> The Pro's and Con's seem to be (this is where I need your help), on
> the plus side - plenty of Triumph specialists and part suppliers
> around, a good strong Triumph community (both virtual and 'real'),
> the Vitesse is perhaps 'unfashionable' therefore can be bought
> less expensively than perhaps a TR4 or 6.
> The downsides are: due to their lesser popularity there is less chance
> of finding a car which has been cherished (it's more likely some
> rich-guy has spent a fortune restoring a TR6 which he then sells on
> for peanuts when he is bored with it (like that happens!) :-) ). Also,
> what about the notorious rear suspension - how bad is it? From what
> research I've done the Mk2 models were better and I'm sure 30 years
> of aftermarket tweeking has solved what problems there were?
Guy,
Believe me when I say there are many - VERY many fully restored
Vitesses out there - but only if you want a Mk2 2 Litre Convertible! They
certainly handle better than the earlier cars in standard trim, though I've
never personally been convinced by the reliability of the Rotoflex rear end.
The Rotoflex shouldn't be a problem with a well maintained rally vehicle, as
any problems should be spotted early. My own problem with the 6 cylinder
Herald based cars is the extra weight at the front, serving to promote
understeer.
There are various ways of taming the rear suspension of the earlier
cars, with two solutions being particularly popular. The more common of
these is a swing spring conversion, which replaces the rear spring with a
similar design to that of the Spitfire MkIV/1500. This allows the car to
roll more at the rear (countered at the front by a thickened anti-roll bar),
so the rear wheels are not allowed to tuck under. The swing-spring
conversion is available from John Kipping Triumph Spares in Coventry. The
other popular option is a camber compensator - effectively an auxilliary
leaf spring mounted between the lower ends of the rear vertical links, and
flexibly mounted to the underside of the diff. These are available through
Joe Curry (of this list) and a similar device is sold through Jigsaw Racing
in the UK. This is a more contemporary modification, which may be important
for homologation purposes in more serious competition.
A third handling option (though I have no experience of this on a
Vitesse, only on Heralds) is the Courier Van rear spring. This is an
extremely heavy-duty decambered spring, which when fitted to a Herald gives
amazingly flat cornering. In the Courier application there is no anti-roll
bar fitted, though whether this would work in a Vitesse would be something
to be learned. Though currently unavailable, reproduction Courier springs
are to be manufactured this year - watch this space for details.
I hope this is of some help. You may find it worthwhile subscribing
to the Herald List at e-groups. Though nowhere near as large a resource as
this list, it is very focused on the Herald based cars. You ma find someone
with the experience you're looking for there, or a nice Vitesse on the "For
Sale" board,
Cheers,
Bill.
http://www.egroups.com/group/triumph_herald/info.html
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^================^
/ \ William Davies
/ \ Total Triumph Enthusiast
__ __________________ __
/ \ ______ ______ / \ 1959 Herald 948 Coupé Y128
\__/ \ || / \__/ 1959 Herald 948 Coupé
| A \____||____/ A | 1959 Herald 948 Saloon
| = H H = | 1960 Herald 948 Saloon Export
=====U==============U===== 1961 Herald 'S'
\________________________/ 1964 Herald 1200 Saloon
| | | | 1970 Spitfire MkIII
|_| |_| 1973 Spitfire MkIV
1959 Standard Atlas Pickup
|