17 MarWaxoyl
This month while the Spitfire’s been temporarily garaged, I’ve taken the opportunity to remove the Waxoyl from the front wheel arches, touch up any stonechips and reapply. Everywhere I read on the internet, Waxoyl takes a bit of a bashing. Based on my experiences, I think this is really unfair – even if there are […]
Read More ...24 FebKeeping Water Out – Door Seal Drain Holes
While in a modern car recently, I noticed three holes made in the door sealing rubbers for drainage. I couldn’t find any such holes on my Spitfire, and this explains why water still manages to sneak in every so often onto the inner sills and subsequently, the footwells. After making similar holes in the Spitfire, […]
Read More ...09 FebAvoiding Door/Bonnet Chips
This looks like a handy product. Many Spitfire owners have found the bonnet occasionally chips paint from the leading edge of the doors, due to flexing in the wings or improper lifting of the bonnet assembly. I’ll be trying a pair of these soon as they’re so cheap, will report back my findings. http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=80_115&products_id=3843
Read More ...02 JanRecovering a Cracked Dashboard Top
…with a kit from Park Lane Classics. My car was extensively restored by the previous owner, and to solve the problem of the cracked dash-top he used a popular plastic overlay. While the job was well done and totally seamless, I really didn’t like the feel of the product at all. The plastic was hard […]
Read More ...28 DecHardtop Tie-bar Fix
If you want to use a hardtop yet don’t like the idea of stowing a hood, there are long tie-bars that fix the hardtop directly to the car’s bodywork in the middle of the hardtop. Unfortunately though these are quite rare and expensive, so an alternative is to use the tie-bars that attach to the […]
Read More ...29 NovVideo: ‘Tuning BL’s A series Engine’
Very interesting and informative talk by David Vizard. Although it’s about the A series engine, its still highly relevant to the 1147, 1296 and 1500 Spitfire engines produced by Triumph. Here’s part 1, you should be able to find the following parts at the end of each video section.
Read More ...01 OctSome Ideas for Increasing MPG
Note that some are more realistic than others! The handbook for my 1500 gives 28.7 urban, 52.9 at 56mph, and 36.3 at 75mph. I’d say thats a pretty fair reflection of what my unmodified 1500 does today, and that’s promising. But surely we can do better right? Please add your own ideas in the comments […]
Read More ...01 OctRemoving Rust on the Cheap
Tried this while I had the carbs stripped this week – these linkages, springs etc were 100% covered with rust. You couldn’t see any bare metal at all, now look at them. The product I immersed them in? ‘Vinegar’. Turns out this cutting edge technology can be found at Asda in a pint bottle for […]
Read More ...01 OctChanging Steering Wheels on a 1977-78 Spitfire
A simple enough task? Not so. These models were in what you could call a ‘transitional period’ for Spitfire steering wheels, where the new column and shroud design had just appeared. Unfortunately, these cars hadn’t received the benefit yet of a Moto-Lita boss, so if you’re looking to use a Moto-Lita wheel with one of […]
Read More ...01 OctHaving Trouble With SU Carbs Overflowing?
Having recently had (and fixed) this problem, and done a lot of research, I feel I should place everything I’ve discovered in one post to help anyone else with this issue. 1) First and foremost, open up the float lids and check the clearance between the plastic float and the needle. Turned upside down, with […]
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