johny

Who ever does it needs a good stock of spares, new in a dream world or second hand more likely...

But surely John if the strobe shows the spark coming at 13* BTDC then everything has got to be ok with the dizzy, at least at idle anyway? Or are we missing something....

Oh dear this is worrying! How much noise did it make before failing, a gradual build up or sudden? Obviously had plenty of oil I hope? Unusual for main brg to go and what were the three needle roller bearings like? Was the input shaft support bush in the crank very loose? Im asking as I worry about whats going on in my original 80k vitesse box😱

Where is the ignition timing now or didnt you get a chance to check it?

I believe the sparkplug colour is ok though🤔

Hope its not going to get as violent😱

ah the dizzy is driven from the camshaft so there will have been a small advance in ignition timing. Also yes tappets must be set to correct clearances....

oh no reason why it wont start ok but whether it'll run well on standard ignition setting is another matter. Dont rush it though....

yes and quite a bit of tolerance on the figures as well. Anyway when is the big start up?

Dont forget those workshop manual figures are added to the static setting as the weights fly out under centrifugal force so that would give total 35* max...

As I say you can easily check it yourself in situ with the strobe using these figures (for later GT6):

Well it was always only possibility and it is good to have back up plans😁

Yes although the advance figures at different revs are in the manual so with a strobe you can get a pretty good idea of how well the dizzy is working👍

Yes might be the next place to investigate further if the current adjustment doesnt improve things...

If the springs are weak or broken youre going to get too much advance but true the mechanism could be stuck so needing more initial advance to compensate. However this was suggested at the beginning of the thread and discounted😒

But with the strobe we've proved the spark for cylinder 1 is coming at the right time relative to its TDC but has to be advanced quite a lot to run well...

If this doesnt sort out the problem theres a few more of us going to be joining you John!

yes take your time youll get there👍

wow yes it has progressed well! The stripped bolt is unfortunately really common as theres a bridge piece over number 1 main bearing and its made of aluminium☹️ Theres two sump bolts and one timing cover bolt that go into it and any/all strip over time - its so predictable that you can now get the same piece made in steel. An alternative is to drill and re-tap the existing holes to a bigger size because otherwise, as you have found, it will always leak. You rotated the engine by hand did you, right round, and rechecked the timing? With the fan bolts are you sure theyre the right ones and not got mixed up with a different thread type?

Cant make out the ET figure in that photo but JBW wheels certainly sell a minilite in that size for Heralds and they offer it with 175/65 14 tyres which are pretty much the same diameter as what youre looking at....

If they worked on a Herald (and you trust the seller) they will on the Vitesse as long as you use the same tyre size of course. On the rear of the wheel quite often the offset that John mentions is stamped so it would be useful to confirm that. I have 13" minilites on my Vitesse with 165 80 x 13 tyres which makes their diameter bigger than the original 155 80 x 13 and also bigger than 165 70 x 14 so if you fitted the latter you shouldnt have any problem....

As I say this next step may need a few attempts so dont go giving anything its final tighten just yet...

Whats that one, 'Ive done my best and hope itll be alright'?

Anyway youve got clear problems one by one, testing between each and eventually youll reach perfection plus have great fun doing it😂

On my screen the meaning of each icon pops up when I hover over it with the cursor but yes a thumbs up for a 'well done' would be useful...