Phat Ass And Mud Guards

 

Since I have had the chassis rolling and the body fitted I have never been 100% happy with the width at the back end. I first noticed the potential issues when fitting the adjustable radius arms and my measurements for the brackets was significantly different to what was advised within the build guide. This I can only presume is the difference between using Spitfire running gear against GT6 running gear with a rota flex rear drive shafts. Still more than one way to skin a cat as such. As you can see pictured here the width of the car on standard spitfire running gear and my knock on wire wheels. 

Solutions to this issue are not going to be easy or relatively cheap. My options to increase the track is to space the hubs or change the offset/backspacing of the wheels. Changing the backspacing of the wheels will be very very costly due to the specific size of the wheels which would then require a new set unique to my requirements so easily close to £2000…. Which I don’t have. Also I love the little 13” wheels I have and they will technically keep the speedo reading accurate as they have the same rolling circumference as the original Spitfire wheels and it would be easier to find another set of wheels the same size secondhand again should I need to in the future. 

So my chosen option is to space the hubs by a significant amount really… 30mm each side!! Wowsers!  I have researched this option in great depth and have seen some really bad examples and issues off the back of bad installations, but with the correct install using the correct components then I’m struggling to see what issues will arise really. Physics is physics after all! So I have specifically ordered hubcentric spacers machined to my 4 stud PCD with upgraded M12 x 1.5 studs as opposed to the original 3/8th on Spitfire. I also now intend to replace the wheel studs in the Spitfire hub to bigger more beefy Freelander M12 x 1.5 studs despite me already replacing these for original replacements earlier in the build. The advantage being I will then be able to torque the spacer to the hub and the knock on adapter to the spacer using around 110Nm as opposed to only 65Nm on the smaller studs. I will need to get some open wheel nuts with a 40degree taper as opposed to the ones in the picture here which are 60degrees, as they nip up ok but aren’t seating 100% against the knock on adapter. Also the bigger studs will be less likely to get stretched by over tightening and thus loosing the tensile strength and potentially a wheel when driving. This genuinely is a fairly common problem with Spitfires and if you look back in my blog to see the pictures of the previously replaced studs you can then see the effect of over torqued nuts!! 

So now with the two hubs provisionally fitted you can now see the increase in track width this has given me, and wow it is soo much better than previously. I am much happier with the stance of the car now and I hope I don’t live to regret such a drastic spacer fitted. However a chap I work with has a Ford Ranger (I also own one on standard wheel size) and he has 20” wheels spaced 50mm each side which looks barbaric in my opinion. But he has been using it daily for a good few years now with no issues. Yes it’s a 5 stud pattern as opposed to 4 but as I said previously the correct components and physics is physics which can’t be denied. 

With the rear wheels now spaced and set correctly I was able to now make a start on fitting the mud guards. This has been a real pain in the arse from start to finish (and I’m not finished yet) and I’m really out on my own when it comes to fabrication and fitting. The build guide is extremely vague on fitting these, and what little information on the internet from previous builders all state they didn’t “beef” up the fixings enough and have lost mudguard during a drive…. Let’s see if I can nail this first time then!

I started off welding two bits of plate on each side of the rear drum back plate. I was intending to fit the two front guards first however after fitting the rear spacers I am now considering spacing the front wheels also to give me a tad more steering angle. The current setup sees the wheel voiding the body with about 1.5 turns of the wheel and if I was to space the front wheels slightly (about 20mm I think) should see me get a significant further turning pitch before voiding the body with the inside face of the wheel. I will be restricting the rack once all this is concluded so that I can turn lock to lock without fear of causing issues. 

With the tabs welded on as my fixing point I have used some 3mm flat bar to create the frame to mount the mud guard. It has been a real pain in the bum if I’m honest and to make a second for the other side keeping the same spacing and symmetry is a tad daunting, which I’m not looking forward too… still onwards. I can’t really go into detail as to how I made this frame, it was just a tedious process of bending, adjusting, trial fitting, jacking up, wheel on, wheel off etc… etc… however the one side is starting to come together. If you see pictured here that I have added some strengthening sections welded down the two uprights and these take out soo much vibration and wobble that was previously present and have massively beefed up the whole structure which I’m very happy with, again to replicate all this for the other side is going to keep me awake at night as I want the arches to both sit evenly and equal each side. 

With the arch resting on the frame and some manipulation of the metal here and there I was getting much happier with the fit and spacing of the arch. I had cut some little notches out off the fibreglass to allow for the fitting and I have also sanded and got an even radius of the arche edge all the way round. Some fine tuning will be required when it comes to the paint, but the cut edges are now all acceptable for trial fitting.

I still need to physical fit/bolt the arch to the frame but my intention is to use some long pan head bolts spaced between the arch and the frame using some tick wall rubber hose to act as a slight dampener to help reduce any vibration issues when driving and to give a small amount of flex should the wheel kick up a rock or stone when in use. I’m fairly happy with how this one is fitting now, but again I’m daunted and frustrated to recreate the same for the other side. I will just plod on when I have time and update you all as and when I can. This is progress, but it just doesn’t feel as satisfying to me to get this done. 

I have over the past few weeks aged an extra year which has allowed me fit some presents that I was given (under instructions from myself naturally) so on go some mirrors that I have been looking at for a while… not a bad gift for £40 really. The same units as fitted to Aston Martin DB4/5 and some Zagatos also but despite these costing only £40, I know for a fact that some Aston Martin owners are happy to pay more than £100 for these exact units…I think £40 is a fair and acceptable price without paying the dick swinging tax…. And they look great along with actually being fairly practical!! I also have some leather boot straps that match the ones I fitted to the bonnet, but I’ll save fitting those for another day. 

That’s it for this update, next one soon I hope, feel free to gift me money so I can buy more bits I need, just message me for my bank details or put cash straight through my letter box. 

Belt Up And Park Your Seat

 

So this update is primarily concentrating on the seat belts and the associated fixing bolts. I managed to drop on again on eBay and pick up some suitable four point harnesses which are very similar to the Cobra. I specifically wanted the aero style rotary clasp and black webbing, so being a tad specific I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some time for some to crop up at a reasonable price, and I managed to get a pair for only £50 which is a huge saving than if I purchased them new and direct with Willians. 

The lower two strap fixings are fitted with eye bolts the inner of which utilises the original Spitfire fixing point on the chassis. The outer one is simply drilled through a bracket that was installed when I put the chassis outriggers and out rails on and then the spreader plate is fitted underneath allowing the eye bolt to bolt through from above. I’m going to fit some sound deadening pads to the floor pan sections under the seats, I fear this will be a tad boomy if not. The under seat void is going to be a real bummer for loosing stuff, as I’m fixing both seats without runners, so I might make a little baffle plate to stop stuff rolling around and getting impossible to access because of the seat position. 

Next was to move onto the top fixing positions, which unfortunately I didn’t really photograph or document very well, however I’ll explain my process and you will see from the images how the basic structure was made. 

I started with a length of flat bar steel (3mm) which creates the horizontal and this was cut to length and curved each end to match the body tub. Remember my rear bulkhead is 2mm steel as opposed to plywood so it already has a good tensile strength and I’m just beefing everything up and adding some bracing to help absorb any impact that it might have to deal with. 

Once this was cut I had to define my position for the top two eye bolts. With the seat roughly in position I measured each bolt equally off the centre line of each seat back and at the height that would keep the fixings below the rear seat squab. Then it was easy just to drill a small hole through and marry up with my rear horizontal brace. I specifically made sure that the measurements allowed the fixing holes on the rear brace to be on the horizontal centre line so with the spreader plate behind also giving the most strength to the setup. I simply mirrored my fixings on the offside to the nearside to give me both sides, then I moved onto making the whole thing solid and structural. 

I dug out the pipe bender again (Christmas money well spent a few years ago now) then I had to put a small curve into each support tube in order to clear the petrol tank. 

I learnt from last experience to mark each tube equally with masking tape, then by positioning each tube in the same place each time it gave me a fighting chance of making a pair the same. They turned out really well and I was pleased that I only had to put a slight radius on the one end. Triangulation is the strongest form to create strength, but I could use the tubes without a slight kink as they voided on the petrol tank, which is as low as possible already to keep the centre of gravity down. 

With the two tubes bent I was able to cut the mitre into the bottom end and weld it onto a 6mm steel fixing plate, which is then bolted onto the chassis using the original fixing positions on the rear suspension cross brace. The other end of the tub was then tacked to the rear horizontal cross brace I had just made so I was then able to remove the whole rear bracing and beef up all the welds along with tarting it all up with some paint. 

With both braces in place and painted it was really really solid and should be more than sufficient for its purpose. However I hope I should never need to test this functionality…. Better safe than dead haha. 

The next niggle I had was a little knocking where the rear braces bolt down through to the chassis. When I fitted the boot floor I kept everything as low as possible to keep the petrol tank down as mentioned previously. This in turn has allowed the boot floor to rest on the chassis mounts, and despite being bolted through and torque down tight it was still allowing a slight tapping/knocking between the flex of the alloy boot floor and the chassis top mounts when giving it all some movement. I was aware of this issue prior to the seat belt fixing braces, but this has now accentuate it slightly and I was reminded when I was giving it a bloody good wobbling when I fitted them. 

I have solved this problem by unbolting the lower fixing bolts from the newly made bracket which has allowed me to slide some strips of rubber between the chassis mounts and the underside of the boot floor, then when everything has been bolted back down I was able to stand in the boot (on the rear diff) and bounce up and down with no knocking or tapping whatsoever…. Great success!

Next on the list of jobs was to fix the seats into position. The seats have to be secure obviously but not to the same extent as the seat belt fixing braces, still I belt and braces everything I do so I doubt it will be any different for this task. 

I started off with some strips of flat bar steel (4mm) and after offering the seat shell roughly into position I started making some lengths to support the front and back of the seat shell. I have cut the prop shaft cover so that it doesn’t act as a spacer on the one side for the brackets as I’m trying to keep the seats as low as possible and 1-2mm higher on the one side all adds up and would technically not sit the shell flat. Once these strips were cut they have been fixed into the chassis and outer sill but using countersunk machine screws as the seat shell would sit on the bolt heads if using a standard bolt. Again these don’t have to be super strong as such because any force acted upon them is the weight of the seat shell only, the body weight mass is transferred to the harnesses and the seats would stay in position as they have little mass in comparison to a human. 

Next I added two further strips of flat bar steel to give more support for under the seat. I cut them to length and welded them into position so that the seat frame becomes one piece ready for painting. I could then fit the seat into position and really get a flat solid mounting position which felt much more substantial. I made four fixing bolts through the seat shell into the now complete seat frame and secured using some M8 bolts and rivnuts. This will allow me to remove the seats easily should I want or need to later on. 

Now I was able to fix the seats shells and the new harnesses and really get a feel for the driving position overall…. I was very happy to be fair. Yes it’s bloody tight and small but that is the nature of the car. I will have to be friends with whoever is in the passenger seat as they will be very close… but overall it feels very engaging and I think it will give a rewarding driving experience. All switches are in easy reach and visibility is good with all the gauges and warning lights. I’m extremely happy that I fitted a removable steering wheel boss as this has made getting in and out significantly easier. Just the passenger side to do also and then I can start making some commitments on getting the seats trimmed, along with some interior  trimmings that I have a few ideas for also. 

A Festive Blowout!

 

With the new year looming and some much needed funds received as Christmas gifts I have blew it all with very little to show for it really. The picture here shows you what £150 will get you on the Rimmer Bros trade account, along with frustration and disappointment added in for good measure. Firstly I really wanted (not needed) a fancy looking rocker valve cover and whilst these are not really massively expensive they aren’t cheap either… apart from the quality and finish. 

Whilst these covers are not made by Rimmers so they can’t be directly responsible I would have just expected better for the money. Firstly no baffle plate in the new one compared to the older original. Secondly the mounting face on the new one is just a flat flange to accept the gasket. If you look at the older unit you can see the return pressed into the perimeter to give the gasket a channel to sit and expand into and logically seal. The new unit has now forced me to use RVT to bond the gasket onto the cover, which again didn’t fit well at all. This now “should” seal when fitted and torqued correctly, however in this day and age when you can 3D print, CAD and machine anything from anything I just would like to see a little more effort from these manufacturers of aftermarket parts… but maybe my standards of expectation are extremely high? 

So my next gripe with my purchases was the quality of the packing from Rimmers. Call me old fashioned but gaskets “should” be kept flat for packing and shipping, however in this situation the water pump gasket was just crammed into the box with the water pump and during transit had been ripped, making it unusable. Again this is a trivial issue, but more care and consideration should be taken by these big international companies as it is luck that I already have a number of sheets of gasket paper that has allowed me to continue with the installation today by making a replacement. But onto my further grip with the same supplier is the picking and packing issues…. Again. 

I had to order a number of fixing bolts and fixings for the water pump housing and thermostat housing etc… each of these bolts are slightly different in length ranging from 2 1/4 to 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 etc etc… again with various thread pitches. 

So further frustration when I unpacked my bits and non of the specific bolts were labelled or marked in any way to help identify which was which. Not even written on with pen…. Nothing.  So further time had to be spent measuring and identifying each one. Can’t understand why they feel the need to conduct business like this… I genuinely think I will back heal Rimmer Bros now and give someone else my business from now on. It’s a competitive market and there is plenty of choices out there and I would happily pay more for a better level of service and quality of component. Still meh! Just another bad experience with a leading supplier who won’t give a shit if I could be bothered to inform them. 

However despite all the trivial setbacks I was able to fit the new water pump housing and pump, the thermostat housing with stat along with the original alternator and fan belt. The alternator I have had up to where I work and I bench tested it on the testing machine checking that it was all working ok. The only niggle with it was that the bearings were/are a little noisier than I would like, but to not have to replace it now is money saved on the ever tightening budget. 

You can also see here that I have fitted the replacement valve cover which does look great, however I’ll reserve judgement on its practical uses once I have had a couple of engine run cycles, I have little confidence it is going to seal easily or effectively. 

So my last bit for this update is fitting a couple of bonnet straps that I have had for ages but been putting on the back burner until I had next nothing else to do. I started off changing the fixing bolts to the same style as used in the rest of the build (pan head sockets) so that all fixings are using the same style and the attention to detail is in the whole build front to back, inside and outside. 

 These are really easy to fit just a simple drilling of the bonnet and side panel in the correct position that makes them look ok for the three fixing bolts. 

I did the first strap by eye and in a position that I liked. Then using some masking tape, I made a crude template to mark the fixing position which when mirrored onto the other side gave me a relatively accurate position to drill for the second strap. 

After fitting the second strap and then checking measurements from a strap fixing bolts to the uppermost headlight escutcheon bolt and triangulated back to the bonnet vent corner, then I’m only out by 1mm side to side…. Which I can live with easily, they don’t look uneven and both straps now will keep the bonnet closed and secure when out on the road, just need to get and fit two more to the boot now. 

So not a great deal to update you all on however I’m still just plodding on slowly and surely chipping away bit by bit until I can define the car “finished” as such. So happy new year if you read my blog and some further updates soon to come hopefully. 

History Repeating Itself

So according to my social media it was the 2nd of November 2011 I fitted the handbrake to the Cobra during the build… and by pure coincidence guess what I have fitted today on the Spyder, yep the handbrake. When I stripped the chassis all those months/years back I should have took a couple of extra cuts off of it to help me… however I got very good money for the rotten shell from what I recall so this has hardly been an expensive purchase. I was in contact with SpitBits again and they had a prop shaft tunnel with hand brake mounting on the shelf and this was quickly dispatched to me after I had paid. Unfortunately having no control over the removal from the body I have not really had the exact cut I need. The lower lip section as in this photo is perfect, as it will return down in a vertical position when sat on the chassis. However the other side has been cut a tad short, so I will need to fabricate and adjust it slightly to be of any use to me. 

With some measurements taken from the seatbelt mounting points I set about with the grinder, cutting the panel to my requirements. I had to also weld in some additional metal in order to get a good fit. The additional metal was simply the off cut of the other side shaped and welded into place as shown here on the lower front of the panel. I then marked and drilled two 8mm holes towards the front of the panel down through the chassis which will become my front securing points. The chassis holes were opened up further to a 10mm to accept a riv-nut and then the whole panel can be fixed to the chassis with the two new bolts at the front and two seat belt bolts at the back. I have some strips of neoprene self adhesive to stick onto the chassis top to creat a seal between the prop shaft cover panel and the chassis, and I intend to just put some rubber seal on the back end to seal off against the bulkhead. It shouldn’t get much weather abuse when in use as the road spray will mostly be on the outside of the car as opposed to the centre from underneath.

With the new panel in situ I was able to fit the handbrake and with a little adjustment here and there it was functioning very well…. Considerably more effective than on the Cobra and i haven’t even fine tuned it yet or bedded the brakes in… so I’m really confident this will be more than acceptable for the car once finished. 

Now this is done I can really start to make some fixings and seat positions which I’ve been holding back from, knowing this “might” have an effect on how they finally will fit. So that will be relatively easy I hope when I do that. 

I don’t have the materials to fit the seats yet, so next up was to seal the engine off from the elements from the underside at least. I have cleaned up the sump and give a good covering of bedliner paint (still left over from the chassis painting) and with a new gasket, sump plug and fixing bolts I was ready to fit it all into place. Just prior to that I had to fit the oil pump. This has been checked using a feeler gauge to check the wear tolerance and I have decided that the original unit is still extremely usable as opposed to risking a replacement third party unit that will probably have a worse tolerance than this one, this was put in place using plenty of engine assembly lube but this is where the brakes were put on the task. The three fixing bolts need to be tightened to 11Nm torque and the lowest my torque wrench will go down to is 30Nm. With this being internal to the engine I’m taking no risks with the installation and will hang fire until I can torque up correctly and the same for the sump bolts. 

I have also done some bench testing of the starter motor and with some light cleaning and servicing it is also now ready to be fitted to the engine. This allows me to possible turn the engine over a bit using the battery so I can generate some oil pressure and make sure everything is turning freely and how it’s supposed too, however I still need to get my rockers and push rods before I can set the valve lash and see the valves open and close. I will probably video that when I do it, but I want to familiarise myself with the cam shaft break in procedure first as so not to risk any damage. 

 

Fog Light Fabrication

 

So today has been an awesomely productive and creative day. I started off rolling the car out the garage and putting back in face first, to give me more room to work around the back end. I have started to fit and plan out my rear end lights and fog light which has took some fabrication and modifications of some lamp units for an epic result. I started today by fitting the rear stop/tail lights to the guards themselves. I still need to fabricate and fit the brackets to hold the mudguards to the car itself so this is now on my radar to get sorted soon. The rear guards have the mouldings to accommodate a range of different rear lights. I have opted for the same as on my Cobra the Lucas 692 units, which are lovely lamp units to look at and are a perfect fit on the mudguards. The Lucas 692 units are shared on many cars of the era and are even the standard rear light units on the Aston Martin DB5 so it is certainly good enough for me. 

Fitting the rear lights is fairly straightforward. Start off by determining the centre point for the light and then I cut a 30mm hole to take the light unit but leaving a little movement to seat the light square and even. I then had to drill two 5mm holes for the fixing bolts and these are just simply secured from behind. I might consider making a weather splash guard for the underside of the mudguard as the electric terminals will take a fair old bash from the elements here so, prevention is better than cure in my opinion. The second mudguard is exactly the same process as the first as these are symmetrical parts and are not handed offside and nearside. Last bit her was just to bolt each light into the mudguards and rest on the rear wheel, waiting for the fabrication of the brackets.

So next up is an idea from the depth of my brain. I want to create a custom rear fog light that also incorporates the rear number plate light however it needs to all look on trend with the other rear light units and more importantly practical. I had an older Lucas 692 unit without a reflector so my idea is fairly simple, I intend to remove the centre section that holds the bulb and that should allow the bulb holder of the front unit to fit through. This will create a double back mount as such with a reflector on the front which will be used as a fog light. Then with some tactical cutting and fitting of a led bulb of the back unit will allow white light only to shine down to illuminate the number plate and the fog light will work independently without any light crossover. 

The removal of the rear centre section was fairly easy, it’s not going to be used as such so I just set about it with a hacksaw and cutting it away slowly to create the centre hole for the front light unit to fit through. I opened the hole up slightly with my dremel tool and as you can see pictured here it will fits together fairy nicely. The next step was to create the opening on the lower section for the light of the white led bulb to shine down onto the number plate. This I have just drilled a 6mm hole either side of the centre line and then opened the hole up with a reaming tool in the dremel again. 

So here you can see how I have created the holes on the bottom edge for the light. I intend to cut some clear Perspex or acrlic to make some protection against water ingress but I’ll have to find something suitable later on as I don’t have anything to hand currently. The two units are simply held together with two long bolts that pass through outer light and will clamp the back light plate between the body tub and front light. The front fog lense is held on with the original fixings so it can easily be removed to replace the bulb if needed. The number plate led will also be accessible to be replaced however this will require removal of the whole thing from the body. 

I have temporarily wired in an led and passed the wires through the centre hole so I can make sure my idea is going to work so next up was to mark and cut a hole in the rear of the body. A 30mm hole for the centre spigot with two 6mm holes for the fixing bolts either side.

I’m really really pleased with how this has turned out, I love seeing an idea through to the final result which creates something truly unique and yet looks completely normal and original to the vehicle. I still have a fair amount of fine tuning to do still but overall you can grasp what I’m trying to achieve as an end result. With everything mocked up and my number plate masking taped onto the body the whole thing is working perfectly and looks flipping awesome! I’m going to also now make a number plate bracket that clamps between the body and fog light housing which will be a nice solid secure fixing point for the number plate. So lots of little snagging jobs to sort now before I can conclude this little section finished but I’m exceptionally happy with the result… and most people won’t give it a second thought when they see it.

Lastly for this update I’ll share this picture of the car on the drive…. I must admit I’m really liking the big grill opening with the style of the car. Despite still under construction my Jag mk2 grill similar to Paul’s car, I’m going to have to decide what a I want and make some final decisions soon. But overall the whole thing is looking bloody fantastic… can’t wait to go for a drive. 

Screen Test

As mentioned at the end of the last update, I had received my aero screens off my mate Paul who had gone a different route with his car. I have had to fabricate one additional end bracket but other than that it was time to start fitting them. 

I had a read of the build guide for the fitment process along with studying many many pictures online, looking for a specific fitting orientation. I decided that the majority of cars with these screens fitted all are slightly different in terms of fitting positions and finished look. So I was going to fit mine how I thought looked best and is pretty much the same as advised with the build guide. 

First step was to mark out the centre line of the body and make a mark 6” back from the bonnet shut line. This then gives me an indication for the front of the centre bracket position. The centre bracket itself is the flat V shaped piece in the image above, it needs to be bent in a 90 degree for each arm to support each inner screen fixing. This isn’t particularly easy without the correct tools. The first bend is easy enough in the bench vice but the second leg bend is not so easy because it then can’t be held in the vice without destroying the first 90 bend. I solved the problem by using a small length of scrap box section that was clamped down to the work bench and with the bracket then clamped between that and the bench gave me a firm enough fixing to bend the second leg up against. This worked out pretty well considering and whilst it’s not a perfect symmetrical bend, it is only out by about 2mm so it is hardly noticeable and the screens have a fair amount of tolerance for the fitting position. 

Before I went any further I went bin diving and retrieved a cereal box which is perfect cardboard for making the template for the additional bracket that I needed. This was quickly marked and cut ready to fabricate the second bracket, which allowed me to bend and fit the first bracket to finish one side of the screens. This bracket is advised to be fitted 8” forward of the cockpit flange, however after lots and lots of playing around I couldn’t get anything that was likely to fit or look good. I ended up using the centre bolt hole as my measurement point and made this 7.5” forward of the cockpit flange. This combined with the two bends in the screen frame mounting brackets allows the whole screen to sit at the same angle as the front centre bracket and is roughly 4mm off the curvature of the body tub. All very well fitting one, but the skill is getting the second screen to fit the same using the same dimensions….. roughly. 

So now it was time to start cutting out cock shapes from scrap alloy… I intended to get the shape first then spend as long as it takes bringing it up to a polished finish. The initial shape was cut out using the angle grinder and a flap wheel after to fine tune the shape. Then using some double sided tape I stuck it down to the bench top and set about with some 240 grit wet and dry in my orbital sander. After that I moved up to 600, then 800, then 1200 and finally 2000. This gave me a fairly good uniform finish but no mirror as such, so I then used a small white mop and cutting compound in my combi drill, spraying water every so often as so not to burn the finish. 

After a couple of passes it was looking fairly respectable in comparison to the original bracket. I gave it a final buff with generic Autosol compound and was happy enough to call that a win. I just had to flip it over and do the other side also following the same process and making it as shiny as possible. Once I was happy with the bracket I followed the same process as the other side for fitting the second screen. This has worked out fairly well as when checking and comparing the measurements from offside to nearside I am only out by about 2mm or so… which for a fibreglass kit car is pretty bloody good. More importantly the screens both look uniform, symmetrical and are firm enough to be practical. I will be leaving the lexan protective wrap on the screens to reduce any risk of scratching them before the car is finished, but overall I’m fairly happy with how they have turned out. They make the car look totally different to how it has been sat for months and visually make the whole car look much fatter in my opinion. I have put a little video below of how the car now looks with the screens on. And with the seat shells resting in place I was able to sit in and get a much better feel for driving position and visibility. In fact I was surprised that my eye level was roughly at the top of the aero screen, but that will change slightly as I need to fix the seat shells and trim them, so that will push me up a touch. Still the majority of my face will be below the top of the screen which I did not expect at all. 

 

A Dash Of Something Exciting

Working on this project I always try to write my updates in sections as such, however there is always work and other jobs going on in the background… the dashboard being one of them. To create my dash I decided to use nice thick piece of 12mm plywood. I had originally made a template out of hardboard and this was simply transferred onto the plywood and then cut out. I decided to use ply as opposed to sheet metal for a few reasons the main one being it’s much easier to work with in terms of cutting, drilling, filing etc… and the other reason was the ability to bury the heads of the fixing bolts within the wood and give a flush finish. 

I covered some of the dash build in the last update so you might have already seen the layout and position of all the switches. In this update I’ll cover it in just a tad more detail for anyone who wants to know, or possibly anyone also building a similar machine. 

With the dash cut out and all my gauge and switch positions cut it was time to start trimming the dash in my chosen fabric (black textured leather) my previous blog update tells you about thinning some areas of the plywood with a router bit to allow the switches to penetrate through fully. Most toggle switches can only fit through a 6mm thickness panel at most so a good bit of thinning out was required around the specific areas. You can see here also the three fixing bolts which are just roofing bolts cut through from the front side then filled and sanded flat. The square shank of a roofing bolt will stop it spinning when tightened up with the wing nuts. Each bolt position has a corresponding tab welded onto the dash frame to secure it nicely.  

The excitement of sticking the leather on stopped me from taking any other pictures…. Sorry. I simply used spray contact adhesive to bond the fabric to the front, then slowly worked my way around the perimeter pulling tight and stapling into place on the rear (another advantage for using plywood as opposed to metal) then cutting the holes for the toggle switches and slicing the cloth to fit the gauges with a nice sharp stanley knife . This has all been a tad exciting in my opinion and with the steering wheel back on you can really get a feel for how it will look when finished. 

Another doff of the cap to the original Spitfire was to retain the gauge green glow, which personally I absolutely love and think it looks tremendous. The issue I faced here was the one gauge (oil pressure) is a retro fit as the spitfire never had an oil pressure gauge and this addition gauge does not have the plastic green filter fitted within the bezel. The speedo and taco also have different bulb holders to the 4 accessory gauges, they have screw in bulbs as opposed to 501 wedge style bulbs. I have managed to find online replacement led units for all the gauges, and the oil pressure gauge now has a green led style bulb to keep it the same shade as the others. The picture here and video below don’t really show the lighting in true form, I presume it’s because of the frame rate and solid state light of the led replacement bulbs over original halogen. I can assure you that in the flesh they all look uniform and bright enough not to be invasive when in use. 

I’m really really happy with how this whole dashboard has ended up, I will probably have to drill an additional hole at some point for a choke cable but that will be easy enough when I get to that stage. 

I have also received a little present from Paul (a fellow Fiorano owner in the form of the aero screens. Paul went with a different option on his build so sold me his unused screens. I am missing one end bracket (the phallic shaped bracket on the left of the picture) however I can easily make another one from some 2mm polished stainless steel. So fitting all this will probably be my next little update in a week or so… more excitement!!!