Roger Keys Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 Pondering changing the alternator on the stag. Ign light still comes on at tickover sometimes. Been like it for a trip to scotland, and border raiders. Not got worse. Loath to change for a "new" one. I have one, but given the standard of repair these days, im not sure. Dont want to be another RBRR statistic! Its in its original location, so no easy swap at the side of the road 😞 Other than that, ive a screw to put in the parcel shelf that fell out on brder raiders, no doubt due to some, err, serious potholes. Like most of the road missing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 10 hours ago, roger keys said: Its in its original location, so no easy swap at the side of the road ... or in the lorry park at Blyth services while all the other teams are getting signed in and setting off on the second leg. Gosh, that was twenty years ago. How time flies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloydP Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 15 hours ago, roger keys said: Pondering changing the alternator on the stag. Ign light still comes on at tickover sometimes. Been like it for a trip to scotland, and border raiders. Not got worse. Loath to change for a "new" one. I have one, but given the standard of repair these days, im not sure. Dont want to be another RBRR statistic! Its in its original location, so no easy swap at the side of the road 😞 Other than that, ive a screw to put in the parcel shelf that fell out on brder raiders, no doubt due to some, err, serious potholes. Like most of the road missing! I gave up on the standard crap ones and put a kubota digger one on instead and it was easier to move it up high whilst I was at it as the mounting was different anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 About to tackle the doors on my 1500 "Bitter Lemon".... so far everything I thought would be hard (exhaust, radiator etc) has been easy and everything I thought would be easier (heater hoses and connections) have been hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 Roger, I'd change it, if it fails it will be in the middle of the night and it will be raining cats and dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteStupps Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 2 hours ago, DVD3500 said: so far everything I thought would be hard (exhaust, radiator etc) has been easy and everything I thought would be easier (heater hoses and connections) have been hard! This sounds familiar! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 3 hours ago, FloydP said: I gave up on the standard crap ones and put a kubota digger one on instead and it was easier to move it up high whilst I was at it as the mounting was different anyway. The genuine denso alternators are bombproof. Been using them on my triumphs for years with zero issues (once the bracketry is sorted, which is not difficult) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 So having taken out my fourth Spitfire window I finally figured out how to do it without breaking or losing any parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 On 19/08/2021 at 13:40, Tim Bancroft said: Roger, I'd change it, if it fails it will be in the middle of the night and it will be raining cats and dogs. If i knew its replacement would be any good, i would. But as we know with current aftermarket parts, thats by no means certain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 On 19/08/2021 at 13:22, FloydP said: I gave up on the standard crap ones and put a kubota digger one on instead and it was easier to move it up high whilst I was at it as the mounting was different anyway. Ones assumes you did this yourself? Im rather surprised there isnt a kit you can buy to do it. EJward do a kit but it perpetuates the use of refurbed lucas junk. If a kit was available, id buy it this evening. I really dont have time to be engineering one myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 Just reading the blurb on the EJ ward website which prompted me to go and look at the car, Being a mk1, its different. Looks to have an external voltage reg. At least thats what i assume this is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Arnold Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 (edited) A gearbox tale! My Vitesse has leaked oil from the gearbox for some time but recently it got considerably worse. So, prior to the Border Raiders, I had the front & rear gearbox seals renewed. Despite that, during the event, several people commented that the car was depositing a small pool of oil so I realised all was still not well. This week the gearbox was removed from the car once again and this time the mechanic also removed the engine flywheel to discover that there was no crank spigot bush (and it seemed that one had never been fitted!) thus allowing the splined gearbox shaft to wriggle around in the front oil seal. My records show that a previous owner had the engine rebuilt in 1992 and added the overdrive box in 1998. Since those dates the car has done approx 31,000 and 26,000 miles respectively. It seems amazing to me that the gearbox has lasted - fortunately I get the oil level checked regularly. All now seems to be ok. Edited August 21, 2021 by Pete Arnold 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubce Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 On 13/08/2021 at 12:11, RobPearce said: Took the Spit out this morning (to go get my hair cut!) so it was nice and warm for the oil to be drained. Then I intend to fit the cooler that's been sitting in my loft (and previous storage locations) for nearly 15 years. 15 years! 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubce Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 (edited) On 20/08/2021 at 20:23, roger keys said: Ones assumes you did this yourself? Im rather surprised there isnt a kit you can buy to do it. EJward do a kit but it perpetuates the use of refurbed lucas junk. If a kit was available, id buy it this evening. I really dont have time to be engineering one myself. Roger About 6 years ago I bought the bracket from Wards which permits the alternator to be fitted on the upper nearside of the engine. The wiring loom modification is simple enough so I made my own but they do sell the wiring as a kit. The new alternator I purchased (also from Wards) was an uprated 80amp Wasp. The standard alternator won't fit that bracket as the distance from the mounting holes to the pulley is different. Bruce Edited August 22, 2021 by Rubce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubce Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 21 hours ago, Pete Arnold said: A gearbox tale! My Vitesse has ......So, prior to the Border Raiders. Hi Pete Was yours the red Vitesse? If it is, then we followed you for several miles in my French Blue Stag. You might want to take a look at your exhaust as it appears very low to the ground and we could see sparks coming up a few times. Given the state of some of the roads Mik sent us along we were genuinely amazed your exhaust wasn't ripped off! Regards Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Yesterday I fitted (new) front side light / indicator units to my Vitesse. Only eight months since I painted the repaired wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Arnold Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Rubce said: Hi Pete Was yours the red Vitesse? If it is, then we followed you for several miles in my French Blue Stag. Yes Bruce, that was us. The exhaust strap finally parted company on our way home after 120 miles. We managed to persuade a chap at a small workshop to wire it up and it lasted the remaining 150miles! Cheers, Pete 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimp my vit Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 (edited) Fitted new EBC disc's (rotors)and green stuff pads, and JONI now stops!!! Edited August 22, 2021 by pimp my vit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 A bit of a set-back on the Dolomite over the last few days.... I decided to coat the lower front valance with stone ship after I'd repaired/welded/fillered all the holes. I didn't strip the whole thing back to bare metal, just the bits I repaired and then primer and rust-proofed those bits. When I coated the whole panel in stone-chip the parts with top-coat exposed reacted badly and I ended up with a flakey, crazy paved nightmare of top-coat and stone chip. So last night I stripped the whole lot back and started again. 😞 In slightly more successful news, I removed the right-hand wiper spindle which had some play in it (which I think is the source of the vibration noise behind the dash at tick-over) and replaced it with a NOS item from Mick Dolphin. I had to split the large chromed nut to get the old one out, so re-fit can't be completed until the replacement arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Nice little run out over the hills in the Spitfire this morning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 This week I have finally installed the oil cooler I bought for Toby back in 2007. I don't think this is the "usual" place for it but it seemed a good option. I've also adjusted the rear brakes and handbrake cable, so it should be able to hold the car on our drive now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Hutchings Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 This week I’ve finally gotten around to making some new rear load area boards to replace the completely water damaged and warped ones that the previous owner made in the 80’s. A friend gave me best part of an 8x4 sheet of 6mm ply, and lent his Festool Carvex. I’m not a carpenter but took this very slow and I’m happy with the results. Boards are finished in 3 coats of a smooth matt industrial spray paint. Still one more to finish. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 Nice job there Ben...when will we see the car in the flesh so to speak? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxter Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 What a great job Ben! I was recently trying to do similar and ended up with a far inferior outcome. Will be keen to have a closer look at yours 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxter Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 On 16/08/2021 at 07:24, RobPearce said: I'm not certain but the Vitesse wheel I have in my Mk3 Spitfire is peeling badly at one point and the loose flap certainly feels like leather. Thanks @RobPearce No tell-tale loose flaps on mine. I had to abandon the job to focus on getting my Vitesse ready for RBRR, so will report back much later on this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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