Thinking about getting a Triumph
Discussion
Hi all,
As the title suggests, I am thinking about buying a Triumph for my next car. It'll be my only car (apart from the missus's car) so it needs to be relatively reliable, the good thing is that I work from home so I don't need a car capable of commuting. The other main stipulation is that needs to be family friendly.
Therefore my choice is a Dolomite Sprint or a Vitesse. I have owned a Sunbeam Lotus in the past and would love one again but the prices of them have put them virtually out of reach for me (especially when you consider an expensive engine rebuild if needed).
I'd like my next car to become "one of the family" and keep it for a good few years. So, will I be disappointed with the Triumph's performance? If so, is it relatively easy/affordable to upgrade the running gear and use bolt on bits to achieve about 160bhp. I love the styling of the Vitesse and the idea of a smooth 6 cylinder engine (possibly a 2.5) is very appealing.
Any comments gratefully received.
Thanks,
Dario
As the title suggests, I am thinking about buying a Triumph for my next car. It'll be my only car (apart from the missus's car) so it needs to be relatively reliable, the good thing is that I work from home so I don't need a car capable of commuting. The other main stipulation is that needs to be family friendly.
Therefore my choice is a Dolomite Sprint or a Vitesse. I have owned a Sunbeam Lotus in the past and would love one again but the prices of them have put them virtually out of reach for me (especially when you consider an expensive engine rebuild if needed).
I'd like my next car to become "one of the family" and keep it for a good few years. So, will I be disappointed with the Triumph's performance? If so, is it relatively easy/affordable to upgrade the running gear and use bolt on bits to achieve about 160bhp. I love the styling of the Vitesse and the idea of a smooth 6 cylinder engine (possibly a 2.5) is very appealing.
Any comments gratefully received.
Thanks,
Dario
You've actually missed off your list what sounds like could be your best choice - the 2.5PI saloon.
More space and cheaper than either the Vitesse or Sprint and more power than the Vitesse/same as the Sprint stock.
With any Triumph 160BHP is asking a lot - that's more than double what the Vitesse diff. was designed for and even the Sprint/2.5PI are only designed for 125BHP.
Neither a Sprint or 2.5 will have any trouble keeping up with modern traffic with ease.
More space and cheaper than either the Vitesse or Sprint and more power than the Vitesse/same as the Sprint stock.
With any Triumph 160BHP is asking a lot - that's more than double what the Vitesse diff. was designed for and even the Sprint/2.5PI are only designed for 125BHP.
Neither a Sprint or 2.5 will have any trouble keeping up with modern traffic with ease.
//j17 said:
You've actually missed off your list what sounds like could be your best choice - the 2.5PI saloon.
More space and cheaper than either the Vitesse or Sprint and more power than the Vitesse/same as the Sprint stock.
With any Triumph 160BHP is asking a lot - that's more than double what the Vitesse diff. was designed for and even the Sprint/2.5PI are only designed for 125BHP.
Neither a Sprint or 2.5 will have any trouble keeping up with modern traffic with ease.
Well i think that pretty much covers it. There is also the 2000 which you may also consider. There is one on eBay at the moment which looks quite nice.More space and cheaper than either the Vitesse or Sprint and more power than the Vitesse/same as the Sprint stock.
With any Triumph 160BHP is asking a lot - that's more than double what the Vitesse diff. was designed for and even the Sprint/2.5PI are only designed for 125BHP.
Neither a Sprint or 2.5 will have any trouble keeping up with modern traffic with ease.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Triumph-2000-mkII-6-cylinder...
There is also the stag but im not sure how "family friendly" these would be. Plus they cost a fair bit more than a 2000 / 2.5 PI
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't considered the 2000/2500 range as I'm looking for something a bit smaller really.
I also hadn't appreciated the gearbox and drivetrain when it comes to uprating power. What about fitting a TR6 gearbox and engine to the Vitesse? Is this a reasonably easy job or is a TR6 gearbox very different to a Vitesse one?
Thanks,
Dario
I also hadn't appreciated the gearbox and drivetrain when it comes to uprating power. What about fitting a TR6 gearbox and engine to the Vitesse? Is this a reasonably easy job or is a TR6 gearbox very different to a Vitesse one?
Thanks,
Dario
niagra said:
I also hadn't appreciated the gearbox and drivetrain when it comes to uprating power. What about fitting a TR6 gearbox and engine to the Vitesse? Is this a reasonably easy job or is a TR6 gearbox very different to a Vitesse one?
It can probably be done but it's not the most straight forward swap. The Vitesse gearbox is based on the small car (Herald/Spitfire/GT6) one where there TR6 is the larger box with more in common with the big saloons/Stag. Owning both a Spitfire and a 2.5 I can tell you the big 'box is a good bit bigger and weighs a hell of a lot more!varsas said:
Might be worth having a look at a 2000/2500 saloon. They were a big car back in the 70's but things have changed. They are smaller then, say, a modern Mondeo. About the same as an e36 BMW.
The 'big' saloons are quite long but you really notice in the car park how they aren't very wide - no wider than a Ford Focus/VW Golf and probably narrower.Dolomite Sprint will get to 160bhp without too much work - when the engines were made properly by the engineering department they were good for 150bhp using completely stock components. It's just that the production line couldn't make them anywhere near as well. All of the running gear is fine for the power too.
Hi.
I have a Mk1 2.5 Vitesse which I use for trackdays, sprinting and fast road stuff.
Free road tax £100 insurance and I can drive it to and from the track.
I don't honestly know what power it's got. I estimate about 150bhp from the spec (big cam, valves, porting, 6 branch manifold, 1.75 SU's etc.
The previous owner had 1/4 mile times of under 15 secs so no slouch.
The gearbox is a J type with overdrive on 2,3 & 4 with dolomite 1850 internals - I regard rebuilds of this a bit of a service item TBH.
Diffs out of a Mk3 Gt6 with a GT6 swingspring and 1" lowering block, GAZ adjustables and caterham style tubular adjustable front wishbones. 2.8 Capri discs with widened GT6 calipers and green stuff pads braided lines etc...
I love this car it's fast and sounds fantastic and handles and stops very very well with all the mods.
I often go out on forays with our local PH group and it keeps up with everyone no problem.
Just make sure the body and chassis are good and you can't go wrong.
I have a Mk1 2.5 Vitesse which I use for trackdays, sprinting and fast road stuff.
Free road tax £100 insurance and I can drive it to and from the track.
I don't honestly know what power it's got. I estimate about 150bhp from the spec (big cam, valves, porting, 6 branch manifold, 1.75 SU's etc.
The previous owner had 1/4 mile times of under 15 secs so no slouch.
The gearbox is a J type with overdrive on 2,3 & 4 with dolomite 1850 internals - I regard rebuilds of this a bit of a service item TBH.
Diffs out of a Mk3 Gt6 with a GT6 swingspring and 1" lowering block, GAZ adjustables and caterham style tubular adjustable front wishbones. 2.8 Capri discs with widened GT6 calipers and green stuff pads braided lines etc...
I love this car it's fast and sounds fantastic and handles and stops very very well with all the mods.
I often go out on forays with our local PH group and it keeps up with everyone no problem.
Just make sure the body and chassis are good and you can't go wrong.
I think you need to consider your budget - good Vitesses can be quite pricy. If money is tight, then a 2000/2500 may be a better bet.
The advantage of the big saloons are that they really are family-friendly, even to the point of having seatbelt mounting points built in to the back. I've been camping with my saloon including a fairly big tent, all the gear and the family. The estates are even more so, accommodating dogs, etc.
The downside is that 160 bhp from the six, while achievable, takes a fair amount of money and effort to get there. I would budget around a grand to a grand and a half (depending on what you're starting with and how much work you do yourself) to start getting decent power gains. TBH, you don't need to be making that sort of power to make it a good drive. My mildly modified 2500S makes an unstressed 115 bhp and is nicely tractable for daily use, with reasonable economy (27 mpg average).
As someone else said, getting more power out of the Sprint is probably easier.
The advantage of the big saloons are that they really are family-friendly, even to the point of having seatbelt mounting points built in to the back. I've been camping with my saloon including a fairly big tent, all the gear and the family. The estates are even more so, accommodating dogs, etc.
The downside is that 160 bhp from the six, while achievable, takes a fair amount of money and effort to get there. I would budget around a grand to a grand and a half (depending on what you're starting with and how much work you do yourself) to start getting decent power gains. TBH, you don't need to be making that sort of power to make it a good drive. My mildly modified 2500S makes an unstressed 115 bhp and is nicely tractable for daily use, with reasonable economy (27 mpg average).
As someone else said, getting more power out of the Sprint is probably easier.
Triumph2500S said:
The downside is that 160 bhp from the six, while achievable, takes a fair amount of money and effort to get there. I would budget around a grand to a grand and a half (depending on what you're starting with and how much work you do yourself) to start getting decent power gains. TBH, you don't need to be making that sort of power to make it a good drive. My mildly modified 2500S makes an unstressed 115 bhp and is nicely tractable for daily use, with reasonable economy (27 mpg average).
As someone else said, getting more power out of the Sprint is probably easier.
There's an easy-ish way to get 140BHP out of a big saloon...the big saloon with the same engine bay as the v8-engined Stag...As someone else said, getting more power out of the Sprint is probably easier.
It's hard to say hard long a gearbox lasts in normal use cos I do trackdays and stuff so I give it some stress.
You can convert to a ford type 9 box though and there are loads of upgrade bits for those (even 6 speed caterham jobs) so in the end you can fix anything on one of these cars.
Bear in mind a Vitesse is quite light so you don't need big power to have fun.
Mine keeps up with dolly sprints and mild TR8's on track.
Here he is mixin it!
You can convert to a ford type 9 box though and there are loads of upgrade bits for those (even 6 speed caterham jobs) so in the end you can fix anything on one of these cars.
Bear in mind a Vitesse is quite light so you don't need big power to have fun.
Mine keeps up with dolly sprints and mild TR8's on track.
Here he is mixin it!
Edited by racingsnake on Friday 17th December 23:39
Edited by racingsnake on Friday 17th December 23:41
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