Drove the Vitesse for the first time this weekend! Only around
the block twice, but enough to prove the drivetrain is fully
functional.
Work done so far:
- New (rebuilt) later type all-synchro gearbox
- Dissassembled and cleaned massive amounts of fuel tank rust
from the carburettor float chambers, unstuck needle valve,
tuned and synchronized to 900 rpm (s/b 650, can't get it there)
- Slushed and coated fuel tank
- New mounts for motor and transmission
- New plugs, filters, fuel lines and water hoses.
Inflated flat tire with a bicycle pump (don't own a compressor),
bolted the driver's seat back in, set the choke by hand under the
bonnet (sticky choke cable disconnected) Let it warm for a couple
of minutes then eased it home.
Ease it into reverse (no shift knob), slowly figure out where
the clutch engages. Slight shudder (rpms too low, low tyres)
and I'm off. Put it in first, ease off. Loud clunk-clunk from
somewhere in back. Might be the brakes or a u-joint, doesn't
sound like the diff. Noise stops, the car pulls smoothly forward.
Almost certainly a rear brake.
Sound booming inside stripped interior...rotten driver's seat,
dusty glass, dried out and cracked steering wheel, musty rot
smell everywhere, yet despite all this it feels good and right,
and curiously ergonomic. Ease into a right turn, listen for body
and suspension noises. Nothing but the loose spare generator
in the boot rolling with a thud into the spare wheel compartment.
Ease into third. It's so loud in there with no interior, no
cover on the transmission and that wonderful factory straight-
through exhaust that my sense of when to shift is confused, and
I forget to watch the rev counter.
It's not kind to the car to move off on low tires at 1400 rpm,
but it does it willingly enough. Get it up to 35 or so and
here comes a stop sign. Better brake early, there's more
absorbed water than actual fluid in the brake lines. Spongy
pedal moves softly to the floor, but the car stops.
Enough, I'm happy. Coming around the block again my neighbors
are standing outside applauding. This is the first time I've
ever resurrected a dead car, and I'm happy.
Dan Parslow, djp@alpha.sunquest.com
79 Spitfire
66 Vitesse Convertible!
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