Project Blue - 1970 late (Nov) Mk3 Spit

[DaveH]

I became the new (11th) custodian of this Nov 1970 Mk3 Sapphire / Royal Blue (not sure - up for debate, but history shows it as being White originally) Spit back in March this year.  Originally registered in Luton - Bucks (BH), I bought it in Devon, it's now with me in SW Essex.

I've always fancied one, and having seen some of the lovely beauties that others have restored & given new life to, wanted to get involved.  I'm hitting 50 this year, so felt it appropriate to have a mid-life crisis project to keep me busy!  🤪 

My Spit (not landed on a pet name for it yet) is in reasonably good nick from what I know & see, but does need some TLC to get it where I want it to be.  Plan is for a slow & steady resto-mod, upgrading & adding where needed, so I can enjoy it once retired.  Should have plenty of time whilst the body is still willing & able! 

With that in mind, I thought I'd keep track of it all in here, as I'll undoubtedly have many more questions along the way.  I don't have much experience in this field, but come with an Electrical Engineering background.  I'm very much from the Hard Work Beats Talent school, and more than willing to get hands on give it a go!

 

So what have I done so far?

First up was replacing the track rod ends, which was an MOT advisory due to perishing rubber seals.  Whilst at it, I also replaced the top ball joints & all the front suspension bushes for Poly ones.

Next up was sorting the fuel gauge.  This didn't work at all, so I thought it would either be down to the voltage stabiliser or fuel sender unit.  I pulled the sender unit and noted the float armature had seized.  

Once I had cleaned up all the muck & corrosion, the arm was free to move and the gauge now correctly reports the fuel level.  No need for the wooden fuel dip-stick anymore!

Glad that worked as it's the original Smiths sender unit, and saved me resorting to a new Chinesium plastic float one.

I noted the steering was quite noisy when turning, with a horrible screech coming from the interior.  After some investigation I found that the horn pencil within the steering boss was inverted.  A nice quick fix, put it the right way and steering is now silent!

Re-balanced the carbs yesterday with a flow gauge, which sorted a lumpy idle when cold.  It's now done an easy 50 miles without issue, and starts first time, every time.

Next on the list is to fix the door internals as the windows are sloppy / loose, and I can see some hardware lying on the bottom of the inner door, then to add the factory hard-top, which will need re-glazing & re-lining (I have the glass!).  Also dig into the steering rack as it seems there may be some wear in there that needs sorting.  Oh, and then reinstate the heater, as it currently has a push-button engine start in place of the heater fan switch.  Though I do like the push-button start, so will relocate that.

Some minor welding to be done here and there, so I've got myself a Mig welder and will do this myself once I have had some practice!

Long term, it will be a body-off restoration to get the chassis cleaned & powder coated, address a few pieces of minor cosmetic work on the tub, and sort the bonnet & door gaps out etc. 

It'll also be stripped & repainted in a deep metallic blue pearl much further down the line, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy it for the summer, with all it's little cosmetic faults & blemishes.

Thanks for the bits of advice & pointers I've had so far, no doubt I'll have more questions in time.

Cheers!

Dave

[Colin Lindsay]

Keep us updated, it's amazing what we learn from someone else's hard work. 

[DaveH]

Indeed, I’ve picked up so much already from just browsing through the forums!  Such a great knowledge base!

[Chris A]

From the photo it looks like a very nice example.

39 minutes ago, DaveH said:

I'm hitting 50 this year, so felt it appropriate to have a mid-life crisis project to keep me busy!  🤪 

It's good to see youngsters are keen to carry on with the good work.

40 minutes ago, DaveH said:

My Spit (not landed on a pet name for it yet)

You'll soon give it a name which could go from 'B*s*a*d' to maybe 'Bluebell'

As Colin says keep us all posted on progress.

 

[Piglet]

Another MK3! Great to see her getting some attention. Lovely colour, never seen a Spit like that. Good luck with the resto!

Alex

[AlanT]

Welcome @DaveH I was also nearing 50 when I got my resto (thread on here is 1980 spitfire revival). It took me 5 years for the full works…and it’s lovely. 
Enjoy. 
 

[DaveH]

Thanks Alan.  I won't really know how much work I've got ahead of me until I can spend a decent amount of time cataloguing it, but it seems to be fairly minor works at this stage. 

As I mentioned, there's some work to be done to remove the dreaded tin worm (I found some more last night around the various bulkhead cable entry points etc.), but I think I can manage that.

Challenge will be doing this in a tight single garage, so may have to sort some sort of gazebo type cover for the drive and roll it out for major works.

Just ordered a new roller type garage door that I'll fit in a few weeks when it arrives, to get rid of the old gappy up & over one.  That should seal the garage up a bit better from draughts etc and give a bit more wiggle room.

https://twf-rollergaragedoors.co.uk/index.php

I'm going to trawl your restore thread now (and others) for inspiration! 🙂

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Pete Lewis]

On 23/05/2024 at 09:19, DaveH said:

for inspiration

good tea bags are essential as a starting idea

Pete

[Piglet]

Or a decent espresso machine...

Alex

[Josef]

10 hours ago, Piglet said:

Or a decent espresso machine...

Alex

We agree… 

(Also, welcome Dave, blue Mk3s are of course the best ones  )

[Piglet]

Brilliant!

Alex

[DaveH]

Ordered my Heritage certificate last week.  It arrived today, with the wrong reg on it! 😡

[DaveH]

Taking advantage of the nice weather to tinker.  Today’s job was to replace the steering rack as the old one was very stiff when near lock, and light when centred.

Nice and easy job to whip the old one out, and drop the new one in with new bushes, and interesting to note some earlier paint layers on the chassis, powder blue then off white.

No issues fitting, but it does still feel a bit stiff throughout it’s whole travel, and did before I’d even got the track ends hooked up.  Not quite what I expected.

The joints at the rack end are a lot stiffer than the old rack, and I certainly  couldn’t adjust the toe in by turning the tie rods like I did on the old rack.

So, is this just ‘newness’ that will wear in, or do I have a problem?

Rack was sourced through the club shop and is about 4.5 turns L-T-L.

Cheers!

Dave

 

[johny]

It probably will loosen with use but if youre worried you can slacken off the big nut with grease nipple a little and see if that makes a difference...

[Josef]

On 24/06/2024 at 17:57, DaveH said:

The joints at the rack end are a lot stiffer than the old rack, and I certainly  couldn’t adjust the toe in by turning the tie rods like I did on the old rack.

Those joints are supposed to be fairly stiff, but the Spitfire should have a 3.5ish lock to lock. Further details in the videos below as I’ve done the same job recently!
Rebuilding a Small Chassis Triumph Steering Rack | 1969 Triumph Spitfire Mk3 | Part 8
https://youtu.be/tvItvR4JYfw Investigating Steering Play | 1969 Triumph Spitfire Mk3 | Part 7

 

[DaveH]

Thanks Josef.
Damn, so the one supplied by the club shop is wrong. 😞

Edited July 2 by DaveH