DanMi

1500 spit got the later column in about 1978 GT6 finished in about 1974

or on the wrong side, particularly if you have overdrive on a column stalk as I do, they can be replaced with LHD ones, mine have vanished over the years so it's ok

It's a GT6 so they were all the early style column

It is very simple as I have done this. just swap the stalks over (ok the light will be upside down unless you buy a left hand drive one) then undo the steering uj from the rack and turn the column 180 degrees so that the cancel lug is now at 9 oclock rather than 3 when straight ahead. No modification to the stalk is needed.

just 6 bolts with a 1/2 inch spanner, 2 in the top of the windscreen frame two on the back deck and 1 either side in the b-post through the tubes where the softop frame sits.

If that is the case then you really need to investigate why. A spitfire with well set up brakes should be able to lock the wheels, so there can be no more braking force applied. Yes they require more leg effort as not boosted but they should stop the car very quickly, and mine has the smaller type 12 callipers. Yes they are very small, light and have no crumple zones etc, so they do need to be driven defensively. Mine will happily sit on the motorway if I want to get somewhere, though it is not their natural habitat and as Pete says big trucks can be daunting.

No park in mine as it has a manual gearbox

a comfortable speed would be about 60 at just under 4000 RPM with overdrive similar revs is about 75

Does it have overdrive? from the pics I can only see 1 stalk to the right of the column, which should be indicators and it was optional and not mentioned on the heritage cert, so not there when new. If it doesn't it is a great upgrade if you can find the bits (mine has the OD gearbox from a mk4 so synchro on 1st), I can cruise at 75mph easily. I will tell you that the footwell carpet on the drivers side may be a pain, with the clutch pedal catching on it (you can see the marks). I replace mine with a moulded mk4 new old stock because of this (TD Fitchet) a very minor issue! or some velcro to hold it down. The rest looks good. It will drive just fine, you will use the light stalk to indicate if used to a modern as the indicators are on the right (possibly better on a RHD car) I have swapped mine around and you will find that the brakes need more force as they are not power assisted, but they work fine just takes getting used to and you may find when getting back in the modern that you hit them too hard after using the spit, but you get used to it. You will find the driving position a bit odd to start with as the pedals are all to the right of the column. As to using the button on the handbrake Ford/Jaguar advised that you pull the handbrake on without pushing the button on the MK3 Mondeo / X-type as they had them not hold when people did

soft top is always useful but if just for emergencies a much cheaper vinyl one will work perfectly, mine is now about 30 years old and still fine.

I have had a look at the listing, looks good. As they say that it has a starting handle! (that is the handle to the jack) I would be very surprised if they knew about hood storage. So don't do anything until you pull that rear cockpit panel forward. I did note that it is missing the strap to hold the soft top frame (not a big deal) when not in use. There should be a leather strap on the top centre screw that holds the petrol tank panel in place (in the boot), a small leather dog collar will work perfectly. The frame then sits with the base poles on the wheel arches and the centre attached with the missing strap.

I can't see how the same wind deflector could fit both the mk2 and later cars as the attachments are so different, but I haven't tried fitting one, The MK2 has nothing to bolt to and I see bolts in those kits. My opinion is to get the car and try driving it before even thinking about this. Also if the hood cover isn't there, think about how you will use the car before deciding on a roof type. If as is my case the car is garaged and only driven with the hood down (unless caught in rain) then is it worth paying extra for an expensive material. My money is still on the hood being behind the cockpit panel, very few people know about this storage place

To be fair the cars had a design life of about 10-15 years, so really that manky bit of cable was perfectly adequate, just not up to still being used 40-50 years later

basically the mk1 and 2 bodies are identical with minor changes that happened throughout production run. The only difference that occurred at the mk2 release was the mk2 boot badge and the bonnet grills. Main differences where interior upgrades with carpet and more vinyl trim and the engine had a bit more power due to a different cam and exhaust manifold

have you tried turning the 2 metal circles at the top of the rear cockpit above the speakers in your photo. The panel will then pull forward and that is where the vinyl part of the hood is stored. It may well be there. Ahh this has been pointed out before! If it,s not there you will need the rear retaining bar and 3 metal strips for the front as well, front are same as the TR4 (3 pieces just in front of the hood but not listed. https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-GRID200895 found them https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-806696MET

they look like HS2 to me with the bolts to the manifold in a vertical alignment, HS4 are angled (but hard to see!). They are the later type though with the crankcase breathing to the carbs as in MK4 rather than having the crankcase breath to a valve on the manifold. They also may have a valve in the throttle butterfly and a sprung needle as in the MK4. I think that they are a set of MK4 carbs

In my experience piston corrosion usually happens on the disk side of the piston rather than the fluid side so Siicon would make little difference. I used stainless simply as the plated ones I had first were corroded and sticking after 5 years, probably down to being cheaply made, rather than inherent issues with plated pistons

I have had them fail with no warning before, but usually I notice slow cranking etc. first

I think that the deck panel is the same, a round top hardtop will fit a square and vice versa. As for the lower cut-outs I would measure against what is actually there as the pipes and mounts may not be in the original locations if boot floor has been replaced ( mine has been replace twice now)

does that actually go to the washers or to a pipe to the driver and the blue colour just a ruse until filedl with proper JD :-)

The Stanpart originals were moulded but not the replacements available today, though modern vinyl does have more stretch

The rockers not moving is a video effect, as you can still see the pushrod rotating, which it wouldn't do if it was not going up and down

Parts 16 and 17 are just sections of vinyl to stick on the wheel arches, they are part of the kit with the panels or just contact them and ask for some vinyl from the roll

You need to get a screwdriver in and rotate the back set of splines not the front, I believe clockwise, but I would check the manual on the direction

best way is to take the front plate and sump off and replace the aluminium block with a steel one but that is a lot of work. No reason why you couldn't tap the hole and use a larger bolt or put a 5/16 helicoil in. It is a very common issue as most of the bolts go into steel so the torque for these into aluminium is much lower and they get over tightened.