Pettifordo

So I have stripped the repair nose back and it is pretty good - see photos Not sure if I should patch this holes (put copper behind and fill up and then grind back etc) Or do I cut it out and weld in the repair section that I have already purchased using the method @Josef recommended - I was thinking I could screw the 2 bits together and then cut off the old nose along the line a foot at a time and keep pulling the 2 pieces together to butt weld 🤔🤔🤔 what do others think ????

Found this bonnet nose via ebay - should see the end to my filler one 👍

I treated myself to some door mirror that are the correct period for the car. This photo is halfway through the job 👍 When I replaced NS one I found out that I can’t actually see it from the drivers seat 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I will have to check some images for where they should be mounted on the door so that once I tackle re-painting those I can get them in the right place and weld up the holes 🤪🤪🤪

I did think about exactly that now you come to mention it. But too late now. Also with the state of the front of the bonnet, god knows what that would look like with clear coat 🙂

I’ve found a friendly welder who said I can use his tools to fab a new front section. I’ve rubbed it right back today. and then primed it so I can enjoy the car for the summer and then do the bonnet over the winter. I think the filler in the front could be accident repair and not rust. It was done very well and you couldn’t see it with the paint on, but with the paint off you can see some distortion of the metal that was filled. I will cut it all out and make it good as new 👍 It would probably be cheaper and quicker to find a replacement bonnet - but where’s the fun in that !

So the paint is off the bonnet but I now have a much bigger repair to do. Could a repair panel be made for this or am I best to weld in some metal and then form the shape of the panel with filler ? My thinking is the latter is much easier and will mean the car has zero rust but not zero filler. Views ? Any specialist company that could create a repair section ?

I think only 2 - Vermilion Red (original) the some Metallic BRG - the other yellow colour is a think primer under the BRG - I assume to hide all the filler etc 😩😩😩

So as you might see from the bodywork thread, I have decided to tackle the bonnet section of the Spitfire. I bought the strengthening section for underneath and a repair section for the front edge. It isn’t very tall perhaps coming up an inch. I think this will leave a gap to what is left of the bonnet !!! Does anyone have experience of this kind of repair ? I’m currently thinking of using flat metal to bridge the gap so the bonnet is strong and metal and then creating the final shape with filler. Anyone got any other bright ideas - other then buying another bonnet 🤔🤔 - the rest of it is quiet good under the various coats of paint 🤣🤣🤣

Thank - I was thinking the same. The previous repairer has welded behind the filler with 3-4 straight bits of metal - I think I will leave those in until I have repaired the front - should give it more strength.

It was nagging at me that I hadn’t really done anything to the bonnet and I could see that it had rust at the front, so I decided to take the bonnet back to metal to see what I was dealing with - the rest is pretty good - straight and metal. I’ve ordered the repair section above plus a new bonnet strengthening section - might as well get it done right 👍 It will be a good challenge for my new found welding skills 🤓

Can you get repair sections for the front of the bonnet ? Mine is mostly filler 🤣🤣🤣

Yes @AlanT it feels much more lively - I even pulled a wheel spin when pulling out 🎉🎉

Just been to the South Warwickshire area meet up - car running super nicely 👍 Dare I describe it as fixed !

Will do 👍

So new EI Accuspark fitted. Got the problem with the sluggish turn over and rev counter going bonkers. Made myself a new dizzy Earth wire using the original end fitting and some very soft wire. Been out for a 25 mile test drive - was ropey for the first mile 🤬🤬🤬🤬 But since then it has been running very nicely - perhaps a bit rich - or do old cars just smell of petrol 🧐🧐 Will tweak before I go to the South Warwickshire meet up tomorrow evening 👍👍

@Will Orum I’ve had a similar problems and replacing the low tension wire from the negative of the coil to the dizzy seemed to fix things. I say that because I replaced so much other stuff I don’t know which one fixed it 🤣🤣🤣 Only takes one small miss connection for this engine to mis-fire 😩😩

I’ve got a replacement - the other one is fried I think from me not following the instructions - RTFM 🤬🤬

So Accuspark have been really helpful and called me up to discuss my install. I’m going to give it another go and therefore need to connect the live wire from the Accuspark to a live wire before the ballast resistor. Can anyone who has done this advise on where best to connect it as I can’t see a Ballast Resistor. Could I just attached to any live feed that is live at the same time as the ignition is turned on or does it have to be a special type of supply ?

@Pete Lewis @johny @AlanT thanks for the help - I’m staying with Points and will buy spare set 👍

I used the heat sink paste when I fitted the Accuspark. This is the coil I bought - https://amzn.eu/d/9NIIhbg I don’t think it is ballasted I SUSPECT that heat is the killer for this type of unit - I will probably stay with points for now and perhaps go with external Electronic Ignition in the future.

For now I’m going to adjust the points and perhaps come back to Electronic Ignition at a later date 👍

Just went out to put the car away after my great drive home from Mark’s and the car wouldn’t start. Seems like the Accuspark Electronic Ignition had failed after 15 miles 😩😩 popped the old points and condenser back in and it worked fine - just need to adjust the timing again 👍

Thanks @Pete Lewis that make sense - I guess if it is rich and you let in more air you get a bigger bang as the “excess” fuel is burned 👍👍

Just got myself a lesson in carb tuning from Mark Smith who runs the new South Warwickshire TSSC Area. He took me through the whole process top to bottom :- Checked for air leaks Check for unrestricted rise and fall of carb jets Started engine running (was already at operating temp) Looks at carb balance by eye and adjusted tick over screws to get balanced Used flow meter to tweak further at idle Increased revs to 2500 and check balance again. Tweaked the linkage between carbs to make sure balanced. Lifted carb jet by a few millimetres to listen to engine / decrease revs = too lean / no change = just right / increase revs = too rich (thanks to @Pete Lewis for correction) Anti clockwise on the jet adjuster to make richer, clockwise to lean - do one flat at a time Engaged choke so revs increased and balanced carbs again Listened to the exhaust for pops (too lean) or smelling too much petrol (too rich) Took her for a test drive 👍

I forgot the fuel pump that I also replaced and then found out that the replacement leaked fuel all over the starter motor 😩😩😩 I didn’t try to find out where the problem was - I just added the old one back on.