iana Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 I am still trying to solve the very occasional splutter from the vitesse, the tank looks like a herald tank but it could be that it was a new replacement when the car was restored in 1995. Is there a way of confirming the capacity? I understand the herald tank is 6.5g and the new tanks slightly more but probably not to the same as a vitesse tank. Im starting to wonder if i am sucking crud into the fuel line when the fuel is low. The gauge is very inaccurate in that I did 90 mile from full to 1/2 and 40 mile from 1/2 to the top of the red segment. I was planning to renew the fuel pipe anyway, so Im also thinking to refurb the fuel pump (it does look dirty and the filter probably hasn’t been cleaned for years) I was also thinking it may be a good idea to take the tank out and give it a good clean and see what crud comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 Here’s a pic of my Vitesse tank to compare with yours Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted September 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 It not like that so either a herald tank or a replacement new tank. Is that 9 gallon capacity - if so a range of 200 miles ish. If the one on the car is 6.5g that’s a range of 140 miles ish and that’s about what I’d done. I need to get in the habit of filling up more often! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 before you take the tank out (unless your going to change it of course) check the pump filter and itll give you an indication of how much dirt is coming through.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 do check the small hose from the suction tube (top of tank ) to the chassis run, this gets hard and sucks air when on demand , i ran a new herald sized tank on the Vit6 you get more boot space as a spin off. the replacement tanks often do not have the reserve lever to rotate the dip pipe the dip pipe is held with a pipe sleeve nut and an olive so easy to remove when the tanks out getting the filler and drain ( if its got one ) out of the wing and floor can be a strong tea moment, as the tank will jangle about but wont leave the boot . pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 I had 'orrible pink sludge in my fuel line, I used strimmer nylon cord to dynorod it out. Crude but effective. Doug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted September 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 The fuel pump looks very dirty, so I’ll order up a refurb kit, I’ve got the gates fuel pipe to do the swap so I’ll get on with that and I’ll clean through the copper pipes. I have just noticed that the rubber seals just before the pump is in very poor condition. I will check the hose at the tank as I did have a problem with a fuel leak a while ago (the tank pipe nut was loose) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 36 minutes ago, iana said: The fuel pump looks very dirty, so I’ll order up a refurb kit, Does it need refurbishing as such, or just a good clean. If the diaphragm looks ok and the valves seem ok (simple test, look online that gives some idea). Not done this myself, but the repair kits may be of dubious quality and the valves maybe tricky to remove and replace, so I have heard on CT/TSSC forums.?. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted September 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 Dave thanks for that advice, I may leave it this week as I want to use the car later this week and next week. It probably needs a new seal where the glass bowl fixes as I doubt that will survive being taken apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 Doug you and pink guess the pink sludge was the dreaded addative leaving deposits Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 Also you can get quite a good look inside the tank in situ from the level gauge. Obviously you have to get the level low enough beforehand but then with a torch you can get an idea of the state of the tank interior and fuel contamination. I agree with Dave about not overhauling the pump unnecessarily. You can check the diaphragm visually and the valves by blowing/sucking through each one as appropriate..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said: Doug you and pink guess the pink sludge was the dreaded addative leaving deposits No this was before my additive days. The car sat in my garage for decades with the same tank of 5* fuel. Started once a year for 20 years, until my eldest said "I want that for a wedding car" So I had to fix it, took 7 months to get it to an MOT. On the way home it died, fuel blockage. Took a week to find/fix it. 5* was good stuff but, I guess there was something in it that deposited pink sludge. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 11, 2019 Report Share Posted September 11, 2019 Most glass tops can be repaired , well worth keeping, some later had staked in valves which wont replace without a fight and best left alone, mine had missing springs which were replaced with cut down ball pen springs and popped inside the valve body Glass tops can be stripped and converted from other marque designs of cam levers so keep an eye for an good donor They were usedn across the uk car ranges .of the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted September 11, 2019 Report Share Posted September 11, 2019 The refurbish kit for glass top Delco is readily available - the little brass filter on the top, valves and the rubber seals, both under the glass and on top where the screw mechanism rests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted September 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 I popped the rubber cover off the sender unit - its the old screw fixings - I will order a new cork gasket before I remove the sender, however what sealant do I use with the gasket (its currently a red mastic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 I got a thin sheet of rubber (petrol resistant) and cut my own gasket using a paper hole punch to do the screw holes. Worked a treat without sealant and has allowed me to remove the sender multiple times while I try to get it reading more accurately! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 wouldnt use any sealer , if it breaks down you get a leaker, as new fitted dry if its screw fitting then its not a repro tank they generally only do bayonet, should you ever need to change you can cut the 6 hole rim down to fit in the later bayonet type and you cant mix sender / floats from non stabilized and stabilised gauges both very different resistancces. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 The Vitesse fuel tank has a capacity of 8.75 UK gallons. On filling up at a BP petrol station I noticed that the Ultimate (Super) now has 5% on the pump. I guess this is ethanol. Looks like it's now being applied to the high octane fuel. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 yes 5% was always allowed to be mixed in any petrol even without advising the customer as its deemed not to have any effect. Over that does have to be labelled. The good side is that ethanol actually raises the octane level, the bad, the manufacturers take that into account and lower the octane of the rest of the mix to compensate☹️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 The weather was ok today so I thought I’d start replacing the fuel pipe, check the carb float chambers and the fuel pump. Removed quite a bit of crud from the fuel pump, the float chambers were clean and replaced a couple of pieces of rubber fuel pipe. One piece was fine just wrong grade however the other piece was bad. I need to check the other bits now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 All fuel hose now replaced with Gates Barricade R14, there were 3 pieces of hose all in a similar condition to the previous photo, the easy to get to / visible bits had been swapped. Does anyone know if you can just buy the glass bowl filter rubber gasket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 is this for a in line filter or the top of a glass dome top fuel pump ?? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iana Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 For the glass dome on the fuel pump, I purchased a refurb kit but only used the dome gasket so want to replace it ready for next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 check out mick dolphins lists 509930 50p http://www.mickdolphin.co.uk/ Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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