Triumph Spitfire - finished and ready for action

The last time I wrote about this project, it was no more than a painted body shell, but as I write this, the car is all ready back with its owner and being given some gentle mileage to bed everything in. Hopefully the following pictures will show how the cars turned out, and ill endeavour to explain what was done to turn this car from wreck to racer.

Virtually every single component of the car was rebuilt or re-conditioned along with countless modifications to make the car suitable (and legal) for some weekend motor sport, such as sprinting/hill-climbing and track use. The boot and front end (including the valances) are fibreglass to reduce weight.

Sitting on its AVO dampers and stiffer springs (see previous posts) the suspension has also been put together with adjustable rear tie bars and a few other mods to prevent the dreaded 'tuck under' these cars are known for. With careful setting up of front and rear camber and tracking, the car is predictable and planted, and due to strengthening in the shell, along with the full roll cage, scuttle shake is totally banished.

On the inside, FIA legal Recaro bucket seats have been squeezed in (quite literally) along with four point harnesses. All the internal trim panels have been replaced with sheet aluminium (the boot being effectively 'fire-walled' from the main cabin) although the original dash board has been refurbished and retained. The original centre console now houses a battery cut out switch and extra gauges and switches.

The engine was rebuilt 'in house' with bigger valves, lightened and balanced internals and many other internal modifications to produce a unit that was docile enough to be drivable on the road, yet should give 50% more power than in standard form (despite its externally standard appearance). An oil cooler, electric fan and US spec radiator have been used to keep everything cool, and electronic ignition and electric fuel pump to keep everything reliable.

The wheels are currently refurbished GT6 items with road going yokohama tyres, the idea being that a second set of 'track' wheels and tyres can be purchased when needed to suit the cars future use.

I'm sure this wont be the last time this car appear on this site and I look forward in the future to further setting up the car and getting it ready for what ever events the owner decides to use it for.

Not just restoration projects...

I have to admit that I don't get around to posting the latest news quite as often as I would like. Mostly the news and pictures displayed here show ongoing restoration projects, due to the fact that showing pictures and explaining the finer points of greasing a trunion doesn't make for the most gripping read. However, at least 50% of the work we do here is servicing and other smaller jobs on classic and cherished vehicles.
Just to give an idea of what's going on in between the projects, here's just some of the cars that have been under the spanner in the last few months.

This selection shows the wide variety and range of work undertaken. Everything from working on the suspension and brakes of the XK120, preparing the A40 Somerset for a trip to France, a complete engine rebuild on the 73 midget and many other servicing, body and mechanical repairs on lots of other vehicles.

A long overdue update....

Unfortunately Ive been a bit lazy with the updates lately, so ill try and catch up with whats been going on with various projects last year. Firstly, the Triumph Spitfire race car.
The body was prepped for paint, including the underside and inside, every surface will be body colour and finish.
The underside was painted first, then the inside of the vehicle. These were then masked off while the outside of the vehicle was painted.
With the body mounted back on the rolling chassis, the doors and boot lid were prepped, painted and hung. All panel gaps had been checked during the build/welding stage.with the shell rolling on the chassis and painted, the real build work can start.