Vitesse steering wheel

[Bobtaylor]

HI, I have a 1966 Vitesse 6. It has a 2 spoke wheel, I have seen other cars of a similar age with the wire 3 spoke type wheel, which is correct for the car and when did it change from one to the other?

Regards

Bob

[Pete Lewis]

the orig Vit6 had a two spoke   P no  118577  same as heralds and spit 1-111

3 spoke  leather rim introduce on 2ltr Mk1 1966   or thereabouts 

Pete

[dave.vitesse]

All Vitesse 6 were fitted as standard with the two spoke black steering wheel which is the same as 1200/1360 Herald, Spit 4 and Spit Mk2 . All 2 Litre models were fitted with the three spoke type. The  2 Litre was introduced in Oct 1966. The same steering wheel was also fitted to the Spit Mk3 and TR4.

There was an optional wood rimmed wheel on Vitesse 6, 2 Litre models, Heralds, Spits (1-111) and TR4.

Dave

[johny]

was the 3 spoke always leather because some look very similar but seem to be plastic? Then theres the fabled leather seats that some Vitesses have, was this an optional extra or after market thing?

[Pete Lewis]

Yes my 6 had a les weston ?  Woodrim  option,  but being thin l rimmed   took a bit of a finger clenching 

Better grip  with a glove on but that looked ....weird

Pete

[NonMember]

1 hour ago, johny said:

was the 3 spoke always leather because some look very similar but seem to be plastic?

I think the Vitesse would have had a leather wrap around it but the Mk3 Spitfire wheel didn't. The actual rim thus exposed is hard varnished - looks like plastic.

[TomL]

2 hours ago, johny said:

was the 3 spoke always leather because some look very similar but seem to be plastic? Then theres the fabled leather seats that some Vitesses have, was this an optional extra or after market thing?

Johnny,

In my thirty-something years of Vitesse ownership I have only seen one Vitesse with genuine factory-fitted leather seats.  The owner had the original bill of sale and because it dated back to the 1960s, the cost was only a few pounds.  I am sure others must exist but they are extremely rare.  There are of course plenty of Vitesses now with leather seats - either after-market covers or conversions.  Mine are black leather from an MGF.

Tom

 

[johny]

Thanks, yes it looks like there were codes used on the chassis plate for leathercloth, leather and even cloth (I suppose this last one was only on GT6's) but Ive never seen the numbers of vehicles built with each material... 

[dave.vitesse]

The wooden steering wheel was a Triumph option extra and made by Formula for Standard Triumph i.e.  Stanpart number 307245. The first picture is this wheel fitted to my Vitesse 6 in around 1970. The second picture is the same wheel fitted to my present Vitesse.

The Les Leston version of the wooden steering wheel was only fitted to the Bond Equip cars, it's basically the same wheel but is stamped with letters LL.

As standard the three spoke steering wheel (fitted to the 2 Litre models) should be leather covered i.e. Stanpart number 308073 16" Dia (Leather Covered) and 308229 15" Dia (Leather Covered). My understanding is the same as Rob the Spit Mk111 did not have the leather cover. The third picture shows the leather covered wheel.

Leather seats were available on the Vitesse. Like Tom (in some 50+ years) I have only seen one original. Very rare. 

Dave

Vitesse Reg Sec.

 

[dave.vitesse]

Forgot to include a pictures of the standard Vitesse 6 Steering Wheel.

Dave

[johny]

I like your wooden one Dave and its worth a few bob🤑

[daverclasper]

The "fag packet etc holder? ", dished bit on top of gearbox cover, always have those 3 screws. What are they for?. 

[Pete Lewis]

parts list says they are for fixing plate  radio to geabox tunnel 

Pete

[dave.vitesse]

2 hours ago, daverclasper said:

The "fag packet etc holder? ", dished bit on top of gearbox cover, always have those 3 screws. What are they for?. 

The small centre screw holds in a plate that the two outer screws screw into. Don't remove all three screws otherwise the plate will drop off the back of the gearbox tunnel.

The two outer screws are a fixing point for a lower bracket which is part of the original radio fixing kit. Dave

[ahebron]

Thats just great.

I start reading an article about a Vitesse steering wheel and it ends about the radio bracket that I had no idea existed.

Learn something everyday.

 

Adrian

[Chris A]

4 minutes ago, ahebron said:

Thats just great.

I start reading an article about a Vitesse steering wheel and it ends about the radio bracket that I had no idea existed.

Learn something everyday.

 

Adrian

I know what you mean. There are threads that start which don't have seem to have any interest for me, but like this one you don't know where they are going to end up - a bit like when I go for a drive in my Triumph 💨🔍

[Pete Lewis]

yes thread drift,  contagious little sod it either sensible or daft ,

no in betweens are allowed  

Pete

[poppyman]

At least no one has mentioned "bum's" yet Pete   

Tony.

[Bobtaylor]

I started this thread as I was not happy with my skinny 2 spoke original wheel in my Vitesse 6. I really like the look of the wooden one above, but in the interim have fitted a leather Mounty 14" wheel which I happened to have in the garage to see what it is like to drive with a slightly smaller wheel. Initial feedback is that it is ok.

Bob

[johny]

What width tyres have you got fitted Bob?

[Bobtaylor]

Johny, I have 155 tyres fitted to standard rims which I believe are 4.5' Steering is quite heavy at low/parking speeds but otherwise ok. I am experimenting with pressures, at the moment I am running 26 front 28 rear.

Bob

[NonMember]

That sounds like the book setup. Steering is a little heavy when parking; this is normal. I generally run my tyres at 30PSI all round, which makes the steering slightly less heavy without adversely affecting handling (IME). I have an aftermarket wood-rimmed wheel but I don't recall right now what make or diameter.