iana

Dave thanks for that advice, I may leave it this week as I want to use the car later this week and next week. It probably needs a new seal where the glass bowl fixes as I doubt that will survive being taken apart.

The fuel pump looks very dirty, so I’ll order up a refurb kit, I’ve got the gates fuel pipe to do the swap so I’ll get on with that and I’ll clean through the copper pipes. I have just noticed that the rubber seals just before the pump is in very poor condition. I will check the hose at the tank as I did have a problem with a fuel leak a while ago (the tank pipe nut was loose)

It not like that so either a herald tank or a replacement new tank. Is that 9 gallon capacity - if so a range of 200 miles ish. If the one on the car is 6.5g that’s a range of 140 miles ish and that’s about what I’d done. I need to get in the habit of filling up more often!

I am still trying to solve the very occasional splutter from the vitesse, the tank looks like a herald tank but it could be that it was a new replacement when the car was restored in 1995. Is there a way of confirming the capacity? I understand the herald tank is 6.5g and the new tanks slightly more but probably not to the same as a vitesse tank. Im starting to wonder if i am sucking crud into the fuel line when the fuel is low. The gauge is very inaccurate in that I did 90 mile from full to 1/2 and 40 mile from 1/2 to the top of the red segment. I was planning to renew the fuel pipe anyway, so Im also thinking to refurb the fuel pump (it does look dirty and the filter probably hasn’t been cleaned for years) I was also thinking it may be a good idea to take the tank out and give it a good clean and see what crud comes out.

Thanks, I’ll leave alone and get on with other checks / repairs.

I’m working through checking a few things with the ignition - I decided to check the coil - it’s an inter motor ref11040 (I think) tested in 2009. how do I get the relevant ohms performance figure, it’s reading 2.8-2.9 ohms on the LV side and on the HT side it’s 8790 ohms but have no benchmark to check against.

Doug when the compression tests were redone with a different guage the readings 1-4 were all around 120 - 130 and 5/6 was down at 40 (can't remember the exact numbers). What we did find however on stripping the manifold was that the recently fitted manifold gasket was poorly fitted around cyclinder 1 and also the quality wasnt the best (this had been done by my local garage so Ive learnt my lesson and wont bother using them again and I will be wary with the parts supplier as well)

After a day of working on the car with a local area member, the compression test was redone to confirm the results, this gave similar results so the decision was made to remove the head and see what was found. The head gasket had failed between 5 / 6 see picture (the oil was to check the pistons were ok). The head was washed down and checked, I need to order parts now so there will be a delay until later this week. Its a 1967 MK1 vitesse, any recommendations of a supplier (i was going to use Paddocks). Theres a few other things I need to order to put the car back together - any ideas where I could get a bottom radiator hose? They appear out of stock at the places I'd normally use.

Thanks all, the issue is beyond my abilities to fix so have sought help. I'll update after further investigations as to the issues found, the plan is to re-do the compression test tomorrow to confirm the differencies between the cyclinders and take it from there. I'm certainly on a steep learning curve with this car!

We tested all 6 cyclinders then tested the first one again, and got the same reading. Clive, I’m assuming brittle is throttle (predictive text) - no the throttle wasn’t fully open

Today hasnt been a good day, after a good drive in the vitesse the plugs we removed to check the state of tune of the carbs, adjustments made but the car was running badly. so in the end we did a compression test on the vitesse, the results are 220 , 140 , 140 , 140 , 75 and 75. More investigations to follow but I'm assuming cyclinder 5 and 6 would suggest a head gasket failure, what would the cause of cyclinder 1 be?

Thats tomorrows job sorted then, I have a steel washer that is 11.5mm i/d which is close to 7/16. Ill lightly grease the inner cable before refixing. Just hope the weather is better at the weekend so I can take it for a test drive. Couldn't wait so I installed the washer, angle drive, greased the cable and took the car for a quick test drive before the weather turns. The speedo needle was fairly stable, better than before so I'm happy! I won't try the silicone grease / gel. Thanks Pete. Tomorrow I will put the tunnel and carpet back in.

Pete - I'm confused a with the washer size / position - on supplier Ang the drive comes with a copper coloured washer, another website shows 2 washers. Are you just recommending the washer on just the gearbox side of the angle drive? And is it just a bog standard steel washer? (I was going to use a 17mm o/d 8mm i/d (is the i/d relevant?) Whlist out on the test drive today the speedo seemed to fluctuate more than before - is there a simple solution to improve matters (I know it will never be perfect)

Pete, Im guessing this is the type you have (paddocks 608401), I swapped one on the GT6 I had years ago - it was a lot more hassle than the one on the vitesse, now Id go straight to a blade type fuse box (I intend to swap the vitesse completely on to blade fuses over winter.

Pete I’d definitely swap the fuse box, on the vitesse I swapped for a replacement original style as an interim repair - I have a blade style holder on the car that I used when rewiring the lights etc. The blade fuses are a definite improvement. I used a supplier called alm solutions via the dreaded eBay but they are a proper company who you can contact.

All the parts have arrived, I’ve stripped the speedo drive from the box and there was a fair amount of oil in there, I’ve cleaned it out best I can - I’m planning to leave overnight to drain, I’ve removed the drive cog and changed the 2 seals, I'll reconnect the cable tomorrow. Ive taken the speedo cable out and wiped the inner cable, it was quite damp close to the angle drive but generally it was OK. The outer pvc casing is damaged so I thought Id order one at some point - how do I work out which cable fits? I'll measure the length whilst its out and take photos of the ends.

Im guessing the tricky bit is diguising the joints, a seam welded patch would be gound back and the repair would be near invisible, with the adhesive there would be a lap joint to conceal.

Badwolf, watching with interest, I can't / don't weld so an adhesive solution if it works would suit me. I'm guessing it would never be complete replacement to welding but itd have its uses - I was thinking something like footwell floor repair panels etc - would it require mechanical fixings as well.

Pete thanks for the pointer, the speedo does fluctuate so it may ready have got to the speedo (but in fairness none of the Triumphs have had have had a totally stable speedo) I will get the cable out tomorrow as I doubt I'll get the parts delivery. Maybe time to invest in a gps speedo or a satnav with a speed function.

I’m just thankful for all the help from the forum, I’d be totally lost without it. It’s a J type overdrive gearbox so I’m guessing I’ll need to drain a good litre or so out. Seals are on the way, along with a new gasket. I’m reliant on post now so hopefully I can start on Thursday. This issue now explains why the foam surround was covered in oil as since I’ve swapped the tunnel there’s nothing to soak the oil up. I’m just hoping it hasn’t reached the speedo - Pete is there a way of checking?

Thanks Pete, new seals ordered, guess I need to drain the gearbox to fit them? I’ll get the manual out and have a read.

I’m just wondering if the sealant isn’t compatible with ep90. I will use blue hylomar next time - I cleaned all the surfaces off and wiped with degreaser - is there something else to use? on the speedo drive the leak looks like it’s on the connection of the speedo cable or is that just a trick of light?

I’ve taken the car out today for a quick test drive, the leak looks like it’s the speedo drive and the remote gasket or reversing light switch. I’m a bit stuck now as I don’t have a spare remote gasket so I need to wait till it’s delivered. Can oil leak from the speedo drive? Im now questioning if the the gasket goo was the wrong type for use with ep90 oils - it’s Granville clear instant gasket which says transmission fluids - it’s all I could get at the time. I’ve now got some blue hylomar!

I sourced 5l of ep90 oil so I’ve plenty to refill with! I thought I’d solved the worst of the leak so just a bit disappointed and I’m guessing it’s more noticeable now the box is full (it was very low initially so it couldn’t leak much!) I was going to use a grow bag tray or 2 under the car - anyone else tried that as an oil drip tray?

I’ve gathered that much so I don’t want to do anything too major as it’s time to drive the car rather than work on it. At least with the new transmission tunnel cover checking and filling is easy! I’m wondering if it’s time to paint the garage floor and then I can wipe up any mess with a squirt of degreaser.