Neil Clark

Thanks - seemed too easy!

I realise this question is a bit pedantic given the answers already given earlier but I've little space nor assistance available and this will be an outdoors operation.

That's great to know, thanks. My next question is the rear spring / diff assembly swap over. The car is only 8000 miles "old" since it was apparently fully professionally restored at great cost in 2015 for the PO and the mechanical bits, as far as I can see, look great. So for the entire rear end swap, springs, diff etc etc, is it practical simply to jack up the car, wheels off, disconnect brake cables, prop shaft etc, support the weight, undo the few bolts between the chassis and the spring / diff etc and carry it over to the other chassis, simply bolting it back in place there?

Colin in the photo of the 4 Spitfires and chassis together it looks as if the finished painted bodies were to be lifted onto the chassis complete, with doors and and without bracing but I'm not going to try it!

There will definitely be door and a cross tub brace welded in before moving it. I'm in two minds about the doors - they are pretty heavy with the glass etc etc and we might be only two with an engine crane lifting the body. Possibly take off the boot lid and the petrol tank out too. The workshop manual states that the engine and gearbox can be withdrawn as one - and I'll have the bonnet off anyway.

Rob - I've had reactions both ways today. I need to see what it really looks like and compare it to the spare bonnet which arrives on Monday. Anyway I think getting that fit right is probably a long way off anyway!

Thanks Ian. I'll put up photos on Instagram as neilclark77 as I get going.

Ian - that's interesting. Would that be a specialist Triumph restorer or a standard body shop? Any suggestions more than welcomed. Would much prefer to stick with the original. Mike, yes, it's a Weber and alternator but there is no documented history with the car to say what may or may not have been done to the engine. Although I do know that it was a significant rebuild in 2015 and underneath is pristine. I can't spend the time this week but I need to dig into any possible upgrades. I also want to check that the engine number matches the V5. When I was just starting to drive in the 60's it was so common to get reconditioned engines fitted after a few years that having the original is a game of chance. I'm waiting for the Heritage Centre to confirm the original build details. Here's a close up of the chassis behind the impact point. The nearside front wheel is dinged on the rim but also full of earth at that point and has been pushed back. The suspension there looks OK but I need to get it stripped down to be sure.

Thanks all. It's front end and the chassis is buckled back at least to the engine. I think the rest is OK and I have the replacement chassis and bonnet. Very much looking forward to getting stuck into it. Here's a couple of photos.

Hello, I've just bought a 1964 Spitfire 4. Generally good but crash damaged and needing quite a bit of work. Looking forward to getting to know more about the club and the Spitfire.

Thank you all! So body off it is. I'll strip out all I can first, then weld in some strengthening bars across the door gap, undo the body bolts then phone a friend!

I have to change the chassis on my 1964 Spitfire. Everything else is in good shape (I bought a good car with chassis damage). Would you strip out the suspension and attach it to the new chassis first before removing the body from the old tub, or the other way around? The first way seems most logical but I'm a newbie here. Thanks