cliff.b
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Posts posted by cliff.b
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18 minutes ago, clive said:
Yes, get a complete system including downpipe. Much less faffing will be involved.
Yes, probably the best chance of it all fitting properly, I guess 🤔
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10 minutes ago, clive said:
sounds like it has been adapted for a sports system? If it fits I would keep it, otherwise teh pipe will be smaller and may not fit the rest of your system. The plot is thickening!
The issue is actually the other way around. I am considering replacing the rest of the system but trying to work out if I need a new downpipe as well.
The current silencer has the inlet in the middle, so the intermediate pipe has to run directly under the diff and is very low. Consequently, it has suffered a fair amount of damage, although doesn't appear to be pierced.
The silencer us also very loud and on removing it, I can see it has been cut open and welded so I presume the internals have been "adjusted".
Great fun for a quick blast but gets a bit wearing after a while.
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21 minutes ago, clive said:
A 1500 would have twin downpipes from the twin outlet cast iron manifold. If a single pipe, you may well have 1300 type exhaust manifold (no terrible thing, as they don't keep blowing manifold to dowpipe gaskets, the twin ones are bad for that)
2" sounds like later GT6 sized, but that flange would not fit a 4 cylinder manifold. So it must be a made up one.
Yes, it's twin downpipes and the outlet, after they have combined, is about 2" dia. I have just remade the manifold joint and then fitted the bracket to the gearbox, which was missing, but the outlet from the downpipe is angled slightly downwards and to the offside. This makes the (non standard) intermediate pipe rather low but I don't see how I can change it without putting a strain on the manifold joint.
So wondering, is this because the downpipe is also non standard and if so, would the correct one be a better fit?
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54 minutes ago, NonMember said:
That sounds larger than normal - more GT6 than Spitfire. I can't give you any useful measurements from mine, though, as it has a 4-2-1.
Ok, thanks 👍 Just trying to work out if I can reuse it or, if not standard, should I replace it.
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My Spit has a non standard exhaust that I am not happy with and considering options to replace.
Trying to confirm if the downpipe from the manifold is standard as it doesn't seem to sit quite right and is 2" diameter pipe. Can anyone confirm if I am right in thinking this is larger than original?
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11 minutes ago, NonMember said:
What are the details? I don't think I've seen these meetings advertised anywhere.
At the moment they have a monthly meeting at the old ferry boat Inn, Holywell. So I thought I would go along this evening and check it out. Seem a nice enough bunch.
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Heard about monthly evening meets & non members welcome so decided to take a look.
Some interesting cars.
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17 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:
It's normal, that's the lower plate of the spring 'box'. It goes between the lower leaf and the rest.
Ah, yes, that does pretty much look like what I could see peering up from underneath mine.
It does seem rather low at the rear though so maybe the spring needs replacing.
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Under the car today trying to see if I can make the exhaust less susceptible to hitting things and I tried to see if the rear suspension has a lowering block fitted.
I could see this which looks like a piece of metal between the fixed spring and the swing leaves. Just wondering if this is normal, a typical lowering block fitment or something else?
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Not really a tool but ALDI has these on sale as a special line from today at £11.95
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6 hours ago, Iain T said:
I've booked 19th June at Peter Best event Braxted and 26th at The Lawn Rochford.
The first is free the second only £4. Be nice to see any club members. I haven't been to the Braxted show before but The Lawn had a live band and lots of things for the family.
All very weather dependant!
Iain
I've booked the Braxted event. Hopefully will be able to attend
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Looks exactly the same as the rad on my 1500 Spit which I assumed was the wider type, but it was on the car when I got it so who knows.
The rad cap has made an impression in the bonnet soundproofing so not a lot of clearance.
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28 minutes ago, Badwolf said:
Oh, happy days. ...and the tools you found left by other hunters!!!
Wish I could go back to the same one, as it was, now 🤔
Perhaps might be a bit more "prudent" climbing the car mountains though lol
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5 hours ago, Jeffds1360 said:
I had two spitfire 4s and a 1600 vitesse cv in the late 60's. I could not afford to 'instrementise' them
In the 70s we just went down the breakers yard, clambered over the mountains of cars and nicked some from an old Jag, or similar
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The one that I fitted was a thin rigid cover that fitted over the existing pad. It fitted perfectly and was pretty easy.
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2 hours ago, clive said:
I know somebody who has one on his vitesse. Reckons the oil stays at sensible temps. Until it goes on track where the oil temp RAPIDLY rises tho 120+ degrees. Bt using a quality synthetic oil will mean that is no problem, mineral oils will fall apart quickly though.
So unless you are driving at 6000rpm for more than 5 minutes you should be fine.
Probably won't be happening. Half an hour at 4000RPM is more likely.
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19 minutes ago, johny said:
Yes before I changed my bearings and oil pump the tickover would go low and oil thin so that the pressure warning light started flickering😌 My brother had an old Alfa Romeo twin cam that actually had a knob on the dash for raising the tickover (separate from choke) under such conditions which I thought was a great idea...
A second choke cable arrangement connected to the throttle linkage should allow you to achieve that 🤔.
Also, when pulled out further, a cheap and effective cruise control facility 🙂
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I have an additional GPS Speedo that fits exactly in my Spit ashtray. Bought if for my electric bike for £4 and put it in the car as proper Speedo reads low.
I was driving down the A14, just overtaking someone and suddenly there was a horrible high pitched noise. Slowed down and it went away but a bit concerned. Eventually realised there was a default "going too fast" warning on the GPS thing which I had triggered 🙄. It was probably right 🤔 🙄
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31 minutes ago, Paul H said:
Hi Pete . Plastic fan fitted . The temp gauge is not standard and think it’s called a thermo gauge and measures in degrees and “normal” is 80 to 90 . Came with the Vitesse and modern .
PaulLast year, I changed the temp sensor for the 2nd time because the one that was supplied by a "reputable supplier" as correct for a Spitfire, wasn't.
Anyway, I decided to test the new, new one out and ran the car on the drive with the rad cap off until I could see coolant flow, assuming that the thermostat had just opened.
Measured the coolant temp at 85C with Mrs Cliffs kitchen thermometer and the gauge was sitting a little below halfway, which is where it tends to sit most of the time now.
So I would estimate halfway on my gauge is probably 90C which would appear to tie in with the readings you get from your mechanical gauge.
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1 minute ago, Pete Lewis said:
did they have a bandits behind you gauges !!!!!!!
Pete
That would be a real "worry gauge" 😄
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12 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:
since 1963 i have only run out of fuel once and that was a test drive to buy a car
worry gauges best avoided apart from entertaining dougs friends \Ha , agree with Clive
you hear the bang,knock, steam before you look at the gauge or warning lights
Pete
Do you feel the same about their use in aircraft lol
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24 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:
the best part of having gauges telling you all sorts of clues is nobody has a clue what they really should tell you
you know if you cane it at speed the oil is going to get hotter
you know it will use more fuel
why not fit a gauge to the gearbox and diff they get so HOT you can fry eggs on them who worries about them (not the eggs)
waste energy is dissipated by heat and dont foget to check the temp of the charging system and wiper motor they all get HOT
time to stop the worry and get on with driving ...smile
Pete
Ha ha, despite how it might sound, this is mainly mild interest rather than paranoia 😱.
A few months ago I happened upon a US MG forum that was discussing why members were seeing 1500 engines lasting half as long (45000 miles) in a Midget compared to a Spitfire. The consensus seemed to be that this was due to the confined Midget engine bay and the effect on oil temp in warm climates. No idea if that makes any sense but got me thinking that, once up to running temp, the cooler the oil is the better, especially with the 1500 engine.
Consequently, if the mech fan does make things run cooler then it's worth having. Plus, as a bonus, I have electric fans if I should get stuck in traffic.
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1 hour ago, clive said:
It is a concern is if the car gets hotter the faster you drive. That means the radiator is not good enough. No fans etc will help. Running too cool is a big problem too, the engine needs to be at about 80 degrees to keep the oil healthy.
My car temp gauge doesn't show any hotter the longer I drive, but it does if I drive hard and/or in very warm weather. But I would expect that.
Regarding oil temp, does any one have an oil temp gauge fitted? If so, what sort of temp is typical, does it vary much and is there a close correlation between oil and water temp? Wanting to understand if oil temp can rise significantly without much of a noticeable increase in coolant temp?
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9 hours ago, johny said:
Yes that figure was always suspect as its at max revs and on a dyno so no air being forced through by car movement.
At tickover a decent electric can flow a lot more air and, being closer to the rad, to greater effect. However I think really you only want an electric if you need more air flow at tickover or/and continued cooling after stopping the engine....
That's the conclusion I have come to. What I am less certain about however, is the view that a fan isn't of benefit once on the move.
From my observations last year, the car did not actually overheat when driving without the mechanical fan but it definitely ran hotter. This was seen at the temp gauge and also the radiator return water temp which I can measure on the move by adjusting the thermostat until the electric fans cut in.
This is what I want to investigate further and if it confirms that the car runs hotter without the fan fitted, is this desirable? Personally, I would prefer it to run cooler but interested in any opinions on all of the above.
Spitfire Mark III Electric Cooling Fan
in Cooling System
Posted
As I explained previously, I refitted a mechanical fan but left the electric ones in place so although unplanned, I have both.
The thermostat probe for the electrics is in the radiator return pipe, set at 75C & now they only come on if I am stationary after "enthusiastic" driving. Before I refitted the mech fan the electrics would come on anytime I slowed down below about 30 so I assume at that point, the return temp was at least 75C. The temp gauge would rise to just over halfway.
I can adjust the thermostat from the driving seat so by turning it until the fans come on I can determine the temp in the radiator return pipe while on the move. So far, during normal driving, it stays at about 60 to 65C with the temp gauge just below halfway.
When I first fitted the electrics I experimented with different thermostat settings and at 65C, they were on almost continually, so I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but in my car, at least, it seems the mech fan gives a lower radiator return temp at any driving speed.