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vitesse engine bay side valences


willis

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Evening.

 

The valances should be metal and Hammerite will do nicely; remove and spray rather than hand paint as you get a better finish.

 

If you are adventurous you could make your own loom using Thinwall wire which is the way forward for car wiring these days and I am slowly converting my classics to that. The wiring configuration of the Vitesse is straight forward, worth thinking about and cost effective although time consuming.

 

The other option is to use a company such as Autosparks https://www.autosparks.co.uk/

 

Cannot recall if the club shop do wiring harnesses, I think not. There are other loom suppliers so pays to shop around.

 

Regards.

 

Richard.

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I should have mentioned that if you have OD then you will require a seperate loom.

 

Looking at the Autosparks site, a Mk2 Vitesse loom is £228 + about £20 for the OD loom if required.

 

Good point by Darren and in fact I'm not sure what these companies use as their default wire type these days; but certainly worth asking. If it costs slightly more, I still think it's worth the extra IMHO.

 

Regards.

 

Richard.

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The club shop does do wiring harnesses, they are not in the catalogue at present though. As for the engine valances, they should be gloss black, I personally would advise against Hammerite as it is a very brittle paint and will chip easily. A good black enamel or coach paint would be better, or dare I say powder coating?

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Hammerite? Yuck! Terrible stuff that chips really easily and never seems to last except on drainpipes. Sandblast the valences then prime with a good rust-encapsulator-type paint, I use Vinylkote matt black then a good top coat of black gloss. I've started using it on my suspension components too, gives a very nice finish. 

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hi all, thanks for all your advice about paint for my vitesse valences. My car restorer has just painted the chassis in what i believe is synthetic chassis paint and it looks really good. Maybe if it can withstand the heat from the engine i could use that. I'll find out and report back. As for the wiring loom, I've never heard  of Thinwall wiring but if its the best then that's the way to go. 

Thanks again, Rob

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Rob.

 

Thinwall is the modern alternative to the old style "Lucas" wiring which was over engineered but absolutely perfect for the job. Thinwall as its name implies is a lot thinner than old style wiring but can actually handle a higher amp rating per mm2 than older type wiring. For example 1mm Thinwall can handle up to 16.5amp which is streets ahead of old style wiring.

 

It's easier to run as a loom and of course modern vehicles use it. A bonus is it's not expensive because of its wide global deployment. All in all it really is the way to go and every colour combination is catered for. I have for many years used ALM Solutions for all my electrical requirements   not only they are excellent VFM but their despatch time is spot-on and products second to none.

 

As you can see not everybody is a Hammerite fan, but I have always found it fine and a couple of coats does the job. Quite often poor prep is the sole reason for top coat short life span. I think there is probably more iron guttering still about as a result of Hammerite than classic cars without it; which says a lot !! Give powder coating a wide berth, as soon as moisture gets under it will crack and peel. It's a great product whilst in tact, but the slightest break in its covering will commence rust proceedings. You need only look at some garden items covered in the stuff to see that occurring after a few years. I had some garden troughs covered in powder coating from the garden centre and a year or so later started to crack and rust. I chipped it off and painted it with Hammerite, not a speck of rust or any other type of deterioration since and those items are out in all weathers. 

 

That said, you are happy with your synthetic coating and I would stay with that - it works for you and you have seen it in "the flesh". Why experiment further.

 

Good luck.

 

Richard.

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I would, if viable, get the valances to bare metal (sandblasting ideal if available) and then use an etch primer. Whatever method you use, etch primer is the best base on bare metal as it helps "kill" any remains of rust (sandblasted steel will rust in minutes this weather) and also bites into the metal surface. 

Synthetic chassis paint could well be ideal. It is a little softer than 2K, but that has the benefit of being a bit more flexible. And is cheap! Largely as it is also used on agricultural and commercial vehicles. It will cope with the temps just fine. Or as Colin says, a rust encapsulating paint, or even POR 15 would be very good.

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hi folks, tried to buy a new wiring loom but there's at least a 8 week waiting  time. Just remembered that i have a new loom in my other Vitesse. Since this car also needs restoring i'm going to use its wiring (don't tell the wife, she says its her car). I just hope mk1 looms are the same as mk2. As regards paint for the engine bay side valences, I have decided to give the chassis paint that I have a try. Here's hoping.  Thanks to you all for your advice.                                                                                                                                                    Rob

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