aggie

Hello all, just bought a new hood for my Mk 1 Spitfire from Don Hoods. Unfortunately the poppers have not been fitted. Apparently this is standard practice ? Also the gap between the header rail and top of windscreen surround is not wide enough to accept the hood. So, anyone got any tips for fitting please? Ta.

Hello all, I need to replace the brushes in my starter motor ( Mk 1 Spitfire ) but not having any luck de-soldering, unsoldering ? the old ones. Using a soldering iron the heat is shunted away to the backplate. I'm afraid to use a gas torch in case I might melt the spacers between the brush holder and backplate. Anyone got any advice please ?

Everyone's cheaper than Newton but it's their kit that everyone else sells ! Rimmers, Paddocks, et al.

I want to install a new Radio/CD player into My Spitfire which, being 1964, is Positive earth. All the modern Radios are, of course, Negative earth. Is there a way to do this ?

Can anyone tell me how to fit the screw that holds the chrome headlamp trim in place on an early Spitfire please ? There's certainly not enough room for a screwdriver. Thanks, Alun.

Many thanks to you all. I think I now have a grasp of what it all means and the confidence to finish the job. All I now need is two people with nothing to do for an hour or two or 300 lbs of sand from the local builder's merchant. It will probably be the sand ! Alun.

Pete, I stripped the whole of the suspension so have new shocks, spring, diff, UJs and new bushes throughout

Okay, so having removed the diff ( thanks for all the tips on hammer size ! ) and spring it's time to refit the same. Refitting is quite straightforward but, this is the bit that's confusing me. Taken from the official Workshop Manual :- " PLACE A TROLLEY JACK UNDER THE DIFFERENTIAL CASING, REMOVE THE CHASSIS STANDS AND, WITH THE VERTICAL LINKS SUPPORTED AT THEIR RUNNING HEIGHT, LOAD THE CAR AND LOWER IT'S REAR END UNTIL THE AXLE SHAFTS ASSUME THEIR STATIC LADEN OPERATING POSITION. THIS IS TO ALLOW THE RUBBER BUSHES TO ASSUME THEIR CORRECT WORKING POSITION BEFORE TIGHTENING THE NUTS " ??? I'm sure I read somewhere that loading the car means placing a 68 Kg weight on each seat ? As to the rest, can anyone shed some light please. I suppose it would be clear to a trained Triumph mechanic but........... Alun

Anybody know of a TR4 for sale from project to reasonable condition ?

Hey, WD40, a long drift and a club hammer ( as suggested )...........job done ! It will be two short bolts when it goes back and I've already done the drain plug. Thanks to you all for your input, much appreciated. Alun

I've decided to remove the diff from my Mk 1 Spitfire for a long overdue recon. It's been a struggle but I have removed everything except, of course the very long bolt which passes through the two rear mountings. The nut came off okay and the bolt turns but, come out it will not. I guess it's rusted to the steel inners of the old mountings ? Any tips please. Thanks.

Thankyou all. Think i'll go with your method Colin. Any particular glue that you use ? I've used several different spray adhesives when fitting carpet and odd bits of trim but don't really rate any of them too highly.

Hello, I am just about to recover ( retrim ) the rear wheel arches of my Spitfire 4. Have cleaned everything and cut the new material roughly to shape but, because the arch is arched and the material is flat it's a bit like wrestling with an eel. Anybody out there done this before and got any helpful tips such as where to start i.e. top, bottom or middle ?

Hello Pete, Sorry I haven't replied earlier but the answer is no. I have removed and relocated the windscreen but the problem remains. I guess it's worth trying what Pete and Colin suggest, I will certainly be looking at this as a solution. Thanks, both, for that and thanks Colin for the advice regarding my steering wheel replacement; worked a treat.

Thanks Clive I will check those points.

No, Pete it's the original wiring which hasn't been changed. Good thought though.

I'm having a problem with the horns on my Spitfire 4. They are the original " Clear Hooters " which have not been used in anger for a number of years but, here's the point. They work perfectly well off the car or, indeed, on the car if you connect them directly to a battery. Very loud too ! However, when connected as they should be only the high tone horn works when the horn button is pressed and then only if the low tone horn is disconnected. When both are connected neither works. I have checked the wiring and there are no high resistance points. I should say that the wiring diagram in the workshop manual shows the horns are connected via a relay but, this is not the case. They are actually wired as per the diagram for a Vitesse i.e. one side of the horns permanently live with the other side being earthed when the horn push is operated. Any ideas please?

Yes Colin, I bought them from Rimmers and they are pretty hard. The originals, which I still have, are quite soft and fit easily enough but really are past their use by date. I've tried warming the new ones in the AGA but to no avail. Funnily enough the very thing I said to my wife this morning was " if I can't solve this today I'm going to cut them in half, put one half either side and glue them together again ". Perhaps it's a bit like the windscreen rubber I bought from Rimmers. Tried for days to get it to fit but couldn't. When I called them to complain the guy says "we know there's a problem with them, just send it back ". Infuriating or what?

Does anyone out there know how to fit new bobbins to the wiper motor mount without breaking them ? Have tried and tried but only hurt my fingers !!

Thank you Scrapman, yes they are inertia belts but Rimmer have 3 point inertia belts available which I didn't realise when I bought these. Hey ho.

Thank you both. Looking at the illustrations on the Securon website I must have the wrong set. Some have 4 fixing points and some have 3. If there are 3 location points on the car then, logically, I guess I would need the set that has 3 fixing points. Will need to speak to Rimmerbros about this. Regards, Alun.

I have just bought a pair of " Securon " seat belts to go in my Mk1 Spitfire but the fitting instructions are absolute rubbish. There are 3 pre-installed mounting points on the car, one either side and to the rear of the seat and one towards the top of the wheel arch. Okay, the one to the rear left is obviously for the stalk which leaves the other two. However the belt has 3 mounting points ? Try as I might I cannot figure out how to fit them. Anybody out there fitted these before ?

As part of an ongoing restoration of My Mk1 Spitfire I have just re-installed the side windows and winding mechanisms. Passenger side is fine but the driver's side window does not match with the contour of the windscreen frame. Instead when fully wound up the top of the window leans away from the frame about 1/2" ( which is quite a lot ). I've looked through various manuals but nowhere can I find any reference to any adjustment to compensate for this. Help please.

Try ST Chrome in Bristol. I had a complete set of bumpers and overriders for my Mk 1 Spitfire rechromed for just over £700. Not cheap, I know but a fantastic finish. Weigh that against a new set for £900 ( + vat ) and the quality is just not the same as originals. Happy hunting.

Thank you Colin for that advice. I guess as long as one takes it slowly and carefully that there is no reason not to get a perfect fit.