Mk2 Vitesse Shock mounts

[ahebron]

As wel as restoring my 6 I also have a Mk2 CV in storage that needs a rebuild.
I have a spare 13/60 chassis that I will convert to Mk2 spec.
Inner rear wishbone brackets are available but does anyone make the rear shock mounts that are welded to the chassis.
I am aware that lever dampers arent the bees knees but I want to get the chassis to spec before I swap over shock absorbers.
This is me being lazy and not wanting to pull the car out of storage and copy the bits but it is always an option.

Adrian
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[Nick Jones]

They are actually quite complex and also include the droop stop (bump stop is on the body) and I seriously doubt that anyone makes them. You may be able to get some cut from a scrap chassis, though as far as I can recall they would actually be very hard to get off without either total destruction of the mount or the the chassis - which is why I'm still hauling around a few kilos of pointless dead weight on my telescopic equipped car.

Unless you are actually planning to re-use the lever arm dampers (why?), I'd spend the time making some nice brackets for lever arm dampers instead.

Nick

[ahebron]

Hi Nick
Thanks
'for the reply
I might get the plasma cutter out and chop the old ones out when I need them then.

Adrian

[Dogsbody47uk]

I'm confused. What do you mean by "rear shock mounts"?  If you are using a cv conversion then standard Herald / Vitesse 2 litre telescopics will fit directly to the chassis. If you are going to use Rotoflex couplings (are you mad? ), then conversion brackets are available so you can use telescopic dampers. Cheers, Dave.

[ahebron]

I want to convert the new chassis from the 13/60 to original Mk2 Vitesse spec.
When I restore the car I want it to a back to a standard Mk2 Vitesse so I can get it through all the vehicle testing without any issues. This car fell off the system many years ago so needs recertifying. Any modification will be done after this, this is what I am doing with my Vitesse 6.
Also if I ever sold the car the ability to revert back to standard will be beneficial.

Whether I am mad or not is for an entirely different forum.(dizzy)(dizzy)

Adrian

[Dogsbody47uk]

Contact Steve Morris at Triumph Spitfire Spares, Aka Tavistock Steve. I know that he has a Mk 2 Vitesse chassis for refurb. It's all ok but needs front, mid, side and boot outriggers replacing. The main chassis rails are ok as are the front bits. Cheers, Dave.AMHIK .

[rustbuckit2011]

Hi Adrian,

In regards to re-registration cof testing- I honestly wouldnt bother too much with originality.
Being that there are so few vitesse with rotoflex going through the stations the staff literally have no idea what they are looking at. If it looks like its meant to be there it will do fine. We might spot the differences on triumph chassis' but to an untrained eye they all look the same.

A number of years ago, I took in a herald to a vtnz in chch for a WOF.
I wouldnt normally go to a vtnz, but I had only recently bought the car, and I figured if anyone would be unbiased  and find faults to rectify it would be a testing station as that is their specialty- they dont carry out the work so aren't looking to drum up cash.
They put it up on the hoist, and from the comfort of the waiting room I could witness the ensuing confusion.
Guys were being called over for opinions and lights were being shone into dark recesses. There was a worrying degree of very serious head shaking going on.
A mechanic with a very worried expression came over and asked me to come look under the car as he didnt think he would be able to explain what the problem was.
I stood looking up at the outwardly perfect underside of my pride and joy, preparing myself for the worst.
He proceeded to point out that the sills were purely superficial and were screwed onto the car. He was adamant that somewhere along the line they had rusted away, and someone had thrown together some old steel shelving to hold it all together. It was a deathtrap he claimed. He couldn't believe the car had managed the journey into the station. He was actually quite pale.
Well, not one person in the shop had ever seen a separate chassis before.
I literally had to explain to them what it was, and what the WOF requirements surrounding the car were. And then show them the literature. And then show them pictures. I may have had to draw a diagram.
I told them to take it down off the hoist and Ill never go back.
Perhaps the worst part was that these were not young guys either. I was mid 20s at the time, they would have all been in their 30s/40s.

Id do away with the lever arms. Even if you went to a cv joint axle Im quite sure you could throw a bit of road dirt at it and call it original. They really wont know any different- and the one guy who does- will know the dampers and cv's are better than new.
In terms of originality and potential resale price- it wont affect it here in nz. Rotoflex is rotoflex. There are not enough cars sold with it here to be fussy about the details of originality of it. Now if it is a true convertible or not- that makes a difference!

[ahebron]

Thanks for your reply Rustbuckit2011
Whenever I have worked on a car I have always tried to start with it as original as possible with any modifications easily reversible.
I will first attempt to modify the part rather than the car to make a modification fit.
I have fitted a 5 speed gearbox to an Alvis 12/50 ducktail, relocated the gearshift on a Lagonda, fitted modern electrics to vintage cars, etc but all easily reversible  with b olt on parts.
I am sure we have all had cars that we have thought "what on earth was the PO thinking of when they did that?".
For all I know in the future someone might want a genuine MK2 CV with lever dampers so my chassis will be set up for them
The stage the car is at present is the best time to set the chassis to original spec whether or not I fit lever dampers.

Adrian

[nang]

I also don't think VTNZ or AA in Lower Hutt. would reject your car as long as it wasn't a rust bucket.
Recently took my 2500 S to AA Napier for a compliance check as it had been out of the system for 6 years before my ownership. Having heard horror stories from locals, ..removing door panels etc I was prepared for the worst.
I did stop the oil leaks and did a bit of painting underneath. It looked to me that he did a through WOF inspection.
Passed with flying colours.
These were older inspectors who had obviously seen lots of our type of cars.(clap)
Tony.