That was a year that was..

[PeteH]

Earthing, on vehicles is the source of much head scratching!. New(er) canbus systems are even worse. I am advised that because of the (relatively) tiny currents involved, any poor earthing can cause BIG issues.

Case in question, Early day Vauxhall Astra, (Co Car) gave me no end of issues. As with many early OBD systems, when switched off, the error was lost!. Every time the  "Error Light" appeared, into the nearest Vauxhall delership it went, only to come out and repeat a few days weeks later. Until, Young Tech; who had just done the Makers course, Cleaned and re-made most of the earthing points. Job Sorted!!.

10V Neg Earth Regulator, solid state.? circa £1 on e-bay. u7810.

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

51 minutes ago, PeteH said:

New(er) canbus systems are even worse. I am advised that because of the (relatively) tiny currents involved, any poor earthing can cause BIG issues.

On Volvos, such as my T5, Volvo were very, very sneaky and made their bulbs just a fraction different to standard bulbs; if you used anything other than a genuine Volvo bulb it gave an error warning. 

[Bfg]

4 hours ago, Bfg said:

After shopping, I came back via the dust bowl (about 3 miles) where, ostensibly because the tappets were too noisy, I removed the rocker cover and the rocker-shaft-assembly to again re-torque the head. This was for the second time in two weeks, but I figured., if things were now mostly OK - then why not just settle thing down just that tad more, just to be sure. At the same torque settings of course. 

Re-starting the engine and the drive home was quieter than I've previously known with this car. Although just 2-1/2 miles, from the still slightly warm engine, the temperature gauge soon settled to again read on low side of normal (needle pointing to 6:30 - 7:00).  For the first time, all appears normal. 

it's ominously Weird ! 

Just sitting out enjoying the still evening air  ..and of course thinking.  A little something I did, sort-of matter-of-course without noticing, was to screw the four finger-loose rocker-pedestal / rocker-shaft studs back into the cylinder head and pinch them up with a pair of mole grips.  Yes I know that's horribly crude. Normally I would remove them and thoroughly clean the threads out (with carb cleaner), and refit the studs with Loctite / thread-lock, and at the same time pinch them up tight using double nuts.  Not much of an excuse for my slovenliness on this occasion 'cept that I was in a mad rush.  I'll revisit and do them properly at a later date. 

However,  a point that some owners might relate to - is that the tappets were rattling when I bought this car (just 3 weeks ago).  I then re-torqued the cylinder head bolts (because the head gasket was seeping) and at that time I (very carefully) reset the tappet clearances.  And then, within a very short period of time (and distance) - they were rattling again.  On reflection ..helped by some rather pleasant red wine, it strikes me that the tappets themselves were not going out of adjustment, but that the coarse threads of these studs may have been somewhat "self-adjusting" and undoing (despite their top nuts being correctly torqued down). This being facilitated by the engine's heat cycles, and so when hot ..the long studs thermally expand and are then looser than when were cold. They are even loose enough to unwind ..albeit just a tad.  Together with the vibration inherent in a rocker shaft, they vibrate loose enough to adjust the tappet clearance.   And Yes, that does imply the rocker pedestals were rattling ..rather than the tappets. 

As soon as all four studs were tight into the cylinder head - my engine's tappet rattle was gone. 

So., if your or a friend's engine has a similar issue of noisy tappets, that are noisy again soon after adjustment - it may be worth your checking that the rocker pedestal studs are both tight and secured with thread lock. I seem to recall on Triumph motorcycles the studs were drilled and pinned. Perhaps they were on some Triumph car engines too.? 

I must admit, perhaps because I've always ensured engine studs are clean, loctited and tight - as I rebuild an engine, this is a new one on me.

Pete.

 

[Pete Lewis]

Hows this for a TR5 restored cars un Phased propshaft

anyone want some vibrations ???

[Bfg]

Good evening all, 

Well I bought Katie  very nearly a month ago now, and thereafter faced one seemingly serious issue after another. The clutch and the coolant issues have now all but been done, aside from that I've done a number of minor jobs and am starting to address the next items on the task list.  Tbh., I've only ever once before spent so much money on buying a car and I took the seller at his word when he told me that this Triumph only minor things ..like the interior trim and the speedo's calibration needed attending to. 

I don't believe the seller was dishonest but he simply accepted those shortcomings in a fifty-four year old cheap sports car (well it was a "keenly competitive price" in 1967 !).  For the couple hundred miles a year he was doing - he could live with the heavy clutch, and equally the repeated need to top-up the water in the radiator. And other things like the wheels being so obviously out-of-balance, their tyres being 27 years old, and the number of loose bits and rattles can be ignored when the car is not subject to an MOT and you only ever drive five miles at 40mph to the local car club meeting, once a month. 

From my perspective though, who bought Katie  with aspirations to tour to different countries in a Triumph sports car, these same 'irritations' took on a different proportion. In fact by last weekend, and after 2 years trying to afford a TR, I was feeling pretty disillusioned with the purchase and thoroughly down in the dumps.  In short., I almost dared-not drive the car any further because I expected those same issues and/or a list of other 'something else' to leave me broken down at the roadside.  The rubber pipes to the heater for example are about to burst, I'm told the gearbox lay-shaft bearing is worn out, and there's a dozen or more 'needing immediate attention' items, before I might consider the car roadworthy enough to take a friend out for a ride.  In that month, I've driven just 133 miles almost exclusively to and from the dust bowl (my container / workshop). 

So, same car and both mostly honest appraisals ..just from different perspectives.

I had a chat with a good friend yesterday and explained these disappointment and my anxieties. I went on to say that I'll just have to work through whatever issues there are ..one by one, to check / replace any rubber parts that might effect safety &/or reliability; water pipes, engine mounts, rubber donuts in the steering, the flexi brake pipes, old tyres and their innertubes, etc. etc.  And then to go through the wiring and each n' every connection until I'm satisfied that they are going to be as reliable as might be reasonably expected.  Anyone buying an old ..and relatively cheap, car has to do the same.  It's of no comfort to think that many other folk spend a whole lot more money and still face the same ..simply because parts perish and fatigue with time and use, and anything at all may fail with age.

. . .

Today, despite the invitingly blue skies overhead - I procrastinated all morning. I gather anxieties grow with old age.!    I had to face whatever was going to happen sometime, so by 3 o'clock I finally drew myself out to the car, tool kit in the boot and a gallon of water .. just in case.  If nothing else I'd just go and get some petrol (just two miles away !). If everything was fine I'd go further, perhaps out into west Suffolk. 

. . .

. .

.

Well, as it turned out.. all went very well . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

The water remained where it was meant to be ..as did the electrical sparks, the oil and all the guts of reciprocating and whizzing around mechanical and suspension parts and wheels.  80 miles round trip to nowhere but a nice house, now a hotel, whose coffee shop was closed.

Indeed I had a really great drive - I do love this car's precision steering I started to learn about their seat-of-the-pants handling and also how to use the overdrive as a quick change down into corners, hard accelerate through and then once streaming out.. to flick the switch back into overdrive.   I overcooked a couple of corners but Katie  really looked after me. The most memorable was a left hander that turned tighter than I'd anticipated. That coincidentally timed with a group of half a dozen bikers coming fast from the opposite direction.. so I was in a nicely balanced four-wheeled drift towards, but not over the white line, and I think the second-to-last bike was hoping to crop that same corner from the opposite direction at exactly the same moment.  I suspect he might have . . . . himself a little !   

 

I really ought be more careful, after all I'm an old fart and supposed to be sensible ! 

So there we have it, literally the trials and tribulations of classic car ownership.

Motivation reinvigorated. 

Pete.

 

[Pete Lewis]

looking good then

what makes you think the layshaft bearings need attention   the "big box" doesnt normally suffer this 

pete

 

[Bfg]

4 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

looking good then

what makes you think the layshaft bearings need attention   the "big box" doesnt normally suffer this 

pete

 

I've been advised that what sounds like a thrust bearing whir, with no foot on the pedal, is probably a layshaft bearing when the thrust bearing is brand new and the clutch is correctly adjusted. 

[poppyman]

2 hours ago, Bfg said:

I've been advised that what sounds like a thrust bearing whir, with no foot on the pedal, is probably a layshaft bearing when the thrust bearing is brand new and the clutch is correctly adjusted. 

Sounds more like the gears sloshing about in the oil Pete.

Tony.

[Pete Lewis]

engine vibrations will at idle make the gear backlash clatter  a very common racket

1. simple test it with idling push the gearstick so you load the box with a  syncro ring(eg 2nd or 3rd)   it dampens any backlash clatter 

2,  a light touch of the clutch pedal stops thrust skid

3,   if the noise increases with pedal load then its a throwout failing 

4 if it goes quite when you declutch then its more likely input shaft bearing 

as the first to fail following   low oil levels 

[Bfg]

Thanks Pete,

Very useful. I'll go through your test sequence and see if I might make some sense of it.

I wanted to change the gearbox oil while the box was out of the car, but the oil never arrived.. so that job never happened.  A friend who sells refurbished gearboxes was supposed to get some to me but I think he had a crazy month.  I believe he uses and recommends Dinoil. 

Anyway I have no idea whether the oil level is correct. I really ought to check that sooner rather than later. 

Pete

 

[Pete Lewis]

Triumph specifies  EP  80/90 GL4 spec  this was also approved by laycock for the Overdrive 

the big box is far more capable then the small chassis units but a factory spec is the bible although oils have 

moved on a lot over the years ,  Im still a stickler for do what Triumph designed ..... it works 

some GL5 are yellow metal safe ..............but GL4 certainly  is safe 

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

Gl4 is quite easy to source  but if youre stuck with a GL5 check its yellow metal safe

having spent over a year of failed diff thrusts on trucks when some plonker changed the oil supplier to GL5 and we had bullet proof diffs coming in in droves  .  so yes in arduous hot conditions bronze brass copper 

all deteriorate 

some modern GL5 is specified as safe   you need to check the small print 

you dont want your baulk rings and thrust washers to thin down

Pete

 

[Pete Lewis]

GL4 is easy to find even halfords or your club shop etc

we bought 25ltrs from revolution and rebottled to sell at the pub its all gone now .

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

club shop is EP90 GL4  penrite  £9  castrol £14   per ltr 

[Bfg]

On 29/03/2021 at 20:32, Pete Lewis said:

me thinks the previous owners had shares in spaghetti     there 's  some terrible  hash up of 

what goes where all intertwined  ,    where to start is not for the faint hearted  

one day it will look nice , 

Pete

where to start indeed. ! ?

My first step has been to sit down at the computer and with parts books, to order a new and complete set of rubber hoses for coolant and heater + new (original type) wire clips (..just so they look all the same).  I've also ordered a new through-bulkhead connector in s/s  and likewise in s/s a new bottom hose pipe (Katie's  existing one is just a short straight pipe so the rubber hose chafes where it was  supposed to have changed direction). 

I've also realised that the hoses presently fitted are the wrong way around. . .

What is seen (above) as the (inlet to the heater matrix) top hose has a 90 deg bend near one end (possibly the bend seen under the bonnet latch).  From looking at other cars - it would seem that this pipe should be fitted to the lower bulkhead connection and also reversed., so the straight section of it comes away from the bulkhead to run parallel with the solenoid and only then does it turn through 90 degrees to join the metal heater-water return pipe, which goes around the back of the engine.  Just there you can see the only remaining original type wire clip on the car.

The bottom (return from the heater matrix) hose (as seen above) is mould-imprinted with the Ford logo.  I'm not sure that motor company has done that since the 1980's, as more modern hoses tend to be ink printed or have a coloured tracer.  Anyway that's just a straight bit of hose and should it be in the top connector on the bulkhead. It then goes straight to the heater valve, which should be turned perhaps 30 - 45 degrees counter-clockwise, so the hose has a gentle curve.

The entwining black earth wire from the battery shouldn't be there at all. The battery was originally earthed to the bulkhead immediately besides its (LHS) terminal.  And the earth wire to the engine is from the chassis to the front engine plate.  Of course this may have been deliberate because the original design relied on a hope and a prayer to earth the body to the chassis.  Funny thing, on my Sunbeam motorcycles the speedo cable tends to earth its headlamp.

The bracket (by the heater valve) on the exhaust manifold clamp, and otherwise vibrating about but doing nothing useful, is pointing 90 deg., the wrong way. It should be almost straight up, and is for the PCV valve ..which on this car is missing altogether. 

So once I get the new hoses in, I can start off by addressing those few details ..and see where we go from there. 

The perished heater hoses are critical items, but tidying the under-bonnet space is a nice bonus for me. 

Pete.

.

[Pete Lewis]

its amazing some guys have no concept of ..looks right ....that cant be right.....lets see the book  for a plan

or any common sense approach  and you end up with something that is hard to replicate or understand

why did they do that ,     good luck with the tidy up ,has to be a big improvement 

Pete

 

[Peter Truman]

Pete, where does the garrotting emergency bonnet release cable go to ie how does it fix thro the bulkhead into the cabin?

[Bfg]

1 hour ago, Peter Truman said:

Pete, where does the garrotting emergency bonnet release cable go to ie how does it fix thro the bulkhead into the cabin?

As the expression goes .. it's cunningly simple.

Credit to Bob ..the car's prior owner..  It is simply a loop of fine multi-core wire that lays unobtrusively against the wing in the side gutter.  Should I need to use it (..purely for emergency use you understand) then I'm to gently lift the corner of the bonnet up .. only just enough to hook the wire out.  And then I can pull on it.. sideways to the car, which is of course 90 degs to the bonnet-release lever.   There's nothing much to go wrong because there are no levers or pivots, no change of direction, no clips and no going through the bulkhead.  In short nothing but a simple loop of flexible wire (the sort a heavy picture frame may have instead of string).  Oh yes, it does have a clip on it, just to give it some weight, so that it stays in the gutter rather than springing out as the bonnet is opened.

And yes, I am an advocate of NASA's  K.I.S.S.  strategy. 

 

^ Poor quality piccie, but it's probably clear enough to illustrate how it just lies there until needed.

Pete.

[Peter Truman]

Thanks for the update KISS is always the best option!

[Bfg]

^  One of the reasons I really like Triumph's chassis cars.

[Pete Lewis]

its a common addition , many stags have one fitted ,some pop out under the wing 

theres a load of good ideas that keep the kiss principle 

as are cheap and easy fixes that doesnt re invent the world or wallet   

keep twiddling 

Pete

[Bfg]

April 19th..  Wow the weeks slip away so quickly.

Previously, I'd torqued the head down and re-adusted the valves and the engine was nice and quiet ..but just for a very short time. There's very much more 'ticking' at tickover than there should be.  So, last weekend I decided to replace Katie's rocker shaft assembly. 

Unlike the side-screen cars, the pedestals on the TR4A (and possibly the TR4 ?) are of cast aluminium, rather than cast iron, and so under their nuts should be a thick plain washer to spread the tightening load under their fastenings.  However, a prior-owner had used square-section lock-washers, and this was the consequence. . .

   

^ the wire-like lock washers had buried themselves into the aluminium and part of the resultant rim had cracked and was about to break off.  

I did check the tappet clearances before I undid anything and ..bearing in mind I'd carefully adjusted these just 2-weeks previously, they were all over the shot.  From front to rear they were 1ex 0.010" / 1in  0.012" / 2in 0.008" / 2ex 0.010" / 3ex 0.014" / 3in 0.010" / 4in 0.008" / 4ex 0.012".   I see no rhyme nor reason.

Anyway, I had a good rocker assembly (from my spare engine) and so, because I'm presently having to work in a sandy dust bowl - the intent was to just quickly swap the assembles, and of course to fit plain washers.  At the same time I would remove the loose pedestal studs, clean out their threads and to refit those with a little Loctite thread-lock.  

..a 5 minute job then.. but just then, appearing from behind a tall barn the skies turned grey, the northerly wind picked up into a bit of a fury and it started to snow.  I thought I'd just wait it out inside my shipping container, but while in there - I'd get on and check the push-rods ; that their ends were tight and the rods themselves were straight.   More haste, less thinking and far less speed !   In my hurry to get the assembly off and the pushrods (kept in order into a tray), the engine cover temporarily back in place, the car's roof up ..and for me to get out of the momentary blizzard - I didn't stop to think.. and the suction of the push-rod ends in their sockets pulled four of the eight valve lifters out of their guides. I am so blinking stupid at times !

Hey ho.., as it turned out the worst of the weather blew over pretty quickly, but then I spent an hour or more with a cold northerly up my jacksie, and a magnet on a length of plastic tube, together with a piece of small-bore copper pipe (non magnetic) trying to poke the followers back into their holes.  I succeeded ..but I consider myself very fortunate.  I then proceeded with getting on with the "five-minute" job.    

Unfortunately, when reassembled and with tappets correctly readjusted, the engine is just as tappity as before.  The sound appears to be coming from the middle of the engine.  The noise was there before I pulled the valve guides out so it's not something I've done.  I'm now following Nick Brooks's topic in TR4/4A Forum  < here >

Aside from that, this past week I've only been sourcing and getting in bits for the next jobs to be done.. heater hoses and other rubber & related components.

Pete.

 

[Bfg]

April 19th.. 

This past Thursday a number of TR friends met up - table of six at the Alma, for the first time in months.  I was too late in getting my camera out to record our table, but Mike, who so very kindly let me drive his fabulous TR4A when I first joined the Register, a year or so back, brought along 'Triggers'  his recently (December) acquired TR6 . . .

It's a really very nice car, with Moss leather seats and a whole lot of everything replaced by prior owners. The chassis is tubular and said to be much stiffer than the original types, to the point where the suspension poly-bushes may benefit if replaced for a softer variant.  Mike tells us that much of the body and all four inner wings were then replaced ..but that the bulkhead may be original !  Similarly, the engine has been recondition and then changed again and so who knows what exactly is original (..hence the ref to Trigger's broom ).  That said - I was just so impressed by how neat the panel gaps were and how solidly together the car now is.  I believe Mike's has done a number of jobs recently and that has included finely adjusting the doors so they shut beautifully ..as quiet and reassuring as a modern production car.

Conversely, but just for the time being (..because I have recently bought but not yet fitted replacement door locks) Katie's  doors, and all her other panels for that matter, sound more like the biscuit tin of a garage spares with loose bits n' fastenings in it, where the door glass, door lock rods, and every bit of trim rattles. And the passenger door only shuts at all with a very  affirmative slam.   Mike certainly does set very high standards for me to aspire to.  Thanks Mike.  She's fabulous.  I wish you fun motoring and safe journeys

- - -

Back to my own reality, with the next job on my list.  Thanks to Mark in Wolverhampton, my ever kind friend Rich, and also the TR Shop, the parts I next needed are mostly in.  And so yesterday, as it was a nice day to be outside, I tackled Katie's heater hoses. . .

With the water drained down (bottom hose off the radiator) I removed the intertwined battery earth wire, the heater hoses over the bulkhead, the superfluous PCV valve bracket, and also secured the bracket for the pipe around around the back of the engine to the manifold stud.  With the battery leads off and the starter solenoid now revealed and removed, I photographed its wiring connections.

 

Oddly ..to my way of thinking, both the '+' lead from the battery and the wire to the starter motor were / are connected to the same terminal on the solenoid.  I'm only vaguely familiar with their workings but I would have thought one wire goes to each pole, otherwise (as is ) the solenoid is just a live wire connector and not a solenoid. no ?   Yes Ok., I need to look in workshop manual, and I assume that is also the same for when used with a hi-torque starter motor ?   

Anyways today's task was to replace heater hoses. . . 

^ I started by removing the steering wheel for better access and unscrewed / pulled out the footwell carpets.  This is what I had, and tbh I was not impressed with its design layout nor access.  Systematically I un-ravelled the wires poked up there, and the ducting from the screen demist,  and then with a catch pot for the heater's water removed each jubilee clip and the twist of hoses from the heater to the bulkhead connector.

^ the old and the new were not exactly the same shape but I guess they would do.  The end of the old pipe (bottom of photo) was badly perished and it and the other old hose (top right) had both been aggressively clamped and yet still had leaked when I touched them. 

^ how long does it take to get two screws out ?  Well these two took quite a while.  I think they are in (soft) stainless steel and were an interference fit in the connector piece which had damaged its thread, and then had a 8mm nut on the inside.  Access to the bottom one is close to the bulkhead shelf and difficult to get a screwdriver on square (at if it was to be turned by fingers). Bottom line was that it wasn't long before the Philips or is a Pozi-drive screw head wasn't happening with any of the many screwdrivers I have ..and so I resorted to grips.  It was an illegitimate thing to get undone.

The new connector piece (in SS) is now held in place with hex-head set screws.  

^ the new hoses in place.  It's a rotten rotten job to get those pipes on, and even now they're not exactly the same twist as was before, but I hope they'll now be good for many years.  Btw., I'm swapping to these wire clips throughout. They have limited adjustment so teh right size is needed, but then again because they bind so locally - they take very little pressure to seal.

With those done I refitted the ducting hose and, the car's steering wheel, horn etc., and with it getting later in the day (so needing to get things back together or else walk home !) I set to the engine side of the bulkhead. The heater hose that TR Shop had supplied were just straight lengths of rubber hose, but Rich had kindly supplied me with the lower pipe with 90 degrees which sits alongside the starter solenoid and then turns to join the pipe around the back of the engine. That was quick to fit. The one to the heater valve revealed a little issue. . .

 

^ oops !  ..in turning the valve to a better angle to intersect the heater hose (before it was facing the battery's stay) it  fell orf in m 'and.   

Oddly enough this had been working and providing copious amounts of heat to the heater matrix.  I'm not sure if its bi-metal corrosion had happened since this was last touched or whether it had been glued in place ..perhaps both.  But as the time was a quarter to five on a Friday evening I was in the doo doo ! 

I cleaned out the softish crud inside, and used a blade to find the threads in the adapter piece.  I then filed the valve to get rid of its shoulder (painted green) and tried to sweat a thread back into the aluminium. It worked for a bit but of course diecast aluminium isn't a ductile metal, and so it would strip out again. 

Walk home or bodge it ?

. . .

. .

I bodged it .. by sweating the valve on to get a bite of thread together with Araldite.  It's in there by about 8 - 10mm and I let the adhesive cure while putting the radiator's bottom hose back on, refitted the battery, then (again bodged) the earth wire to the voltage regulator (which had literally broken in two), and put my tools in the boot.

The radiator was refilled and the car left to run so that the thermostat would open and water would fully circulate ..to let the bubbles out. After a fountain and shower things settled down and the water level stayed where it should be.  

Finally the job, of just replacing four heater hoses, was done (..well sort of) as the light started to fade., just after 7pm.  Katie got me home without issue and the cooling / heater system is holding its 7psi pressure.. but I'll not test to the limit just how secure the Araldite is holding it together. 

I was glad not to have to walk home.    After an 8hr non-stop shift I was tired 

On or about the 26th of this month, I hope to be moving home again ..to a ground floor apartment with a patio where I can work on the car, and where I'll have electricity.  I'll not have the sandy dust everywhere, I'll have longer sunlight hours (less shade), and if the weather changes or things happen and don't get done ..then it's not a big deal.   Although it'll be outside - I really look forward to having my own work space again.

Today, I browsed through the TR register archives and read what y'all have to say about heater valves < here >  Thank them Gentlemen.  I've now ordered a Four Seasons 74648 Heater Valve from Rock Auto which today cost £37.12 including tax with Fex-Ex international Economy

Pete.

 

[Peter Truman]

Pete ref your comment re the old solenoid positives being on the same terminal, Hi Torque starters have their own inbuilt solenoid, which can be directly wired to the battery so the original solenoid can be surplus to requirements, hence your alteration of both input and output supplies on the same terminal. 

You could retain the old solenoid for originality but wired as normal as well as the hi torque built in solenoid, ie split the input and output + supplies as normal, so when you turn the starter it activated the old solenoid completes the circuit supplying power to the hi torque starter's solenoid and starting the car.

That's the way I chose to set my Vitesse up when fitting a new Toyota Trooper Hi Torque Starter, but I think in retrospect  I might remove the old solenoid and supply battery power direct to the Hi Torque solenoid removing the original solenoid, reason the Vitesse original solenoid is in an awkward position down on the front of the bulkhead right next to the throttle cable linkage, which results in me tearing the skin on the back of my hand every time I tinker!

You will also have to extent the ignition activation cable (WR) to the Hi Torque Starter solenoid as well, and I think(?) it has to be fitted to a different terminal.   

[Bfg]

Thanks Peter, I'll look into this further.  

The receipt I have for the starter motor is from TRGB, dated July 2004 for part number GEU4412X, which doesn't correspond to their current website's on-line search.  But it's a number used by Moss for their hi-torque motor from Wosp Performance.  Perhaps one or the other can furnish me with a wiring diagram for its installation.

The car has not been restored nor maintained to original spec., and so I'm not at all fussed about keeping its original solenoid. Like your Vitesse the button is very awkwardly positioned, and tbh I can't remember using a solenoid's button very often ..even when they were commonplace, so it won't be missed. Conversely, I'd prefer to not have the extra connections and/or its exposed live terminals.

I'm thinking of moving the battery off the bulkhead shelf anyway, so I'll explore the options of where else to site it before I make a new battery lead from the battery directly to the motor. 

cheers, Pete.