johny

I do long trips abroad in mine but always take the scenic route (I am retired) and find 200miles is about the limit of Triumph fun I like to have one day. That distance is about 4 hours driving which for me is an ideal way to occupy a day with a leisurely start, stops on the way to take in the local scenery/culture and then check into a hotel with time to look round the town in daylight. However if your going to do long Autostrada runs then yes an OD is probably a good idea....

I know Im in the minority here but actually dont mind not having OD on my Mk1 Vitesse and I have had it before. A lot depends how/where youre going to drive: fast roads 60+mph or slower 40+ ones. The Vitesse isnt very aero dynamic so generates quite a bit of wind noise (and a convertible even more) so I like to keep my speed under 60mph and at that I dont find the engine noise intrusive. To my mind OD is a complicated and potentially unreliable system that seems to make those gearboxes with it more prone to wear so if I wanted lower revs the only change I would consider is a slightly higher ratio differential....

I think on start up theres an improvement in reducing the system pressurising time (this is also affected by the state of the pump) however what effect that has on bearing wear is debatable....

plus try to clean the chassis rail, block, sump, valance and, cos Im lazy, without jacking the car off the ground!

it does make it a messy business when changing the filter but then it was never actually easy with the original set up either☹️

no the filter needs to be as vertical as poss with its entry at the top so that the filter sits full of oil when the engine isnt running. On the Vitesse using the size of filter sold by Paddock etc (the ones I get from Eurocar Parts) the best you can get is an angle of about 45º which is certainly an improvement on the original horizontal design....

I get Crossland for Rover 200 1.6 from Eurocar Parts 2.36 pounds each delivered. Other makes available if you want to pay more....

I do think we can safely anticipate that any part from a single rail box is going to use the later thin rings though....

I think the issue now is that with modern cars many people have grown to be quite accustomed to braking in bends if required and this presents no problems. However when they change to driving some of our cars it comes as quite a shock that doing the same can bring serious consequences and of course, to be fair, sometimes the unexpected can happen mid bend and braking is unavoidable. I find the experience very similar to riding a motorbike which also cant be braked hard in bends so in both cases its even more important to adjust your speed beforehand and anticipate problems as early as possible....

Theres always a trade off with spring rates Ian. Certainly a lowering block would be a good start but also weight in the boot (not good for acceleration of course) and increasing rear wheel toe in can be beneficial....

I can confirm that the famous tuck under is quite real as many moons ago in a Mk1 Vitesse I went into a large roundabout too fast and panicked about a quarter of the way round (I intended to go straight across) and lifted off the throttle. Well the car flipped over so quickly, thankfully only onto its side, that it must have been down to the rear wheel tucking under. Contributing factors could have been the dry road surface (so the tyre gripped rather than slide) and worn suspension components but it was certainly very easily done.....

well the guy doesnt seem to be surprised by the one like yours but rather by the 17t non tapered one. Id say yours is definitely an attempt to improve reverse gear ease of engagement and also maybe gear whine noise....

hmmm Ive got one but havent used it for years as I found the results gave too much variation. I adjust my Vitesse using the little plungers on the Stromberg carbs....

just for interest then are we agreed it must be early Dolomite 1850 single rail internals built into a Spitfire 3 rail box?

As an aside I wonder if its Dolomite 1850 or Spitfire internals that have been used. As the former has the same ratios as my Vitesse that would give 26, 24, 20, 13, 15 teeth along the laygear.....

you could be right about the hub but its made more complicated because part number 515377 listed only for Mk1 Vit was superseeded by 516911 which Rimmers show is suitable for Mk1 and 2. I think Darrens box must have all the internals of a single rail because to work it must have a 13 tooth laygear which surely has a different cut of gears and wouldnt work with the earlier main/input shaft ones. The only thing that doesnt add up is that Darren says its got the small mainshaft tip....

however if he has 13 teeth on the layshaft the 17 tooth idler and 29 hub are indeed correctly matched....

well thats interesting so if Darrens layshaft has 15 teeth and it needs a 21 tooth idler plus 33 tooth hub (seems the Mk1 Vitesse had a 34 tooth hub which strangely is shown as being interchangeable)...

yes I can see a Dolomite 1500 3 rail box has 33 on hub and 15 on layshaft but the reverse ratio is different to the Spitfire VI/1500 (all other ratios the same) so you should have a different number of teeth....

Dont want to complicate things further but my w/manual for Vitesse 2L says 34 teeth on hub, 21 on idler and 15 on layshaft. Unfortunately I cant find a Spitfire manual online but this should give an answer for exactly how many teeth you should have.... Also I would imagine your car has had its diff changed from standard to compensate for the different ratios in the Spit box

I just cant see that you can keep that idler as surely the hub and idler must go together: assuming the centres are the same then more teeth on one equals less teeth on the other....

I think technically its called mid engined if the engine is in front of the gearbox and diff (rear axle) as opposed to really hanging out of the back!

Surely they must have lifted it up - any signs of other damage?

Im no expert of Spitfire models but if the replacement rings have the same inner diameter as the old ones then you had a bargain and youre good to go. You can check the rings by carefully inspecting the profile of the concentric serrations (should be nice and sharp and not flattened off) and also how far they can be pushed onto the 'cone' of the gear. They should grip the cone well before the front of the ring meets the gear face. Put the best ones on second and third as these have the hardest life....

Not from a 1500 Spitfire I hope as the single rail box uses different rings?