Peaks

Just an after thought; I assume that all the top brackets are the same and have the same size drillings? But as with all assumptions could be wrong! Where did you buy yours?

Hi Gary, I've got a rotoflex MKII Vitesse (well, Canley CV conversion to be precise...) and have fitted Koni classic shocks to mine as well. The top bushes in the Koni classic shock absorbers suitable for the non rotoflex cars fit fine. At least they did ten years ago when I fitted mine. Failing that, after a nightmare with some AVO bushes on my old Reliant Scimitar I know that Superflex will make bushes to your specifications - for a price! Hope I've understood your post correctly & that helps.

I can also add to the recommendation for Dave Mac Propshafts. They organised the courier to pick up my old propshaft and delivered a new one within a week. 20-odd years with a vibrating car cured for, I think, £145. I learnt from that experience and after several 2nd hand shafts that any play in the sliding joint can make for an unpleasant driving experience.

Doug, To be honest you're better off replacing the pedal pivot & bushings, standard push rod & pin to remove any play, but I took the lazy 'do for now' option. The down side of using the adjustable push rod is that the pedal height rises. I'll get round to doing the job properly when I have more time.

Vey sad, and a sober reminder that it appears our cars are not safe from scumbags anywhere. I do hope the car is recovered, but as stated else where, beware anyone who's buying a suposed TR5 in the next few months, or any mint panels & parts for that matter.

Hi Frogeyman, If your cylinder head was reconditioned as part of the engine work (stage 2 can mean practically anything - but that's another subject) then I'd find it hard to believe that who ever carried out the work didn't fit hardened valve seats while they were at it. That said, I'd agree with the posts above; just stick unleaded in and see if your tappet clearances close up over time. I'm willing to bet they won’t. On the subject of pinking and brands of fuel, even when in standard form your car was designed to run on higher grade petrol than that which is available today, meaning that you should either retard the ignition to run on the modern stuff, or use the higher octane variants. In my experience Shell V-Power is best and allows me to run my car at the original timing setting of 11 degrees BTDC, the 97 RON stuff makes little or no difference to running with standard modern fuel (pinking, running on) and Tesco 99 RON is ok if I can't find a Shell station. Every engine is different though, especially as most have had some sort of machining work carried out by now, and it’d be worth experimenting with different types of fuel. You may well find your car runs fine on the cheap stuff!

Stevie, Just to back up the recommendation you've been given, I changed my Vitesse from Green Stuff to Mintex 1144 a few months ago. Ordered from the club and delivered within 48 hours. Coupled with an adjustable push rod on the master cylinder to take up all the slack in the pedal assembly they've transformed the braking of my car. Expensive, but well worth it.

Brilliant, Thanks!

Does anyone living near the North Wiltshire area fancy attending the Tetbury Classic Car Show? It's on the 7th September and is free to enter. I'm on the organising committee and although we have nearly 400 entries, we don't have many Triumphs yet, which is a shame. If you do attend and see a white Vitesse convertible, please say hello! http://www.tetburyclassiccarshow.org/

Did the Herald & Vitesse come with any tools apart from the jack? If so, what were they and where were they stored in the car? If anyone has a photo of such a tool kit/tool roll (if such a thing existed) than it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi Michael, Great looking car! What colour is that?

Ian, You're right; it doesn't! And the material the rubber washers are made from in those kits is much softer than the rubberised canvas types our cars were fitted with originally. This can lead to problems when the new softer type compress over time. Everyone will have different stories on how they achieved success attaining decent panel gaps on their small chassis Triumph, but the way I got mine correct (ish!) was to use solid metal spacers under the bulkhead mounts. This prevented the bulkhead moving around so much, and stopped the doors dropping over time due to the rubber body mounts compressing. I doubt this is as significant on a saloon, but on anything without a roof it may help.

One of the wheel studs on my Vitesse failed whilst I was diving down the motorway yesterday. It's the second time I've had one go. I believe that the Triumph studs can be changed for stronger/larger Landrover Freelander items. Has anyone carried this out on their car? Will Freelander wheel nuts be suitable for use with Minilite alloy wheels?

I'd second the recommendation of Peter James. I've just insured three classics with them for not much more than the quote for your Vitesse. Interestingly though, despite PJ giving me a very competitive quote for my two moderns last year, this year the premium for those two was double what the Meerkat could quote me. Just been nosy and had a look at the photos on your profile by the way Mike. Lovely Vitesse!

I'm not shooting you down Richard, but I don't see the need for this either. If anyone posts something inconsiderate, rude or offensive then they will be reported to the moderators and I would assume be banned from posting. Every other forum I look at has a similar way of operating and they don't get get significant problems. Load this potentially excellent club facility up with too many rules and people may just use go and use less restrictive forums.

So that means that all is well with not only my engine, but my gearbox & diff as well. Result!!