On the last update I had made a bracket and mounted the fuel pump, so this time it was time to get the fuel lines in. I have opted for a hardline this time round as opposed to full length rubber flexi hose. I want the fuel line to be a as durable as possible and less responsive to E5 or E10 variants so a copper hardline will cope with anything so let’s get it in!
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Laying Lines
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Expansion and Pump
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Diff-icult Customer
Well I have made some progress with the build, but unfortunately in order to do so I have had to completely rebuild the back end. It’s my own stupid fault really as I presumed that because the differential wasn’t loosing oil before it was removed from the donor car that it wouldn’t when reinstalled….. I was wrong.
When removed from the donor car the diff was dry (not loosing fluid) the breather was clean and the output and inputs all felt really smooth…. So a quick cosmetic refresh and ready to go….. not! I filled the diff with oil a few weeks ago and within hours it had started to weep past the input seal and start covering the floor with EP90 oil. I am however one of those weird people that loves the smell of this thick sticky oil, so not all bad.
I decided to rip the diff out again so I could replace all the seals, input and output. Despite it only leaking from the input which “could” have had the seal replaced in situe by just removing the prop shaft and input flange, however i now may as well replace the output seals and bearings also, so out it comes.
The removal of the diff is also a total removal of all suspension and leaf spring along with pretty much everything on the back end… so I have been a tad miffed having to do it. It would have been so much easier to have done this months ago before the body was fitted. But with the diff eventually out and on the bench I soon discovered that it is definitely not the diff from the original car… as the input flange nut is castellated, and on the late 1500 Spitfires it should be a solid nut with a dust cap cover… learning and discovery time. I continued to strip all the bearings and oil seals out of the diff housing and clean everything up. The issue now is ordering the correct replacement parts… many scenarios could be present for this diff, for example it could be an earlier housing (round input flange and castellated nut) with later 1500 internals so a mongrel as such. It’s definitely a 3.63:1 ratio (later mk4/1500) as I calculated that before stripping the input and output shafts. But it’s important to know exactly the ID as the mid production mk4 spitfires changed the diff slightly using different oil seals and bearings.Saturday, May 24, 2025
Clamping Down On Power
This is really just a quick one task update…. However it has been a full days work to fabricate and fit. I want to fit the battery for the Spyder in the boot. This will help balance the car a little and add some much needed weight on the transverse rear spring, helping with the wheel camber.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Indicate The Correct Way
Monday, May 5, 2025
Getting Hotter So Cooling Down
Sorry for the long delay since the last update, life has been busy and expensive recently, so haven’t had much time to progress. Still here we go with some updates.
The original Spitfire radiator was all sorted via a third party well over a year ago now so it’s all pressure tested and ready for use. I need to make some new fixings and mounts for a cooling fan as the fitment will be nothing like the original setup and mounted into the chassis in a totally different position location. The fan itself is seriously overkill for the application, however I got it a good while back from a mate for only £25 and will certainly be sufficient for the job… and I have learnt from my Cobra build it is better to be over effective rather than under. I started off making four brackets, from 2mm alloy that will wrap round the side of the radiator, these will be held with some cotton/rubber bobbins through the original side m6 fixings. These rubber mounts will also act as vibration absorbing for the radiator on the chassis brackets (that still need welding on) so reduce the risk of fracturing the radiator.
The four brackets are fairly straightforward to fabricate and we’re all made in a cardboard template first. Once in the metal they fitted perfectly and have been painted up to look good. I am a tad concerned about the size off the cooling fan and the lack of natural air flow getting restricted through the radiator.. however with me converting to a thermostatic switch control this should allow hours of stationary running the engine (without natural air flow) and the fan will kick in and out accordingly.. and as mentioned before, it’s pushing significantly more air than required as it really is much bigger than requirements for the job in hand.Sunday, February 23, 2025
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.
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!!
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.