dave.vitesse

Richard, Check the pulley size and offset are the same as the one fitted on your Vitesse. Dave

I agree Clive, if put together correctly hybrids, using parts from other other Triumph models, are good fun. e.g. 1500 in a Herald, providing the brake, suspension and gearing are improved. Dave

The GT6 is not fitted with lever arm damper. Only the Vitesse Mk2 and the respective Bond had the lever arm type. All GT6 were fitted with the telescopic type. The rotoflex GT6 has the dampers fixed to the body to clear the couplers. Dave

I agree with Pete the later 2 Litre engines had single valve springs. - Late Mk3 GT6 Dave

hag, The correct head for a 2 Litre Mk2 Vitesse, Mk2 GT6 and early Mk3 GT6 is 517528. Dave

Hello Mike, The number on the head, 218225, is correct for a late Mk3 GT6. The engine should also have domed pistons. Many engine reconditioners now fit single valve springs to reduced the wear on the cam. Double valve springs are used to reduce valve bounce at high revs. Therefore unless you are going to frequently rev the engine to 6,000 rpm and above there should be no difference in the performance. Dave

Steve, there's that good feeling when you finally get the engine running. I agree, having used the Facet pump they do let you know when the fuel is not going through. Springs coming and hopefully better weather. Dave

The Rough Guide is correct. However, remember the 1500 engine is long stroke with three bearings and without a lot of work on the crank and bearings its best not to tune for high revs. The art is to increase the mid range power. I never doubted you would get it running, even so well done. Dave

Colin, good point. The 13/60 has the 1600/Mk1 Vitesse chassis with rad brackets. It has the Herald/1600 Vitesse brake pipe layout. It does have the Vitesse front valance i.e. The front section against the rad bends up through 90 deg. The Herald front valance doesn't. The electrics are Herald. It's a saloon with a Tristan convertible conversion hence the seats look odd. The engine and dash are Mk2 Vitesse. Its made from bits and pieces, but its still on the road. Dave

Welcome back to the club and I agree with Colin re your Vitesse number plate.

Pete, ones shown are from the 1300 and 1500 Dolomite base models and late Toledo, these were plastic faced. The 1500HL and all 1850/Sprint Dolomite were cloth faced as were the 1500SE models. The base model and SE were the narrow type, these were the same size as the Herald and Vitesse. The 1500HL and 1850/Sprint were wider. My head hurts after that. Dave

From the layout of the brake pipes it looks like it still has Herald brakes. The seats are from a 1300 Dolomite. Probably still has the 4.11 dif. Dave

The first picture is from the solex Vitesse 6 using the heater outlet at the rear of the head. The second shows the banjo arrangement on the later Vitesse. Dave

After the normal bleeding never had any more air lock problems with either type of heater arrangement. Under road use the part of the engine closes to the air flow, front, would be cooler. Also the front is closes to the rad, hence the temp through the head likely to be hotter at the rear, number 6 cylinder. The engine cooling is old technology. Dave

Pete, I agree as I have seen it before in the same place. The joke used to be" Arr" that's where they stuck the other cylinder on! Dave

Richard, Very few will know of the full kit. The SU kit was available on the Standard 8/10 and then on to the 948 Herald. Back in the 1960's a work colleague had a full Alexander tuned 948 Coupe with a de-cambered rear spring. It went like a rocket. He sold it and bought a new 12/50 which turned to be a lot slower! Dave

There was a sports cam and higher compression flowed head that went with the carbs. I echo Colin, no point on a standard engine. In fact it would make the engine very top end rev wise. Dave

The two relays shown are the horn and overdrive relays. Present on the Spit IV. Dave

The choice of AAQ needles and Yellow Springs comes from original work carried out by SAH/Triumph Tune many years ago. The range given is AAT AAQ AAM AAB starting from lean to rich. In my own work tuning these engines I agree with their recommendation. The AAQ is much richer than the standard ABT/ late ADN needles. The Yellow springs help retain the low end torque as when you increase the breathing this reduces the low rev end gas speed. There is a lack of power below 3.000rpm which is not good for both the 1500 engine and general road driving. The range of needles coupled with Yellow springs spread both the torque and the BHP over a wider rev range. Rams/Stacks also help spread the torque and BHP. Only trying to help. Dave

Use AAQ needles and Yellow springs. Dave

Not the same air cleaners but the application is the same and shown in the picture. Like the rams. Dave

Fitting a 3.63 diff in place of the 3.89 is a common mod with both the GT6 and Vitesse 2 Litre. The main reason is even with overdrive the 3.63 diff give lower engine revs when driving on a Motorway. Hence reduces the engine wear and the noise in the car. It does increase the 0 to 60 time by a small amount. It will reduce the speedo reading, therefore I would check it against a GPS. However, most GT6/Vitesse speedo's over read so it may well be reading spot on! Dave

John, you are probably aware the 2.5 litre damper is larger than the 2 litre. Which with the longer stroke of the 2.5 is of course logical. Also as a result the pointer on the 2.5 timing chain cover is higher up. I don't have any measurements easily available at the moment. Due to the 2.5 damper being larger, for the same size pulley, it may be more vulnerable to un-bonding. Dave

A number of years ago I had a 1500 powered Herald estate. I rebuilt the engine with a Mk3 profile cam, fitted an extractor exhaust and free flow air-cleaners. AAT needles, with yellow springs, were too weak. AAQ with yellow springs were right. Went to the TR International in 2005 with a convoy of TR and had no problems keeping up! I was hauling the beer. Brakes were Vitesse 2 Litre, 3.89 diff, overdrive and a camber compensater on the rear. I sold it like a fool and it has just disappeared. Hi Ho. Dave

Colin, I guess we all use what's available to its best advantage. Dave