[Starter ring teeth]

Pete - that happened soon after I bought my 1500 Spitfire in 1990. It had a ten tooth starter which jammed - I seem to remember the starter motor squealing and generating lots of smoke! Luckily it happened at the Leicester and Rutland show (which was at Stanford Hall near Lutterworth back then) so I went and bought a second hand starter from a stall, bolted it on in the parking field and all was well 👍

Colin - good photos thanks. I guess the flywheel is designed to run in the gap between the starter pinion and the motor so the ring gear is completely disengaged once the engine has started. Will need to take some measurements and draw it all out to see where things should be.

[Starter ring teeth]

Thanks for the replies.

It did have a spacer fitted.
So this looks like the bendix hasn’t gone back far enough to clear the starter ring so the ring has effectively machined the bendix gear?

I will do some measurements to see if the two were interfering during running.

As a design engineer question - is the spacer required for some starters and not others? The Canley site shows a spacer and a shim so should there be an engagement check to set the gears in the correct alignment?

[Starter ring teeth]

Hello,

Just removed my starter motor on my mk iv spitfire to find the bendix teeth very badly damaged - see photo. This starter motor is only a couple of years old so hasn’t had a lot of use. Looking at the one I originally took off the bendix has 10 teeth while the damaged one has nine. I know the Spitfire should have nine but I think the Dolomites had ten as I had a similar problem on my 1500 Sptifire.
I removed the starter as it seemed loose but that was probably caused by the bendix not engaging properly.

My question is how many teeth should the ring gear have - for both a nine and ten gear bendix? On inspection it doesn’t seem to be damaged. However, I do not know the history of this car so will have to end up counting the teeth!

thanks

Jeff

[Fuel leaking from rear float chamber]

Hello,

I have a 1972 Mk IV Spitfire with HS2 carbs. On the rear float chamber cover at low idle I am getting a small fuel leak out of a small hole in the rear of the float cover. The float and needle seem to be functioning ok.

The front float cover has a piece of sheet metal which covers this hole but the rear one doesn’t - not sure if this is missing or if it should only be on the front one.

I have read the forum posts on ‘slivers’ so will swap all the hoses to make sure this is not causing it. Interestingly the HS4s on my 1500 have overflow drains but the HS2 doesn’t.

This spitfire was sat for around 20 years - I have fully rebuilt the carbs so not sure if this is being caused by corrosion etc in the float chamber cover and they will need replacing or if there is a more obvious fix.

thanks,

 

[New fan belt really difficult to fit]

Hello,

I have a 1972 mk IV Spitfire and was trying to fit a new fan belt - part 1088 which is correct for this car.  With the alternator pushed as far as possible the belt still needed to be ‘bicycled tired’ onto the water pump pulley. Once in position the alternator doesn’t need much adjustment to meet the required deflection.

For info a 1110 belt from a viscous coupling set up seemed to work ok.

I also have a 1978 1500 so am able to compare - this also has the 1088 belt (as I stopped to a standard fan many years ago) but with far more adjustment on the alternator. I have measured everything on both cars and can’t find an obvious issue which would explain it.

Is this tightness normal for a new belt (it is a while since I fitted one but don’t remember it being this difficult)?

thanks

[East Midlands car storage]

Hello all,

I need to store my two spitfires while we move house. 

Does anyone have experience of storage facilities in the Derby, Nottingham, Leicester area? Both good and bad?

A review of the internet shows everything from shipping containers to fully dehumidifed sheds with options to trickle charge the battery, run the car frequently etc etc.

To some extent the shipping container option may be better as I can lock the door and have access to them at all times.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Cooling system pipe melted next to exhaust]

Hello,

On my 1500 Spitfire the rubber cooling pipe from the intent manifold t piece to the block has melted where it is next to the exhaust manifold.

The manifold was changed several years ago to a Bell 4 into 2 s/s one to match the Bell exhaust system - the clearance between the pipe and manifold seems to be same as he cast version but I guess the heat transfer is higher with the s/s manifold.

It doesn’t seem to be touching the manifold but has a burnt/melted section around the size of a 1p coin which then failed under pressure.

Has anyone else had this issue and has anyone found a solution - making a heat shield or wrapping the pipe in insultating tape?

Thanks,

 

Jeff

[Seized oil drain plugs]

Hello,

i have seized oil drain plugs on the engine and diff and the oil fill plug on the gearbox. The car is a 1971 1300 Spitfire that hasn’t run for 22 years. It is now running and I want to change the diff and gearbox oil.

The engine has been solved by a vacuum pump through the dip stick tube but I am stuck with the diff and gearbox.

I have been using a 7/16” spanner and a hammer along with plus gas but no effect so far. I have also tried a bit of heat from a blow torch. I have been looking for 8 point sockets but cannot find the right size in the uk.

Can anyone advise how best to loosen the plug. Does anyone have experience with one of the universal sockets?

thanks,

Jeff.

[Bent push rods, stuck valves, damaged pistons?]

Update -

I have stripped everything down but can’t get the head off. All of the studs on the push rod side have come out but I cannot get the studs to move on the manifold side.

I have tapped the head in all directions but no movement at all. I have also tried to remove the studs on the manifold side with no success so I am assuming they are corroded and locked onto the head. So far they have been soaking in WD40 but looking on the forum this might not be the best stuff to use.

So am I missing something or is just a case of being patient?

thanks

[Bent push rods, stuck valves, damaged pistons?]

Thanks for the replies. Not really bad news! - at least I now have some idea of what I will find when I take the head off.

[Bent push rods, stuck valves, damaged pistons?]

Hi all,

First post on the forum. I have a 1978 spitfire 1500 that I have owned for 28 years which has been the subject of a rolling restoration over many years.

The subject of this post is a 1971 Spitfire Mk IV which hasn’t run for 20 odd years.

I have spent several months rebuilding the fuel system - pump, carburettors etc which were full of old dried fuel and seized. Having fixed this - and with the engine turning freely - I was then looking to see what else was required before it could be started. However, further inspection of the engine has revealed bent push rods and the inlet valves for cylinders 2 and 3 locked in the open position. I am guessing that the stuck valves are bent.

Therefore, before I remove the cylinder head for further investigation, can anyone tell me if the pistons hit the valves? Is it worth removing the head with the engine in the car or is a larger engine rebuild needed so I might as well just take it out?

thanks,

Jeff