johny

Dont think either of those received FBHVC endorsement as their list only shows Millers, Red lIne, Castrol and Tetra Boost. On longer high speed runs I use Millers lead/octane booster with 95 fuel in my Vitesse 2L as it runs better. Also I hope it protects my valves as they have been reground and I believe, for a period, suffered quite severe valve seat recession although this was probably due to running a weak mixture due to air leaks which have now been cured....

It sounds like with polybushes its not necessary to tighten the bolts on the ground cos, as has been indicated, the bushes rotate on the metal sleeves anyway.....

yes my originals are 50 years old and still going strong - no fancy colours and dont look very pretty but doing the job!

Certainly in the original bushes the metal tube was bonded to the rubber hence the recommendation not to finally tighten the bolts until the wheels are supporting the cars weight. Doing this the rubber has to twist less for the full movement of the suspension.....

hmmm not easy to adjust the spring. I take it youve not found any dirt? How about getting a drop of thin oil in the bearing between cup and magnet? At least you can test it easily unlike a speedo.....

I get this after draining the system and have to force the air out of the heater by opening and closing the heater valve a few times while driving.....

yes this article is quite good although its for a speedo: http://obswww.unige.ch/~wildif/cars/docs/Smith-jaeger_speedo_repair.pdf Looks like the coil spring can become weaker so allowing the instrument to read proportionally higher across the complete range or possibly a lack of lubrication in the bearing between the magnet and cup might have the same effect....

There is a permanent magnet that spins around driven by the cable and is mounted just above that brass worm gear in the photo. It spins very close to the thin metal inverted 'cup' on top of it which if you gently move will move the pointer. The distance between these two is obviously critical for the calibration of the instrument so excessive wear in the bearings will cause misreadings as will any dirt that causes contact between the two. Cleaning/lubing is worth trying but overhaul and calibration is really a specialist job....

The standard brakes wont feel like a modern cos they need more effort but then should still be pretty effective. As mentioned above I found the pads used makes a big difference....

yes when you look at the faster/heavier cars right up to the end of the eighties that used the type 16 calipers there cant be much wrong with them: TR6, Capri 2.8 turbo, MK3 Cortina and Granada incl Estate.....

If your going to use one of those economically priced radiators they seem to be fine except for the inlet connection which aligns very poorly with thermostat housing outlet. On a recent thread somebody went as far as having the pipe re-welded at the correct angle however I dont think Id go that far. My prefered option would be to cut off the angle and find a rubber pipe with a suitable bend to make the connection....

What width tyres have you got fitted Bob?

yes fraid your thread suffered a severe hijack but glad to hear the problem is resolved. Hopefully the gearbox will give many miles of good service but remember they do tend to be noisy (especially if the cover isnt very well soundproofed) which makes it difficult to tell when a real problem is developing so that you run the risk of not catching it in time and suffering major expensive damage. With my 2L Ive developed a 'kind as possible' gear changing technique, well techniques as its different for different gears and of course religiously keep the oil level topped up. This last point is critical as theres not much capacity to start with and then the oil seems to evaporate away😁 leaving a low level which is the quickest way to finish off the box.....

can you not get a blade in there to try to cut it free? As you say the dash needs a refurb so no worries on that front.....

I think, as John says, there is no increase in heat generated with bigger pads/calipers only that the heat is more disperse on the pads so the temperature reached in them is less. To get more braking force you need more hydraulic pressure and then of course more heat will be produced which is when larger pads/calipers and vented discs are needed to avoid excess temperatures....

I think the Vit 6 carriers are sought after precisely because they have different hole spacing to the later 2L type. It means you cant fit later the later Vit brakes but can use other calipers.... With 4 pots as John has explained above the benefit is not as expected but I would imagine the temperature reached on the surface of a larger pad for a given braking effort to be less which under very heavy usage could be useful.

yes reckon those Triumph engineers knew the gearboxes would be coming out a few times during the life of the car.......

I like your wooden one Dave and its worth a few bob🤑

Thanks, yes it looks like there were codes used on the chassis plate for leathercloth, leather and even cloth (I suppose this last one was only on GT6's) but Ive never seen the numbers of vehicles built with each material...

was the 3 spoke always leather because some look very similar but seem to be plastic? Then theres the fabled leather seats that some Vitesses have, was this an optional extra or after market thing?

oh alright no need as I see Clive says theyre all the same ratio anyway........

Paul can you confirm that the 3.55 - 1 that Martin has on his tacho is correct? Thanks

you could check the ratio number on the dial of the tacho, it might have 3.55 - 1, dont know if there are different ones but good to confirm what it is anyway....

if people are paying that it might change my equation!

if the theory we have got so far is correct the battery plates must be both anode and cathode at the same time so that the HT electrons can flow from -ve to +ve and 12v electrons go in the opposite direction😵