Shepsy

Have you tried Mike Papworth?

He specialises in differential rebuilds.

Hi Steve.

Welcome to the club.

The guys on here are full of knowledge and are always willing to help.

Fantastic!

I mistakenly have always been too busy to enjoy the surrounding nature.

Since retiring and moving to our current location I have had the pleasure of watching several species of birds from the dining room window.

As part of my daily routine I stock up the apple tree with mealworms, seed impregnated suet balls, and sunflower seeds.

In return we have had blue tits, coal tits, long tail tits, chaffinch, bull finch, green finch, Robbin, wrens, woodpecker, Siskin, nut hatch, pheasant, and some migratory birds visit us.

As a non “twitcher” I consider myself very privileged and enjoy what nature brings.

Having said all of that, I haven’t found a nest so I reckon you’re definitely “one up on me” !

Such a beautiful car.

I’m gutted so I hate to think how you must be feeling.

 I’m generally quite an easy going person but there are two types of people that really annoy me……… thieves and liars.

I’d hate to be in your position.

I really hope you manage to get it back !

Hi Jon,

 I have just checked the Newtons website……. Cheeky so in so’s. They’ve used the photos of my car shortly after I fitted them . I reckon we should be in for a percentage of their future sales 😀.

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.

On 10/11/2023 at 14:01, TRTOM2498 said:

Modified head- ports, chamber, CR, etc.

Ribbed block, from the later 2.5l cars.

Standard crank.

Steel rods (Carrillo)

Webers / Lucas PI / EFI. 

Standard dizzy / 123 / coil packs.

TLE exhaust manifold.

2.5" exhaust.

 

Not sure on rebuild costs, as the motor was built in 2011, and not been touch since.

They are a remarkably strong engine.

Sounds expensive- but I guess you get what you pay for. Nice !

On 07/11/2023 at 17:17, Steve P said:

My thoughts as the owner of a tuned 2.5 Vitesse...

What do you want from the car?, summer road use/trackdays/touring?.

A 2.5  is good but lower revving than the 2 litre, and to get it to 7.5K would need a good few £££. Then there is the drivetrain, gearbox with or without Overdrive and diff.

A well sorted MKII 2 litre is a nice drive with around 98? bhp i think as standard. You could up that with a better exhaust, maybe a bit of head work and a cam change, depends what you want from it.

I wouldn`t go back to a 2 litre on mine but that`s personal choice and i still have the original engine. I like the low down torque and relaxed cruising of mine with a Saloon OD box, 3:27 diff and CV shaft conversion. The engine made 172bhp when built 10 years ago on HS6 carbs.

Steve

Hi Steve,

 I use the car for road use and touring.

 I think you’re right about a well sorted 2 litre being a nice drive.

 I’ve just removed the carbs and found the carb top bushing set at the wrong height due to an incorrect aluminium washer being in place.

The float heights were also poorly set and one of the floats had been fitted upside down by the previous owner. I’m waiting for some parts to be delivered. Hopefully I’ll seen an improvement.

Your  car sounds very well sorted, I’m not sure what the future holds for mine just yet.

Many thanks.

Pete.

59 minutes ago, thescrapman said:

Will keep eyes and ears open for you.

Thank you. It is appreciated 👍.

8 hours ago, TRTOM2498 said:

A well sorted one, carefully built with good quality components will see 7500rpm regularly.

Whoa! What spec would that include regarding the following?

Cylinder head?

Block and crank?

Fuel delivery?

Ignition?

Exhaust?

Overhaul costs?

4 hours ago, Tim Bancroft said:

I'd take the view that the car should be gone through:

Set the valve clearances at 10 thou. use the rule of 13

Dizzy check as Clive states. 

Check the plugs, if badly sooted up, renew and adjust the carb's mixture, then balance them. Check the air filters and check to see you are getting full throttle.

Tim.

Some good points there, I’ll recheck everything including the throttle setting 👍

14 hours ago, Clive said:

I would check everything over. In particular the distributor timing. 

If yiou have access to a timing light disconnect the vacuum advance, and get somebody to increase teh revs from idle up to around 3000rpm. You should see the advance increase all the way. Then suck on teh distributor vacuum to make sume that works OK.

Then take it for a drive, keep advancing the timing until the engine just pinks under light load. Then back off slightly. That should be the best position, and may liven the engine up considerably. 

A rollimng road session will be great to get the final few % out of the car. A mk2 vitesse is not sluggish. But back in the day they were a quick motor. Today their performance is pretty average compared to other cars on the road. 

Hi Clive.

I’ll go through everything as suggested- prior to my rolling road session with Peter Burgess. It will be interesting to find out the engines actual output as it may even be a case that I’m expecting too much from it.

Many thanks.

Pete.

2 hours ago, Matt306 said:

The mileage is low but engine is old and these engines weren't designed with long life in mind the car would usually rot away anyway.

Have a look at the engine and do a compression test. Cheap and easy to do. Check the numbers across all cylinders. A low figure may indicate a stuck valve or piston ring wear. 

I had a 1300 engine with broken piston rings . 

If you wanted a saloon engine should have brought a saloon they are a lot less pretty though. An engine swap has its own pitfalls... what's the history of the new engine will it bring problems with the transmission as above.  All that money could just be spent of getting a well sorted vitesse engine.

 

 

It all sounds like it needs a good going over. At least it's not body work.

 

Matt306.

I will check everything as suggested.

Many thanks.

Pete.

11 minutes ago, glang said:

What diff ratio have you got currently? Maybe its been changed to a 3.27 great for cruising but but not acceleration... 

Funny what Rutty says as I drive my Vitesse like a diesel using the low down torque so I can get into 4th as quick as possible and save my gearbox!

Hi gland.

 The current diff is a 3.89. I’ve counted the rotation to confirm it.

Thanks.

Pete.

2 hours ago, Rutty said:

Are you suffering the diesel effect!

I certainly suffered it when I started driving petrol cars again after many years of driving diesels, I was driving my Vitesse like a diesel changing gear to early and not Reving the engine hard enough. A point that was pointed out to me on a RBRR.

Hi Rutty,

revving the car hard through each gear so not suffering the diesel effect - but that’s a good point which could have been ov👍

4 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

Are you sure your existing engine is the right one (ie not saloon engine) and is fully fit.  They should go pretty well as standard.

Otherwise, as Clive says - what is you goal and what do you want to use the car for.  Think carefully before going 2.5, the extra torque exploits the inherent weakness of the transmission!

 

Nick

Hi  Nick.

Yes, the engine is an original with relatively low mileage… just under 47,000mls. It just seems sluggish , Do you any ideas?

Pete.

4 hours ago, Richard B said:

Yes to 2.5, but you might need a 3.63 diff as it does not rev as high. Also the gearbox will be more stressed if OE.

Richard B.

 I have the option of a 3.63 diff available.

What does the 2.5 unit rev to?

Pete.

13 hours ago, thescrapman said:

Quickest and probably cheapest is to fit a 2.5 engine.

More torque and bit more power (assuming you get a S or Carbed PI engine)

 

Hi thescrapman Ok. I have been looking out for various 2.5 units. A good one seems to be extremely rare. Do you have any suggestions where one could be obtained from?

Pete.

21 hours ago, Clive said:

What are you trying to achieve? The answers will rely on this.

(ie you want to go sprinting, better midrange "power", wan't to pull a caravan etc etc)

Hi Clive.

 I may be wearing rose tinted glasses but I remember my Mk2 vitesse convertible back in the mid 70’s as being quite nippy and not struggling to go up hills. My current car has been owned by an elderly gentleman and probably “pussyfooted” around for the past 25years. It doesn’t seem to have the “snap “ of my previous one so I’m trying to improve it.

 I have it booked in for a rolling road tune with Peter Burgess in March so l’m hoping for some improvement.

 In the meantime, I’m trying to think ahead.

Pete.

Hi. I could be looking for a power upgrade for my Mk2 vitesse.

Can anyone recommend the best way to do this?

Many thanks.

Pete.

Looks like a good job for both cases.

31 minutes ago, THM345F said:

Hoping some kind soul can help me with a wiring question. I've managed to pull out some cables whilst hoisting the engine so I can remove the sump to cure an oil leak (another story). Two of them I can see have been yanked out of the back of the alternator. I can re-crimp these hopefully. There appears to be a third 'circled' in the picture that is connected to a small item alongside the coil. Any ideas what this is and where this wire belongs?? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

 

 

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I think it might be a suppressor. On my car it is fitted to the rear end of my dynamo on the same terminal as the thick yellow and brown wire. Do you have an alternator on your car? If so it may not be required, I’m sure one of the experts on here can help 🤞

Wow! I didn’t realise that you could see the road ahead when driving a classic.

 I drive a Mk2 Vitesse with sealed beams fitted. You can probably imagine how difficult night driving is as the moment

 Those Novsight bulbs look really impressive, Can anyone recommend what I need to do a full conversion?

Many thanks.

Pete.

5 hours ago, Anumator said:

Hi Shepsy , I used a non isocyanate single stage 2k paint  from Jawel paints , its very easy to spray and come out super shiny . although it takes a long time to harden properly, its touch dry within a few hours but stays plastic for  about a month then hardens up over the next few months!

I’ll check it out now!

Looks like you are doing a great job. What paint did you use on the body?