rozentas Posted May 9, 2020 Report Share Posted May 9, 2020 Purchased a year ago as a runner from a chap in Bedford. Paid £4300 for it.............never has the Latin caveat emptor been more appropriate, or to put it another way.........did he rip me a new one or what...... I had no experience of cars at all except taking a company car to the garage every so often...........which of course was my fault not his It ran for a month then the engine developed a fault which was the subject of much discussion on this forum. Took out the engine and saw the rot on the front cross member, took back the carpets and saw the rot on the floor, tapped the front of the sill which gave way, shone a torch in the sill cavity and saw new sill had been welded onto rotten strengthened and inner sills. So before doing anything with the engine I bought myself a Mig welder.......gasless.......big mistake...... cut out the rot and have installed new inner sills, strengthener and outer sills, outriggers, patched the floor, cross member, bonnet supports. Pictures show progress to date........ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Posted May 9, 2020 Report Share Posted May 9, 2020 Looking good, were you able to take plenty of measurement of the front cross member, I did this to a spit 30 years ago and was paranoid about the bonnet fit until I could fit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2020 Took measurements to weld on the bonnet supports. Have test fitted the bonnet which fit fine, but that was before I replaced the sills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 15 hours ago, rozentas said: Purchased a year ago as a runner from a chap in Bedford. Paid £4300 for it.............never has the Latin caveat emptor been more appropriate, or to put it another way.........did he rip me a new one or what...... We've all been there; with my first Spitfire it was the seller who did the runner; plus after all these years I'm still buying lemons and having to practically rebuild them before they hit the road - there's a TR7 thread somewhere about on the subject... however that work looks superb, and you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that the work has indeed been done and done properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 We all start somewhere! Hats off to you for the effort you've put in so far! Can't wait to see it back on the road! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Clark Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 21 hours ago, rozentas said: Took measurements to weld on the bonnet supports. Have test fitted the bonnet which fit fine, but that was before I replaced the sills. Very nice work!. I'm at a halt on the bodywork until the bonnet I bought on eBay in March can be delivered and I can get a welder. I'm impressed that you welded so much with no experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor L Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Great work! Will be worth it when finished and you'll know everything has been done properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 Took off the vertical links to clean them up and replace the trunions. Neither Link has the water shield into which the felt seal sits. No one seems to sell theses anymore, unless any of you experts can advise me of a source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted May 17, 2020 Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 22 minutes ago, rozentas said: Took off the vertical links to clean them up and replace the trunions. Neither Link has the water shield into which the felt seal sits. No one seems to sell theses anymore, unless any of you experts can advise me of a source? Not available new, nor remade either as far as I can find. As always I'd recommend Chic Doig for second-hand units; I wonder if he could be persuaded to have some remade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 Have email him......thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted May 17, 2020 Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 4 hours ago, rozentas said: Took off the vertical links to clean them up and replace the trunions Have you already bought the parts? If not it's worth considering the Canley trunionless conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Found some at the Spitfire Graveyard in Sheffield. Would love to do the conversion but v expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Here are my vertical links, how do I tell if they are ok, I think one is a bit bent, is there a tolerance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 The left VL thread looks very worn and if the right hand one is bent both should be replaced Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Agree about the left one but is that bent or just the angle it's sitting at? Can we get other photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 is it the photo but agree the lh pic looks like the threads are flat topped vs the lh one ..............which could be down to manufacturer. the tip of the threads do not get worn, the load is taken by the thread not its peak what makes you feel its bent ?? pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Here are some more pics. The links are different in that the end of the lh link has a smaller hole For the oil than the rh link. Maybe the rh is not bent but I think the angle of the thread is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 they would seem ok both are from different supplier or evolution over the years there is no drastic corrosion which is the killer i would re use with fair confidence , check the trunnion fit has no rock or float when screwed on . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted May 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Thanks will check trunion fit, absolutely no corrosion once I cleaned off all the crud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted June 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 Refurbishing my seats with new foams and covers from Park Lane Classics. Do I have two passenger side seat baskets or two drivers side baskets? They are both exactly the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham C Posted June 2, 2020 Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 The overhang of the basket goes to the prop shaft tunnel, the vertical face goes to the sill. So you have two passenger side ones. Hope this helps. Just need to find someone with two driver baskets. Try Spitfire Graveyard again. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted June 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 Yes got one from them....tsk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozentas Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Just fit the lower wishbones and springs/shocks. They look a little bent to me at the top as if the wishbone needs pushing out further with lots of shims. I wasn’t going to fit any shims as I have adjustable upper wishbones. Would you say the spring are sitting as they should or are they indeed bent too much and need adjusting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Look about correct to me. The top plate is fixed angle, the shock spring pan changes angle as the suspension moves up/down. hence the bend. You will probably need some shims to set the castor angle when you get that far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 yes agree if you can simulate the on raod loads it will straighten out ok as clive says its pretty normal Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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