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NickTruman

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Posts posted by NickTruman

  1. 19 minutes ago, Mathew said:

    And i thought i was a bit low on my setup. Are you thinking of coming to Duxford? Would be great to see it in the flesh. It does make my mods look a bit tame. The rule for making modifications i go by is if it brings a smile to your face then it must be ok. Why not start a thread on the work you have done in the restoration thread. Would be interesting to see it in more detail.

    Hi Mathew, just Googled Duxford and came up with 3 of them. It depends where, I have no roof (yet) and only a 5 gallon fuel cell. But I really want to go to some Triumph meets..

  2. 8 minutes ago, JohnD said:

    Well goodness me, Nick!    That is quite an achievement - the MX5 has been said to be descended from the Spitfire, but you have produced a Spitfire descended from its' competitor, the MR2!   

    Very well done - the 'dipped in green glass' body work is also impressive.

    Do you have/intend a cover for the engine compartment?    It looks a little unfinished without.

    John

    Hi John

    i have made a cover for the engine, the bit where the filler goes, but tbh i get asked to show the engine all the time!

    i might do something out if perspex.. but jury is out..

  3. Hi Everyone, I've been a member on and off since the 1990s, I've had many Spitfires, all have been somewhat controversial by purists standards..

    So please let me introduce my latest Spitfire, something truly different.. If triumph were to make a Spitfire in the 21st Century what would it be like. Anyway my take..

    My 1978 Spitfire is now powered by a 1.8 20v turbo engine from a VW Passat (to be fair when I bought the car it was just a rotted out shell and chassis, no rolling bits, doors or bonnet).

    I decided to make my Spitfire mid-engined, so I mounted the engine where a Spitfire's differential normally sits. The gearbox sits in an Audio A6 quattro rear subframe attached to the Spit's chassis. A space frame chassis then gives the whole thing a little more rigidity. The rear suspension are Lotus ELise Gaz Golds and Audi control arms.

    The front of the car has gone through a number of revisions, now I am using a standard Spitfire steering rack and hubs, Canley Classic wishbones and Gaz gold shocks. I did have to raise the suspension towers 2" to fit the 17 inch rims. The Spitfire hubs have been modified to accept Audi 5x112 wheels.

     

    The engine has been upgraded, the turbo replaced with a larger T04, injectors and MAF are from an Audi TT and the ecu mapped to about 300 bhp. The car weighs little more than 600 kg. I have also added Methanol/Water injection, which assists in propelling the car from 0-60 in about 3 seconds and 15-85mph in 3rd gear in 3.5 seconds. The car also has a theoretical top speed of just under 200 mph.

    The car has been in a number of magazines :)

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  4. Hi everyone 

    can someone tell me how high the steering rack sits above the crossmember?

    in my mockup on the mid engined spitfire, it clamped with 2 exhaust u bolts to the mounts but I know it is too low. I will buy some solid mounts, but until then I want to pack it at the right hight. 
    regards nick 

  5. 6 minutes ago, dave.vitesse said:

    If you have a wiper controlling stalk on the column then it's the later nut that's required.

    Dave

    Hi Dave

    there lies my problem. I bought my spit part by part. It is a mid engined spitfire based on a VW Passat with a 1.8t engine and transaxle where your dif is. All I can tell is the steering column nut thread is 14mm 9/16”

    😁

  6. 1 hour ago, dave.vitesse said:

    The later Spit 1500, 1975 - on, has the same nut as the TR7, 13466, and a similar steering column. If I remember its also the same as the Dolomite and maybe the 2000. The good old parts bin again.

    Its the heat Pete.

    Dave

    That’s what worries me, knowing my luck I have bought the wrong one. 

  7. Hi

    On my mid-engined Spitfire as i have no engine up front I do need to open the bonnet as it does, so i want to lose the over-riders and fabricate a new front that will channel air through the radiator and up through the bonnet like my old ferrari dino does.

    This means I have to move the front hinges, has anyone done this? I saw an article about fitting mk2 bumber to a mkiv, but some elements of the hinges stayed in front of the fropnt cross member..

    fingers crossed :)

    Regards

    Nick 

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  8. 8 minutes ago, JohnD said:

    Wow! Radical!   Well done, Nick!

    I ws worried by the apparently unsupported brackets for the upper end of the dampers, but I see the frame you have around the rim of the boot supports it.

    But why no straight strut across between them?    That would avoid the considerable leverage on the arrangment you have.

    Not criticism, interest!

    John

    Hi John

    I thought of that, however I need to put the exhaust somewhere, however if i can i will brace the dampers between the bolts making a removable strut (thats the plan anyway)

    Regards

    Nick

  9. Hi Everyone

    The latest on my car.

    The car is welded up now, all rot has been removed and replaced with new metal. The rear arches have been fabricated and an inner frame has been  welded into the rear section to give rigidity and add another mounting point to the chassis. There are a couple of small area still to be addressed but on the whole the major body work is complete.

    The front is also now at the correct ride height.

    The body is now off the car again and i am fitting the engine wiring, cooling pipes, gearbox linkages and brake pipe. After this i can finally attach the body for the very last time :)

    unfortunately i have had to strip the lower end off the engine as it looks like the previous owner had dropped the engine and the sump was cracked and was leaking oil 

    I have bought some doors, they fit (just) i will need to open the door opening somehow, the car was without a chassis for so long the door gaps have shrunk. I have also bought a bonnet which i am picking up at the end of the month.

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