Anything and everything Herald. Talk about anything from the first 948s to the last 13/60s.

Don't all shout at once but I am intending to put a 1977 Dolomite Sprint engine into a 1966 Herald Convertable !!
I am no engineer but fairly handy with a spanner and I have a few friends with skills ready to assist.

Having spent many hours researching various aspects of this project I think i need some help in the following areas:-

From various reports read regarding the installation of more powerful engines it appears there may be problems with stress cracks around "lower suspension mounts and diff mounts" can anyone elaborate on these and any other potential ,problem areas with the chassis and perhaps suggest what stregthening work would be required to avoid these problems ?

I will obviously need to uprate the brakes and suspension and i'm wondering whether the path of least resistance may be to use GT6 items, will any of these bolt on our do you have any alternative suggestions ? (I do have all the sprint running gear if any of that can be used, which incidentally will be up for grabs if not).

I think that will probably be enough to keep me going for the moment but if anyone has any usefull suggestions other than "don't do it" then I would be glad to hear from you.

i think im right in saying that if you put a dolomite sprint engine in an early herald without serious modification to the chassis that the car will probibally last about a week (depending on how many miles you do of course) i was recommended vitesse 1600 discs for my 12/50 as tha are bolt on swaps but you need the whole shooting match from it, i really would urge you to do the right thing and keep the car origonal,
i know give me the sprint engine for my spit!!

Thanks for the encouragment Ben , I am prepared to do what it takes to the chassis to make it as reliable as possible short of spending time in a mental rehabilitation clinic ! Its just one one those things ive been thinking about for a long time and i'll take some serious convincing to not do it now i've got the major bits.

I've taken on board your brake comments though and of course i'll bear you in mind for the engine if it all falls flat (ps did I mention it's BL "gold seal engine with about 30,000 miles on it, now thats got to be worth a couple of pints to anyone).

it would be a good basis to copy the vitesse or gt6 chassis to see where and how it is beefed up

Good luck Richard,though i beg to differ on the financial worth of anything with "BL" on it................

Thanks- I think i,m getting the message.

errmmmm......
The 12/50 and Vitesse 1600 used the same discs and type 12 calipers. The late 12/50 may have used the improved type 14 caliper and pads as used on the 13/60 and other Heralds with the disc brake option from 1967. The type 14 setup has a larger pad area, so considerably more effective. That would make the Vitesse 1600 setup a step backwards........
The Vitesse did not get an uprated (compared to the Herald) disc brake setup until the 2 Litre cars were introduced. Now that setup WOULD be an improvement.
Cheers,
Bill.

Hi Richard,
The comments about diff and lower suspension mounting points refer to the pre June 1962 Mk1 chassis - anyone considering uprating the performance of one of these cars ought to be certified!
A 1966 car on the other hand should be structurally a better bet. This is effectively the same chassis frame as used in all models of the Vitesse. It's torque which destroys the chassis, and the Vitesse produces plenty of that, BHP is irrelevant. I don't think there should be any problem in the frame handling the output of a Sprint engine.
As regards running gear, I would go with the GT6 parts as a simple bolt-in swap. I beleieve the strongest diffs are those fitted to the 1500 Spitfire, but that's really not my area of expertise.
The biggest problem I can see is getting the big Triumph 2000 type gearbox between the rails. The only way to do this (without hanging the engine too far up front) is to raise the back end higher, putting a kink in the driveline and making the UJs work harder. This is poor engineering, and while it will work, it puts undesirable strains on the driveline, a potential reliability issue.
Finally, regarding your comments elsewhere about the BL Gold Seal engine. About 15 years ago a friend bought a brand new BL short engine for a Sprint from a reputable supplier. When fitted, there was an appalling water leak, and he found that an 'O' ring had been pinched upon assembly - sorry I don't know enough about the Sprint engine to be more specific. Dont' rely on anything original from this era as being a sign of quality.......
Cheers,
Bill.
g

Thanks for your wisdom Bill, and for bringing me down to earth with regard to the engine.

Although the sprint had been sat for about 5 years before I bought it I did manage to get the engine running before removal and it seemed ok.

I appreciate your comments and will see what can be done to save the UJs when I get to that point.

I knew I should have bought those GT6 parts from ebay last week--damn

Section : Engine Swaps

Herald Sprint !!

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Herald Sprint !!

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Herald Sprint !!

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