Pettifordo

Thanks for the tip

Would you go for galvanised steel ?

Thanks

I found a HobbyWeld supplier about 25 mins away and now have a “small” bottle which I had to pay a £70 refundable deposit on and about £35 for the HobbyWeld 5 mix which is Argon 93%, CO2 5% and Oxygen 2% Now I need to pluck up the courage to have a go !!! Tomorrow after the club day 😱😱😱

Any tips on what thickness / type of metal I should purchase for the body patching I need to do ? And where would you recommend buying it from ?

Had a good session with the experienced welder - no welding but loads and loads of tips - he had prepared some practice welding as well but we ran out of time. Main piece of advice was to send the MM100 back and get a gas MIG - he recommend this one that also does MMA - they we offering 12 months interest free so I went for it - https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i-mig180 Will let you know how I get on with it.

Yes I have got one of those. The welder that quoted me £££ to do the work has offered to give me a lesson on Friday (for free)….then I’m going to start on Saturday First job is to pop it onto the chassis - 3 friends already lined up. Will let you know how I get on.

Once I do some work you can get more photos 👍

It’s already off the chassis - would you recommend putting it back on before I repair ? I need floors, patching to rear wheel arch and an end panel for the front sill (having had the sills, rear wings, rear balance having been done in the past and they seem solid) - I’ve bought some door gap tools to keep the shape.

At the age of 21 my parents purchased me a 1971 Spitfire Mk4. It had been “done up” by a friend and I had helped him tow it back to his garage. It had been standing for a few years so when I took ownership most of the mechanical bits needed work over the next 2-3 years. I kept it for 10 years but then parted with it when my first daughter arrived…… Wind forward 21 years and I found a stalled restoration on Auto Trader which I picked up last Saturday. I now have a massive jigsaw to complete with many missing pieces and pieces that need fixing !!! If I think about everything that needs doing I panic, but when I think about it one job at a time it doesn’t seem too difficult. I’ve never welded before and I had thought I would get that work “done” until I got a quote - now I’m going to have a go and @Matthew replied to my thread on the topic and suggested I start a thread here. I’m sure I will have many questions and problems - I will give updates as I go. I hope to meet some of you in person at the Club Event on Sunday 👍

Thanks - thanks makes sense - things have moved on in 30 years !!

Thanks for all the replies I have gone with a Sealey MightyMig 100 as I only plan to weld body panels https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002HMRTV2/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_fabc_V6P1Z74HB5ZNDDR4YYX4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 I will let you know how I get on - looking a the last advice I might have purchase something that isn’t very good - but it did have some good reviews - I liked the fact it was simple to use. I have also purchased the right PPE (Mask, Gloves, Jacket)

I have a 1500 engine to re-assemble and it is 30 years since I did such a thing - I tried Googling what sealant to use on the head gasket but seem to get various answers about copper gaskets - can anyone recommend something and also for the timing chain cover, water pump etc / I have all the gaskets 👍

I’m planning to do more welding in the future - I’m going to invest in a machine and give it a go

Thanks @KevinR - do you have to drill your own holes or does it attach to some existing mounts - I could see anything obvious on my Triumph Spitfire 1500

I’ve just got a Spitfire 1500 and I’m looking for someone to fit a new floor and inner wheel arches and patch a couple of other places - I’m near Coventry - can anyone recommend someone ? Or should I be doing this stuff myself ?

Thank you everyone - will sort what I have and work from there - the club packs sound good

Has anyone used these ? https://shop.tssc.org.uk/product/door-gap-adjuster Where to the bolt on to ? I can't see how the bolt on AND let you keep the doors in place ?

I have purchased a stalled restoration of a Spitfire 1500, the person who stripped it down did an OK job keeping the fixings with the parts but I'm sure many are lost. Has anyone purchased one of these restoration kits ? https://shop.imperialnutsandbolts.com/product/triumph-spitfire-1500-in-a-box/ They seem expensive at £290 but I wondering if it will save me hours of searching for / snapping / stripping 40 year old nuts and bolts ?