1970 Spitfire resurrection

[Purplebargeken]

I'd forgotten how good that 3M stuff was Howard.

What are you doing to it now! Result on the MOT pass mate, well done.

[Howard81]

Good to see you today Howard, I hope the engine proves to be a good'un for you.

And you too - good to catch up again!

What are you doing to it now!

What you see there is a 1300 engine that is correct for a Spitfire MKIV! It's been reconditioned at some point in the past, possibly around 1997, and has had little to no use since. I can finally get rid of the leaky and knocking Midget 1500 lump that's currently in the car

[Howard81]

The Spitfire's MoT runs out in a couple of weeks, so I've spent a number of evenings going over the car to make sure it was in the best possible condition for the test.

1. Fitted a new indicator arm as the old one burst in to flames along the M4. Inside the old switch I found the rather charred remains of a spider! Poor thing.

2. Tightened up both front wheel bearings one flat on the nut to bring them back up to the correct tolerance.

3. Removed and refitted the wiper spindle boxes the correct way round to cure the wiper parking issue detailed in a previous post. Not an easy job as they're right up underneath the dashboard with pretty much everything obscuring access. For the first time ever I now have windscreen wipers that self-park!

4. During the wiper spindle reassembly I somehow got tangled up in the windscreen washer tubing which promptly broke off where it connects to the electric pump (and covered me in washer fluid!). It was an ugly modern bottle (with a built-in pump) anyway, so I was rather glad to get rid of it. I've now fitted an original washer bottle and electric pump from a late Spitfire 1500.

Anyway, the MoT was this morning.. and it passed! Flying colours and not even an advisory

Photos to follow, but I've been working on the car in the dark!

[Howard81]

Another year has passed and it's MoT time again!

For the last few years the car has flown through the MoT, but this year I am faced with some issues that need to be fixed in order for the car to pass. The exhaust downpipe recently cracked on the motorway, the slightly iffy off-side sill has gone crusty and the driver's floor needs patching. Also, not MoT failure points, but there’s also the matter of the rusty front wing/wheelarch, the rusty passenger door and the knackered engine to sort out.

So after spending the last couple of years saving up, sourcing various panels and locating a decent engine, the car is now in the hands of Derek (autonet7) at Autopride in Guildford for a comprehensive makeover

Sill:



Door:





Wing:

Can't find a "before" photo )

The replacement parts I have are:

[Howard81]

Unfortunately the state of the off-side sill was much worse than initially thought - lots of filler and Derek pulled a doughnut packet out of it! If you look in the photos below you’ll also notice that the inner sill strengthening panel was missing completely (806635 shown here: http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/ImagePopUp. ... GRID005872). Quite why someone had gone to the effort of replacing the outer sill and missing out the inner strengthening panel is beyond belief, especially when you consider it costs less than £10! Anyway, the sill is now rot free (complete with inner strengthening panel) and as good as new.

It was a similar story with the floorpan. The rear half was replaced a couple of years ago but on the front there was a bit of crispyness around one of the drain holes. By the time this was cut back to good metal, half the front floorpan had been cut out! Derek has made a great job of this, welding in a section from a scrap panel complete with strengthening ribs pressed in.

So that’s everything up to date with the photos I have, stay tuned for further updates!

[Jon Tilson]

No no no Howard you cant have a sensible exhaust like that.....

It has to be the twin straight through pipes.....

Jonners

[Howard81]

No no no Howard you cant have a sensible exhaust like that.....

It has to be the twin straight through pipes.....

I hear you Jon, but the Sports system and fancy manifold would be near on three times what I paid for this standard exhaust.

The Spit gets far too much attention as it is.. plus I already have the Sprint to terrorise the locals with

So the Spit is staying standard.. for now..

[Reg]

Standard exhaust gets my vote..super cool!

Thanks for the pics and update.. great to see it looking better..

[Purplebargeken]

Hey Howard, long time no news

How goes the Spittie and the Sprint?

PS: what colour was the Halfords paint for the green Dolly? I can't recall now

[Jon Tilson]

Brooklands green...the Halfrauds effort is a reasonable match.

I had one...

Jonners

[Purplebargeken]

Cheers Jonners, just looked through the thgread (which is what I should have done in the first place). Brooklands Green - code HYF

I seem to remember that it was a pretty decent match and faded in to almost perfect over a few months.

[Mad Mart]

Brooklands Green code is HAE Ken, or is that the Halfords code?

[Purplebargeken]

Sorry Mart, that was Halfrauds code.