1974 Spitfire MKIV.

[louisw]

That low at a spitfire you have to photoshop your rear wheels like this.

Jeroen

demon_camber_oni_kyan.flv7_.jpg

Haha, yeah i was just playing around with ride height, it wouldn't be that low!

[Jon Tilson]

You are a bit limited with range of wheels and speed bump ground clearance on a Spit.
Mine is on the 5.5J GT6 wheels and 175/70's and is a reasonable compromise.

MGF wheels give you more modern tyre sizes but I doubt you can go much above 195 and still fit in the arches.

Too much grip and you cant drift either....

On your early post yes its all about keeping out the moisture. Good zinc primer and top coat is the thing.

Jonners

[twincamspit]

> I doubt you can go much above 195 and still fit in the arches

The donor MGF has 195 R15 tyres on the front, and wider (205 or 225, can't remember offhand) on the rear.
The rear tyres will fit under standard arches on the back and look HUGE on the car.

The front is a different matter, and anything above a 185 R55 is asking for trouble. Even with a 185 they can catch on full lock.

Also, from what others have told me, you'll need to upgrade to Landrover M12 studs and MGF nuts to cope with the extra grip and sideways forces on the hubs; the little Spitfire ones aren't much good above the standard 13R 4.5J wheels. You can go back to standard spitfire wheels after the upgrade, the standard steel wheels will still fit on the thicker stronger studs.

Finally, 2 different people have now commented on the handling becoming 'skittish' above 70MPH with 175 or 185s on the front and wider tyres on the rear, so I think personally I'd go for 175s all round, or maybe 175 front and 185 rear.

[louisw]

Well i've pulled the whole rear of the spit apart, and found that the yolk on one of the flanges on the driveshaft was cracked so this means a new driveshaft... yawn. Going to get the hubs split, check the bearings if OK as the oil catchers had rusted through and im worried water has gone.

I have also dropped the diff which has been wire brushed but still has surface rust. I think the I will replace the front seal on the diff as it's leaking (presumably from this). The oil which came out of it was like honey, and black so will also be replaced!

It's not looking too good under the spit though, dont fancy going under there too much with a grinder though on my back... Advice?





I also split the rear leaf spring apart and started painting it. White, as that's all i had at hand! Oh well, wont be visible once in so that doesn't matter Just need to replace the spacer tubes, bolts and buttons between the leaves.





Not much else going on really as i've been at university. Hope to progress some more over the next few days, but wont be doing anything more for another couple of months unfortunately.

Cheers
Louis

[twincamspit]

Normal advice is to get all 4 wheels up on car ramps (I can see 2 in the distance of one of your photos) these give you a heck of a lot more clearance than axle stands when you're lying underneath.
However, with half of your car's rear end dismantled, that might not be an option!

[Jon Tilson]

Long time since I did mine but new buttons are a must, as is the rubber block in the spring box.

It wears/sqaushes on one side where the driver mostly adds weight so can make the car a bit lop sided after 40k miles or so.

The rounded edge of the spring goes to the front too IIRC.

Just wire brush the chassis of and repaint it.

You can buy new "yokes" if its just the flat bit. If its the one on the shaft sadly you need to change the whole shaft.
I'd get a 2nd had one but be sure its the correct length....there are 2 sorts. Replace the wheel bearing before fitting
and a new trunion kit and it should be good for another 50k miles or so at least.

Jonners

[louisw]

Did a bit more today, rebuilt the leaf spring with new bolts, diy spacer tubes and new buttons which I made from moulded silicone. will see how well they work in the future!


Also cleaned up the diff but still a bit greasy, will normal degrease sort this out? Anyone cleaned up their different in the past?


Also vacced out the inside and applied filler to the outside




.

[twincamspit]

Louis, impressed that you made your own silicon leaf spring buttons!
I've heard people doing this since the Dutch spit club stopped doing them, but did you need a lathe to get the tails turned down?
Best degreaser I've used is Jizer, expensive but works well.

[twincamspit]

> I doubt you can go much above 195 and still fit in the arches

The donor MGF has 195 R15 tyres on the front, and wider (205 or 225, can't remember offhand) on the rear.
The rear tyres will fit under standard arches on the back and look HUGE on the car.

The front is a different matter, and anything above a 185 R55 is asking for trouble. Even with a 185 they can catch on full lock.

Also, from what others have told me, you'll need to upgrade to Landrover M12 studs and MGF nuts to cope with the extra grip and sideways forces on the hubs; the little Spitfire ones aren't much good above the standard 13R 4.5J wheels. You can go back to standard spitfire wheels after the upgrade, the standard steel wheels will still fit on the thicker stronger studs.

Finally, 2 different people have now commented on the handling becoming 'skittish' above 70MPH with 175 or 185s on the front and wider tyres on the rear, so I think personally I'd go for 175s all round, or maybe 175 front and 185 rear.

EDIT: Tyre size comparison - see attachment.

So I think my choice would be 175/60R15 (23.3" x 6.89") all round,
or you could just have them on the front so the steering doesn't suffer, and go for 185/60R15 on the back (23.7"x7.28") or maybe keep the MGF's 195/55R15 (23.4"x7.68") for the back.

[louisw]

Well,
It's been a while since i've posted any updates! And a fair bit has been done
I have rebuilt the leaf spring and given it a lick of blue paint to make it look better (white was a bit, meh), cleaned up the diff and re-fitted it under the spitfire which was a bit of a pain even with a trolley jack! I have also put all new bearings, shocks, nuts, bolts, trunnion bushes with plenty of grease/copperslip. Both sides are re-assembled with brake shoes in and leaf spring in position.

I have also been welding recently which entailed fitment of the rear quarter/ end of sill, and putting end plates onto the sills and my rear boot quarter repair.

Also undersealed my nearside rear arch after the repairs.

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[Edin Dundee]

Long time no hear, I was thinking of this resto the other day.

[marko]

Louis, impressed that you made your own silicon leaf spring buttons!
I've heard people doing this since the Dutch spit club stopped doing them, but did you need a lathe to get the tails turned down?
Best degreaser I've used is Jizer, expensive but works well.

I MADE SOME ON THE LATHE FOR A FRIENDS SPITFIRE. I'VE STILL GOT THE SPARE ROD IF YOU KNOW ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS SOME. ALSO YOU NEED TO USE ENGINE OIL IN THE LOWER TRUNNIONS.

[louisw]

Well I have undersealed and completely welded up all the rear arch on the nearside, this side is now done welding wise! Hooray!

I put her back onto her wheels, and lowered off the jackstands to find it at a nice stance. Forgotten how low down these cars are! Wanting slightly lower mind... but not to worry for now.

I also filled the diff full of oil now so another job off the list Milk bottle is a 4 pinter as reference to height.

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[matienzo]

Bit of a hijack but of interest to Spitfire owners reading this. At the TSSC International I discovered that BCC were making new leaf springs for Spitfires. Brand new, correctly tempered to give original ride height - long term. I'm sure other Spitfire owners on here will know the sagging spring issues with many aftermarket ones. These look promising fit and forget items. http://www.britishclassiccarparts.com/

Steve

[Toledo Man]

I wouldn't worry too much about the ride hight at this stage. You've still to parts to fit and paint to go on. Once the car has had some miles put on it the suspension will settle.

Keep up the good work.