trigolf

And keep an eye on the heater hoses too ! Gav

I have Spitfire 5J x 13 steel wheels fitted to my Vitesse. I think they suit the car well and makes a change from the inevitable minilites ! Gav

Slight thread drift - but I've often wondered if any of the polybush manufacturers have considered making poly versions of engine and gearbox mounts? If so it would possibly solve the problem of very poor quality rubber in repro items. Gav

Hi, Polite request - is it possible for Administrators, or even forum members who post them, to be able to delete expired 'Wanted' ads. I've just had Angie Hill reply to confirm that a member no longer requires said items. It seems to me that it's a waste of time to reply through the Club HQ to a 'wanted' ad if it's no longer valid. I wonder how many other ads or 'wants' on the site are no longer valid ? Gav

Confirmed. Should be flat top for original Vitesse engine.

When I dropped a washer into the bellhousing, the magnet I used was a bit big too lower inside the bellhousing and I was worried I'd lose it too. So as the bellhousing is ally, I slid the magnet around the lowest part of it on the inside and listened for the 'click' of the magnet grabbing the washer. I then carefully slid it up to the slave cylinder hole and retrieved it. Gav

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt ! 😁

I run my Vit mk2 on Shell Super Unleaded also and she likes it. Conversely and unsurprisingly she runs like a dog on 95 octane unleaded and also runs on when switched off ! Gav

Yep. All rotoflex cars - Vitesse Mk 2, GT6 Mk 2,early GT6 Mk3 all use same hub. Gav

Rich, you can buy new hubs from Canley Classics or Rimmers. Gav

Ok Ian, I understand now - sounds like a 'custom' job ! Gav

Ian, Re: the 'weep' probably stupid question , but has your slave pipe got a double or single flare at the slave cylinder end and do the two match ? Something else maybe to check, I bought a replacement rear brake cylinder not long ago and could'nt get it to seal properly. When I took it off the car and peered down the bore the coned seat had been machined off centre, so was never going to seal properly. Needless to say it was replaced. Sadly another pattern part ( from Italy )! Gav

Ian, when I refitted my recon uprated j type box from Kippings c/w new borg beck clutch I had slight clutch drag. The master & slave had been rebuilt and the system bled several times. I also checked I had the correct thickness release bearing , as Pete mentions. I also fitted a new release bearing carrier. So everything was in order but still getting crunching. I ended up putting a couple of thick plain washers under the slave cylinder mounting lugs. This moved the slave cylinder very slightly nearer. Result - no crunching at all. Has been fine ever since. Gav

I converted my Vit with a Mk4 Spitfire alternator mount and adjuster bracket, as Non-member says. Using both items will move the Alternator closer to the cylinder head. Clearance to alternator fan is still quite close, but much better than your existing set up. Gav

My Herald toolkit included a piece of thin steel bar, about the same dims as a six inch ruler, but had a 1 inch right angle bend at one end,with slightly rounded corners. You put it against the rim of the hubcap and twisted it against the face of the wheel, which popped the cap off. Sorry have'nt got a pic of it - lost it years ago ! Gav

Thanks for confirming my conclusion guys. I'm glad I did'nt waste money buying an oil suction gun ( borrowed it from work ! ) Marcus - as I said, I picked up a spare rear case with a drain plug fitted quite a while ago so will swap it over later this year. Your suggestion of fitting a magnetic plug is a good one. I'll follow up on that and the synthetic oil too. Thanks everyone. Gav

Doug, you're probably right - I too have owned my Vit for over forty years. I recall that last time I replaced the diff and drained the old one prior to exchange that very little oil came out - certainly nothing like a pint - and it was up to the filler hole as per the book ! Grrrr ! Gav

Can anybody actually confirm that the diff does actually contain a pint of oil from initial fill ? I wanted to change the oil today and failed dismally trying to use an oil suction gun and some plastic pipe pushed well into the diff. I also had the car at an angle to encourage the oil to flow towards the level hole and had warmed it first by taking the car for a good run. I managed to retrieve about an egg cup full and no matter what I tried could not get any more out ! Before anyone says the obvious - no it was't empty ! I then levelled the car and put the oil back in with the suction gun and only managed to get the same amount, previously drained, back in before it started coming out again. I'm not going to bother drilling and tapping a drain plug into the diff case, as years ago I acquired a s/h diff case which is fitted with a drain plug, so I'll swap it over later in the year when I do a c/v conversion. Gav

When I was struggling to find genuine Metalastic donuts about ten years ago - for a reasonable price - I found some in stock at Bailey Morris Propshafts, in Cambridge ? They were new manufacture by Trelleborg, who have bought the rights to the Metalastic brand and are made to the same standard. Trelleborg make a lot of different size donuts as they are commonly used in propshaft couplings. Might be worth a try... Gav

I wonder if they are for use with the swing spring pivot box on MK4 Spitfire, Mk3 swing spring GT6. ? Gav

Rich If you decide to go for steel wheels rather than the inevitable Minilight alloys, Rimmers are now stocking 5.5J 13" plain steel wheels. They're not cheap, but at least would not have been kerbed, bent or badly corroded etc, unlike a lot of s/h steel wheels offered on Ebay . Gav

Nobody's mentioned checking that the carbs are balanced and that there are no very small holes or splits in the rubber diaphragm ? Gav

Thanks Gully. Hopefully a few other people will let us know how their CV conversions are holding up. Gav

Hi all, Just finished reading the latest Practical Classics mag and saw that Nigel Clark has had a hub bearing seize on his GT6 Mk3,after three months use, following a conversion to the Rimmer CV driveshaft kit. I'm following the story closely as I plan to fit the same CV conversion kit. I recall that when he dismantled the hubs prior to the conversion he found no shims or spacer fitted to either side, which I thought was strange. He then got an engineering shop to build up the hubs fitting brand new OEM bearings, but also without measuring end float and selecting the correct size spacer and shim(s) etc. I'm awaiting the next issue of the mag to see what he discovered - I suspect that lack of, or too,much bearing end float will be likely cause... Has anyone else fitted the Rimmer/Jigsaw/Classic Driving Developments CV (not the Canley type) conversion and had any problems at low mileage ? Gav

I agree with Clive, the bolt is a potential nightmare. Many years ago I had the same problem and ended up taking it to garage who had to get a blowtorch on it and a v large hammer before it could be 'persuaded' out. To reduce the problem I bought stainless steel trunnion spacers from Canley Classics and reassembled with plenty of Copaslip. Every year I put up the car on stands, slacken the trunnion bolt nut and give the bolt a turn to make sure, then re-tighten to the correct torque, to prevent it seizing.