Roger

Some measurements in the pictures. Plenty of room for a Spitfire tank? There is some kind of bracket or reinforcement under the deck, and I think the hole there might fit the filler neck for the spitfire tank (with some luck...)

I would fill in the hole and paint it royal blue like the rest of the car. It should of course be possible to unblock the tube, and my latest attempt was poking down the tube using a guitarr string. I don't know whats in there, but it is like someone welded a plug to the tube down there. Don't forget my paranoia that using more force will create a spark inside the tank and the tank goes bang. I HATE working with petrol tanks...

I have done some research on the internet and my conclusion is that installing a Spitfire tank in my Vitesse convertible should be fairly simple (no pictures of that installation found yet). I prefer the Spitfire design since it is such a pain to remove the Vitesse / Herald tanks (must be much easier in a Spit). I also like the wider space in the boot and on top of that I also think it looks nice to have the filler cap on the deck. It seems like almost every Spitfire part I need is available except the petrol pick up tube. I assume it would not be too complicated to manufacture this myself (?) (if I had an old one that I can copy). It would help a lot if someone on here has more details about dimensions, threads etc. Also found an interesting thread on another Triumph forum about this (link below). Apparently I'm not the only one with a blocked pich up tube. fuel tank / fuel pick up tube ? : Spitfire & GT6 Forum : The Triumph Experience

Yes, and I'm quite sure they would not mind. Insurance seems to be a complicated matter in the UK given the amount of posts here and on other forums. Classic car owners don't seem to have problems with insurance companies here on the island. I have no idea why (or maybe I'm just poorly informed and ignorant, but I haven't heard anyone complain).

I use a small local insurance company, I haven't had any problems with them and they are not too expensive either.

Found this thread but pictures not visible for me https://www.clubtriumph.co.uk/forums/topic/13320-spitfire-fuel-tank/#comment-157749

Thanks for all suggestions. Another reason for replacing the old tank with a new one is that I abolutely HATE to work with used petrol tanks. I always expect them to "go bang" any minute regardless of much much you clean and rinse them. A local guy here once started to weld a supposedly clean tank and he blew out ever single window in the bottom floor when it exploded but he survived like a miracle.

Fortunately, the DVLA classic car rules do not apply on The Åland Island. We have a bit more freedome to modify cars, and this legislation is actually in our own control (defined by the local Åland Government). Anyway, it seems to be possble without too much work involved as long as I have all the bits and bobs needed.

I noticed now that they remanufacture the tank to original specification, so that could of course also be an option. But it looks cooler to have the filler cap on the deck 🙂

Thanks Pete. I think this should not be a problem given the fact that I have a convertible, I guess a Spitfire tank is not an option on a saloon.

Hi All, I have a problem with my Vitesse petrol tank. The outlet tube (or whatever it is called...) is completely blocked. I have tried everything, including an attempt to blow compressed air into the tank. No joy, despite very high pressure. Then I looked at my Herald 13/60 tank but it requires some work (pictures). I can’t figure out how the tank is made. I can’t see any welding in the seams between the halves. How are they attached to each other? I have always wanted to replace it with a Spitfire tank. I know there are Heralds and and Vitesses that has a Spitfire tank, but I can’t find any pictures on the internet. Do anyone here have a Spitfire petrol tank in your Herald / Vitesse? Any picture on how to install it? I noticed that a TR6 tank looks similar to a Spitfire tank. Would that be a better option? (more capacity?) /Roger

Thanks for all suggestions! I found the problem. I adjusted valve clearance by the book but apparently I did not torque one of the locknuts properly. Valve No 2 had a clearance of about one centimeter, and the locknut was lying on the cylinder head. Runs smooth and quiet now (well, quiet as a Triumph engine....). I had a narrow window of opportunity to test drive without snow at the moment, it will soon get cold again. Happy days!

Just a short follw-up on my previous posts about lack of power and valve timing. The valve timing was indeed way out with lack of power as a result. And it was not one or two teeth out, it was much more than that. I estimate that the valve timing was at least 7-8 teeth wrong. I can not for my life understand that the engine even started and run at all. I took it for a short run in Mariehamn today, my son took a short video from back seat. Unfortunately there is an annoying metallic clattering from the engine, sounds like a very worn bearing. I will adjust the valves tonight but I doubt that it is the root cause. Not sure if you can hear the knocking noice from the engine, but let me know if you know what it is 🙂 434261799_7794974080513656_6942944678083847665_n.mp4

I need some advice from the brain thrust again… I noticed that new ”Stanpart” crown wheels and pinions are available. Not sure if this is a new thing or if they have been available for a long time? I have been trying to source a 3,63:1 Spitfire 1500 diff for my Vitesse in Sweden for a long time, but no joy. As some of you might know by now, shipping costs are an issue for me when buying second hand parts. It’s a long way to the Åland Island. I have two diffs in my possession. One 4,11:1 from my 1969 13/60 and one 3,89:1 in my 1966 Vitesse. Would it be possible to convert my 4,11 Herald diff to 3,63:1 by ordering the ”Stanpart” 3,63 pinion and gear? These parts are expensive, it would be frustrating to order them and later find out that they do not fit in my 13/60 differential.

Interesting subject. I have had similar problems, and those #¤%&¤# rubber slivers have often been the root cause for leaking. But not always. I must have had my carbs apart at least 50 times. I don’t ned the manual anymore. My personal opinion is that even if you assemble them 100% by the book, on top of that the moon and the stars must align, the wind must blow in the right direction and the feng-shui must be good in your garage in order to avoid leaking Strombergs. My carbs are not leaking at the moment, so I will not refurnish or change the layout of my garage, it could cause bad karma.

Welcome to the club and the forum Peter. What a beautiful car! I have the same car, same color but it is a Saloon with red interior (sadly dismatled at the moment). It was my daily driver for many years, bought it when I was 17 and still have it in my possession. Really fun cars to drive! You will find this forum very helpful and friendly.

I didn't start it!!! I just mentioned that it is too cold here to test drive my new valve timing, and then all went south...

It is a great (and daily!) opportunity for exercise given proper cloths and some planning and determination! Good for the environment, and it reduce my petrol and doctor costs. Not only did I learn to drive a car on the ice, I also rode my bicycle on snow and ice as a child. But without spikes back then! It’s not so difficult. But you can’t sleep on your bike going to work in the morning. If you don’t pay attantion and focus on what you are doing then it will hurt. Usually they plow the roads very well but not always. I took this picture of my bike going to work on a cold winterday a few years ago. I came to a part of the road that was not plowed yet. Another character building moment…

The Åland Island is autonomous and we have our own goverment, flag and stamps. For some reason, the local post office started to sell "collector cars" years ago. I remember them very well, my father used to collect them and the Åland stamps. These cars are for sale only for a year, this year it is a Chevy, Opel and a Ford: https://alandstamps.com/collections/samlarbilar I have no idea how they choose models, I assume that one requirement could be that at least one car of that particular model was sold new here, but I'm not sure. I think "car #1" from 1996 was sold for about 150 € recently.

Yes, winter tires with spikes are a legal requirement here from 1:st of december to end of february. You will get a fine if you don’t have them. But even with spikes (they are not big) it is till very slippery on hard ice. Imagine a Herald going sideways at 60 mph! It was increadibly fun, unfortunately I can’t find any old pictures from those adventures. Even with only 50-60 horses you can easily drive sideways with a Herald on ice. The kids call it drifting nowadays, as if it was some kind of a new invention. But it was not without risks driving on ice. We have more than 6000 islands in the Åland arcipelago and we learned not to drive between two islands that where close to each other since there is current between them hence the ice get thinner there. Which you don’t see when you look at the ice! I also think it was a good experience for a young driver to be able to press the car to its limits without fear of crashing into something. I’m sure it made me a better driver so I knew my car very well when I finally got my driving license at 18. The only downside was probably that my beloved Herald suffered a lot howling on top revs for hours! I will take pictures of my Herald wheels with spikes when I find them. In the meantime, two pitures taken today. The factory I work at is 5 km away so I ride my bike to work every morning. Also in winter. With spikes on my bike tires!

Are we talking snow and cold winters here? Well, hold my beer!! The Baltic Sea always got frozen in the past so I used to drive my Herald on the ice between smaller islands in our archipelago. It got a bit riskier in the spring when the ice got thinner so the brave (or stupid) guys used to drive with car doors wide open. That way you won some time to get out of the car if it went through the ice. But it was extremely fun to drive on ice. No driving license required (I started to drive on ice when I was 14) and no speed limit on the ice. One winter it was minus 30 Celsius and I saw a car window crack from the thermal chock when it came into a warm garage with +20 Celsius inside and a fan blowing there. Despite a lot of snow and low temperature I think we manage to drive without any major problems. We know it is coming and we plan and prepare accordingly, I guess it is different if you get snow once in a decade. The only memory of cold and ice related problems I have is that ferries where small when I was a child and they would get stuck in the ice so we sometimes got isolated on our island. We have quite a lot of mosquitos in the summer and they can be a real pain. It is quite common that you hear someone cheerfully say "No mosquitos today!" when checking the outdoor temperature and finding out that it is lower than minus 20 C. Always look on the bright side of life...

That is EXACTLY the problem I have with my engine! I can't wait to test drive after I have checked & adjusted this. But it is minus 10 Celsius on The Åland Island and plenty of snow at the moment, so it will have to wait a month or two. I used to have studded winter tires on my Herald when it was my daily driver, I think I still have them somewhere, but the rubber must be 40 years old.

Just a prototype, but has potential... I have to manufacture that TDC tool made of sparkplug and a stud to find true TDC, then I can start adjusting the valve timing

Thank you John! Another clever method to consider. I plan to renovate a Mk II engine (maybe the one with rusty cylinder head studs) and I will definitely make sure that I get valve timing spot on while there is no cylinder head on it.

Another thing that should have been mentioned in WSM on page 1.126!