Stodders
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Got the Vitesse out of hibernation yesterday. Truthfully It has probably only been 3 months since I last used It but the weather has been so bad recently. Anyway all seemed well with it except the heater would not work. The cause was the heater valve that was completely blocked. When I tried to clear it out it just disintegrated. This is despite the car always having the correct antifreeze mixture. Not the first time I have had this problem in the 10 years since I restored it. My question is that there are any number of suppliers of replacements out there but do they all supply the same part in which case should I just find the cheapest or has someone actually started making one that actually lasts? I have seen examples where people fit alternative valves to overcome the issues but all the ones I've seen look a bit scruffy. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks Mike
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Thanks for your help. I'll see how it goes in the position it s now on an get the shorter one if there is little improvement.
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Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I have looked at the filters that I have and they do have the flap type of seal but as the car is used infrequently the oil must be able to get past this. I have now moved the assembly round as far as it will go and still being able to clear the chassis and brake pipes (see photo) but would be able to get it round further with a shorter filter. Do you have any idea where I would be able to get hold of the short filters or what car they are intended for? Thanks Mike
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Hi, A while back I fitted a spin on filter to my car. I thought that these were supposed to retain the oil and therefore reduce the time for the oil pressure to rise when starting from cold. It still took about 5 seconds though. Today I was doing an oil change, the car had been unused for a week and I drained it cold and noticed that when I undid the filter nothing came out. Is this because I am using the wrong filters (do they have valves in them)? or is it that I have the filter mounted at the wrong angle. I am attaching a photo of where it is and the type of filter. I can rotate the filter body so that it is at about 45 degrees below horizontal but this makes it trickier to remove. Any advice I would be most greatful Mike
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Forget trying to find a good header rail second hand. It is possible to repair them but it does take so!me pretty creative metal fabrication and welding
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I wouldn't go adjusting the bonnet in any way to give clearance for the top hose unless your panel fit is bad at present. You would be opening up a can of worms. If your bonnet has dropped at the front then the gaps to the doors will be small at the bottom and greater near he top in which case go ahead and make some adjustments, you can only improve it? As mentioned earlier the hose and bonnet are close and be careful of the hose clip! Far easier to find a way of dropping the engine a bit. Taking out shims is the first thing to try
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If you want to keep your bulkhead looking good then you will need to use silicone break fluid. The master cylinders will always leak around the cap and take the paint off. Lots of past discussions on the pro's and con's of this but you will need to make your own decision. IMHO it is fine, the brake pedal on my car is really firm but I would still change it every 2 years to avoid contamination.
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Hi I can answer some of your questions but I expect you will get some better advice later. First is the input shaft the same length? This will define if it is suitable without modification as it could have been from many different cars.. Spitfire hopefully if you have a herald. Three rail boxes were fitted to herald vitesse and dolomite plusnothers probably. Simple check to see if it is a 3 or 4 synchro is to see if it has a reverse light switch on the top of the selector cover. I think the 3 synch ones never had them. You should not need to modify the tunnel but may need to make a cut to the floor section behind the tunnel to be able to get to the prop bolts as these will be further back. You do on a vitesse but I am not sure about Herald. I think Canleys will sell the correct prop for this conversion or else you could get yours shortened. You also need to consider the speedo cable and wiring.. Hopefully your box will have the angle drive on the speedo connection as the after market ones are less than perfect. Lastly you cannot convert 3 yo 4 synchro the case is even different. Cheers Mike
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Thanks guys, you have just saved me £100 as I was about to order one from Rimmers. Shall be looking into getting one from Don's
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I am wanting to order the hood for my resto but don't know which to order. I see there are many different ones available but wondered what they were like. The expensive mohair one sounds tempting but are they better or last longer than a duck one? Are the expensive ones thicker and therefore harder to put up and down therefore more prone to damage. Also which material is least prone to stretching or shrinking?
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Thanks for that. Yes it is a D type so will fit a relay where you say.
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Getting to the wiring stage of my 67 vitesse restoration. I have fitted overdrive which the car never had previously and obtained all of the switches, relay etc. But have not got a clue where there relay is supposed to be located. Can anyone help please? Thanks Mike
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Thanks guys for the concise replies. This now makes perfect sense. Strange you say that some cars did not have them. I purchased mine in 1979 as a nice low mileage example and it certainly did not have them. I can see that they would serve several purposes: stopping wind noise and leaks around the quarter lights, stopping the quarter light frames from catching the A pillars when the body shakes over poor road surfaces and keeping this gap constant and also protecting the door switches. Thanks again Mike
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Thanks guys for the concise replies. This now makes perfect sense. Strange you say that some cars did not have them. I purchased mine in 1979 as a nice low mileage example and it certainly did not have them. I can see that they would serve several purposes: stopping wind noise and leaks around the quarter lights, stopping the quarter light frames from catching the A pillars when the body shakes over poor road surfaces and keeping this gap constant and also protecting the door switches. Thanks again Mike
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I would try them for fit before you paint them. Many doors, especially if they have had new door skins fitted at any time which most will have will quite likely be slightly different. This is most apparent where it fits around the A pillar and the top corner of the bonnet. A bit of work before you paint it will make a massive difference to the final finish. Also check the rear bottom corner. It is quite common for this to stick out when the door is shut. There are many reasons why this happens but again it can be the result of new door skins. Again worth correcting before painting