BrianY

Thanks everyone for you input. Today was interesting. I have primed the car in a 2k epoxy primer sealer manufactured by a firm called Axalta. I have to say that in my limited experience it mixed easily and went on very easily , no tendency to sag or run and gave a lovely cover and finish. In my research on this stuff it appears that Axalta were Dupont in the distant past and on the internet I found a site giving paint code equivalents for Triumph colours for a number of suppliers and included were two codes Dupont 8451 for Triumph 26 Wedgewood Blue and Dupont 8449 for Triumph 19 white. Now I thought that this would be too easy and I was correct. I asked my friendly Axalta paint supplier if his computer would recognise these codes , no problem , in they went and the results came back. It recognised both codes but the colours it brought up were a Rover brown for the Triumph 26 and a Renault red for Triumph white 19! I had thought that the current Altaxa software might have recognised the old codes not no .So I give up. I have a blue that I like and which I think is close to Wedgewood and I am going with that. Incidentally at our branch meeting last night, (my first attendance and guys once again thanks for the advice,) no one thought that the sample of Wedgewood that the club sells and which Angie in the club had sent we was anyway close to the correct colour! So there you have my experience.. Once again many thanks for the advice and photos.

Thanks everyone for your input. its a problem and as you say Colin any original paint will have faded or changed by now and I wonder how consistent the colours actually were back in the day. I can get the Wedgewood Blue scanned from the sample that Angie at the club shop very kindly sent me but to my eye its not as light as as a car of a friend who was an automotive painter and who resprayed his car Wedgewood 10 odd years ago! So its a difficult one . Thanks Colin for the heads up on VW Delft White , I will take a look at this and see if I can get a sample mixed.

Thanks everyone. The problem I have is that suppliers would not ship paint to Northern Ireland, that might have changed but I doubt it so I have to get it mixed locally. My go to paint supplier cannot reconcile the Triumph codes on his system to get the mix formulation. They can do current colours and I was thinking that the creamy white colour used on modern BMW minis might be close to what I recollect as the colour but it might be a bit too cream. My paint guru sold me a Mercedes silver for the wheels and said that it was a good match that lots of guys used on 70's cars. I have to agree that it has worked very well and looks perfect on the wheels. so I am looking something similar for the stripe.

Whoops ment to say the main colour will be Wedgewood Blue NOT Powder Blue. I dont know where I got that from!

Hello all. I have finally reached the point where I am about to put some paint onto my Mk1 Vitesse. I have decided on Powder Blue and have had some mixed to match a sample swatch that the club shop kindly sent me. The primer is going on very nicely and I am feeling brave enough that I think I will have a go at putting the "white" stripe along the car The thing is that I had not initially intended to do this as I thought it might be pushing my skills( and that might still prove to be the case but nothing ventured is nothing gained ) so I have not researched this colour so far and I think the stripe would denote the car really well. So can you help me with a match for the white/cream colour that Triumph used please. Is there a modern colour out there that would do? Help and advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Guys just an update. I bought a clatter of Silentcoat and self adhesive isotator foam. Ordered it on Monday and received it on Wednesday at minimal shipping costs. Excellent service from the supplier. Really sticky backing and after putting a trial sheet onto the door skin I cannot see any problems covering the remainder. Just a bit of a fiddle getting it into place. On the glass guide I successfully fastened the brackets with 3mm by 10mm countersunk slotted head brass screws. Looks ok to me and the heads sunk in nicely to the felt covering so think all will be well. Thanks for the advice. Brian

Thanks Guys for the advice. On the sound deadening I have looked up both Silent coat and Dodomat and there is one company in Oxford that supplies both. They both seem to have similar products, in fact a bewildering range of products, and possibly the Silent coat appears to be cheaper. They offer a Silentcoat starter pack and a low price so I think I will phone them and discuss what is best and take it from there. I will start with the doors ! On the window guides I think I will order some brass screws and nuts as I think a smoother inner surface might be achievable and easier to sort than if I screw up with a pop rivet that doesn't want to play ball. Once again many thanks for the advice, Brian

Thanks Pete, I was thinking that my pop rivet gun might not fit and ruled them out but that is a good idea with the tube. . Not a job I am looking forward too as so many way for it to go pear shaped. Might try to make a jig that will hold them in the correct position. I had been thinking of wee brass rivets but pops would be handier. Thanks Brian

Hi guys . looking for some advice please. I want to put sound deadening material inside the doors on the inner surface of the door skin. I have used self adhesive bitumastic before on the sides of my van but some of it fell off with the summer sun so before I would use this on the car I thought I would seek advice as there seem to be foam based products available now and I was wondering if these are an improvement. or not .Any recommendations would be welcome. I have repaired my bulkhead and it is ready for painting. While it will be a few months before I am ready to paint the rest of the car I was thinking about getting the bulkhead painted soon so I could test the colour and then assemble it onto the chassis and do some build up etc. Should I cover it with a self adhesive material , (there are foam and foil products out there) after I paint it but before I assemble it and fit dashboard or is that a bad idea and I should just fiddle bits of the insulation in once the whole thing is build up? Again any recommendations on products. I see from an internet search that there is one company offering precut foam type material for Heralds The window glass runner on the door lock side is as you all know a straight felt covered steel channel wit three brackets riveted on . I have new channels but need to transfer the brackets . Any advice on riveting these onto the new channels would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Well I certainly kicked of a discussion. No worries on my part about this but after all this it might be London or perhaps Scotland. I will go to the British Motor Museum and see what they say. Its not really important but it is nice to get the history if one can. I am just glad that I was able to recover the registration. once again thanks for all your inputs.

Thank you everyone for the welcome and your kind comments and appreciation of my bikes. I got my first powered two wheleer as the EU now calls bikes as a 90cc Lambretta when I was 16 54 years ago!!. It was a disaster and failed everyway it could. next a BSA C15 and so on . I have had bikes most of my life but my wife has never been interested in being a pillion. An increasingly sore hip might curtail getting the leg over ( the bike). Does a big Burgman reckon? possibly but the range is poor. The Triumph will be ok if things get worse .I also have a 90cc Bridgestone and a 200 cc Bridgestone , yes look them up the tyre people made bikes. A bit rare here in the UK as they targeted the USA and the bikes were good enough to give the other Jap manufactures a scare in competitions. Bridgestone stopped making bikes around the early 70's and concentrated on tyres and I think golf balls and clubs. I will stop going on about bikes as this is a car club!!!

Mine is a local bike which I purchased from a guy in Killyleagh. The police used the MK3 models which had a foot gear chamge and were generally black. The MK1 150cc and the Mk2 200cc all had three speed hand change purposely as it was a machine designed for the commuter and ladies and a foot change would had caused damage to delicate shoes. Obviously for the polis with big boots a foot change was superior. There is a very active owners club and they have a fantastic spares scheme. These wee bikes were very much scorned in the classic bike brigade until recently when they have seen a surge in acceptance. The engineering in them is interesting however a bit flawed in places. Horizontally opposed water cooled flat twin with shaft drive . Side valve engine. They made a sporting variant called the Valiant it had OHV, air cooled and regular style tubular frame. Quicker but very fragile.

Thanks Guys

Hi Colin . Not a police model it is a Mk2 Velocette LE which has a hand gear change. I got it over 40 vears ago and it was in the process of its second rebuild until the Vitesse arrived. I need to fit a new wiring loom which I have, sort the new electronic ignition and put the front wheel in!! Need to stop on the Vitesse and put it together. It is sitting on my bike lift and the straps are just for a bit extra safety. The carb on these bikes give trouble and mine was shot so I have fitted a cheap Chinese pit bike carb , its 50/50 if these work according to some people but if it does it will be a really cheap fix. There is a Honda CB450 K1 and a Benelli 350 /4 hiding in the garage behind the modern Tracer . Toys and Toys!

That is an amazing photo amazing Colin. I don,t know where the number relates to , I had assumed London as that is where the car came from but it could have started life elsewhere. I will see what Google says about that reg.

Hi everyone , I am new to the club and this forum so please be gentle and forgive me if I ask what is to you experts the obvious.... I am at the stage in the restoration of my car when I am repairing the doors. In the body service training notes there is an explanation on the correct sequence for assembly /disassembly of the door components. There is reference to plastic weather shields and weather curtains and polythene deflectors?? I suspect these may all be the same? Frame 31 shows the fitting of a weather curtain to the inside flange of the door and frames 33/34 show another fitted to regulator slide. My question is is do these plastic curtains just hang free or are they secured anywhere else and are they of any useful purpose?

Photos

Hello everyone and thanks for the welcome. yes Colin I am just up the road and having seen your posts I am not taken in about your abandoned garage . If I had an abandoned garage like the photo I saw posted of yours then I would be very happy indeed. I bought the Vitesse from a man called Martin who lives in Mayobridge with his wife Kay. Very nice people. As I said I saw the advert on e bay and was amazed that it was here in Norn Iron . I knew that if it was suitable I would save a fortune in transport costs if I had to get one from across the water. A few photos of phone numbers and I arranged to go down to have a look. Apparently Martin brought it over from the London area many years previously and may have used it for a bit . It was sitting jacked up outside covered with a tarp and was complete except for the rear windscreen that Martin had stood on oh yes one of the alloy bumper bits is missing also. He needed the space for a building project so the car had to go. There was a lot of chassis rot over the nearside at the back axle and I was a worried about repairing this but I found a repaired chassis again on e bay in Leeds and got it shipped at horrendous cost. (The chassis just fits a long wheel base Sprinter when stood up along the side of the van!!) Blasted it and powder coated it. It measures up ok as best I can see and I have rebuilt it courtesy of a big cheque to Rimmers. I now have a "spare" chassis but it needs a lot of work- if anyone needs it they are welcome .I have had the engine fully rebuilt by Derek at Byre Engineering and its back in the chassis and runs. Body work is well on the way and I am working on the doors and have a few questions to post about these. The car is/was Royal Blue and here I am going to be controversial and will probably unleash the wrath of members when I say that I really REALLY do not like the colour and plan to go with Powder blue and a cream /white stripe. Will I be expelled from the club for this .?

Thank you guys. I might run with the heritage data.

Hi I am a new member and acquired my car back in May 2020. The registration documents shows that the last owner was in London. Its a long shot but does anyone recognise the registration number. It is a Royal Blue code 56 Mk 1 Vitesse saloon. The person I purchased it from had brought it over from the London area quite a few years ago and stored it intending to restore it. He did not re register it and it would appear to have dropped of the DVA system as his ownership pre dated the SORN requirement so I was fortunate that I was able to retain what appears to be the original registration number here in Northern Ireland. Currently I am restoring it with the aim of having it all together by late summer. Famous last words!!! Any info would be most welcome.

Hello everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brian Aitken and I purchased my Mk1 Vitesse as a restoration project at the start of the Covid pandemic back in May 2020. I should say that up to now my restoration efforts and focus has been on motorbikes and riding a modern bike both here and I Europe with some good mates. I was scrolling through a well known web site looking for another bike project but could not find a bike that suited me and began to think about a car. I am not getting any younger and can see sadly an end of my biking adventures in the near future so a car was appropriate. Having had a 1275 MG Midget in my youth I was drawn to these but quickly discounted them as the prices for the 1275 variety were very high and widened my search. I came across my Vitesse and could not believe it when I saw that the seller was located here in Northern Ireland. Contact was made, an inspection followed and then I placed my bid. Success. Once home I established that it was virtually complete except for the rear window glass , broken accidentally by the previous owner. So far I have stripped and rebuilt the chassis and running gear, had a full rebuild on the engine to +20 with unleaded inserts and all new kit. The body is almost complete and I am working on the doors currently with the aim of a trial assembly in February. Will it be complete this summer? Possibly if I sub out the painting. We will see. ...