Hello from the IW!

I joined this group a couple of years ago as I was trying to find out about fitting T/TF seats into my 1963 Triumph Vitesse 6 convertible. I'd bought them off eBay but never did fit them.

I made the decision to get rid of the Vitesse a couple of weeks ago as I just didn't have the time or inclination to do what needed to be done. I'd read quite a bit about the T/TF so decided that one of those would be an ideal replacement. One of my son-in-laws sent me a link to an advert on Wightbay (the Isle of Wight's version of eBay) last week and we went to see the 2002 TF 135 on Saturday. He drove it, he's had three TFs himself, as I wasn't insured to drive other cars, he thought it was great so I decided to buy it. We picked it up on Sunday but I still haven't driven it yet as I want to get the cam-belt changed first. It was last changed in 2009 at around 61500, it's now on 95000.

I'd be interested to hear of other peoples cam-belt stories as I've phoned a couple of garages and they don't want to do it. I'm taking the car to the garage I've been to for 40+ years so that we can discuss the job next week. He's very busy and won't be able to do it until early September.

Cheers.

Denis

Hi and welcome to the forum

Has the car been standing for a or in regular use?
If it is the latter I would consider coming across the Solent and getting it done in a garage over here.

But to be honest, it isn't much harder than doing a front engined car once the cover is off if you are handy with the tools.

James

:welcome2:

Hi James.

I didn't ask the person I bought the TF from how much he'd used it. He said that he's bought it just before lockdown to go touring on the Continent and because he couldn't do that he was selling it so someone else could use it for the rest of the summer.

It went very well on the test drive and my son-in-law was impressed with it.

I'm reluctant to use it since I found out the length of time since the cam-belt was changed, I don't want to risk it and wreck the engine. I've watched the Youtube video and seen how easy it is with the engine out. I know it's a different story with the engine in-situ!

Have you got any recommendations for garages in the Southampton area that would do the job for info please?

I reckon I could do it myself, I'm handy with tools. The only specialist tool needed appears to be the cam shaft locking tool and a means of locking the flywheel, is that correct?

Cheers.

Denis

Personally unless you've got an impact gun I would employ one of the Mobile mechanics, MJS Marine are mobile and also have a base in your area, another is Rough luck racing based in hull but travel I can personally recommend them.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

The cam lock tool is a few quid.

I used a Ryobi impact driver I bought to go with my other Ryobi tools, and of course I use it a lot for other jobs.

It isn't difficult with the engine in as the crank pulley sits in the middle of the wheel well.

Locally I would always recommend MJS.

trivit6iw wrote: I reckon I could do it myself, I'm handy with tools. The only specialist tool needed appears to be the cam shaft locking tool and a means of locking the flywheel, is that correct?

I got mine done by a local MG Rover expert. He didn't use anything special to lock the flywheel. He poked what looked like a big screwdriver into a hole somewhere underneath and used a breaker bar in the other hand to undo the crankshaft pulley. It took seconds. Mind you, it was up in the air on a 4 poster, which always makes things easier.

Hi Denis,

The timing belt is easy to do, takes me about three hours now. The first time is more difficult but far from hard.

You do need a cam locking tool, and if you lock the flywheel, which I do, in order to torque the crank nut, you will need to remove the starter motor, which can be fiddly.

Mark