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Triumph Vitesse - Buying a Vitesse

I am currently thinking about buying a Triumph Vitesse.
I already own a ī69 TR6 but as my family is growing I have to think about a 4-seat convertible.
Due to the fact that Vitesse is very rare in Germany and only few offers can be found, I consider buying one in the UK.
Are there any major issues that should have been looked at? What about parts availability? I donīt expect it as good as it is with the TR6.
Are there typical weak points at the Vitesse? which are they?
Which components are carried over from other Triumph vehicles? (except the GT6 engine)

I appreciate any of your comments.
Thanks in advance,
Oliver
O.Fischer

Oliver,
What a good choice! The availability of spare parts and support will be much better than you think, although it may be from the UK, rather than from Germany. That is because the Vitesse is structurally identical to the Herald, except for the double headlamp bonnet, shares the six cylinder engine and the Rotaflex rear suspension with the GT6, and many other mechanical parts with the Spitfire.
Triumph made over half a million Heralds as well as all the other models, so the product base was large, and is today supported in the UK by the Triumph Sports Six Club, the largest classic car club in the UK ("Six" refers to the six Herald based cars, including the Courier van and the Amphicar that only shared the engine!). Today, many parts and panels are made new, and there are several suppliers for Vitesse parts in the UK, who deal world wide by email.
Go to the TSSC website (www.tssc.org.uk) to see what they offer. The Club is divided into 'Area Groups' including one for Germany (Contact: Hans-Georg Stumpf, Elsflether Weg 4, 13581, Berlin) and is affiliated to the Spitfire Club Deutchlands, but I recommend that you join the TSSC, if only for the 'small ads' that appear with each issue of their monthly magazine, the 'Courier'. You may like to plan a visit to the Ineternational Weekend at Stafford, 12-13 July, where there are always Vitesses for sale.
Oliver, I started to write a list of everything to look at when inspecting a car that you might buy, then realised that the book has already been written! Not that the Vitesse is a fragile car, but Porter & Williams' "Guide to purchase & DiY Restoration of the Triumph Spitfiire, GT6, Vitesse, & Herald", published by Haynes, includes a whole chapter complete with pictures on how to find the weak points. You can buy this online @ the TSSC, or from Haynes themselves (http://www.haynes.co.uk/inc/viewbook.asp?bt=h867)for about Ģ25. (The fact that it is possible to write such a book about all four cars shows how mnay parts they have in common).

I had better stop before the server runs out of disc space. I'll be happy to help more if I can.
John (Always keen to see a new Vitesse owner!)
JohnD

This thread was discussed on 27/03/2003

Triumph Vitesse index