Refitting sequence after spraying

[Black Cat]

Right, with the body about to be sprayed I’ll shortly be refitting the component back in the car. Generally it seems quite straightforward but what is the sequence for all the items behind the dash?

I’ve fitted the steering column and was thinking about fitting the heater unit next,. Is there anything which should be fittered before the heater as my fingers are not as nimble as they once were and I don’t want to fit something then have to remove it  to fit something else which should have been fitted first.

Many  thanks

[Pete Lewis]

you need to remind us of ..what car ???? i see from your profile this is  a Spitfire 1500  is that correct ??/

Pete

 

[Colin Lindsay]

Spitfire 1500?

First thing is to soundproof anything you can reach! Makes for a quieter and possibly cooler driving experience. I'm not sure whether to advise you to fit and seal the gearbox tunnel at this point; it's easier to do with all else out of the way but does take up a lot of room.

After that, heater or wipers, they're usually tight to the bodywork. Washer piping to jets, leave extra length to the pump and only cut when you're sure it's all routed properly. Heater control cables and any other metal cable that goes through the bulkhead can be fitted and sealed properly then just pushed through the dashboard from behind. 

String the wiring loom and cable tie it so that each part hangs where it can be easily attached to switches or clocks without being stretched or pulled; same with speedo drive. Cables such as door switches for courtesy lights are more easily threaded when there's nothing else in the way and again cable tie them to stop them being pulled back if anything else catches on them before you get the switches attached. Wooden dash will be near the finish.

Glove boxes and trim will obviously be last. This is all just off the top of my head and may vary from car to car, and you'll always find some component or other that gets in the way of something else. Be prepared for skinned knuckles!

 

[Black Cat]

Yes, type of Triumph would have been helpful, sorry about that. It's a 1500 Spitfire 1977.

I was looking at sound/heat insulation for the firewall and the tunnel, I have read somewhere that the stuff you can get from B and Q is just as good as the more expensive stuff. I'm thinking Dynamat.

Anybody had any experience of the B & Q product or can you recommend something which is a little less costly that Dynamat?

[Colin Lindsay]

23 minutes ago, Black Cat said:

Anybody had any experience of the B & Q product or can you recommend something which is a little less costly that Dynamat?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dodo-Mat-deadening-proofing-vibration/dp/B07NDGTT1F/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dodo+dead+mat+hex&qid=1597084592&s=automotive&sr=1-2

I've just ordered this from Amazon for the gearbox tunnel; seems well recommended.

[Paul H]

34 minutes ago, Black Cat said:

Yes, type of Triumph would have been helpful, sorry about that. It's a 1500 Spitfire 1977.

I was looking at sound/heat insulation for the firewall and the tunnel, I have read somewhere that the stuff you can get from B and Q is just as good as the more expensive stuff. I'm thinking Dynamat.

Anybody had any experience of the B & Q product or can you recommend something which is a little less costly that Dynamat?

I used Silentcoat from EBay or Amazon , easy to use , to soften I used a heat gun and to get the floor profile a 2in roller for wallpaper seams . Easy to cut with scissors 

Paul 

[Black Cat]

Ordered the Dodo heat/sound deadening material from Amazon yesterday, arrived today, couple of minor jobs then I will attempt to fit it on the firewall.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

2 hours ago, Black Cat said:

Ordered the Dodo heat/sound deadening material from Amazon yesterday, arrived today, couple of minor jobs then I will attempt to fit it on the firewall.

 

Mine arrived too, immensely heavy box which was all the more amazing for being sold with free carriage... let me know if you find any problems, difficulties or tips!

[ahebron]

Gearbox tunnel fitment makes lying on your back under the dash just that bit more difficult than with the hard metal gearbox digging in to your back.

 

Adrian

[Black Cat]

Yes. been playing around with the gearbox tunnel this morning, cutting an access panel for the oil filler plug.

Still need to fit the speedo cable, the pipework to the master cylinder and the fuel line. Think that's all, but expect there may be something else which will come to light, usually after everything else has been fitted. Wish I’d fitted the fuel line before fitting the body, now got to lay under the car to clip it into place and there's not much room under there.

I think the reason I hadn’t fitted the fuel line before was I wasn’t sure exactly where it goes. Having replaced the boot floor the new one hasn’t got a hole where the fuel pipe feeds into the boot and despite taking loads of photos of the strip down there is always some which get forgotten.

Anybody got a photo of where the fuel line goes into the boot?

[NonMember]

2 hours ago, Black Cat said:

Anybody got a photo of where the fuel line goes into the boot?

I could take a photo of where it didn't originally go on a Mk3 but I suspect that's not helpful, especially as the route changed for the MkIV. The pipe comes across the top of the tank and down the left side. I see no reason for it not to go through the floor directly below that.

[Peter Truman]

Our Mk2 comes thro the floor at the boot floors front left hand corner but the car had a body off bare metal job so that may not be original!

[Colin Lindsay]

GT6 boot floor - different fuel tank, but maybe same panel below?

 

[NonMember]

I think the early Spitfire original routing is a little more outboard than that but not much. Mine got rebuilt with it in the corner like Peter's. The early Spitfire fuel tank outlet is in the centre but the pipe bends left along the axle saddle for a bit before dropping through the floor. As I said above, the square-tails have a different tank with the pipe coming out the top and across.

[Colin Lindsay]

The great thing about having no hole at all is that the world is literally your oyster (unless you're going for concours originality)

On my GT6 the pipe comes out of the base of the tank so it pokes through then does a couple of sharp turns to clear the chassis. Dropping it through closer to the outside edge could mean a straight run along the chassis rail.