Chip Off The Old Block

 

So been a few weeks since the last update, but remember I set no timescale to this project and ongoing progress. I have spent a good length of time on the chassis now, given it a serious good pressure wash down and cleaned up to the best of my tools and ability. I have decided just to get it blasted and protected as opposed to acid dipped. I talked myself out of dipping after reading up on the acid not getting washed out from all the internal chassis box voids and it then continues to eat away at the metal. After all the use it will get going forward will be no way near as hard it’s had for its first 40 years of life. 

So onto the engine…. I’m fully committed to the little 1500 block now, and after a trip away for a proper strip and clean its rebuild is well underway. The crank and cam are both new as the originals were showing signs of wear and scoring so replacements are now in along with all the bearings etc…The head has also been sent off for pressure testing and valve seat replacement so running unleaded will be no issues whatsoever, and so long as I’m careful with all my new fuel line hoses and carb rebuilds then I should be ok with this crappy E10 shite getting pushed down our necks.

I will possibly have to replace the fuel pump diaphragm as that will react badly to this E10 rated fuel however I will probably replace the full thing anyway when I get round to it as I want to guarantee that fuel pressure will not be compromised with whatever carb set up I go with. I have been getting a little carried away with myself and looking at twin Webber side draft carbs but if you have any concept of what these cost then you can understand why I’m kidding myself really…. However never say never!!

I think to start off with I’ll stick with the original twin carbs but remove the wax stat which are notoriously shite according to anyone that runs these engines. The rest of the bottom end of the engine is relatively easy now, I will replace the oil pump and pressure relief valve with new units to simply guarantee no issues upon starting. I have used a feeler gauge on my cleaned up units and checked tolerance with the Haynes manual and they both are ok, but why take the risk for the likes of a few quid now, or risk premature engine wear from an already 40 year old oil pump.

I have trial fitted the head back on the block but I’m not going to torque this down until just before dropping back to the chassis. I have the flywheel to check out and balance along with clutch replacement needed first and I also need to paint the engine end plate for the starter motor housing, non of these can really be done whilst on the engine stand, so it’s time to really start throwing some time onto the chassis and running gear now I think, but after the chassis blast and offside suspension refurb then that “should” be the last of the really dirty work…. I hope. 

I have cleaned up the sump and given a serious going over with a wire wheel and proper degrease and clean with petrol. It’s cleaned up really well and is solid all over so I have given a good protective clear coat outside to keep the patina but I will have to replace the sump plug, as this had been welded together a few times previously by the looks of it. I have also given the same treatment to the rocker cover, however I envisaged red for the final engine appearance so this one might change in the near future… a new rocker cover would make a great Christmas/Birthday gift from someone and relatively cheap also. 

Finally to conclude this update, I have cleaned up the fuel tank and made sure it’s all serviceable. The fuel gauge sender was giving no resistance on the multimeter and even when removed it was intermittent on its capability’s so off to the back of the garage it went. I have read up on the forums that new gauge senders have piss poor quality floats that can fail quickly, so I’ll hang on to the old one for the moment as I might need to create a Frankenstein gauge sender when I order my new one. 

Fingers crossed the next update will have a blasted chassis to look at but not sure how long that will be, come back soon to find out. 

The Final Stripdown

 

So now with the engine away for a chemical strip and clean it  was time to get the last of the real dirty jobs done and finish stripping the chassis down. This is all very straightforward really and it wasn’t very long before the near side was off and down to component form. Everything is much easier to clean with a wire wheel once it’s down to its bare form and will allow a much better finish and protection when I decide what I’m doing for a top coat. A powder coat finish is very popular with everyone nowadays, however on my Cobra chassis I have noticed some reactions to road thrash in some areas so I’ll be entertaining a different finish for this project. I’m considering a chassis rust encapsulation made by Eastwood currently, but the decision is yet to be made. 

The stripping of the front end has given away more history and maintenance of this car as I go. The back end has odd/different hubs and the front end also has odd hubs in terms of casting details. It wouldn’t be uncommon to have replacement service components but unless accident issues it would be strange to have odd castings on the major components themselves surly? The offside lower ball joint has been hashed together with what looks like nylon plastic pipe acting as a bush and length of threaded bar and nylock nuts holding it to the lower wishbone. This is now all off and is awaiting its cleaning before I can start replacing the bushes and starting the rebuild.

I have uncovered the frame number for the chassis which I’m still trying to decode in order to confirm age/manufacturing details however it would seem by research so far that the frame number is irrelevant to everything as it was stamped by the chassis maker prior to its supply to British Leyland for the Spitfire and no real records exists. I believe some people can give a guess of its age by its number respectively compared to a vehicle with history and its number recorded officially and if the frame number is higher or lower.  However these chassis were manufactured and stamped then possible sat in a field for a few months prior to being put on the production line with BL and made up into the Spitfire. And even then when continuing its journey along the production line and being given its official Triumph vin it will have rolled off the finish line and spent many weeks/months sat in a holding compound awaiting registration and assigned to a dealer/customer. I have decoded my vin already along with paint code, trim code, engine number, gearbox number and body number. Everything marries up correctly in terms of original build criteria, so I’m confident to claim the chassis is original and unrestored/replaced. 

So the chassis is now bare and I’ve hit it briefly with the angle grinder and wire wheel. It really is lovely and solid all over but I think I’ll look into getting it blasted or chemically stripped as it is caked in muck and years of grime and Shultz. A proper strip into all the nooks and crannies before a shed load of cavity wax and etch prime would be the best treatment in my opinion to keep the chassis solid for many more years to come. One little weakness I have spotted is on the front antiroll bar mounts. They look to have split on both sides previously and have been welded together again. The offside is worse than the nearside and because of the angle it had bent to it was hard getting clearance so the socket would go on the nut. I’ll be looking at possibly replacing these if they are available but I’ll have to think about beefing them up. The mounting plates are not made of the correct gauge steel in my opinion and need to be thicker. They take a lot of strain off the anti roll bar so thin gauge steel will just not work and will split over time and have to be welded. I think once the chassis is clean this will be my first modification/change.

I have also now removed all the perished rubber bushes from the upper and lower wishbones. Whilst these ones are not really very bad it would be foolish not to replace them during the build. Removing them is easy with a press…. But I don’t have one, so large socket, machine screw and a couple of washers…… job done. Like my cobra build I’m not doing the whole polybush replacements, if the rubber units are good for 40 odd years I can live with that. Some of the rubber bushes are ok to continue to use, like the rear final drive unit which has two top hat style bushes really really solid still with next to zero corrosion or perishing… I’d be concerned of replacing such bushes with supposed OEM quality units that are probably made of low grade rubber from a sweat shop in China. Either way now it’s time for a little shopping, another update soon.

Engine Teardown

 So with the engine now up and off the chassis and the gearbox on a temporary separation, it was time time to start the strip down and investigate what we have to play with. I have purchased an engine stand to help with all this and I’m glad I did as this has helped no end with the awkward access to all areas allowing me to rotate the block if needed. So first thing was the engine oil drain out and sump removal. The oil was black as black and had never been changes for some time, but it was smooth with no sludge or grit and no signs of water or moisture in it so that was a good sign for the likes of piston ring issues or bearings grinding out… so far so good.

 Next was the head removal to get a real good look at the valves and piston (especially pot 2 that was low on compression)  the head removal should have been a straightforward procedure however one stud had expanded with moisture and was a real twat to remove basically, but some lumps of wood and persuasion with a big mallet saw it out without any damage. The head gasket was in good condition also with no signs of any issues, but these engines have never been notorious for head gasket failure so this was all as expected really.

First look at the engine internals and apart from a shed load of carbon build up, everything looks really good. No lips or scoring to the cylinder liners, cam shaft lobes look good and the crankshaft looks all nice with no signs of any serious wear or damage. The pistons are all standard size and have the original markings from manufacture so all this is insinuating that this will be its first rebuild in 40 years from new back in 1981 which is good news really as I’m now not chasing any problems from previous poor quality rebuilds. 

My intention now is to get the block fully stripped to component form then get everything chemically cleaned and sparkling. Then get the head fully pressure tested and skimmed if needed along with new valves and valve seats. This is what I think was causing the low compression figure I got during testing, a sticky valve with sooted up seat. I’m unsure if an unleaded conversion has been done to the head throughout its life so far, so a full head rebuild will cover all this with just new bearings, thrust washers and cylinder honing for the bottom end. I’m not going to start messing on with increasing the bores and capacity for increased power etc… simply because I don’t see the point in reinventing the wheel. If I had wanted phenomenal power for this project then I wouldn’t be using a 1500 Triumph block as a starting point really, so standard rebuild it will be, maybe (budget allowing) a cheeky pair of twin Weber carbs to bolt on the side for a little “grunt” shall we say. 

Next on my list was to start a little clean up of some engine ancillaries. Most of the cooling/water side of things have been corroded beyond repair thanks to many years of physics and chemistry however the water pump and water pump housing compleat with viscous fan unit are all very useable and a few hours at the bench grinder with the wire wheel gets them all ready to be used again with only replacement gasket needed really. This is starting to be very enjoyable now as the really “dirty dirty” bits are getting done and so will allow me a clean environment to work with on the full rebuild, cleanliness is next to godliness when it comes to engine builds. 

I even spent ages cleaning up the fan with thinners and cleaner…. If it’s not broken don’t fix it… just a bloody good clean. I don’t want to be replacing things like this with cheap modern day equivalents which claim OEM quality but are just cheap rubbish. Same mentality on this project as the Cobra build, everything belt and braces and built to last. I don’t even want to paint anything engine wise with exception to the block and head as I hate it when the paint starts to chip or peel as it just looks terrible. So a good machine finish on everything with a light coat of machine oil to keep looking good. 

Next I’ll be outsourcing the block and head cleaning along with the pressure testing and block honing. I have been in contact with a machine shop just the other side of Durham and so I will drop it all off to them for the next stage, then the real rebuild can actually start. 

Suppose I’d better start cleaning this chassis up next also….. more mess for sure!

Block up and out

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay on any progress I have been busy with other things and life in general. But like my Cobra build I have no time scale for this little project, it’s just as and when I can get bits done. 

Since the good weather has arrived I have taxed and insured the Cobra so my free time has been mostly playing with that and fettling with some issues I have been having, which have now resulted in a new clutch master, slave and clutch line all in the name of progress and improvement. But it’s been awesome to clock up some more miles in her again and scare various motorists and weirdo cyclists with loud overtakes spitting flames as I go past!

I have had to put my begging bowl out and asked amongst my more mechanical mates if anyone had an engine crane I could steal for a bit. I’v been on the lookout for one for a good few weeks now through the likes of eBay and other sales sites however nothing had materialised and it was starting to delay me a touch. Luckily my mate John answered my cries for help and lent me his crane, which was sharp put to work and off came the engine and box. He also offered me the loan of an engine stand however I’m definitely going to buy one of those. I can’t borrow anyone’s engine stand and then potentially take months and months to rebuild the engine whilst holding the engine stand to ransom. I potentially have a used one lined up next week if I can get a good price on it. Meantime I have had a quick peek at a rebuild kit for the engine and was a tad shocked at the price, this has now left me with a decision to either commit fully to a full engine rebuild or a top end build and swap out at a later date for a little DOHC block or something more period to the overall final product/design.

The more time I spend with this little 1500 BMC block of iron the more I like it. It’s never going to produce daft amounts of power like the Cobra or even achieve epic emission figures. It’s probably going to cough, burp and fart it’s way along the road when it’s done making various smells of unburnt fuel and occasional pops on downshifts. It really is such a basic little engine in terms of operation and like the Cobra it will be controlled 100% by the driver and physics, as opposed to ECU’s or computer management which in my experience always cause issues at some point irrespective of age or usage. 

So an enjoyable few hours has been spent in the garage and the gearbox has been split from the block. We’re still very much in “the dirty” stage of the build/strip down as everything is caked in so much grime and crud, but I’m going to get a big plastic toy box affair which I can fill with thinners/degreaser which will help clean bits up and “should” be relatively easy to contain and dispose of when needed. 

The pressure washer has been recovered from the back of the shed and blasted the chassis down which has helped remove a fair amount of road grime, but it’s time to start with the big guns now and start to get rid of all the shite clinging to every exposed surface of the engine, box and chassis…. And now my garage floor also. I intend to finish stripping the chassis down and then get it blasted or chemically dipped which should be the last of the really dirty stuff. I’m looking forward now to the rebuild of the running gear as this is when everything starts to look clean fresh and new and more importantly the start of the build as opposed to the teardown. 

I’ll try not to leave it so long before the next progress report, but I’m making no promises.

Bye Bye Bodywork

We it’s half term and I’m getting a little garage time. So on with the strip down of the body. As with anything British Leyland the rust is everywhere even on the cardboard inner wings that push the air flow through the radiator. However from what I have exposed of the chassis so far it looks amazingly solid with little to no rust penetration anywhere towards the front end. This could be however because this is where the engine is blasting oil out of any gasket or seam keeping everything well greased and the rust at bay. But we’ll see what the rest is like when the body comes off, fingers crossed.

The interior is mostly stripped out now with only the steering column, dash and little of the loom left. Again bloody great holes in the floor rear quarters and when removing the drivers side seatbelt mount it literally just crumbled away in my hand and fell out! So far from a safety feature and would have given zero resistance if ever needed again. However this was never my intention when starting this project, and the seatbelts themselves will clean up well if needed for the Spyder.

The transmitter tunnel was removed which gave me my first good look at the clutch slave and gearbox. Everything looks in remarkable condition but I still have no drive, which I’m told from the fella purchased the car from it was the clutch, however I was sort of hoping for a weeping slave cylinder or possible clutch pin drop. If the clutch itself was crackerd then I should have been able to get some sort of smell, sound or grind from the gearbox when the engine was running, however it will be stripped anyway and will cross that bridge when I get to it.

 So off with the bonnet also and stowed that by the side of the house. I was hoping to recoup some funds with the sale of the body once removed however it’s not really looking hopeful now as I have seen body’s, bonnets and hard tops all for sale local to me in roughly the same condition and they are not fetching very much. I think I’ll get the rest of the body off and just list the full lot on eBay with a £1 start price and just see what happens, a couple of hundred would be nice but I can see the scrap man getting a free treat really, which is a shame but it is what it is. And it will soon be in my way so need to get it shifted.

So a few hours later and the body has officially divorced the rolling chassis. Anyone that says it’s not possible to remove the body on your own needs to go and give their head a wobble. Anything is possible if you think logically and use your brain. I managed to get the front end lifted high enough to get a length of wood under supported on axle stands and by then just physically lifting the back end and propping it up precariously with lengths of wood allowed me to roll the now separated chassis away from underneath. 

I did struggle a little at first as two body fixing bolts were hidden under some sound deadening pad, which suddenly explained why the rear wheels were coming off the ground when I lifted the back end. However I didn’t fall into the old handbrake cable trap. Many people forget to fully disconnect the handbrake cable and this then makes things a tad difficult when trying to lift the body clear. 

 So let the dog see the rabbit as such. The chassis looks in superb condition and I’d be more than confident that a decent wire wheel down and protection would be good enough, however I think a proper dip and strip would be best allowing me to get in fresh cavity wax and topcoat protection all over. More good news is that now since the clutch line has been cut, and I select a gear the wheels lock up, so that would make me think the gearbox is not shagged which is good. The master cylinder once removed was full of sludge and jelly, so possible just a good bleed would have sorted it? 

So next bits to get on with is the disposal of the body either through sale or scrap. The body tub was literally disintegrating as it was removed and I really don’t thing anyone would make any use of it however will stick some adverts up and see what interest I get.... if any. The rolling chassis is now in the main garage and I can get on with stripping this down to component form. This will require a fairly sizeable shopping list in regards to any perishables item along with brakes, uj’s, ball joints etc... but so far this is all very enjoyable and confirms that I prefer the building or construction more than the final driving probably. 

Striptease

 

With the snow finally melting away now and even though it was a tad chilly, the excitement of a new project is still within the honeymoon period. So out into the elements we both went to start on the strip. First thing we wanted to do was get the engine turning over and running so we pinched the battery of my little Suzuki Jimmy which also gave me chance to leave it on a condition charge all day, which can’t hurt this time of year. 

Within a few minutes we had her firing away and running, although a tad lumpy, nothing a good tune up and service won’t sort out. I think we’ll just possibly do a top end build on the engine at this point along with timing chain, water pump and other common sense items. Then a general tart up and look pretty. 

So with the engine firing and given the green light it was on to start with the strip down. Fingers crossed but with a bit of time and patience here I will be able to recoup some cost by selling the body and hard top later on. Even the drop top and frame I have should fetch a quid or two, which will help. Mooch helped with the strip down and I was truly amazed that despite the cold he didn’t get bored after two minutes and sod off indoors, however he is currently banned from his Nintendo so he had nothing else to do I suppose. Doors came off easy the drivers side is a tad rough on the underside but the passenger side is certainly of use to someone I’m sure.

I removed some of the gauges also thinking that they will actually be ok for the final car. When I built the Cobra the bill for the gauges alone was in excess of £700 so if these will clean up ok and look good in regards to period aesthetics along with being functional then they will be fine. You can see in this picture the water temp is how it came off the Spitfire and the fuel gauge had had some love. I removed the chrome bezel and cleaned all the original paint off it using 0000 gauge steel wool. This is fantastic stuff for removing crap and crud but not scratching the chrome finish. I have also cleaned all the dust and debris out from inside the gauge, which was surprising how much was actually in there. 

The gauge has cleaned up really well and shining the led light through from a phone gives a lovely intense green illumination. So an upgrade to LED’s will be required when we get to that stage, as I really think it looks pretty with the even green glow. However this all hinges on if the other gauges clean up as well and look ok for the final car. The Spitfire has four gauges, speedo, RPM, water temp and fuel. I personally would like an oil pressure gauge also as a minimum requirement. But also oil temperature and voltage would certainly be nice also. However if these are getting added in addition to the original units they need to look exactly the same along with being functional. 

I’ll still be plodding on with the strip down over the coming days/weeks. I’m hoping to get the body off the chassis sooner rather than later, as so that the cleaning and protecting of the chassis can start in time for spring. 

The Donor Arrives

 So the start begins. I have been watching a few Spitfires over the past few week/months and getting a feel for prices against condition, and after finding a few that were ropey to say least I found one that was relatively local in Scunthorpe. It looked to be an honest enough machine and videos of it running were reassuring despite my intentions of a full strip down anyway, it’s good to know I’m starting with something that isn’t a total dog. And only a couple of hours drive away is just a bonus really. I had a couple of contingency cars online, one in/on Anglesey which was a GT6 to be fair and a couple of other Spits in and around Birmingham. The GT6 was very appealing in all honesty but the owner wanting nearly 4K for it was way way over my donor budget it was also a non runner and looked like it had been in situ for a good many years in a stable/barn. Whilst it was very appealing the cons outweighed the pros, and with such a journey to view and attempt to strike a deal it was just never going to happen. 

So the other contenders were all of a similar age and condition really. One Spit was a 1500 from 1982 but looking at the pictures looked extremely well, and far to good to be stripped and used for my intention, it looked like it could have passed an MOT with very little work. But again an unrealistic price to start and far beyond what I had for a donor budget just kept me watching from the sidelines. The other Spit was in Birmingham and was only a 1300. It was partway through a restoration or strip down from the current owner so that puts me off slightly, as part of the learning curve is disassembling everything yourself and learning how it operates. However this car was well under budget through the auction so could have been worth a cheeky bid towards the end as a bit of a dice roll. Lastly there was the Spitfire in the pictures which is what I have ended up with, a 1981 1500 and whilst it’s far from a roadworthy vehicle currently, it is relatively solid all over especially the chassis and running gear, which is all I really want.

So it came in at the top end of my budget, and when I say top end I mean it was a little more then I wanted to pay, however the deed was done and it was back in the short lived empty garage. It’s actually a very nice little machine, very basic in functionality and looks easy to maintain yourself. 

After having the Cobra also for a number of years now I have learned how to enter and exit the car with relative ease and dignity.... but this little Spit is on another level. I literally have to fold my knees backwards in order to get in. However these issues shouldn’t be so bad on the finished product due to the difference in body style and no roof like the Cobra so a slide down into position should be possible, and I’ve also only had my riggers on while getting in and out so far due to the snow.... and they don’t really help. Another thought is a quick release steering wheel boss if needed which I used to have on one of my mini’s many many years ago for security. That could help the situation massively if needed..... but I’m a long long way off that yet. So next is to get a little run from the engine (need a battery) and start on the strip down. 

Last on the road in 2015 and a honest little machine, screaming to be given some love and attention. I’ll try to get a battery over the next week or so and will see what life we can get from the old girl. A compression test at least should be sufficient to decide if I’m completely rebuilding the engine or just a possible top end and carbs. Either way I need to figure out why the clutch seems to be non existent, could be a knackered master/slave or clutch itself or possibly even the gearbox is past its best....all part of the strip down fun!