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1975 Spitfire 1500 Restoration


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3 hours ago, Gully said:

All sounds like positive progress, but unfortunately I can't see any of the photos on my tablet! Just question marks!

Gully

Thanks for the support mate. Seems odd that you can't view the pictures though. Let me know if you continue to have problems and I can send you a link to the album if you want?

Conor

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On ‎28‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 07:48, NonMember said:

Excellent progress! The sill condition was reminiscent of what I found when I started my Spitfire rebuild...

Thank you for your kind words and support. I reckon most cars from this period have had the same treatment. it was a surprise to find it like this because it was only on the road for 9 years before coming off in 1984.

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As a bit of a side note away from the bodywork, I've been thinking about the dashboard (forward thinking I know) and I have to say that wood does nothing for me, probably because I'm young and a bit different. I came up with a few different ideas, vinyl wrapping the original? Carbon fibre wrapping the original? or buy a plastic dash from the early MK4 which is what I've done. It took month of searching but I finally found a decent 1 on ebay, took the gauges apart and took the black paint off the surrounds and im happy with results

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Much better. another change im going to be making is to the front of the car. I'm not a fan of the plastic front spoiler on the 1500. I think it clutters up the front and looks untidy in my own opinion. I managed to buy a good second hand lower valance from a MK4 which will be fitted when we get to that stage and I reckon the car will look a lot tidier and I can mount the number plate to it without blocking the front grill. Just a little incite  on how I want the car to look because I haven't talked about it before.

Conor  

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11 hours ago, Conor L said:

 it was a surprise to find it like this because it was only on the road for 9 years before coming off in 1984.

Well the bodge on mine, which is admittedly a 1970 car, was definitely done before my brother bought it in 1986. A lot of very poor "MOT fixes" were inflicted on our cars in the late 1970s, when they were old enough to have rusted but too young to be valuable classics.

That dash looks nice. I'm not averse to the wood, myself, but a very tidy black one looks a lot better than a faded wood with cracked lacquer (like my GT6). And I'm with you on the spoiler - they do improve cooling and, to an extent, handling at speed, but the cars look prettier without.

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On 30/11/2018 at 14:51, Mjit said:

Thouse multi-skin pics remind me of the footwells in my Spitfire.  Think there were 4 or 5 layers of metal where different bodgers had over-plated to repair rust.

That's mad! Probably just bodged up to Mot standard.

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On 30/11/2018 at 09:15, NonMember said:

Well the bodge on mine, which is admittedly a 1970 car, was definitely done before my brother bought it in 1986. A lot of very poor "MOT fixes" were inflicted on our cars in the late 1970s, when they were old enough to have rusted but too young to be valuable classics.

That dash looks nice. I'm not averse to the wood, myself, but a very tidy black one looks a lot better than a faded wood with cracked lacquer (like my GT6). And I'm with you on the spoiler - they do improve cooling and, to an extent, handling at speed, but the cars look prettier without.

It's funny because they still plate over rot holes to get cars through the Mot now. I work in a garage and I say don't you just cut it out but they always say "it takes to long". That's exactly what happened to my wood dash hence why I've bought a plastic 1 and because I prefer it and they defiantly look better without the spoiler.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Quite a long update on what's happened to the tub over the past few weeks but before we start I just wanted to say that I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Right then lets get on with the build.

As mentioned on the last tub update, I said that the rotten inner wheel arch could be saved. Well I do enjoy jinxing myself, I had a message from the restorer saying that after some more poking it turned out that it was too far gone to saved, £118 later and a meal with the Girlfriend (got to keep her happy) the tub has a nice new inner wheel arch. Unfortunately I haven't got a picture of it (I'm such a let down). The lower quarter section was also in a sorry state so a new 1 was purchased and welded in after a bit of trimming (I've got a picture of this, go me!)

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We then found some more bodged up metal on the bulkhead, just below where the chassis plate goes (when will it ever end) so we cut it out,

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Formed and welded in new metal for a seamless repair!,

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We found some more bodged up metal on the lower areas of the A and B posts where they meet the step sill. Unfortunately I have no before pictures but here's the after,

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Then i cleaned up some surface rust, treated with Hydrate 80 (heard good thinks about it) and then gave the insides a coat of weld through primer before the new wing and sill were welded into place.

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Before welding we checked the door gaps again and surprisingly, they're bloody good!

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Just some slight fettling with the bonnet is required to get it flush with the sill but its not much. Overall I'm really pleased with how its looking so far. 1 side is done and the restorer will be starting the other side in the new year. On a side note, I've started ordering new parts for the chassis rebuild which will be commencing when the other side of the tub is complete. So far I've ordered a complete Polybush kit, New dampers all round, Lowered front springs, recon Girling Callipers and a rear leaf spring with a 1 inch lowering block. Hopefully with this suspension set up ill get the ride height and handling that I want. Also I'm thinking about investing in the Canley Classics Trunionless conversion, is this something that's worth doing as the old uprights will probably knackered?

Sorry its another long one but there was a lot to cover in this update.

Thanks for all the support and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2019 beings us.

Conor

 

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hi conor, great stuff, the bulkhead repair shape is a difficult one to make, I had similar on both sides  and am gonna revisit one of them. your door gaps and bonnet fit are very good indeed, its a good feeling knowing that's ok, I know what a boost it gave me when I trial fitted my steel bonnet for the first time when I saw the gaps they too were great, well done and keep the pics coming , all the best for 2019.

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13 hours ago, Ian Faulds said:

hi conor, great stuff, the bulkhead repair shape is a difficult one to make, I had similar on both sides  and am gonna revisit one of them. your door gaps and bonnet fit are very good indeed, its a good feeling knowing that's ok, I know what a boost it gave me when I trial fitted my steel bonnet for the first time when I saw the gaps they too were great, well done and keep the pics coming , all the best for 2019.

Hi Ian, it did look like quite a complicated shape and im so glad that I didn't tackle it myself, I can just about weld a exhaust hanger haha. I know what you mean, I had the same feeling when I saw the gaps after all the work as they were terrible when I bought the car. Thanks for your support and all the best to you too.

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11 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Some great work there - love the dashboard; very modern!

The spoiler removal was something I did on my GT6 MK3 and I'm in agreement that it really changed the look of the front of the car. 

Now I know where my missing spanner went - it's in your footwell... :)

Haha I'll post it to you the next time I see the car, I'll have a look for your 10mm too. I much prefer the plastic dash, looks more sporty in my opinion. If I was keeping the car 100% original then I'd keep the spoiler but the front end looks so much cleaner and prettier without it. 

11 hours ago, Will said:

I've been a stranger to the site for a little while although I still get your updates , Great stuff Conor

Thanks for the kind comment Will. Feel free to pop up at anytime!

5 minutes ago, Gully said:

Great update and excellent progress!

Fully agree on the front spoiler - really don't like them; especially when left black.

Have a happy and healthy 2019 - good luck with the offside!

Gully

Thanks for support Gully, really appreciate it! I'm guessing you've fixed the issue with viewing the pictures? I suppose the spoiler is ok body colour but I much prefer the look without them. All the best for 2019!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Small update. Nothing much has happened over the Christmas/New Year however, things have started to pick up again. Over the past weekend, I've been over to the restorers and managed to grind down all of the welds on the Near side. I can why labour prices are high form this type of work as the Near side took me about 4 hours! I'm not complaining as I'd much rather do this than hang around the streets like most people my age.

Time for some pictures,

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I also offered up the rear winger finisher trim and I'm pleased to report that it still fits!

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We also fitted up the new Chassis outrigger which the restorer welded today.

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The workshop is getting quite busy now. There is now a Mini with a very rotten underside along with a very nice 1950s MG YB.

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That's it for this update. Hopefully there will be another in the next couple of weeks as more welding work will be staring in a few days time.

Thanks for the continued support,

Conor

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You were asking about trunnionless uprights...

I took the plunge (6 or 7 years ago)  when I was building my Spitfire. Like you I had a set of "servicable" uprights, but as my car was destined for heavy use/abuse I wanted to replace with new.

Indeed, I don't think there is anything wrong with new std uprights, and the problems with cracks/breakage are entirely down to the fact they are 50ish years old and went through periods of poor maintenance. Remember, these cars often dissolved away within 10 years or so. So nobody really expected them to be about in the year 2000, let alone today.

Anyway, back on point. At the time a complete trunnionless setup was very little extra over new std uprights/trunnions, and should be stronger. The "problem" you will have is the calliper brackets, I used GT6 suspension/callipers (with capri vented discs) so just used teh GT6 brackets, but if using spitfire sized stuff you will need to buy eh brackets, which does add (significantly) to the cost. an alternative idea is to use some sh gt6 brackets, and you could then use the larger GT6 disc and callipers, all on a std spit hub etc. Just an idea. Matched with early rear wheel cylinders (larger bore) you will have improved braking. And I apologise for leading you towards the dark side (modifications)

Worth noting I am renowned for not spending unnecessarily on my cars. But new uprights were a no-brainer. I have had uprights break twice, both at parking speeds. But I don't like the thought it could happen at any time.

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On ‎15‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 04:53, clive said:

You were asking about trunnionless uprights...

I took the plunge (6 or 7 years ago)  when I was building my Spitfire. Like you I had a set of "servicable" uprights, but as my car was destined for heavy use/abuse I wanted to replace with new.

Indeed, I don't think there is anything wrong with new std uprights, and the problems with cracks/breakage are entirely down to the fact they are 50ish years old and went through periods of poor maintenance. Remember, these cars often dissolved away within 10 years or so. So nobody really expected them to be about in the year 2000, let alone today.

Anyway, back on point. At the time a complete trunnionless setup was very little extra over new std uprights/trunnions, and should be stronger. The "problem" you will have is the calliper brackets, I used GT6 suspension/callipers (with capri vented discs) so just used teh GT6 brackets, but if using spitfire sized stuff you will need to buy eh brackets, which does add (significantly) to the cost. an alternative idea is to use some sh gt6 brackets, and you could then use the larger GT6 disc and callipers, all on a std spit hub etc. Just an idea. Matched with early rear wheel cylinders (larger bore) you will have improved braking. And I apologise for leading you towards the dark side (modifications)

Worth noting I am renowned for not spending unnecessarily on my cars. But new uprights were a no-brainer. I have had uprights break twice, both at parking speeds. But I don't like the thought it could happen at any time.

Hi Clive, sorry for the late reply! had a shunt in the Daily driver and i've been repairing it most evenins, all sorted now though.

Thanks for the information and i'll do some more research when the time comes. I want the car to be Slightly modified as in improved handling and looks ie lowering it so it sits nice, exhaust and some nice period look alloys. I had though about doing something with the brakes too but a colleague said that i'll have a spongy pedal if I fitted larger wheel cylinders. I've just had my original calipers rebuilt. will definitely do some reading up as my uprights will more than likely be knackered as the car hasn't been on the road for 34 years!  

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