Bobtaylor

In response to all, I drive in to the garage. Yes it is primarily the appearance I want to change. I previously had a 12/50 Herald and its back wheels were vertical in appearance compared to my Vitesse. If I used a lowering block, what if any effect would this have on the front of the car? I will add a pic if it stops raining this week !!!! Bob

I have a saloon and my reason for changing is partly cosmetic. The rear wheels tuck in at the bottom even when just sitting in the garage, it just looks a bit odd! i don’t really drive it hard enough to worry about cornering but would like it to look ‘normal’.

Has anyone fitted a swing spring kit to their car? If so was it worth it? I am considering fitting one to my Vitesse 1600. Regards, Bob

I have now replaced both wheel cylinders, this has made a huge difference. The sticky brakes must have had more of an effect than I realised! acceleraTion has improved and whole car is smoother, all in all a great result.

By way of an update, I ended up changing the lexis with standard ones and sticking with the DOT 4 fluid. The existing hoses were dated 1976 !! It did not solve the sticky brake problem, but I discovered that the off side brake piston was the culprit. I took it off and had trouble removing the piston as it was rusty. A quick clean with some emery cloth and some rubber grease and all is well. I am going to replace both pistons though as a precaution.

Hi, I am about to replace the flexi hoses on my Vitesse 1600, is it worth changing to Silicone Brake Fluid at the same time? PS. I am changing the hoses as the existing ones are quite old and I am getting random brake binding on the rear wheels, I have checked the adjustment, pistons etc etc and all seems well so I am guessing that there may be a partial collapse inside one of the hoses. It won't do any harm to change them anyway!

Looks like solenoid will be staying in parts bin as new ign lock seems to have sorted the problem, fingers crossed.

Hi Pete, I have now refitted the original air box, all seems well now just need to sort out the hose/pipes from the air box to the rad.

Thanks for the advice, I bought a new switch and solenoid although it was starting ok !! I have fitted the ignition switch and will wait to see if the problem happens again. Unfortunately the solenoid is not the correct type as it does not have a button to press to start the car, so I will hold back on fitting it for now, I am a bit like Colin, thats how I end u with unused spares on the shelf in the garage.!!!

Pete, it is not clear on the photo, how have you fixed the pipes to the rad?

A couple of days ago I went to go out in my Vitesse 6, it was last used a bout 2 days before and all was well. I tuned the ignition key, the warning lights came on and that's it. The engine made no attempt to start. I could start the car on the solenoid though, I ran the car for a short while turned it off and tried the ignition key - nothing. I left it for about an hour went back and it started on the key! Everything was normal for the next 2 days, went out to start the car yesterday - nothing. Started it on the solenoid, went out for a drive, came home and turned it off and tried the key and all was well!! Trying to find intermittent faults is tricky I know, but any ideas? Bob

I have made progress, I 'fixed' the needle retainer in the piston with loctite. I don't know if it will last but I have been able to adjust and tune the carbs and it is going like a dream!!!! (at the moment!)

Hi, can you explain a bit more when you talk about sorting our cold air feed etc bob

Hello to you all, I am a new member having joined a few weeks ago. I have made several posts on the Forum already as I have been sorting out one or two minor issues. I live in Sudbury, Suffolk and bought my 1966 Vitesse 6 a few weeks ago. I have just been out and taken some pics which I will try to add. I can't take any credit for the condition of the car as all the restoration work was done by the previous owner who owned the car for the last 8 years, before that it was laid up and unused from 1987. I have just fitted new discs and pads and clutch master cylinder. The car is pretty much as it came out of the factory, except at the moment I have after market air cleaners on it, but will probably refit the original when I have finally sorted out the carbs.

I received my new/replacement piston, all went well until I discovered that the diameter of the tube that retains the needle is at least twice the diameter of the original. So, back to the drawing board, I made a temporary repair by wrapping a small amount of wire around the grub screw to 'fill up' the gap in the side of the piston, this stopped the needle and tube moving up and down and a test drive showed an improvement. I now need to find a way to fix the needle retainer in a permanent way in the piston, or find a correct replacement. Does anyone have an old CD 150 carb and or piston they are willing to sell? Bob

This came to light as I was having problems tuning/balancing the carbs. The first problem I discovered was the jet/needle on the rear carb was sticking as it was not centralised properly. I fixed that and then realised that you could lift the piston (to check the mixture) but the needle stayed put !! There was about 1/8" free movement before the needle moved, I guess that was not helping in making the adjustments. I have ordered a replacement piston as advertised as NOS on eBay, but I believe that not all pistons in 150 carbs are the same weight is that correct? If the is the case would I be better off replacing both pistons with two new ones of the same weight, even if they are not quite the same as the original? I will try to fix the original, but it is quite a loose fit and I am not sure what to use to 'glue' the two bits together, any suggestions? Thanks in anticipation for any advice. Bob

I have further investigated today, I am talking about the piston which is called an air valve in workshop manual. i took the piston out and removed the grub screw that retains the needle and the whole central tube holding the needle just fell out of the piston. how can I fix it?

Yes it is the part of the piston that the needle is in. The only screw I can see is the one that fixes the needle, should this also in some way secure the part in the piston?

Hi I have twin CD150 Stombergs on my Vitesse 6. The air valve/needle on the rear carb is sticking, I took the air valve out to examine it and the first thing I found was that the part inside the air valve that retains the needle is lose and moves up and down in the air valve. I checked the front carb and the needle retaining part inside the air valve has no movement at all. On the rear carb it is only the screw that holds the needle that is stopping the whole thing from falling out. Is there anything I can do to fix it?

Johny, I have 155 tyres fitted to standard rims which I believe are 4.5' Steering is quite heavy at low/parking speeds but otherwise ok. I am experimenting with pressures, at the moment I am running 26 front 28 rear. Bob

I started this thread as I was not happy with my skinny 2 spoke original wheel in my Vitesse 6. I really like the look of the wooden one above, but in the interim have fitted a leather Mounty 14" wheel which I happened to have in the garage to see what it is like to drive with a slightly smaller wheel. Initial feedback is that it is ok. Bob

I started the thread and so will now update you all. Thanks to all for the advice. As suggested I checked for wear in the clevis pin etc, in doing so I noticed that the fluid level was a bit low and when I pulled the rubber boot back there was evidence of a slight leak. I fitted a new master cylinder and now all is well!! Regards Bob

HI, I have a 1966 Vitesse 6. It has a 2 spoke wheel, I have seen other cars of a similar age with the wire 3 spoke type wheel, which is correct for the car and when did it change from one to the other? Regards Bob

There is another 'symptom', it gets better when it is warm or at least been driven a short distance. Pete, what is involved in fitting a later box, assuming I can find one, is it atraight swap? Bob

Pete, thanks for the reply. The clutch is self adjusting, so if there is drag how do I resolve the problem? thinking about it the pedal travel is quite small compared to my 12/50 that I had. Maybe that is part of the problem?