Thursday, 30 September 2010
There is never enough time...
So sorry, I can't be bothered writing up the rest of the spitfire rebuild. There are far better things in life to be doing. But she's done.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Preparing a kit of parts...
First step, once the chassis was stripped of components, was to take it back to bare metal, examine it for corrosion of damage, then repaint it. A cup brush in a grinder was the best way. It did not take long to be left with beautiful bare steel, and there was no corrosion damage whatsoever, there was not even any thinning of the metal, let alone areas which needed replacing. It was literally like new.
The hefty double backbone chassis being taken back to clean steel. Triumph constructed these beautifully, the arc welding is very precise and clean.
To protect it, I settled for nothing less than Tetrosyl black chassis paint, which I had used previously and found to be just about the best paint available. Matt got on with applying three coats to every part of the chassis, with more in the difficult corners where mud and water collect. After a day of drying, the paint was hard enough to allow reassembly to commence, although this paint takes a long time to completely harden (a few couple of months really, but it dries quick enough to handle and assemble in the same time as most paints do) but once it is dry, it is incredibly strong and impact-resistant. The black chassis paint on the MG is still in perfect condition after a year of hard use, and bearing in mind the MG is a rally and trials machine it sees plenty of fords, mud, snow and grit. It is superbly glossy as well, and looks great when dry. It is a bit prone to running though, so care is needed. It brushes on very well, and does not leave brush marks. It can also be sprayed, I have done this on a couple of things and it worked equally well. It is far, far superior to the common option from DIY shops, (the one with a hitting tool in the name) which has poor resistance to chemicals, impact and does not stop rust occurring beneath it, due to the safety restrictions on the content it is now a poor performer. The Tetrosyl chassis paint, however, gets around these regulations by being branded “For professional use only” and is hard to find. This is true with all the best materials, those which are most difficult to get hold of, (due to safety regulations on their contents) are the ones which are most effective at protecting and lasting.
The front and rear suspension, differential and steering rack were then inspected. The steering rack had no play in it whatsoever, and other than new gaiters was left original. The front springs were in very good order as well, so these could be reused. The dampers were replaced, and a new set of rear dampers were bought at the same time. New bushes had been fitted all round, including for the anti-roll bar, which is the larger size from the Mk.IV. The vertical links were in good order, and the trunnions had been replaced shortly before the car was taken off the road for restoration, however they were fitted with new nylon bushings. New wheel bearings were fitted to the front hubs.
At the back, the reconditioned differential needed no work, and the recently replaced rear spring was still perfect, although it was stripped, repainted and rebuilt with new interleaving rubbers to give the correct ride height at the back. The rear driveshafts had recent replacement universal joints, the bearings were also sound so they were left alone.
Matt and I set to work with the fiddly job of cleaning up all the metal components which were going to be reused, ready for their coats of Tetrosyl chassis paint. The new dampers were painted in an awful low-quality black paint of the sort which only lasts a few months, so they were repainted as well. The freshly painted parts were joined by the new components we had bought, and put alongside the chassis ready for reassembly.
Various steering and suspension components drying after painting.
The chassis has recieved yet another coat along with all the suspension parts. To give all that a coat takes 5 hours or so, and two coats are needed, on the topsides and the undersides...
Various parts being painted, including the disassembled transverse rear leaf spring.
The hefty double backbone chassis being taken back to clean steel. Triumph constructed these beautifully, the arc welding is very precise and clean.To protect it, I settled for nothing less than Tetrosyl black chassis paint, which I had used previously and found to be just about the best paint available. Matt got on with applying three coats to every part of the chassis, with more in the difficult corners where mud and water collect. After a day of drying, the paint was hard enough to allow reassembly to commence, although this paint takes a long time to completely harden (a few couple of months really, but it dries quick enough to handle and assemble in the same time as most paints do) but once it is dry, it is incredibly strong and impact-resistant. The black chassis paint on the MG is still in perfect condition after a year of hard use, and bearing in mind the MG is a rally and trials machine it sees plenty of fords, mud, snow and grit. It is superbly glossy as well, and looks great when dry. It is a bit prone to running though, so care is needed. It brushes on very well, and does not leave brush marks. It can also be sprayed, I have done this on a couple of things and it worked equally well. It is far, far superior to the common option from DIY shops, (the one with a hitting tool in the name) which has poor resistance to chemicals, impact and does not stop rust occurring beneath it, due to the safety restrictions on the content it is now a poor performer. The Tetrosyl chassis paint, however, gets around these regulations by being branded “For professional use only” and is hard to find. This is true with all the best materials, those which are most difficult to get hold of, (due to safety regulations on their contents) are the ones which are most effective at protecting and lasting.
The front and rear suspension, differential and steering rack were then inspected. The steering rack had no play in it whatsoever, and other than new gaiters was left original. The front springs were in very good order as well, so these could be reused. The dampers were replaced, and a new set of rear dampers were bought at the same time. New bushes had been fitted all round, including for the anti-roll bar, which is the larger size from the Mk.IV. The vertical links were in good order, and the trunnions had been replaced shortly before the car was taken off the road for restoration, however they were fitted with new nylon bushings. New wheel bearings were fitted to the front hubs.
At the back, the reconditioned differential needed no work, and the recently replaced rear spring was still perfect, although it was stripped, repainted and rebuilt with new interleaving rubbers to give the correct ride height at the back. The rear driveshafts had recent replacement universal joints, the bearings were also sound so they were left alone.
Matt and I set to work with the fiddly job of cleaning up all the metal components which were going to be reused, ready for their coats of Tetrosyl chassis paint. The new dampers were painted in an awful low-quality black paint of the sort which only lasts a few months, so they were repainted as well. The freshly painted parts were joined by the new components we had bought, and put alongside the chassis ready for reassembly.
Various steering and suspension components drying after painting.
The chassis has recieved yet another coat along with all the suspension parts. To give all that a coat takes 5 hours or so, and two coats are needed, on the topsides and the undersides...
Various parts being painted, including the disassembled transverse rear leaf spring.
Back to square one
Well here we are again, another wonderful project with a completely unrealistic deadline. And already this log is way behind what is actually going on within the confines of the garage, the stripdown started over Easter but all spare time was spent on the car, so keeping this updated was low on the list of priorities.
The car in question is one of the last Mk.III Triumph Spitfires, registered 1st August 1970. The plan was to do a complete stripdown and rebuild of all mechanical components, and restore the body properly, repairing or replacing panels rather than patching, and using the best materials and methods possible to protect the car from corrosion. Many lessons were learned last year working on the MG, which ended up with what was basically a new bodyshell from individual panels, jigged and aligned correctly, that took 11 months of continual work all day every weekday to complete.
At this point, the body tub has been restored to its original condition, all corroded panels having been replaced with new sills, floors, rear wings, and boot floor. There is no patching and the only metalwork left to do is to repair a replacement bonnet (The original was scrapped) and to repair and fit the doors, to be followed by removing the temporary primer and respraying.
But for that, a chassis is required so the body tub can be mounted, so the next step was to build up the chassis complete. Adding the body to the rolling chassis with engine, and gearbox, suspension and brakes already fitted removes the possibility of damaging the body while the rest of the car is built up around it. So we set to, dismantling the rolling chassis ready for inspection and reassembly, which progressed quickly and smoothly.
Body off, scruffy mechanicals revealed. Everything is incredibly sound though....
Dust, mud and oil everywhere, hopefully with metal beneath it all.
The chassis quickly getting lighter and more manageable as the big lumps are removed.
The car in question is one of the last Mk.III Triumph Spitfires, registered 1st August 1970. The plan was to do a complete stripdown and rebuild of all mechanical components, and restore the body properly, repairing or replacing panels rather than patching, and using the best materials and methods possible to protect the car from corrosion. Many lessons were learned last year working on the MG, which ended up with what was basically a new bodyshell from individual panels, jigged and aligned correctly, that took 11 months of continual work all day every weekday to complete.
At this point, the body tub has been restored to its original condition, all corroded panels having been replaced with new sills, floors, rear wings, and boot floor. There is no patching and the only metalwork left to do is to repair a replacement bonnet (The original was scrapped) and to repair and fit the doors, to be followed by removing the temporary primer and respraying.
But for that, a chassis is required so the body tub can be mounted, so the next step was to build up the chassis complete. Adding the body to the rolling chassis with engine, and gearbox, suspension and brakes already fitted removes the possibility of damaging the body while the rest of the car is built up around it. So we set to, dismantling the rolling chassis ready for inspection and reassembly, which progressed quickly and smoothly.
Body off, scruffy mechanicals revealed. Everything is incredibly sound though....
Dust, mud and oil everywhere, hopefully with metal beneath it all.
The chassis quickly getting lighter and more manageable as the big lumps are removed.
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