Iain T

Thanks for replies I did clean out the PCV and replace the diaphragm when reconditioning the engine. Pete I would drive the car if I had somewhere to go that was open and had a toilet! Sooon very soooon😁 Still there's going to be fields full of non PC statues for us all to visit soon! Sorry I'm incandescent over recent events😡 a subject not for this forum. Iain

Following on from another thread I have been pondering the positives and negatives of a PCV. I have recently reconditioned the engine in my MK2 Vitesse and am trying to decide which way to go or do nothing at all and leave as is! Option 1 Keep PCV and fit a crankcase vent and filter via the fuel pump aperture. This would let the crankcase breath but still let 'nasties' from the rocker into the inlet system and gum up my nice new valves and weaken the AF mixture but then this happens in a standard set up. Option 2 Keep PCV and fit a 3-port baffled/filtered oil catch can (Mishimoto compact or XL?) by say the clutch master cylinder (see photo) then plumb to the IN the rocker and crankcase and OUT to the PCV. This filters out some of the 'nasties' but is the PCV big enough to handle the flow? Option 3 Ditch the PCV and blank the inlet manifold connection. Fit a 3-port baffled/filtered oil catch can in position as Option 2 with the rocker and crankcase pipes to the IN and a filter to atmosphere in the OUT. This removes all 'nasties' in the intake system and vents the whole engine. I believe John has this setup? This does not vacuum assist the system at idle but is that important if the rest is adequately vented and the carbs set up to suit? Option 4 Do nothing and leave as OE As originality is not that important to me I am inclined to go for 1 or 2 but am open to suggestions! Iain PS Yes I know I still have the K&N's as I haven't made my new Chris Witor style airbox!

Colin, I'm with you there we all need more fun🤡 in these trying times the Jokes section has kept my spirits up🥃 If you want a turnbuckle (they do look good) why not rose jointed ends to take up any offset? If they are good enough for track rod ends they must be good enough for adjusting a fan belt tension. I'm off to do some general car twiddling so I'll investigate!

Ooooh this is getting much too technical when a simple bracket will suffice? If you need an offset then 68vitesse's gets my vote.

If you have deep pockets you could go for a Ford type 9 5-speed gearbox conversion. Parts etc readily available try BGH for the gearbox (best type 9 specialists) and Canley sell the conversion kit. Make sure you get the 2.8 box as the ratios almost match the Triumph box. Works very well in my car but the overdrive box I had in a TR3a was better. You could just flick the od switch with your little finger and overtaking was easy. Iain Iain

I'm not an Ian I'm an Iain! Reminds me of the film Sparticus, OK it's misquoted. Fingers crossed the problem is solved🤞

Mmm I think the mesh at a rakish 45 degree angle not verticle/horizontal would be better? A pain to make as the short strands of wire un-weave themselves and the whole grille needs to be retained in a carrier. Friend of mine used to make wire grilles for Jaguar, Ford etc and apart from forming retaining the wires was the biggest headache. Iain

John, good point structurally much better.

+1 for Colin's solution it looks good and I need some s/s bling on my black engine! I take it you just cut off one of the legs of the end U bracket?

As to the cold start mechanism, although I replaced mine with a new one from Burlen I still had to lap the mating surface in as it still leaked. The main leak came from the outer body to the middle as this joint by design doesn't have a gasket. Just to be sure I also used some Wellseal but be careful not to get any on the choke disc! The middle body to carb body does have a gasket. If you are going to take the choke mechanism off make sure it has two sets of graduated holes that line up with the tear shaped holes in the middle body. Hope this helps 'cos I bin there!!!!! Iain

Is the air piston orientated correctly? I know the tabs on the diaphragm should stop this from happening but.........! I believe the groves in the bottom of the piston should point towards the manifold? I think Pete identified and fixed this miss assembly on another members car. Iain

I have a mk1 grille on my mk2 Vitesse, I think it looks great and as my car is far from original for me that's not an issue. I'm with Adrian a stainless steel woven wire mesh grille would look good. Iain

Special Brembo hole conditions I can understand as even a radius around the hole edge will relieve stress. I am sure Brembo have done extensive tests so there is no reason to not believe their claim. The real question is, is this required to stop safely in a shorter distance than solid rotors in our relatively lightweight Triumphs? It really depends on how you drive your car. I think someone said a decent set of boots will be more effective than drilled discs and I think that's correct. Iain

Ian, Some photos of the carbs would be helpful. That way we can identify the carb type. Iain

Hi Barry Good to know the starting problem is solved! FYI I did buy the choke assembly which came complete with disc but only one set of holes so I swapped over for my old twin hole disc. I ended up with a complete engine rebuild (a bit of an extreme solution) and identified poorly fitted valves and incompatible camshaft plus others. Once sorted engine starts on the button, a complete transformation and to date no oil leaks! Iain

Adrian, Good job well done. It looks good and structurally sound. Iain

It's not unheard of to skimp on tooling for parts that are not on show, perhaps this is one. I remember one story told to me by an engineer at GKN Telford, who was charged with making a front crossmember assembly for a Toyota car. This was dual sourced in both Japan and UK. On looking at the Japanese part there was bad rippling and material almost doubled up at one area. On pointing this out to his Japanese counterpart the Japanese said it's underbody so functionality and durability is more important than looks. As long as the mounting points are within tolerance and it passes all long term durability tests all is acceptable. That argument didn't hold water with Ford Transit crossmember who wanted everything within tolerance. We made both sets of prototypes for GKN and the pressings were very difficult due to the shape and specified high tensile materials plus when the parts were welded together the heat caused the parts to distort so to compensate we distorted the tack welded assembly by 3mm in the centre with hydraulic clamps. All good fun, I used to and still love sheet metal engineering. Iain

More bad or very worn tooling. Rippling mainly occurs where there is a severe change of shape and/or the material is uncontrolled. As you can see in Ian's panel the length of line from one side to opposite side is much longer at the front and back than in the middle where the excess metal rippling occurs. In Colin's panel again change of shape but at the end of the panel so it should be more controlled by the blankholder. It's probably worn or aftermarket tooling. The problem with rippling or in extreme cases doubling over of material is it damages the tooling and also stops the tool from bottoming out so the rest of the panel is ill defined. Had a look at my panels and there aren't a lot of ripples. I can't believe the original tooling is about so all new panels must be stamped from aftermarket tooling. Iain

Seems like a replacement part as I think original Triumph parts would not have the rippling. The Triumph part would have been pressed using a 3 piece draw tool ie punch, die (top tool) and blank holder. The cushion pins push the blank holder up, the flat steel sheet placed on the top and the press cycled. The top tool comes down clamps the sheet to the blank holder and stretches it over the punch. However the variations of lumps and depressions and where they are located in the components form can make life very difficult. How to achieve an unrippled part is all down to controlling how the sheet flows and how to do so involves a lot of technology and no small measure of 'black art' and experience. I can only assume this was made on aftermarket tooling. Hope this helps...I love press tools😍 Iain

I would have thought your driveline angles are OK, you just need to centralise the back of the 'box by spacing the front mount. You can then get on with assembling the rest of the car! Have fun

Chris, Most people think uj's will take care of any driveline angles. The opposite is very much the case, it is imperative the input and output angles in top and side views are parallel ideally to +/- 3 degrees max. Much more and vibration can make the car undriveable.

John, the plasticine was only to check clearances. We did 'plastic coat' some tools using a rough cast kirksite base for strength. Ciba Geigy 219 with 'flexidiser' was the preferred coating as it was durable and crack resistant. Speed is of the essence with automotive prototypes and we managed to get down to just under 6 months to tool up a complete car Body in White from a phased cad data release. The Japanese were down to 3 months, industrious little buggers, but they have almost limitless manufacturing capacity. I do sort of miss the wide eyed panic and time penalty scares, it made everyone pull together and help to a common mission, a bit like Covid. Iain

We used to use the plasticine trick on prototype press tools. We used kirksite which is a zinc/aluminium alloy for proto body panel tools (quicker to cast as much lower melting point) and never had enough time to finish the tools so plasticine and some brave guy climbs in the tool with a die grinder! Yes we always used big stays just in case the mechanical press overcranked or a hydraulic press creeped down....you only make one mistake!

Bloody union with olive leaked as I couldn't get a straight spanner on it. Gave up and made this from 6mm steel. Bear in mind I was at my old works so verticle bandsaw and press brake makes short work!

Sorry dunno what went on there the homemade spanner is to fit the nut at the front end of the heater return pipe. Works if you have a tubular manifold. Iain