johny

hmmm sorry cant see the casing bolts making much difference as the pinion and CW is all held in the front half so movement of the rear casing could affect only the alignment of the stub shafts and their bearings....

A roll bar would be nice but theres plenty of our convertibles out there that dont have any protection..... Jug if you do decide to remove the roof youll probably find that bitumastic sealant has been used onto the rear deck which is a bit of a pain to get off. This of course does help maintain a good seal but also I found keeps the roof more solidly located - now after bolting it back in place without sealant I do get more creaks and squeeks as I drive along☹️

In either case it looks to me as if one of the critical factors for any replacement fan is that ends up running as close as possible to the air intake hole to ensure a good 'seal' and minimise wasted air circulation inside the heater box. This of course depends on any replacement fan having the same depth as the original and Im not sure how or if this was achieved on that original Herald/Vitesse modification.....

I thought the spark just jumps to the closest prong (or possibly where the intervening gas has lowest resistance) then when that prong has worn a little and the gaps opened up it goes to the next nearest. In terms of gap this type of plug should last 4 times as long as a conventional one with each of the 4 prongs wearing away equally at a 1/4 of the rate of a single one. Should avoid ever having to adjust the gap which with todays labour rates is quite a saving however somethings wrong if youve found 3 prongs gone and one left!

There is an argument that the more dangerous a car is in terms of how injured you will get in an accident the more care people take when driving it😵

yes, both those so if youre really risk averse you probably should have the most modern 4x4 available or maybe not drive at all......

what are you saying! My engine is the most beautiful thing to have been created by man😍

yes where ever it goes its not going to be pretty. Ive gone to a bigger bore master cylinder 0.75" which makes the pedal need even more of a shove but with asbestos pads so the braking is now pretty good. However I still wonder about a servo as its reported that in some accidents (admittedly involving modern cars) drivers reacted quick enough and could have stopped in time but just didnt brake as hard as they could have done.....

I always think the biggest risk is driving a 50+yr old car😲

yes thanks I saw that however Id like to keep my current battery size which takes up the full tray. Also I cant believe it'd be much work to install one of those universal battery trays in the boot and run a beefy cable or two back to the solenoid....

The price of these has certainly come down a lot in the last few years, a 1.9 unit is only 67pounds delivered on ebay now! If only they didnt look such a mess when installed in our engine bays - I think Id be tempted to put the battery in the boot and then mount one in its place.....

as space is tight it should be easier to fit a lower ratio unit with my calculation making the 2.3 servo a 1/5 bigger in cross sectional area than a 1.9 - I would probably go for the latter on my Vitesse.......

These 3 servos are all the same except that the boost ratios (and correspondingly tank diameters) are different. The first is definitely the biggest at 2.3:1 while the second is 1.9:1 and the last is probably the same although there is also a smaller 1.65:1 available. All of them come with a non return valve which is usually in the plastic connector where the vac hose goes onto the tank - they must have these so that you can still get assisted braking (for a short while) after stopping the engine. You need to decide which ratio you want as its possible to be unhappy with too much boost using a unit that is designed for heavier faster cars. I cant see a problem splitting the vac take off point but there should be instructions with the unit explaining the best set up or maybe Clive can explain the downside.....

they might foul a bit easier but that can be mitigated by driving harder😍

I take it the noise wasnt produced by the original pads and the news ones are the correct type (believe the GT6 had two versions of the type 16 calipers fitted)?

Well for running in the oil doesnt want to be too good so definitely no synthetics or additives....

As contact with the fan is the problem I go with Pete's suggestion of rotaing the top hose. Loosen the clip on the thermostat housing and twist the hose round on the exit pipe and its middle should rise or lower depending on rotation direction....

Id be tempted just to cut off the end inch of the adjuster bar and maybe put a matching washer under the nut of the alternator bolt.....

and luckily I didnt have to walk far.....

Great, I'll have another go at mine although the most important indication, empty, has already been conclusively proved😣

Ive been fighting a poor fuel reading in my Vitesse for years and got an improvement by straightening the sender float rod so that zero really is zero now. However I still cant get more than 3/4 full and although Ive checked internally it must be snagging somewhere because once removed I can get a 100% reading. To check this Im going to fashion a wire hook to put through the filler and engage with the float rod so that I can lift it up in situ and verify its range of movement......

yes Im quite pleased as Ive saved the cost of a new steel bridge piece (not much point getting another ally one) and all the hassle of changing it. And with M10 Allen bolts I cant see much chance of anyone mixing them up with the original bolts🤗

This has come up before and the result was that as the bushes are now stainless steel they wont corrode so dont need sealing.....

I think its a case of leverage with the drive shafts, the further out the wheel the more force (ft.lbs) applied to the spring so the lower the car will sit...

After 50 years my MK1 Vitesse has suffered the usual stripping of the threads in the engine block front alloy bridge piece. It has one forward facing hole for the timing chain cover and two underneath for the sump and all three had lost their 5/16" UNF threads resulting in substantial oil leaks. Well I can now confirm that its possible to retap all of them M10 without removing the bridge piece or engine although access in situ isnt good. The sump holes are the easiest and if completely stripped can be tapped directly as the hole size is perfect otherwise they should be drilled out to 8mm. However note that the other end of the hole is open so aluminium swarf could go into the sump and its best to procede slowly and allow any debris to fall back out of the holes. The front hole is more difficult as the radiator and crank pulley have to be removed but then it too can be done taking great care to get the tap aligned correctly. This hole is blind so theres no swarf risk but obviously can only be drilled/tapped to a certain point - I only went far enough to allow the new bolt to fully enter as the casting is relatively thin in this area. The replacement M10 x 20mm bolts must be allen socket cap heads as only these have heads small enough to fit in the flanges of the sump and timing cover but this thread is much more substantial so allows the joints to be fully tightened without risk. Finally I used spring washers on all the bolts plus PTFE tape on the sump ones to stop any oil seeping down the threads from the open ends in the sump.