Engine swap 2500 Vitesse Mk I

[Nick Jones]

2 hours ago, Roger said:

I was hoping that I can use the backplate from my original HC-engine

Should be fine.  You should be able to use the flywheel from that too.

Nick

[dave.vitesse]

15 hours ago, Roger said:

I was hoping that I can use the backplate from my original HC-engine.

Yes, that will do.

Dave.

[Roger]

Finally some progress...

[Roger]

Hi all,

There has not been any updates about my Vitesse project for a while, but I just found out that PO made a bodge I have never seen IRL before! Long story… I bought an engine (MB prefix) from a scrapyard in Sweden to replace the cracked engine block in my Vitesse. The chap at the scrapyard said that the engine “was a runner before it was removed from the car” and it looked indeed to be in good condition.

It was a bit of a challenge to find the correct combination of flywheel and clutch in order to mate it with the original gearbox from my Vitesse but now it is finally back in my car (thanks to all the support on this forum).

However, the engine refused to start despite many attempts and I checked everything twice. My approach was to change as little as possible of the settings since the engine was supposed to be a runner. If it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it… I tried and I tried to start it, but no joy.

Finally I had to “dig deeper” in my troble shooting and I used a USB connected “snake inspection camera” to inspect the inside of the cylinders. I was very surprised to find that the top of the pistons where shiny and no carbon deposit on them at all. Some gaskets and all core plugs also seemed to be new as if the engine had been taken apart recently. When I started to check ignition timing I had a lot of problems. There was a good spark but I could not find a proper setting no matter how much I turned the distributor to the left or to the right. This information added up to the fact that this engine was probably not a runner after all when the car was scrapped, and I decided to check if the PO had put the distributor 180 degrees wrong. So I turned it 180 degrees and hey presto! The engine started!

The compression is excellent and it is hard work to turn the crank by hand, so I guess that PO took it apart and either had it re-bored or just cleaned it up and put new piston rings. AND he put the distributor 180 degrees out! He probably also tried to start the engine a hundred times and perhaps he just gave up and sent the car to the scrapyard in anger. I’m only guessing of course but I see no other explanation to the facts above.

It has been extremely frustrating failing to start the engine over and over again (why didn't I think of this before!) but the positive thing is that I might have bought a renovated engine for peanuts! I paid less than 150 pounds for this engine, so it might have been worth driving a long distance to collect it after all. Happy days! 🙂

[Pete Lewis]

so a good buy after the frustration 

i had a feeling reading through you had found the timing chain missing  Ha 

a long while back a member bought a TR6 with a misfire  and  found one piston and rod missing  so  youre lucky 

Pete

[JohnD]

Well done, Roger!   You will really like the 2.5 in the Vitesse!    Another model that Triumph should have made but didn't (it would have been competition for the TR6!)

John

[ahebron]

Great find Roger and very pleasing to find a simple issue
I must admit to installing a distributor on a Triumph 6 180 degrees out but I just rotated the leads on the cap.

One of the worst cars I experienced for setting up the timing had a magneto and the manual stated set the flywheel to a MAG mark and then points just opening (cigarette paper test). To access the flywheel a section of floor and a cover on the bell housing had to be removed and then use mirrors to see the mark and have someone turning the engine. This engine had no external rotating components apart from the magneto drive and that was off the gear driven generator which had 60 bevelled teeth to choose from which meant it had 59 chances to be wrong.
A later manual stated that some flywheels had incorrect marking so in the end it was use common sense 

[Nigel Clark]

Well done Roger, it's pleasing to hear that after such frustration,  you may actually  have a bargain rebuilt engine.

Nigel 

[thescrapman]

Someone got a bargain like that from me many years ago.

About 20 years ago I purchased an utterly rotten Mk3 Spit that had been fitted (poorly) with a 2 litre engine from a 2000 saloon.

Engine looked terrible from having stood in the guys garden for at least 15 years we reckoned.

I then removed it and dumped it under a tree where it sat for a few years, until someone mentioned on one of the Yahoogroups (told you it was a few years ago) mentioned he needed an engine, sold it to him for spares for not much.

Couple of days later he rung me to say did I know it was a new engine. Must have been a crated engine the previous owner had picked up cheap in the 80's.

you win some you lose some.