo is over 5% out, and that is quite a lot! almost half a gear......