Mk2 Vitesse Exhaust Fitting Kit

[Phil C]

Having read recently about a 12 week delivery time for exhaust systems (from the Club Shop) I decided to order one now in readiness for fitting in the New Year.

Well, 10 days later it arrived! So in order to get it out of the way I am fitting it today.

The fitting kit supplied was not quite as I expected and I would be grateful for some advice.

The hooked strap is the surprise, doesn't appear to match the parts diagram.

I am right in assuming the two holed strap fixes to the rear of the silencer section, the front pipe has a rigid metal strap and then I was going to use the hook strap in front of the silencer?  If I then hold up the whole system in place and punch a hole in the appropriate point on the strap to maintain that position when fixed to the outrigger?

Is that how it is supposed to be used?

 

 

[Clive]

I think the hooked strap is for the diff mounting. That is the most important mounting point, often ignored. The original type was a rubber grommet thing that was probably OK originally, but even 20 years ago repros fell apart within weeks.

[Colin Lindsay]

If it's a single long pipe like the Herald then the manifold gasket is obvious; at the other end there are two black straps at the rear for front and rear of the silencer. One bolts directly to the end clip on the silencer and goes to the outermost bracket on the chassis boot outrigger; use the bolts and washers supplied.

The silencer is clamped to the main exhaust pipe using one of the clamps and the 'hooked' strap fits inside the clamp before it is tightened. This is then bolted to the second or innermost mounting point on the chassis rear outrigger. The reason this one hasn't been drilled is so as you can adjust the 'fit' to your own chassis and have the silencer at the optimum angle by raising or lowering that strap. If you wish you can use the other clamps to fit additional mounting points, maybe from the gearbox, to take the strain off the exhaust pipe. 

 

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

there is also a hole in the  front diff frame to take a strap ( rh side ) for the end of the long pipe if needed 

Pete

[Gary Flinn]

Going on Memory here but I believe the following Exhaust mounts are needed on a Mk2 Vitesse with one silencer as standard, working from the front backwards:-

1.  A metal mounting from the one of the Bellhousing bolts to the pipe (Although this may be slightly further back off the gearbox and a flexible one, memory's a bit hazy on this one)

2. A flexible support from the front Differential Crossmember to the Pipe

3. A flexible support to the rear of the Silencer

I don't think there is a support to the front of the Silencer on a Mk2, only the earlier cars and Heralds had this

Hope this helps

Gary  

[Wagger]

I found that fitting the rear silencer is very tricky. To obtain good ground clearance I had to share spaces between front, rear, top and sides. Luckily, my chassis has mounts for mk1 and 2 versions. I used three out of the four. Tightened the mounts before the clamp on the rear box. It is all slung on rubber now and only wiggles 1/4 inch in any direction. If it did more it would clout the sides. Had to spin the clamp so that the stud was a high as the clamp.

Many years ago, in a Vitesse, a carboard box landed in front of me and I could not avoid it going under. It did not appear in the rear view mirror. By the time I had unhooked it from the clamp bolt, it was smoking. Luckily, the lay by had a metal rubbish bin.

Good luck!

[Phil C]

Thanks all for the quick response.

The Mk2 parts book shows supports front and rear of the silencer so suggesting using both brackets on the rear outrigger. I think my original assumptions, as mirrored by Colin, is probably the way forward.

i.e. the un-drilled strap supporting the front clamp on the silencer and is "adjusted" to hold the system appropriate in each case. I will proceed on this basis and see how well it fits.

[Colin Lindsay]

I know the Herald is slightly different (thinner pipe for one thing) but the joint at the rear of the silencer is directly below the second bracket on the chassis and as I've said allows you to hang the silencer at a good angle both to stop rain getting in and also to look neater! The Gt6 doesn't have a chassis outrigger, so it's mounted through the boot floor and then a bracket at the diff. The Vitesse is somewhere between the two - thicker exhaust, maybe bigger silencers, but similar chassis to the Herald, so as long as the exhaust is supported and won't swing about then pick whatever mounting points work best. I do like the idea of a mounting point close to the bellhousing, it helps take the strain off the manifold joint.

  

[Phil C]

Exhaust now fitted. It's all quite snug to the chassis which is what I wanted but it means the length of the front silencer mounting (the adjustable one) is very short - given the length provided in the fitting kit.

I am concerned that the silencer may be too high at this point and foul the boot floor once the tub is fitted.  

Should the silencer be roughly parallel to the rear outrigger?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Phil C said:

Should the silencer be roughly parallel to the rear outrigger

Roughly but probably lower at the diff end; if you look at the rear of the car you'll be able to judge what the exhaust looks like from the only part you can see when it's on four wheels; the tail pipe should be angled roughly horizontal, or maybe slightly downwards, so adjust the angle of the silencer to suit. That silencer is the same as my GT6 version in the above photo and I had to twist it very slightly to have the rear pipe at a good angle; it's easier with the round Herald version. Having a short rubber mount like that shouldn't cause any problems, it's meant to be held in place whilst remaining vibration-free (as far as possible) so it shouldn't be able to wave about and hit off the chassis or bodywork.

[PeteH]

Don`t know if this is of help?. I have a good(ish) gap above the outrigger on the 13/60.

Pete

[Phil C]

28 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

you can see when it's on four wheels; the tail pipe should be angled roughly horizontal

I did lower the car on to its wheels to check this. I left it very slightly pointing up as the back end will be lower once the spring has (hopefully) settled and the rear wheels align correctly (Colin, we discussed that particular problem in an earlier post!!).

32 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Roughly but probably lower at the diff end

The silencer is currently higher than the outrigger at the diff end but until the tub goes on I don't know if this will be a problem. The central pipe does run horizontally, parallel with the chassis and is a nice and snug under the diff and rear chassis cross member so I'm thinking I'll leave it until the tub goes on and deal with any issues that causes at the time.

Thanks again fo everyone's assistance.