Pettifordo

They were new with the new UJ so they shouldn't have "set" too much. My plan today is to Remove all the ones that are not seated well Clean out the grove Add some WD40 Pop back in Hit with a large hammer They lasted for 30 miles the first time so with the club being 32 miles from my house - wish me luck !

Thanks for that happy thought @johny

Yes I’m worried about that - I didn’t have time at lunch to get it back out - I think I will start by removing and making sure the grove is clear of c*** When I fitted them I had a roller problem and it is definitely going in further than in did then so 🤞🤞🤞 Taking it off would be a massive pain 😩😩😩😩

So the knocking from the rear end was one of the new UJ. The circlip on just one of the joints had come out and the cap had worked out about 5mm - but the circlip was still there 👍👍👍 Amazing such a small thing could make such a racket !! I’ve knocked it back in and pushed the circlip back in but it isn’t seating as well as I would like - will take it out tomorrow and make sure everything is clean and pop it back. But this photo is after a 2 mile “test drive” I might make it to the club on Sunday after all.

Will have a look - I think I probably need to strip them back and start again to get them right

Thanks - @PeteH That means I passed the first time but after my attempts to make it better it would have failed Will have a proper go at adjustment soon

I thought it was the TSSC Xmas meeting at HQ on Sunday ? That was what I was referring to.

So MOT was still a fail on the following :- 1) Headlamps too low (I have the “up” as far as I can - will need to remove the outer part to see what can be done to angle them further up) 2) Too much CO2 (My efforts to reduce the fuel mix and replace the air filter made the reading worse ! Was 4.5 now 5.5, should be lower than 3.5 !) 3) Too much movement in handbrake (but it passed the test to hold the car) So the good news is that all the “structural / safety” parts are now ok. So I was planning to bring to the the club on Sunday and hopefully get some advice on fixing 1,2 and 3 but I just took it out to the local village and on the way back I’m getting a knocking from the rear end 😞 I really hope that it is just some bolts that have come loose and not the UJs on the drive shafts (replaced by me) or the UJ on the drive shaft……will only know tomorrow once I can get under her. I shall probably come to the club anyway

I’ve checked them and they seem fine to me based on measurements. I’ve ticked off the other 16 things it failed on so if that’s the only one left…..I can discuss with the chap MOT on Wednesday !

Took the car to get it MOT’d and it failed on a number of small things - which I hope to get fixed before my 10 days expires…..one of them was the headlights being adjusted too low - does any one know where I can find out how high they need to be ? All being well I hope to be bring it to the club on the 4th Dec…… I hope to see some of the people that helped me to get it on the road - I couldn’t have done it without this forum.

Who is going to the Classic Car Show tomorrow ? Look forward to meeting some of you in person 👍

Thanks to @Josef for fixing the tacho works like a dream - but didn’t try to get to 6000 rpm !! IMG_5072.MOV Exhaust blowing at a joint (not the one I welded up) 👍 I’ve applied some Joint sealer - will see if that fixes or if in need to take off and “tweak” 😩 Finally some exterior trim on the car which was supplied by Dave at the Spitfire Graveyard

So I think the wiper blades might be the last thing I needed to make the car road legal (or at least legal enough to get to the MOT station 😥😥😥) I also found this website backed by Admiral which offers insurance by the hour and would quote on the Spitfire (others like this wouldn’t cover it) - https://quote.veygo.com/start So I can even go with insurance….so MOT will be planned for after the classic car show when I plan to get halogen headlights.

I’m hopefully starting to get close to getting my Spitfire back on the road. I bought the car as a failed resto project and it had a sports exhaust on the car (sports manifold and twin pipes), however the air in take to the carbs is the factory standard. Shoild I upgrade to the K&N Air Filters which look nice - but not sure if they make too much difference

But I have ordered new shoes and new springs anyway as I don’t want problems later on 👍

Brakes working now - think it might have been the slave cylinder not moving freely…… But then the front ones were sticking and this was caused my my “fix” to get the brake lights to go off meaning the brake pedal didn’t travel back fair enough to let brake fluid back into the master cylinder. Car was rolling and stopping nicely !! Phew

The front brakes now work - I had put a pad on the brake pedal as the brake lights were always on as the brake pedal isn’t come high enough to switch it off - seems like my “fix” was too large a pad and was preventing the master cylinder for releasing pressure - doh So now my brake lights are always on but the brakes work - just need a thinner pad it think. @Josef - noted on the ignition - I will swap it back to be on the safe side.

It was just the oil light - I swapped the ignition, full beam and oil to LED, I’ve now just replaced the oil light with a classic one

So I think I have the rear brakes working now - set them as 1 full turn back from where they stop the brakes and making sure the leading edge was shaved……. so that’s great but now the front Nearside brake is really tight 😩😩😩😩 I can turn it with the wheel on but it is stiff and with the wheel off I can’t turn the hub - it’s like the breaks aren’t letting off…..the calliper is a new one from RimmerBros 😤😤😤 new disks as well and new wheel bearing - soooo frustrating

We have an oil light 👍 I check the bulbs and they looks ok - k then swapped the LED bulb for a classic one and it all came to life. The Brake light also lights up until I start the car and the goes off !

I miss it as well - started to make plant supports to keep my hand in 🤣🤣🤣

I miss it as well - started to make plant supports to keep my hand in 🤣🤣🤣

Yes good fun and I’ve learned loads Welding Suspension set up How carbs work Wiring looms Car Trim the list goes on and on If only I could get the brakes to stop binding !!

Yea I really enjoy it - and as you say I know what I have now. The feeling of achievement - when the car chassis first stood on wheels, the time the tub fitted, the first fire of the engine and of course the time the windscreen fitted 👍👍👍

For anyone just starting out on the journey to renovate on of this beasts I have been keeping a running total of how much I have spent on this project and who I spent it with. When I bought the car (which was a stalled resto) I got about £500 of panels and the bottom end of the engine had been rebuilt and the head had been made unleaded friendly. The main expense on the tool side was a rollover gig and a welder. And I think I’m doing it “on the cheap” ! Consumables Parts Tools Grand Total Bodywork 738.68 647.32 1,775.98 3,161.98 Suspension 942.92 101.70 1,044.62 Engine 91.15 661.31 61.86 814.32 General 121.95 517.13 639.08 Brakes 15.48 453.22 13.23 481.93 Interior 25.65 353.14 378.79 Exhaust 11.54 264.81 276.35 Postage 22.91 154.24 7.70 184.85 Clutch 181.93 181.93 Electrics 154.10 10.99 165.09 Grand Total 1,027.36 3,812.99 2,488.59 7,328.95 And this is who I spent it with Sum of Value Rimmer Bros 1,984.61 Amazon 1,392.87 TSSC 642.25 R-Tech 620.21 e-bay 617.08 ANG Classic 467.92 Ade Foreman 450.00 Des Wootton 203.50 Chic Doig 201.50 David Manners 121.90 Halford 117.13 ScrewFix 98.72 Spitfire graveyard 82.50 Resto Show 80.00 Martin Brown Paints 54.36 The Metal Company 45.06 Mini Sport 44.98 Wellesbourne Hardware 32.89 AE Market 31.47 Draper 30.00 Wilko 10.00 Grand Total 7,328.95 And I still need new seats and a respray - so £3-4k to go (at least). But it has been really good fun and the help from this forum as been invaluable - I hope to be able to help others in the future. Thanks you Team TSSC !