Pettifordo

Did you just sand it back or use some paint stripper - if the latter which one ?

Thanks @AlanT - I think I’m probably 2 years away from that - but one step at a time 💪 I’m glad you are enjoying yours. did you get the car sprayed when it was back on the chassis with the bonnet attached ?

Progress has been slowed due to running out of welding gas, mother’s day and the garden 😩 Today I completed the welding on one side and I fitted the steering column I got from the Spitfire Graveyard - so my car now has a key - shame I won’t need to use if for 2 years - but a symbolic moment 🤣🤣 Sunday I will start to cut out the drivers side floor - hopefully doing a better job than the passenger side - hoping I have learned to weld better - however I may just have got lucky on this side and it will be worse 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Thanks everyone - hopefully those are somewhere in my boxes of bits 🙂

Thanks as always - that explains why I don’t have that part then !! If any 1500 owners could snap a photo that would be useful - might be that I have them on one of the many boxes after all !!

Does anyone have or can suggest where I could source the number plate light for a Triumph Spitfire 1500 1980 One like this (this isn’t my car - it’s one on the TSSC stand at NEC Resto show

So passenger floor in and inner sill on 👍 Now on to the other side

Thanks @Josef - without the Rollover Jig it would be very difficult and involve getting burned !! Hopefully I will have a go at it later today…..then on to the inner sill 👍👍

Good 3 hours sent with half the new floor welded in place - inner join and rear. Feels like I’m making progress now. I’m not going to weld the front seam until the tub is back on the chassis so I can still “adjust” it to fit - perhaps not idea but having the car on the roll over jig makes the welding much easier. For the join to the inner sill strengthener should I plug weld or seam weld inside or both ? I’m currently planning plug welds.

Continuing to make progress and the welding is getting easier - doing this end panel and the bulk head was a tricky patchwork to create and I have yet to grind down but the result is very strong and will ok I think. Thanks to everyone for the welding tips - by the last weld on the other side it might look pretty good. The second image is me welding up a cut I accidentally made in the outer sill cutting off the inner sill and strengthening panel….will try not to do that on the other side 🤣🤣🤣

I’m not sure - anyway I can see a way that I can make it all fit 👍

On my car the bottom of the heel board looks to be too low for the floor to fit as described above without the panel being bent up to meet the meet the inner sill. but thanks for the tip of the diagram as I hadn’t noticed the measurements before, so I can at least start with the 3/4” measurement from the bottom of the outer sill and try to get things to line up from there…….next weekends job or perhaps the weekend after if the patching on the front bulkhead takes a long time. And then on to the other side 👍👍

Yes that sounds like the way to go. From what I can see I will end up with a gap between the floor and the inner sill if I mount the inner sill where the old one was - should I lower the sill or push the floor up to meet it ? I’m thinking mount the sill lower…..would you agree ?

Yes that was my plan But I’m not sure if I should fit the inner sill and then the floor or fit the floor and then the sill on top ? What would you recommend ?

Today efforts - sill strengthener fitted inc fabricating patch at the rear of the sill. I also finished the last patch on the rear wheel arches - perhaps I should have replaced them as they are now like a patch work quilt 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, welding definitely improving and 6mm holes for the plug welds seem to work nicely and my grinding disk made short work of getting them flush so I can weld on the inner sill.

Ah - that explains why it was hard to fit !! I did make it fit and spot welded it to the A-Post repair panel. The bulk head panel was also (or still is) in a bad way and rusted round the old closing panel so my next job will be to patch that up - so it was never going to look 100%. At least you can’t see that part once the bonnet is shut 🤣🤣🤣

Good progress today. Sill closing panel and A-post repair panel fitted. Also stripped out the inner sill and strengthener - the strengthener had rotten at the bottom is a couple of places so glad I decided to do this - I don’t think it will take me long to fit the new ones and then I can get back to the floor which is where I started !! Then on to the next side 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️p

Today I have welded in some more strengthening bars before I cut out the inner sills. I’ve also decided to not weld the floor to the bulk head until the car is back on the chassis so if I need to make any fine adjustment then can be done at that point. I’m also going to wait to attach the 2 cross members until we are back on the chassis so I can make sure these line up. I’ve done it this way instead of doing the work in the chassis as the rollover jig makes welding / cutting so much easier also I’m not removing the outer sills as these and the rear wings are both sound having been replaced before. I starting to cut out the lower A-post today and figure out how to fit the closing panel at the end of the sill. Does anyone have any advice about how to fit the closing panel and the lower A-panel and attach it to the bulk head ? Which ever way round I have the panels it doesn’t seem to line up right - but I could also have been an end of day things 🤣🤣 It is going to take a good few weekends to get just one side sorted and then I have to do the other one 😩😩😩 Some other good news this week is that I sourced a new steering column with an ignition key !! So that problem is solved - hopefully useful in 2024 !!

I have a door gaps brace already at the top of the door and I plan to weld a metal box section towards the bottom. I also plan to weld a metal box section between the a-post and I already have one at the rear deck between the door jams. The jig is holding the 2 front mounts at the right distance apart and the wooden beam is holding it at the right length. Would any one recommend other bracing ?0

I’ve decided to replace the inner sill and the stiffener - I’ve come this far and by the time I patch the existing stuff it will probably be just a bit longer to replace them and this will also mean that I can inspect the inside of the outer sill and also paint this so it will be good for years to come. Before I do that I need to add some more bracing across the bottom of the door and from A post to A post.

The car has had the sills done in the past but only had the floor patch so the floor definitely needs to be changed and the sills do seem to be solid. Good tip on the wiring loom - I was thinking that it would need to come out.

From the initial inspection it looks like it may well be welded to the inner sill at the top and to the side…..if this is the case I was planning to do the same and weld over the old floor so I don’t risk messing up the inner / outer sill - does that would ok ? I would make sure it was sound all the way along and patch in new metal where it isn’t - like the bit at the back. I’ve decided that will be a practical resto project so not worried about it being original - more about make sure it is structurally sound and will last for another 40 years 👍

I was wondering what those holes were !!! Another good reason to fit replacement panels !!

So fully beyond the point of no return now with the passenger floor out. Bad rot in the bottom A post panel - so I’ve ordered some repair panels. Not too back at the back need to decide if I patch this or get new inner sills. Also ran out of welding gas today so no welding updates 😆😆

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I will make it look as good as possible. This is my first resto project so I definitely want to learn and get better. I’m already looking at my first efforts and thinking about cutting them out and redoing them 🧐🧐 One of the best tips from this site was to get good light on the area - makes a big difference to welding in the right place - I got a tripod for my 2x1000lm work lights so I can bright light from above - really great and it only cost £18 on Amazon 👍👍👍 Floodlight Tripod Stand,Twin Head 150cm Adjustable Telescopic LED Work Light Tripod Stand for Job Site Lighting Mount Work Lamp Lighting Bracket - Mount 1 to 2 Lights https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09KNHXGNV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_VJFTW68FS0QADZVTYPSJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1