dave.vitesse

No not factory extras. Dave

I agree Pete, time old method use the hose and slowly increase the tap pressure with other end corked up. Does it leak??? A dynamic test. But watch out the cork doesn't fly off. Alf and safety! That's the modern bit. Dave

An overdrive x 2 sound like more trouble than it's worth both in the short term fitting it and the long term dealing with it. A diff change is the best way to go. Back in the John Kipping days he offered, if I remember correctly, a J type conversion with 25% reduction in gearing. For road use a broad torque engine is easier to live with, as are lower revs on a dual carriageway. Dave

Lots of useful information contained in one source. I would say date around 1963/4. Excellent work Steve. Dave

Very useful films and they also included the very early version of the 6 cylinder engine fitted to the Vanguard Six which has largely been forgotten. Thanks Steve, Dave

The OE Vitesse pump works fine, is reliable and easy to replace. I bought/drove Triumph's in the 1960's and most people excepted that in very hot weather your car could overheat in those conditions. They were used as everyday cars and if you bought a Vitesse or GT6 meant you wanted more power. Also remember we had colder winters and not so hot summers, so overheating was less of a problem. If you can find a radiator reconditioner who could provide an up-grade rad then that would be the way to go. As for the Slant four and V8, this has an in block pump which takes a lot more time to replace, and some of the replacements pumps have been of doubtful quality which as caused coolant leakage and in worse cases a coolant dump in the sump. Plus nobody wants an overheated aluminium head! Dave

Well done. Dave

If the needles on the SU's have been sorted then it this true. However, SU's on a standard manifold normally need a rolling road to sort out the needles. Yes SU's were used on the later 2000 Saloon, but this had a long reach inlet manifold, different head and cam than the Vitesse. Dave

An oil pressure gauge is the easy way to indicate when the oil is deteriorating as when this start to happen the warm pressure will start to reduce. This reduction will slowly increase with more mileage. With most good multi-grades it start to happen around 3,000 miles when the car is in every day use. Where the car is not in every day use and stands idle for most of the time then the millage will be a lot less. But remember the ambient temperature should also be taken into account when monitoring the oil pressure over a period of time. If you have already used mineral oil in the engine then changing to synthetic oil may effect the oil seals causing them to fail. Dave

Yes there is a difference between the GT6 and the Vitesse namely the gear-leaver hole. The GT6 type is being sold for the Vitesse by some suppliers. I have raised it with club HQ and Bern is trying to source the correct type for the Vitesse. Talk to the club. Dave

I have just been checking the TR7 ready for it's MOT. Part of the check was the CO level which must be between 2.5 and 4.5 CO. I normally set this to 3.0 to 3.5 CO, but it had risen to over 6.0 CO. After ensuring there were no other problems the major cause was old fuel. Dave

The Vitesse had one spacer on each fixing bolt as standard. As far as I can remember back to the 948 Heralds, in the 1960's, this was standard from the introduction of the car. Dave

The left hand valance was the same through production of the Vitesse. However, the right hand side did change at engine number HB26150 on the Vitesse 6. This change was made when the the rad was changed to allow the removal of the header tank and the fitment of an overflow bottle. The main purpose for these changes was to facilitate the fitment of the Stromberg carbs at engine number HB27986, mid to late 1965. The louvres are on the manifold side on. Dave

Newbury are not meeting as there is a lack of room in the pubs and the local picnic sites are very busy. And yes we do have old crocks as well as old people! Wait and watch I reckon. Dave

I agree with the comments, if you want an engine that revs then the small journal crank is the best. The 1300 large journal crank is best avoided and the 1500 is great for normal road touring on holiday. Dave

Flush the block, rad and heater separately. Don't forget to open the drain tap on the side of block, by the exhaust manifold. Flush the water both ways. You can buy a flush treatment which you add to the coolant. If you use one follow the instruction on the container. After using one you should fully flush this out of the cooling system as above. I refill with 33% antifreeze mix and use de-ionized (purified) water. You may need to replace the hoses before filling with the above. Dave

As the engine in the MGB was designed by the Austin Motor Company and the Herald, Standard 8, engine was designed by the Standard Motor Company, both in the early 1950's, I doubt there is any compatibility between the two. Two different motors companies. The MGB engine had an earlier 3 bearing version and a later five bearing version. Both are known as the BMC B series engine. If you go for the 1500 engine then you will need higher gearing, also overdrive helps. This is because the 1500 is a lower revving engine with higher torque than the 1300. Dave

Even a new pump will not work without oil if there is an air block so I always pack a new pump with a mixture of oil and grease, which does work. The drill method does work as it gets the oil up into the pump, providing you pour oil on the top of the pump. Remember a dry pump will not pump air, plus it will suffer damage. It's not an exceptional event as it is well known and part of the history of these cars. However, I do agree it does need to be bought to members attention. As I say don't try to get every last drop of oil out otherwise you will have this problem. As Pete said it's an air lock. Lets face it he is normally right. Dave

Yep, no problem. Paul, just email me the info and some pictures. I always welcome articles giving member's experiences with their cars. As said before it's an air lock problem and well known. It happens with the standard six cylinder oil filter, plus the small four cylinder engines due to the design of the engine. Oil drains out of the oil pump pick-up pipe when the sump is drained. This creates an air lock in the pipe when the sump is re-filled. If you can get oil onto the top of the oil pump this will prime it and help suck out the air in the pick-up pipe and push it out through the system. Getting oil into the galleries should achieve this as it will drain down to the top of the pump. So air and not oil in the galleries means an un-primed pump. Why does it happen, well the better you drain the engine the more likely an air lock will occur. On a very hot day with a hot engine the oil will drain out much easier than when cold. If you do drain when hot don't try to get very last drop of oil out. The more oil is left on/in the pump the more likely it will prime. Dave

The dual gauge was a good combination with an ammeter on the Herald and the Vitesse with a single dial. Caviar is overrated as you never get any chips with it. Dave

Taken in the winter of 1969. Dave

A 1962/3 Vitesse 6. Then a 1966 Vitesse 6. As stated the change to over the rocker cover was made on the MK2.

The vacuum pipe routing was a carry over from the 1600 engine. The original pipe was metal, at some stage during the production of the Vitesse 6 this changed over to plastic which may have proved to be vulnerable to heat at the front of the engine. Dave

As I said before this is an old chestnut and if you haven't experienced it before you have been lucky. Pete is correct it's an lock, this is caused by the oil draining out of the oil pump pick-up pipe when the sump is drained. When you re-fill the sump the air in the pick-up pipe is trapped and prevents the oil getting up into the pump. If I remember correctly some attempt was made to overcome this problem in the mid 1970's by having the pick-up pipe at an angle and not straight down. As the pick-up pipe was angled it tended to bleed out the air as the sump was filled. Dave

Same this end, jack up on the diff then axles stands on the chassis main rail. Dave