SixasStandard

I'm going to be visiting the Australian National Car Museum whilst in the Adelaide area, so I'll grill one of the staff there!! http://www.nationalmotormuseum.com.au Will also be attending the 'All British Day' classic car meeting at Echunga in the Adelaide Hills on the 9th February......…so hopefully will be rubbing shoulders with some Triumph owners there. http://www.allbritishday.com Thank God I've got an understanding Wife!! Ian

Thanks for that Paul, it seems that seat mods are a fairly common job for us Vitesse owners of a 'certain height'. Ian

Looks like Sidmouth locals had to go further afield for their new Triumphs once F.R.Northcott closed down.

It's not often I'm lost for words, but...……….

Here you go Steve, hopefully these will be of use? I don't know whether the servicing garages after F R Northcott were Triumph dealerships, or just general motor engineers. Interestingly 'Stephens Cross Garage' felt the need to rename to 'Stevens Cross Garage' between 1973 and 1974, changing its phone number from Sidmouth 289 to Sidmouth 2889. Ian

Ah yes...….Schroedinger Beer......a slightly sour taste with citrus undertones if I remember rightly? I prefer Ottakringer personally...……...perhaps Morhenbrau at a push. 'Vorsprung Durch Brauen' as they say in Germany.

Thanks Richard & Steve. F R Northcott must have closed down in 1972, I've checked my car's service book and the garage stamps change to other garages from 1973 onwards. The Northcott site is a car park now by the looks of it. Ian

I'm starting to regret posting this!!!

Hello All, Does anyone have any information on, or pictures of the F.R. Northcott Triumph dealership in Sidmouth Devon during the 1960s/1970s? A long shot I know! Thanks, Ian

The commission plate says '16' for trim, which is 'Midnight Blue', so surprisingly this is all original, except for the front seats covers...…..which according to some paperwork I've found in the history file were replaced by a previous owner with new items from Newton Commercial. Interestingly the car is a Mk1, but the seats are Mk2, explained in the history file correspondence between the PO (only the second owner of the car) and Newton Commercial as being due to a transition period in 1968 when both types of seats were being installed at the factory. The PO ordered Mk1 covers, then discovered the anomaly and a very understanding Newton Commercial agreed to swap them for Mk2 without charge!! This complicates matters for me though...….as I now have to get my black MGF seats recovered to match the rest of the interior if I want to keep it the OE colour. Money wise this will be relatively cost neutral, as the alternative is to replace all of the other interior trim with black to match the MGF seats...……...so six of one...…..half a dozen of the other!! Ian

Thanks chaps, I've also got the tank full to the brim, as I've heard that the air in half empty tanks contributes to the formation of water, and hence corrosion on the inside of the tank. I have a dust sheet to cover the car with, it will have to do until my bank balance recovers enough to buy a proper car cover. Ian

Hello All, I need to 'mothball' my Vitesse for a couple of months. It will be stored in a dry garage, but do I need to take any specific steps to prepare the car for that length of storage?...…...or is it ok to simply drive it in and shut the door? Ian

Thanks Colin, I'll check the plate tomorrow. Ian

Thanks Gary, PM sent. Ian

Hello All, Was there a blue interior trim colour offered as standard in '68 model year Mk1 Vitesses? I've attached some pictures of my car's interior showing the trim colour...…...is it correct? Thanks, Ian

Hello Gary, The MGF seats pictured in your car look very good. Did you opt for the full seat exchange option offered by Newton Commercial, where they supply the seats fully trimmed? or did you purchase the covers and fit them yourself? Also, the only blue currently being offered by NC on their website is called 'Navy'...……...which looks darker than your seats. How long ago did you buy them? Thanks, Ian

A slightly modified approach with two flat bars bolted to the existing mounting points in the floorpan, then two further flat bars bolted to them at right angles to attach the runners to? That would allow you to move the seat further towards the centre of the cockpit and clear the 'B' post. Maybe I've got it wrong, but that's what I thought Richard had done on his car. It's all in the eye of the beholder, but I've always preferred the look of the MGF seats, as they look more period correct...….more retro than the MX5 seats. Ian

Hello Peter, A good friend of mine who regularly posts on the forum has a Vitesse Mk2 convertible and has fitted MGF seats to his car very successfully. He's also a tall chap like us, and I don't remember him saying that he had any problem getting the seats to travel back past the 'B' post. The MGF seats are a definite improvement on the original seats in my opinion, both comfort wise and aesthetically, and also provide the added bonus of headrests...…..which I've always considered a safety feature. Ian

Hello Nick, That's a fair point, when I get the car on Thursday I'll investigate that possibility before doing anything drastic. Did you use the 30mm x 5mm flat bar method mentioned above to fit your MGF seats? Ian

Thinking more about Clive's suggestion, I think I'll look into the 'L' section steel idea........that would offer far more strength to the modification. It's obvious really, but I hadn't considered it previously, so just shows that it pays to ask. Ian

Thanks Pete, it will undoubtedly take a combination of both steering column adjustment and moving the seat further back to get my 'inappropriate' frame into a comfortable driving position. In the future I'm hoping to do some continental trips in the car with the better half, so it's something that has to be addressed. Ian

And anyway...…..who are you calling 'inappropriately tall'?...…...bloody cheek!!

Thanks Clive, I had been thinking along similar lines, but didn't want to prejudice any other replies with potentially different approaches. In my particular case I'm not worried about compromising rear legroom, the driver's seat back will probably end up right back to the rear set cushion anyway!...…...any passengers will just have to sit with their knees up to their chin!! As for the interior colour, the car will be returned to black in due course anyway, as blue isn't my favourite, and I don't think was offered for the Mk1 Vitesse back in the day. Ian

Hello All, My new 2 litre Vitesse Mk1 Saloon is being delivered on Thursday, and as it will be my first classic Triumph I am really looking forward to it. The car is in lovely condition, but will need a few tweaks to get it right for me. I am 6'3" with long legs, so as the test drive demonstrated I will need to free up some extra legroom for the car to provide a comfortable driving position. My longer term plan is to fit the MGF seats that I bought previously for my Sunbeam Alpine, but as these are black and the interior of my new Vitesse is blue, it will require a change of interior trim which I'm not in a position to do just yet. Consequently I'd like to pick the brains of Forum members to see if anyone has modified their stock Vitesse seats either to increase the travel of the seats on their runners, or else moved the entire seat backwards by some means. I have no doubt that I will be able to come up with a solution myself, but would be interested to see if there are already tried and tested solutions out there which will prevent me 're-inventing the wheel'. As already mentioned I'm aware that MGF as well as MX5 and Alfa seats have already been installed in Vitesses, but at this stage I'd just like advice on modifying the existing stock seats. Any help or advice gratefully received. Ian

Thanks Colin.