[Storm Damaged Triumphs (1987 edition!)]

?

[petrol tank cleaning.]

Vinegar does seem good for that, though always used brown/malt. Is there much difference?

[Vitesse Mk1 2 Litre, original overdrive badge]

Thanks folks. After your info, I have just bought a used one off E bay for £3.50. First bit of glam (Though it is possibly a bit tatty) I've spent on car

[Vitesse Mk1 2 Litre, original overdrive badge]

Hi. anyone got a photo or description of this please.

Cheers, Dave

[Is my Herald/Vitesse, boot seal, the same profile, as Spitfire or any other models]

Any info please, as my 4 year old replacement (from the usual suppliers) is starting to split, so looking for any better, maybe alternative options. 

Thanks, Dave

[Clutch lever issues and mystery overdrive]

I think maybe worth taking solenoid off on J type (though can done any time, by jacking up the GB to clear chassis if needed). Needs a shaved down 1" spanner to fit in the gap for removal, from memory?

Check that it rattles when shaken. I've had OD issues twice and it was this plunger? type thing in the solonoid, that was sticking, though would still work for the first few miles, then start playing up.

If it is stuck, then needs dismantling and cleaning, and maybe new o rings?.

The first time I cleaned it up, I used a bit of lubricant in the plunger area and worked ok for about 15000 miles, though left it dry the last time I stripped it, as I thought this lube may get dry and sticky with the heat and it caused it to stick after the first strip down?.

Maybe after electrical/low oil, this is a fairly common issue?

[Vitesse mk1 dash assembly]

All this tech you need and pay for, to make life "easier" (because they have made our lives complicated and reliant on their tech).

I'm not generally a conspiracy theorist (though maybe more now).

just seems different than buying "square deal surf", to put in your basic washing machine

[Second hand fuel tank condition (how long is a piece of string)?]

Thanks for all the useful info.

Just wondering about the drain spout area. Is this from any internal  water settling there, or externally from that spongy seal that holds water?

[Air filter box]

Aside from welding, I don't. Maybe a snug to the tube, wide washer on the inside of box to make a stronger fix with the JB (even one on the outside as well?) 

[Second hand fuel tank condition (how long is a piece of string)?]

There's one on sale locally very cheap. Quite scruffy with surface rust. Anything to look for, aside from bulging rust seams/obvious thin metal.

The sender is not fitted, so can shine a torch inside.

As far as I know my tanks good, and my fuel filter always very clean (maybe not a "must have" spare I need anyway, though can't have car off the road, as only car and don't want to pay lot's for new?) 

Cheers  

[Start up crank knock/rattle]

Sounds the most logical Colin, as well as factors like, how long does it take to start etc.

Always sounds so gruesome, that noise, though now I crank without choke for a while. Just seems mentally, more fluffy and cosy 

[Start up crank knock/rattle]

An age old chestnut, I know with various opinions about, whether it's a problem?.

Aside from that I'm intrigued by an article in the Courier (May 88, page 16), where a member had stripped down some engines with start up rattle and found crank journals and bearing, good, conversely, some engines with no rattle had shot crank/bearings.

Interested, as how can this be the case? 

[230/240v combi drills - any practical experience.]

1 hour ago, PeteH said:

Modern H&SE would have gone potty!.

Good ole (or modern) "Elf and Safety" then, I reckon, on some levels

[Painted seats but they stick to my clothes. How can i stop this?]

10 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

On the other hand, we have a number of those garage-forecourt industrial-sized washing machines that have sprung up in the area; you can put almost anything through those. 

Sounds handy, not noticed those, though I think I've got tunnel vision recently, around modern man made stuff (opposite when I get out into nature)

 

[Sunroof Replacement Instructions wanted for Vitesse - Herald]

Hi Paul. That's the earlier Britax (I believe) sunroof I've been trying to find (As appose to the later one, you bought from me for your son, that are more 70's I think?, which also have the one piece subframe?).

They seem as rare as hen teeth compared to the later ones?. Was that on the car when you bought it (and your replacing just top cover/headlining).

Been on the lookout for the earlier one for a while, via Ebay and not seen even one yet, though I'm not desperate, and needs to be at a price I can afford anyway (the later ones for sale, appear to go for quite a lot).

I did see a very compressive/detailed fitting of the top cover etc, online a while back, though can't remember which website/U tube. Will see if I can find anything, though you may well have had a good look yourself? 

Cheers, Dave

 

[A good day in the life of a classic car owner.]

1 hour ago, 68vitesse said:

change oil and filter after about five hundred miles unless advised differently.

Could you not. remove some oil after running, into a jam jar and see if any water separates?. Also I assume a small amount of water that may be left would evaporate if the engine got nice and hot, for a while?.  Just my own ideas, so I've no idea, as such  

[Starter motor woes ☹️]

Interesting. Had to do quite a bit of cranking lately to get car started (now sorted the issue).

I had read to be careful, as it gets too hot?, though as Pete says, "too many amps", maybe the same thing?.

More wondering about guide lines, for how long to crank and does it need a cooling off period, before cranking again, to not, muller the starter?. 

 

[Low clutch biting point, root cause?]

5 hours ago, Paul H said:

I think the following will fit , the hose is 23 cms long . I preferred a solid brake pipe . It’s surplus to me so if you want it it it would cost you just P & P 

Hi Paul, that would be really useful for me (looks like it's a straight fit?) if it's available?, please.

[How often should ignition parts be replaced as a matter of course?]

Well, just fitted a NOS condenser and this one is sparking when points are opened. Possibly not quite as much, though still pretty visible.

Is it duff?

Cheers 

[Wire sizes and suppliers.]

11 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

I, too, use old looms - the wire is the correct colour and rating, but sometimes it can be brittle through age. It's amazing when you unwrap the insulation off an old loom and uncover the bright fresh colours of cables that have been covered up for fifty years. Those are the bits I try to use, not the exposed areas that have discoloured or weathered.

Well, I was out for a walk with my long term girlfriend recently in some woods and there was an area where some car parts had been dumped, long ago.

There was a loom part buried under old leaves etc. most of the colours were fresh and bright under the tape. Maybe 70/80s, judging from the switches?. She thought I was bonkers dragging it back home.

So the big questions for me, is the copper in the cables likely to be ok, not subject to damp/air oxidation? (or was she right?, not that she's in anyway an expert, just fed up with my  collecting habits)

 

[How often should ignition parts be replaced as a matter of course?]

Thanks, will change it.

I have been banging on about this (thanks for staying), though it's a good learning curve for me and others I can maybe help, and you also don't always get the detailed info/experience/knowledge from books/web sites/local garage etc.

Dave

[How often should ignition parts be replaced as a matter of course?]

7 hours ago, Wagger said:

Sparking at the points indicates a weak capacitor (condenser). One of its functions is to suppress sparking at the points and improve it at the plugs. A poor one will result in the points arcing and blackening.

Thanks. That's interesting. As mentioned above, I now have a spark at plugs (after a bit of careful points filing as the contacts were a bit black especially on the fixed side?) and there was at the time a spark at points when opened and also when cranking, though quite weak. Car now starting much better (it wouldn't start at all, even with carb cleaner into carbs), though not left as as long as usual (at least a week), as starting it daily to tinker with issue.

Still not as good at starting, as it has been historically.

The condenser fitted is a NOS one fitted about 8 years ago (after quick failure of cheap new ones).

Will fit new points if filing is not a good idea?, therefore maybe their past their best?,

So could condenser be failing if I have a spark at points?

Cheers for the input. 

  

[How often should ignition parts be replaced as a matter of course?]

Any more thoughts?, regarding my last post could be very useful, as very ltd tinkering time available at the mo, so would be good to prioritise likely/possible, part/s culprits if pos.

Ta

[Just bought a what appears a decent PCV hose for Vitesse.]

Not fitted it, though same size as my tired original 

[Just bought a what appears a decent PCV hose for Vitesse.]

Hi Roger. Sorry, I don't know how to do links, though EBay sellers name is triumphix-uk.

If you can't find it, I will try to find out how to do links. May have time to fit it tom, will let you know how how it fits