johny

I believe the metric pin is smaller diameter than the imperial one so drilling the callipers no help....

ok how does the car behave when you stop after a good run? Does the temperature increase rapidly on tickover or stay the same - this can be a good indicator of how much spare 'capacity' there is in the cooling system and whether you are actually running hot....

Your right about the rad filler cap being lower than the heater but Ive found that on the first run after system filling the heater should fill (I achieve this by opening and closing the heater water control valve a few times) and then should stay filled by syphon effect. The rad might then need a top up but the system should remain stable unless theres a leak somewhere. If small this can be undetectable under pressure as the water leaking flashes off to steam however on cooling the slight vacuum produced draws air in which eventually causes the heater to lose prime. If the hot running is real it could be causes by fuel mixture. I had air ingress via the carb spindles which gave a weak mixture which I couldnt adjust for and made the engine produce more heat than it should.....

He's got to be a one off! Most testers think Triumph only make bikes🤗

well yes eventually if you keep packing more in youll reduce airflow too much. However modern design and manufacturing techniques now allow closer to the optimum ratio of cooling surface area and airflow. Somethings have improved in 50 years.....

Is there much in the fuel pump filter (assuming you still got the mechanical type) and wheres all this crud coming from?

Looks like the angled one is supposed to give improved 'oil pick up performance' and the suction pipe certainly looks longer than the older type. There has been reports of replacement pumps having poor clearances from new and yours does sound a bit on the big side (how are the other two measurements?) but dont forget the pressure relief valve is supposed to open at 45 - 55psi. In fact the PRV is something else to check as it could be stuck open or its spring weakened.....

Definitely Chris and in some cases, if you havent been able to acid clean your block and recore the rad, some type of additional cooling help maybe required. And nothing humble about the Herald - in some ways its the better design...

well I think a few of things have changed in ~50 years which they probably didnt test for including the deterioration of some of our cars cooling circuits.....

well somebody was doing 4 rows fitted into 3 row vit rads on ebay but I think you need to be careful because to me it looked like they had just widened the spacing to allow staggered rows. Its the total number of tubes (as long as theyre still the same size of course) that counts and while the original had 1/2" spacing modern 'uprated' cores are 1cm so rather than the 3 x 30 they should now have more like 3 x 40 tubes. Theres also the cooling fins which can be more densely packed so all in all giving more cooling surface....

Obviously if theres no temperature problem with a mechanical why change? And if the problem is at higher speeds I dont think any fan, mech or elec, is going to help as something else must be wrong. However if you suffer high temperatures in traffic or on restarting AND all the rest of the cooling system is as good as you can get it (plus of course your fuel mix isnt too lean) I think a good elec fan set up must help for the reasons I put earlier.....

I never understand the electric/mechanical fan argument! At standstill or very low speeds, which is normally where theres cooling problems, a decent electric fan is closer to the rad, turns far faster than the engine at tickover, is bigger in diameter and has a far more efficient blade design - its a no brainer..... Assume, as GT6M suggests, its incorrect control of electric fans that gives rise to their poor reputation with some people. Mine runs on after the engine stops so hot restarts are never a problem.

ah yes the power bulge, thankfully us Vitesse drivers dont have to put up with such a carbuncle 😲

yes in a Vitesse I can confirm fumes come in the cockpit but with a bit of ingenuity Im sure a seal between intake and bonnet could be fashioned. In the end not necessary as I sorted the lack of cooling directly....

If its the bottom tank away from where the bottom tube plate or drain tap is soldered on I think the risk of anything else melting is minimal and a perfect repair achievable. Either plate it, as suggested, although this can make it difficult to see if you got good adhesion or form the cracks into little troughs so that puddles of solder are formed. Dont use electrical solder....

might be worth attempting a home repair if youre on a tight budget. A lot depends on where the leak is but if you have a gas torch soldering might be possible or dont discount using epoxy metal as on a clean solid surface its good stuff....

I read this bearing change recommendation (might have been 50k for bigends) somewhere as a way to get very high miles out of a crank and it corresponds to what I found in my engine. I could have run it longer but at the risk of suffering a failure and damaging the crank.....

It does seem though Pete that the bearing shells can have quite a short life like 40k for big ends and 70k for mains. Now this is probably down to a few factors but one of them could be start up oil starvation.....

The W916 is a bit longer but the W77 has another version which is the same small size but with a 2.2bar bypass pressure for really cold oil.....

Not getting drawn into the mech/elec fan argument but think viscous has the added advantage over flexfan of driving more as its internal fluid gets hotter so its not just speed dependant.

I dont think youll need a 'special' prop for the Vitesse cos with mainshaft TKC899 3 rail box is the same length with either D or J type OD unless of course yours didnt originally have OD in which case you just need a new standard OD prop. If you do this youll have the 3 rail OD box that was used in the early Dolomite 1850 which many people like for its stronger J type but Im afraid I would also like to have the larger mainshaft tip needle bearing design which of course, as standard, is only used in single rail. Ive been looking at the possibility of a single rail into a Vitesse and apart from the bell housing mod, 1" longer length and clutch plate change I would be concerned about the gear lever position and how well the original plastic gearbox cover is going to fit. How about putting the single rail internals in the 3 rail but with TKC899HD modified mainshaft (for bigger tip bearing) and J type with thin adaptor? Then you only have to have a change of clutch plate.....

As I understand it theyre no better than any other mechanical fans in terms of air moved but as the engine revs higher the force on the blades from moving air increases and tends to flatten them out so they move less air and consume less engine power. Effectively they move more air when rotating slowly which, as in a traffic jam, is when the engine needs more cooling cos theres less cooling effect from the movement of the vehicle. However Ive never seen any test results showing the power or fuel saving......

Hi Peter, interesting modification, where did you get the aluminium spacer made? I suppose the propshaft will also have to be changed/modified to accommodate the extra gearbox length....

The idea is still alive and well and, it seems, pretty popular across the pond: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Derale-Hi-Stainless-Steel-Flex-Fan-Counterclockwise-Rotation-13-Dia-19313/392249923219?epid=187953815&hash=item5b53ead693:g:0CkAAOSw8KRcd7Du:rk:7:pf:0

As said the 'uprated' cylinders are just bigger bore Land Rover items that can be found on ebay for around a tenner. Ive got one and its been fine but obviously didnt buy from Triumph Recycler......