Chris A Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, Pimp my Vit said: I also fitted a set of minilites, don't be put off by the purists telling you they are not standard, they are period and back in the day we all wanted a set. My 13/60 convertible came with a set fitted plus the steels in the boot. I went back to standard as I prefer the look. Don't rush into changing the wheels, drive the car, look at it and photos of cars with the Minilites then decide. If it is of any help I have Accuspark fitted since 2015 without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 41 minutes ago, micmak said: Very nice. No overdrive but I personally dont miss it in my Vitesse (I would have thought its even less of a benefit in a convertible) but might change my diff ratio at some stage to lower the revs when cruising.... They can suffer from overheating especially in traffic on hot days so your cooling system needs to be as good as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, micmak said: We agreed on a price to do the build, and he asked for money to buy materials. I gave him €4½K As you learned the hard way, never do that. A reputable builder will never ask for money in advance, only staged payment for work completed so far. 1 hour ago, micmak said: It’s a 68 Vitesse, and I have seen write ups saying that changing to electronic ignition is best. Others say no, that all you need is a good set of points not cheapies, and you will be ok. Any thoughts on this? My '67 Vitesse is running points, as the previous owner had taken the Lumenition off, presumably due to it failing. It's the only one of my three that is on points, and it's consistently the easiest to start and smoothest running. Go figure. Also, it's back on a mechanical fuel pump, because I had no end of trouble when running on an electric one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 its most important you spend some time driving and getting to know your car before you jump into any changes learn its foibles and any antics , they do sit out in the cold and listen to you talking about them and then they are out to get you so drive it , get the smile make a list of wishes thoughts and avoid any Must Haves Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 14 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: avoid any Must Haves Definitely! Except . . . and . . . . . and . . . . . 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, johny said: No overdrive but I personally dont miss it in my Vitesse I definitely missed it when I had a Vitesse as my only car. Best upgrade I ever did. But if you only ever potter around on minor roads or in town, then you don't need it. 1 hour ago, johny said: They can suffer from overheating especially in traffic on hot days I've had two Vitesses (both 2L Mk1s) and the only overheating I've ever had with either (apart from when there was a crack in the block and the coolant was all leaking out) was a 4 hour traffic jam on the M25 on the hottest day ever. Oh, and when I temporarily had a Herald fuel pump on it because the proper one was missing, but that was fuel vapourisation - the coolant temperature remained fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 55 minutes ago, NonMember said: I definitely missed it when I had a Vitesse as my only car. Best upgrade I ever did. But if you only ever potter around on minor roads or in town, then you don't need it. I've had two Vitesses (both 2L Mk1s) and the only overheating I've ever had with either (apart from when there was a crack in the block and the coolant was all leaking out) was a 4 hour traffic jam on the M25 on the hottest day ever. Oh, and when I temporarily had a Herald fuel pump on it because the proper one was missing, but that was fuel vapourisation - the coolant temperature remained fine. Yes I admit I like 50 - 60mph max so in my Vit find wind noise more intrusive than engine. Well done on having your cooling systems in such great condition👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted January 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 This is great Guys. Thank you. I think Pete Lewis is right; I will get the car, drive it, and get a feel for it, before I start changing anything. I’m impressed by the Vitessesteve site. Lots of info there. I am unable to download the Vitesse 2 litre PDF. Is that a problem at my end or is there something at the website that is stopping me? I got a copy of the carb tuning PDF. Very handy to have. Fantastic! I am enjoying this already and I don’t even have the car yet! Thanks Everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 The PDF of the manual should download ok it certainly did for me. Otherwise it might be available elsewhere online. Really useful although some of the photos are very dark (they are even in the paper version) and it makes great bedtime reading😁 Its best to try to get your answers from it first and then if you have any queries or doubts ask as there are shortcuts to some jobs and also I think there are a couple of misleading errors in the manual... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 even the proper triumph (reprints) can often leave out the bit of infomation you seek Im sure Triumph did it on purpose put them on your easter wish list its have a proper one and haynes and auto books and you can compare the clues in them all Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted January 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 I have tried to download this, but it keeps going to a blank white page. Can anyone else get it? I have tried with a few different browsers, but no luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 Yes does appear to have stopped working so get it from here: Triumph GT6 and Vitesse 2-litre workshop manual (tecb.eu) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Hi Guys, ok on to my next series of questions! I’ve been casually looking at minilites online. I am not going to run out tomorrow to buy a set — I’ll wait until I get the car and drive it for a while first. I’m just getting an idea of price and availability. I was confused by the details on the web page below. There are several 13x5 wheels. Can anyone tell me which one is best suited to the Vitesse, and why? How do you decipher these different dimensions: https://www.johnbrownwheels.com/tyres/13-alloys I clicked on one of these wheels and these are the technical specs. What is Fitment, Offset, Poke, Backspace etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Start with the PCD/Fitment. Should be 4x95.25 Then have a look here https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/wheel-width-and-et-offset-explained# Best offset for a vitesse? I cant remember! About 16/18mm I think, that is what the late GT6 5 1/2j wheels are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 If buying new I think youve got to speak to the seller and get theyre recommendation for fitting to a Vitesse so that if theres a problem its their responsibility.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Just beware I think with a 5.5in wide wheel you have to use a 165 or larger width tyre. We have 5.5in wide by 13in dia Minilite replica's on the daughter's Mk2 Spit and I've always used 165/75/13 Michelin tyres, why Michelin as I get them free, but there NLA/made. I don't want to go 175, as I think there too wide, and 155 are to narrow for the 5.5in rim, so I might have to buy some other brand that hurts!!!! I haven't brought a tyre for any of our 3 classics plus daily drivers in 20 years? Reality is going to bite I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 I use 165/80/13 (a size I think Michelin still do) on my Vitesse with 5.5 rims and theyre brilliant but of course do put the speedo out a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 I’ll check that size with the son hopefully there available here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 Theyre Michelin XAS and they even do a 'Formule France' compound for competition but the prices of both types look horrendous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 Fitted J type overdrive to my Mk1 2L CV years ago, you lose about 1000rpm at 70mph. J type never fitted as standard but arguably a better unit. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Hi Guys, What about fuel? In this age of unleaded fuel, do we need to add anything to the fuel tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp my Vit Posted January 22, 2023 Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp my Vit Posted January 22, 2023 Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 I use E5 and 98 Ron petrol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 22, 2023 Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 the head casting holds years of lead memory and unless you recut the valve seats will do thousands of miles with unleaded pertol you are best to use E5 97+ ron fule as these were designed to run on 99/100 super of the day and for optimum performance use as close to the orig as possible to run on 95 you need to retard the timing loose pwer and run hotter ( whilst fuels have changed over the years 95 ** was for side valves and lawn mowers ) i would avoid bying any must have addatives that do more for emptying the wallet than any help to the engne use a best grade you can get use the saving to drive with a smile Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted January 23, 2023 Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 On a cost basis, I saw a recent article, which claimed the E10 was actually giving as much as 2% less MPG than E5 (super). Even with the price difference of up to 10p/litre in some places, the extra cost of "Super" in terms of Miles/£ is closer than some would have us believe?. Add the cost of "additives" and it could even be a race of equals?. Might stand further investigation?. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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