dave.vitesse

Nice one Gary.

Well done Colin and I agree about the quality of the film. The design digs were also directed at BMC as well as Rootes. Dave

There were a lot of kit cars around about that period. i.e. Put this fibreglass body on your Ford Pop and make yourself a sports car. Though I must admit it looks to good to be one of those! Dave

May well be a Harrington Alpine. Dave

The normal problem is the heated inlet manifold pipe outlets are blocked at the heater end. Do not try to undo the banjo bolt as is will shear off. Remove the hoses and carefully clean out the pipes with a piece of stiff wire and water. Then flush the heater and valve. Dave.

The Vitesse 6 (1600) has the same oil filler cap crank breathing arrangement as the 948/1200 Herald. Also early Big Saloons (2000) had the same. The 2 Litre Vitesse models have the close circuit set-up. I have the same problems with brain recall. Dave

The Herald 1200 rocker box has a large oil filler cap which contains oil socked wire gauze. It vents directly into the air through holes on its underside. It works in conjunction with the crankcase breather on the side of the engine. The service notes say that you wash out the cap with petrol, leave to dry and then re-fill with engine oil. If I remember every 6,000 miles. Basically you need a bigger washable filter on the end of the pipe coming out of the alloy rocker box. Dave

Generally ST Engines were painted Engine/Chassis Black. Satin Black look very similar. There were some gold seal engines painted in gold coloured paint. Dave

I went through the TSSC website to complete the survey without any problems. Just the normal log in. Dave

The 13/60 doesn't have a diff mount. But does have a mount from the boot outrigger to the rear of the silencer box. In other words there are two mountings on the rear silencer. The correct/original boot out rigger for Herald has two brackets for mounting the silencer. Where as the Mk2 Vitesse only has the one. There is a hole drilled in the diff carrier on the 13/60 Herald, so if you want you can fit this mount. Dave

The Mk2 Vitesse has three exhaust mounting points. One off the bell housing, the second off the diff carrier and the third off the boot outrigger where the exhaust tail pipe comes out of the box. I haven't come across a mount from the gearbox area. Dave

The Newbury Area folk had all booked. We had all the normal suspects and managed to also increase the numbers above that. It's disappointing the overall support wasn't there for this major event. The club were quite right in not taking the hit in losses. The way I look at it "it's use or lose". Don't blame the club if members end up in a field full of cowpats next year! Dave

Thanks Jane for the up-date. It's sad but the club has to remain solvent and without the support an event like the Inter-Club won't happen. Dave

37.5 inches Outer and 42 inches Inner. Dave

Rest in Peace.

He did more than anybody to promote the Triumph brand in the States, RIP Kas.

It sound as if it could be the oldest Saloon. But, you have to remember when I took over the Vitesse Reg job in 2003 Dick Plumridge, then Club Archivist, already maintained all the Vitesse records and I had very little to do with this and held few records. When the Club had to shut down the records due to the Data Protection Act that was it. As a result I can only guesstimate from past knowledge of what cars I have seen out there. It was a great shame as Dick always provided a great service and articles for our members. Thanks, Dave Vitesse Reg Sec

Studs are used instead of bolts because it lowers stress on the diff threads when you torque the spring down. Also it give better security to the fixing. Six hole fixing gives better rigidity than four hole fixing. Dave

Hello Ray, It sound as if it's not fully engaging with the jackshaft due to slight wear on the gears. You have to try the pump gears in different positions, also turn the pump impeller and wind it in whilst pushing it down/in. Other areas, don't put too much oil in the bottom shaft bearing, the one in the block. And use a very small amount of rubber grease on the outers of the O rings. The picture shows a water pump in the correct position. Dave

You can't beat that smell of hot EP90 on the exhaust first thing in the morning. You know you are driving a classic. Dave

From long term experience 4.0- 4.5%. You can run down to 3.5% for better economy, but the performance will be reduced. 3.0-3.5% is too weak. Over 5.0% and you are getting too rich. I agree with Pete, the Vitesse was never in the emission controlled era. Engines designed to run at 2.5-4.5% came in the 1970's with a reduction in power. Most ran better at 3.5% than 2.5%. Dave

The correct head number for the Vitesse 2 Litre Mk2 is 517528. I wouldn't try to use the 218225 head. Sell it on. Dave

Welcome Pablo to the forum. I agree with Paul's advice re the fuel as the Vitesse 6 was designed to run on 98 octane and will pink on the standard 95 unleaded. Most Club Areas have a good social side as well as having people who will help with the technical matters. This forum also contain a great deal of useful knowledge. It's good to see your very smart Vitesse 6. Dave

The needles I recommended were tried and tested on three TR7's. Also found most standard stainless steel exhausts systems give better gas flow than the original mild steel set-up. Having tried the tubular manifold there wasn't any worthwhile increase in BHP against the standard type. That is with a Sports exhaust system or a standard stainless steel system. The main improvement was with the standard stainless steel system as they are straight through boxes and not the baffled type as on the original set-up. The sports system gave very similar results. The full sports system works well on a tuned engine. Dave

BDC or slightly richer BAE. Avoid BAL as they are very rich on the standard engine. Tested on three TR7's todate with a good improvement in the overall performance. I made up some small rams to fit inside the K&N's. Dave