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** ON TO THE NEXT BIT ** Nose to Tail - 1972 Spitfire MkIV restoration upgrades!!


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I left CT forum because of the trolls. The things in the rear brake drums aren't slave cylinders they're BRAKE CYLINDERS!!! :angry: "How  do I fix my servo?" "YOU DON'T NEED A SERVO!!! :angry:" And a few more. We may take the micky on here, but there ain't no trolls! Kevin wouldn't stand for it. 

He's watching us. :o

sam.PNG.8614fd364ee23833a2770dde85f13d4a.PNG

db

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On 23/08/2017 at 11:41, dougbgt6 said:

My car is 1973 and had black background and white letters when I bought it. 

Another resurrection of an old part of the post - but:

My Herald originally had raised black plastic letters on a white / yellow background; I'm looking for a company that can replicate that. Any ideas?

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14 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said:

I left CT forum because of the trolls. The things in the rear brake drums aren't slave cylinders they're BRAKE CYLINDERS!!! :angry: "How  do I fix my servo?" "YOU DON'T NEED A SERVO!!! :angry:" And a few more. We may take the micky on here, but there ain't no trolls! Kevin wouldn't stand for it. 

He's watching us. :o

db

OK, I'll stay, just in case you send Kevin 'round... scary!!!

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So.  On to the next job. Before I chronicle how I did it, I would like to acknowledge Aiden's thread on fuse box replacement
https://forum.tssc.org.uk/topic/2452-fuse-box-replacement/

along with all the contributors, without whose help I would not have been able to do this, and, would probably never even thought of doing it.

So, it starts with one of these..

image.png.05a715bcafe5805c7058aff179e76557.png

the same as Aiden's

1740467057_FuseBox01.thumb.jpg.baf54614080aad8407a848772df5dcef.jpg

Off with the old fuse box

1630918180_FuseBox02.thumb.jpg.1e8a18a74a929ffec40babfe2d7651b6.jpg

Cut off not only the red wire but all of them and add masking tape around the hole to help marking out

614811466_FuseBox03.thumb.jpg.c9500cbcb7514e476518c0e684981802.jpg

and enlarging the original hole without sawing through the wires

681029681_FuseBox04.thumb.jpg.2d60e6afbee25c6038aa15f8f5a47fca.jpg

and a new hole cut for the wiring loom. Then I simply cut through from the hole for the fuse box onto the hole for the loom and bent the bulkhead one bit backwards and the other forwards

2036328083_FuseBox05.thumb.jpg.aa9dde90b7be5867dcfa84c7a8d31659.jpg

.. and passed the loom through and bent the bulkhead back into place

2017426760_FuseBox06.thumb.jpg.3a74a6b4ab4ebb5f68faa92114979650.jpg

and pushed the grommet into the hole. I will probably run a little silicone around the edge in due course to seal.

197057431_FuseBox-07.thumb.jpg.5b9f9d9e5a600e35e5cdea25a7f1caaa.jpg

Then all the wires were fitted with connectors. All have been crimped, as advised by all those who know about electrics, to prevent breakage of the wires by vibration. I did just catch the end of the wired against the connector with a tiny amount of solder. The respective colours are still taped together.

437740288_FuseBox010.thumb.jpg.5851938f4f9761528efae043ed4da31b.jpg

The connectors on the back of the fuse box have been connected with 3 square mm wire as per Doug's original diagram and all the wires connected up for testing.  Not a pretty bit of soldering, but it seems to be ok. I don't appear to have all the individually connections out of the original fuse box that Doug has, but for the time being the original three wires coming in are routed individually through the fuses to the original wires going out. I will track down other 'multi fed' items at a later date as I have a couple of spare fuse ways. My wiper motor, wiper motor park and indicators, are, at the moment, on the same wire out off the box. It could be that GT6s are wired this way for a reason. I will investigate later.

Fuse-Box-11.thumb.jpg.22c1a0643217aef1f65a0d00499ce809.jpg

And finally, it looks like this.

Once again thanks to everyone. I am not wanting to detract from Aiden's original thread but if I can do it, anyone should be able to do it, and I apologise for driving everyone crazy with my questions.

 

Edit - Update -

SAFTEY WARNING

I have recently removed the fuse box (removed the fitting screws and pulled the unit forward) in order to add a cigarette lighter fitting. I did not fully refit the fuse box before connecting the battery in order to test the new lighter. The edge of the car body around the cut out hole caught on one of the rear connectors even though I thought that all of them were insulated (one of the insulators had pulled back slightly) and shorted out blowing a fuse. I recommend that anyone fitting this type of unit runs some form of insulation, tape or rubber edging, around the edge of the hole for extra safety.

 

 

Edited by Badwolf
SAFETY WARNING
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BW,

Well done! I thought "how did he get the loom and grommet in place?" But you must have bent the metal to get it in then straightened it afterwards? Why didn't I do that?!! I cut a slot wide enough for the loom, I didn't need too! Another pearl of knowledge for the next installer!

Doug

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Doug - Correct about bending the metal. 

I only posted it so that my c*ck-ups might help the next installer down the line. Aiden's instructions were invaluable along with your's and everyone else's, but as you have seen from all my questions, when you understand the theory... easy, when you don't... Help!!

Just as an addition. As you can see from the pictures, my dis-car-nect is one of those with the 16amp permanent fuse to keep the radio, alarm etc working when you turn the breaker. I found out, obviously, that it also passes enough current to allow the headlights to be turned on, so with the top down on the convertible ranges of 'our cars', some little oick can still lean in and turn on the lights draining the battery.  Probably never happen but worth thinking about.

Edit - Update -

I have recently removed the fuse box (removed the fitting screws and pulled the unit forward) in order to add a cigarette lighter fitting. I did not fully refit the fuse box before connecting the battery in order to test the new lighter. The edge of the car body around the cut out hole caught on one of the rear connectors even though I thought that all of them were insulated (one of the insulators had pulled back slightly) and shorted out blowing a fuse. I recommend that anyone fitting this type of unit runs some form of insulation, tape or rubber edging, around the edge of the hole for extra safety.

 

 

Edited by Badwolf
SAFETY WARNING UPDATE
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After all the work on the spring, shockers, choke and fuse box, Lady BW & I went out for the day on Friday to the seaside. Glorious day. It was the longest trip since recomissioning nearly 2 years ago. Apart from stopping for two minutes to check that the choke had released on the front carb (it had), and to increase the tick over from 200 revs to 750 (don't ask!!!), there were no problems. A 'Triumph' for all the help selflessly given on this forum. Not just to me but to others that I have picked up knowledge from on other threads.

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On 02/06/2019 at 18:30, Colin Lindsay said:

I think the biggest appeal to me with the modern versions is that you can turn them off, so they act as a kind of engine immobiliser...So: buy one, try it, report back to us, and then sell it on eBay.

 

Following the discussion of the problems with my old Sparkrite SX1000 electronic ignition couple of pages back....

Colin - Following your suggestion, I got a Sparkrite SX4000 unit off fleabay. Not fitted it yet but on initial viewing, it looks like something knocked up by an electronics hobbyist. About the size of a packet of fags , basic aluminium project type box,  with a two position switch (electronic & coventional settings, no 'off'), green led at one end and four wires out of tbe other. No lables or stickers on it , only trademarks etc are on the cardboard box it was packed in and on the duplicated instruction sheet. A bit underwhelming really. Don't get me wrong, I like minimalist packing etc, but this is really basic compared to the earlier Sparkrite versions. Suppose that's electronics these days. Will try and photograph & fit over the weekend and report back. Has anyone else tried one of these? Some of the bumpf I have read implies these are made/imported by AccuSpark??

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I haven't seen one of the more modern version but that sounds almost like a cheap Chinese knock-up, yet that description matches the photos on the website. Very minimalist! There should be a red led too, apparrently. I suppose the proof is in how they operate, rather than what they look like.

Both Accuspark and SimonBBC list them on their websites as being for sale so it appears they're not made by either.

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14 minutes ago, Anglefire said:

Personally I don’t see the need to go electronic ignition in a standard car. I can’t think what benefit they really bring to the party.

Well, the three times I've done it were:

- Dolomite 1850 with a really awkward, inaccessible distributor and a tendency to eat points. A simple amplifier box fixed that completely

- Stag with a worn vacuum advance plate and consequent tendency to close one set of points and cut out. Lumenition fixed that completely

- GT6 with a worn shaft in the (hard to find parts for) Delco distributor, causing 20 degree scatter on the ignition. Lumenition fixed that completely

I'm tempted by a PowerSpark for the Spitfire because the design of the electrical connections on the Delco points is so crap.

OK, so in all four cases there's something not quite perfect about the 20+ year old parts, or the poor quality aftermarket service items, and I could, in theory, have fixed the root cause with a genuine original NOS part. If I could find one. But electronic ignition is cheaper.

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I've electronic ignition, no need for repeated points gap checking, one less thing to worry about. What's not to like? Although I do have a plastic bag with a screw driver and all the redundant bits, which is kept under the passenger seat, just in case.

Doug

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