leon.halliwell

If the seal is failing wouldn’t this manifest in a leak? leon

The clutch on my mkIV spit works perfectly most of the time but every so often I depress the pedal and it has very little resistance and I’m unable to take the car out of gear. I have to release the clutch and depress it again, this almost always fixes the problem straight away. I can’t find anything on all the forums which explains this problem. There is very little wear on the pivot under the rubber cover and I don’t know what else to check before I start pulling it all apart. Leon

i borrowed the correct hub puller from a very kind local TSSC member and had it all apart today. The whole lot is going for sand blasting and powder coating(with the exception of any mated surfaces!) i do have one question, there appears to be some wear on the shaft where the needle roller bearing contacts but its just shiny is this expected? leon

Excellent I’ll try that tomorrow!

Title says it all, I’ve got the drive shafts out for refurb and in the process of removing the hubs and vertical links the main bolt which passes through the trunnion is seized in place. I’ve tried heat, I’ve tried using an air impact gun, hammer, drill. I’m out of ideas and it needs to come out without destroying the vertical link or trunnion. Can anybody help

I wanted to give the whole half shaft assembly a good refurb myself. Looks like I’m going to struggle!

So I’m replacing wheel bearings this week and having a quick read through the workshop manual, it’s states the use of four ‘special tools’ one of which is the hub puller. Nobody ever mentions any of the others. Do I need them or is there a common work around?

I’m refurbishing my drive shafts, do I need the hub puller or will my mates 2 ton hydraulic press do the job?

Pete Sorry i wasn't clear, i'm dropping the diff because its being replaced, I've got access to a sand blasting cabinet and a 2 tonne hydraulic press so i'm going to try and completely refurb the half shafts and hub assemblies myself!

it was a great day, thanks again everyone who took part! So after being shown the rear drum brake cylinder retaining clips, i'm in the process of dropping my diff and as the half shafts are coming out for a clean up and light refurb i thought id have a look, turns out either half of it has jumped out or the PO just had no idea so replacements need to be ordered. i cannot for the life of me remember which of the various spare parts dealers was recommended any help would be appreciated. Leon

So spitfire workshop manual should have everything I need? I got the Haynes manual and to be honest I was a bit disappointed I was expecting more from it, I’ve got a workshop manual on order from the club shop. And I’m going to do all the bodywork required while still attached to the chassis only then separate and dip the body and sand blast the chassis!

so i'm planning the body off restoration of my spitfire mkIV, over the years its clearly had many repairs done, some more dodgy than others but what they have all done is very slightly adjust every single gap and distance so that nothing fits together quite right anymore! which book or document exists with the factory dimensions or is it just a pipe dream! regards Leon

Thanks everyone I think I’ll do the compression test and check the end float if any problems then I’ll go to town on the engine

Thanks Colin, most of those jobs seem like you can keep the engine in the car, it defo needs new mounts and I really need to check the crank for end float but I suppose once the sumps off I can do that in situ too

It’s one of those jobs that’s starts out with a simple plan but spirals out of control. I’m only concerned about any wear that’s built up in the engine that could cause catastrophic failure.

I’m going to strip, clean, paint and replace what I need to as I go along. I expect it to take a while just don’t want to spend loads of money and waste good summer driving time.

I’m thinking about pulling the engine out from my car and giving it an overhaul. It runs now, not beautifully but no major problems other than a few oil leaks. It’s done 90,000 miles and I doubt it’s ever had a full rebuild. Has anyone recently done this. Some hints and tips would be good. I’m going to have to send the head, block and crank off to be reground. I want to do as much myself as possible. How long does this usually take? What’s the normal cost? leon

I also plan to rip the old wiring loom out and replace with a more reliable and modern electrical system so I like the sound of a basics tutorial and any show and tells with other people upgrades if they’ve done any! leon

Yes please I will be there

Well when twiddle day 2 arrives sign me up! Not sure my spit will make it all the way up north! (North is anywhere past the M4) might have to ride the Kia bus

Pete you need to create some sort of video library of your vast knowledge!

Thanks I’ll have a go and see what happens

My Spitfire idles far too low, about 550 to 600 rpm which causes the engine to die if i fully close the choke even when warm, there's a fairly complex explanation of how to set the carbs up in the Haynes manual but i was wondering if you can just adjust the idle screws without fettling with anything else because the car is running with just the right mixture and i don't want it to change. regards Leon

thats exactly what i need but they are clearly like rocking horse s*** i cant find one anywhere except the odd cut up one on ebay

This afternoon saw me for the first time get my hands on an angle grinder and a mig welder! with very careful supervision these are the results, now for a bit of paint.