YPE 595G Vitesse MK2 Convertible

[garyf]

I wondered if anyone may know details on any Previous owners of this Vitesse which is for sale and I recently viewed?

I'm seriously considering purchasing it but would like to talk to the previous owner (Peter Green maybe) regarding its restoration and previous history.

Gary 

[gt68]

Looks crackin on the pic Gary, good luck.

[garyf]

40 minutes ago, gt68 said:

Looks crackin on the pic Gary, good luck.

It is a very nice example, not without a few issues though, but if I do become the new custodian hopefully I can sort them out.

Ideally I wanted to talk to the previous owner who did the restoration, but don't hold out much hope of tracing him😞 

[garyf]

Now up for sale at a dealer?

https://www.robinlawton.com/cars/1969-triumph-vitesse-2-litre-mark-2-convertible?page=vintage-classic-cars-for-sale&pg=1

[Tim Bancroft]

I cannot see if it has overdrive or now...if not, be wary of its ability to do long distance drives.

[Wendy Dawes]

Nice looking car good luck 👍

[Darren Sharp]

Looks nice and straight from the Picture Gary , have you been up close ? Overdrive is very desirable on all Triumphs but not essential as it can be added later. 

[garyf]

15 hours ago, Darren Sharp said:

Looks nice and straight from the Picture Gary , have you been up close ? Overdrive is very desirable on all Triumphs but not essential as it can be added later. 

It is an excellent example, I viewed the car a fortnight ago, but it was in the dark, no over-drive fitted though.

I had hoped to view it again in the light, the owner did mention he had been made an offer by a dealer for the car but I wasn't prepared to match it and told him I would need to view again in the light with a mate the following weekend.

He must have been desperate to sell hence it is now for sale at the dealer.

How much these days for the parts to convert to Over-drive, I'm guessing around £1,500 to £2,000, that's if you can find all the parts?

Gary     

[Steve P]

Now Sold apparently.

S

[Wendy Dawes]

31 minutes ago, Steve P said:

Now Sold apparently.

S

🙁

[Wendy Dawes]

2 hours ago, garyf said:

It is an excellent example, I viewed the car a fortnight ago, but it was in the dark, no over-drive fitted though.

I had hoped to view it again in the light, the owner did mention he had been made an offer by a dealer for the car but I wasn't prepared to match it and told him I would need to view again in the light with a mate the following weekend.

He must have been desperate to sell hence it is now for sale at the dealer.

How much these days for the parts to convert to Over-drive, I'm guessing around £1,500 to £2,000, that's if you can find all the parts?

Gary     

Parts are reasonably easy if you choose a j type overdrive gearbox, just have to change the clutch plate to a 20 spline instead of the 10 spline which will be fitted at present.  I’m just in the process  of doing an overdrive upgrade  on my Herald. Good luck in your search 

[garyf]

17 minutes ago, Wendy Dawes said:

Parts are reasonably easy if you choose a j type overdrive gearbox, just have to change the clutch plate to a 20 spline instead of the 10 spline which will be fitted at present.  I’m just in the process  of doing an overdrive upgrade  on my Herald. Good luck in your search 

So it would be a new Clutch too then if I went for the 'J' Type Overdrive, how much do you think for the Parts?

As I see it I would need the following Items:-

1. New Over-drive Main shaft

2. Second hand Over-drive Unit ('J' Type or 'D' Type) and possibly an additional costs to check/re-condition it

3. Overdrive Adaptor plate to Gearbox

4. Gearbox/Over-drive Gasket Set

5. Overdrive Chassis Mounting Plate

6. Rear Over-drive Gearbox type Rubber Mounting

7. Inhibitor Switch and Gearbox mounting plate

8. Wiring Loom extension

9. 6RA Relay ('D' Type only)

10. Over-drive switch and Cowl

11. New 20 Spline Clutch Plate (If 'J' Type is fitted) 

Have I missed anything?

How much for that lot these days, £2K sounds about right to me and I would still have to remove and replace it all😞

I suppose you can still drive the car without Over-drive but they are revving to high at motorway speeds

Gary    

[garyf]

1 hour ago, Steve P said:

Now Sold apparently.

S

Yes, that didn't take long at all?

It was the best one I had viewed too😞 

[Wendy Dawes]

Around that figure I think is about right.  D tyoe 3 rail gearboxes were the original installation but are getting harder to find. The J type are more common now and are stronger and have synchro through all 4 gears 

a complete j type unit might be an easier option,  they do become available quite often 

I got a fully tested complete unit quite reasonably priced 

they’re usually available at auto jumble the next being Stoneleigh in February,  worth going there 👍

[Clive]

On 14/12/2023 at 15:43, garyf said:

So it would be a new Clutch too then if I went for the 'J' Type Overdrive, how much do you think for the Parts?

As I see it I would need the following Items:-

1. New Over-drive Main shaft

2. Second hand Over-drive Unit ('J' Type or 'D' Type) and possibly an additional costs to check/re-condition it

3. Overdrive Adaptor plate to Gearbox

4. Gearbox/Over-drive Gasket Set

5. Overdrive Chassis Mounting Plate

6. Rear Over-drive Gearbox type Rubber Mounting

7. Inhibitor Switch and Gearbox mounting plate

8. Wiring Loom extension

9. 6RA Relay ('D' Type only)

10. Over-drive switch and Cowl

11. New 20 Spline Clutch Plate (If 'J' Type is fitted) 

Have I missed anything?

How much for that lot these days, £2K sounds about right to me and I would still have to remove and replace it all😞

I suppose you can still drive the car without Over-drive but they are revving to high at motorway speeds

Gary    

It is a tad more complex. The J type gearboxes for a 6 cylinder both originate from dolomites. The earlier type is essentially the exact same box as the std gt6/Vit gearbox, but a J type od. It is the exact same length as the std GT6/Vit box, and also has the same small mainshaft tip. The input shaft uses teh coarse splines, same as gt6/vit.

The later Dolomite box is single rail. Reverse next to 3rd gear. That uses a mainshaft with the bigger 18mm tip. It requires a fine spline clutch plate from a late dolly 1850. The gearbox is an inch longer, so bespoke propshaft required. There is also a bit of grief fitting the gt6/vit bellhousing

[garyf]

9 hours ago, Clive said:

It is a tad more complex. The J type gearboxes for a 6 cylinder both originate from dolomites. The earlier type is essentially the exact same box as the std gt6/Vit gearbox, but a J type od. It is the exact same length as the std GT6/Vit box, and also has the same small mainshaft tip. The input shaft uses teh coarse splines, same as gt6/vit.

The later Dolomite box is single rail. Reverse next to 3rd gear. That uses a mainshaft with the bigger 18mm tip. It requires a fine spline clutch plate from a late dolly 1850. The gearbox is an inch longer, so bespoke propshaft required. There is also a bit of grief fitting the gt6/vit bellhousing

The later dolomute

I had an hybrid Dolomite type gearbox with the 'J' Type Overdrive and the larger mainshaft tip in my last Vitesse, this was installed and built up by one of the previous owners who I know well in the 1980's using a lot of N.O.S. Parts, that also had the 20 spline TR7 (I think) Clutch plate.

I'm hoping to find a decent low mileage one owner original Vitesse already fitted with Overdrive (A rare beast these day, are there any left?)

I have got another one to view over Christmas hopefully, a Mk2 Convertible in White with a Black interior 47K miles from new, with M.O.T's to prove and only 3 owners from new, but again this is a none overdrive car (I believe most Vitesse's 80% didn't come with overdrive)

I'll keep you posted how I get on.

Gary   

[Clive]

I have a very good late 1850 gearbox sitting here.... And know a chappie who has built a few of the hybrid gearboxes. Just in case....

[garyf]

40 minutes ago, Clive said:

I have a very good late 1850 gearbox sitting here.... And know a chappie who has built a few of the hybrid gearboxes. Just in case....

Clive

I will bear that in mind if I end up purchasing the 47K car and I need an O/D Box.

Thanks

[Shepsy]

Would a change from the std 3.89 diff to a 3.63 on a non O/drive car be comparable to a std O/drive car with 3.89 ?

Would be a cheaper alternative to start with, the perhaps add an O/drive at a later date?

Pete.

[garyf]

1 hour ago, Shepsy said:

Would a change from the std 3.89 diff to a 3.63 on a non O/drive car be comparable to a std O/drive car with 3.89 ?

Would be a cheaper alternative to start with, the perhaps add an O/drive at a later date?

Pete.

Hi Pete

Not sure of the exact MPH per 1000RPM but the 3.27 GT6 Differential is nearer the 3.89 Overdrive top gear, its something like 21.3 MPH per 1000 RPM in OD Top with a 3.89 Diff, direct top and a 3.27 diff is just over 20 MPH per 1000 RPM 

I would guess the 3.63 Diff is about 18.5 MPH per 1000 RPM in direct top, so only a slight increase in gearing.

Gary  

[Tim Bancroft]

The GT6 came with two options:

1. Non-Overdrive with 3.27:1 diff

2. D Type Overdrive with 3.89:1 diff.

Both cars had more or less identical MPH/1000 rpm in top or O'd top. However, the non overdrive car was not as much fun to drive as the gearing was a tadge too tall. To my mind and as many others will vouch,D or J type O'd and 3.63:1 (Spit 1500 diff) is the best combination, as it gives relaxed crusing and good acceleration.

[mpbarrett]

mintylamb.co.uk/gearspeed/ is great for looking at speeds and gear ratios.

Might be worth having a chat with Tony LIndsey re gearboxes as he is scaling down and selling lots of his core stuff. He is on FB or I can give you his phone number. Ok I understand people have very different views about him but he has built a great gearbox and diff for me in the last couple of years.

Mike

 

[garyf]

On 16/12/2023 at 20:35, mpbarrett said:

mintylamb.co.uk/gearspeed/ is great for looking at speeds and gear ratios.

Might be worth having a chat with Tony LIndsey re gearboxes as he is scaling down and selling lots of his core stuff. He is on FB or I can give you his phone number. Ok I understand people have very different views about him but he has built a great gearbox and diff for me in the last couple of years.

Mike

 

Mike

I have been in touch with Tony about possibly purchasing one of his reconditioned O/D Gearboxes.

I need to get a car first though.

Gary 

[mpbarrett]

good luck with the car hunt, OD does make a big difference to a Triumph. BTW  I thought you had a TR5 why do you want to change?

Mike

[garyf]

On 19/12/2023 at 07:39, mpbarrett said:

good luck with the car hunt, OD does make a big difference to a Triumph. BTW  I thought you had a TR5 why do you want to change?

Mike

Mike I sold the 5 back in 2018 to finance the purchase of a Sunbeam Tiger.

I've subsequently sold that one as well back in the Summer and I'm now hankering after another Vitesse Convertible

I would prefer a low mileage 1 owner original condition car (If there are any left?) alternatively a fully restored to an excellent standard car.

The search continues

Gary 

Edited December 20, 2023 by garyf