Rougher Riding

[ShaunBillBrown]

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking of having a little adventure in my Mk1 2L Convertible and would like a steer if anyone can help. Does anyone know of a Vitesse or Herald being prepared for, shall we say, less well-maintained roads? I'm thinking ground clearance, suspension and anything I haven't thought of for unsealed roads and tracks. I'm not planning on taking it greenlaning, more something like this:

 

http://smallcarbigadventure.blogspot.co.uk

 

I realise it's not the perfect car for the job, but I couldn't justify another car and I've no intention of getting rid of this one. It needs a little TLC anyway so I'd like to do it with a purpose (other than winning shows). I don't want to chop stuff up either, bolt-on and reversible is what I'm thinking. Any clues would be appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

 

Shaun

[Pete Lewis]

I guess poly bush all the suspension and diff mounts is a start

[Casper]

Does the club museum still have Zoom?

 

Zoom was a concourse winning Vitesse (?2L Mk 1) owned by John Thomason.  It was prepared by John Kipping for an African rally (forget the exact details) and they campaigned it with success.  There were some failures, and I think it ended up in Paris a little like Herbie, with continued re-welding as bits fell off.  It was a wonderful adventure.  Details of all the prep, and the trip are in the Courier.  Go to the club shop and buy yourself a Courier CD set.  Someone will give the approximate date.

 

After a bit of tidying up, the car was in the club museum.

 

 

Edit_  Having found my CD set I can tell you that it was the Peking-Paris 1997, celebrating the 1907 rally.  The first Courier article was in June 1997, issue 204 under the title of 'Spirit of Adventure'.  Articles covered the history, vehicle preparation and modifications, as well as the trip itself.  The finish was reached in March 1998, issue 213.  A Postscript in the April issue 214 details the various failure/maintenance required throughout the trip

 

Obviously, the car was prepared for something harsher than you envisage, but I'm sure you would find useful information in the very entertaining series of articles.

 

C.

 

Edit_ And don't forget the original African 'proving' trip for the launch of the Herald 948 cc .  These cars can do it!

[Casper]

Someone must have some ideas.  Zoom discovered that gas operated shocks were better than oil.

Stick to 80 profile tyres (depending on width)

Springs are a mystery to me, but you might need good ground clearance.

Ensure cooling system is effective.

Dusty tracks doesn't sound great for a CV.  Think about a wind deflector rear screen thing (in other circumstances I think they are for Wuusses).

If operating at altitude, it runs weak.  Consider low octane fuel might be all you can get, so don't knock up the CR too high.  Or pack some Octane booster.

 

Any other ideas?

 

C.

[ShaunBillBrown]

Thanks Pete, I gather that's worthwhile for general use, I'll get it on the list.

 

Casper - that's spot on, thanks very much! I don't plan on anything extreme but I expect that might provide a useful blueprint for the watered down version I'm aiming for. Reading about the trip should provide some inspiration too - I'll look forward to that double whammy!

 

Cheers,

 

Shaun

[Casper]

. . . and there's this: http://www.triumphinitaly.it/lingue.asp?yn0=r0&6F=n46vp1y1&xF=EDJ&6G=yn0&xG=F

back in 1961 with a bog basic 948 on a Mk 1 chassis.

[JohnD]

I think that there is an account in print of the Herald protoype test run across Africa.

There are two videos: 

  and 

 

Here we are, "Turn left for Tangier": http://standard8n10spares.co.uk/turn-left-for-tangier---the-hard-way-for-heralds-416-p.asp

 

Also, you might like to look at this: http://www.triumphinitaly.it/monografie.asp?yn0=r0&6E=r52n0qv&xE=J&6F=n46vp1y1&xF=EDJ

A drive by a  (slightly eccentric?) individual from London to Ceylon in a Herald convertible.

 

Not Triumph but Land Rover, read "First Overland", Tim Slessor's account of the Oxford & Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition of 1955 about driving two Landies Mk1's from London to Singapore, including the WW2 Burma Road, the first and last time this feat has ever been done.     Useful ideas about preparation for expeditions and how to cope with problems!

 

JOhn

[Casper]

This thread has drifted a little, but I seem to recall that John Kipping transcribed the maintenance log for the Africa proving trip but I don't know where to find it.

 

One thing I recall is that the rear radius arms were subsequently given a 'kink' to avoid contact with the bodywork.

 

C.