I’ve spent quite a lot of time researching ignition systems for the Spitfire. Before I took it off the road for restoration, I had a basic electronic system that removed the points and added a high output coil. It did the job and was reliable. Since the points were probably worn I think it made for smoother running and a tiny bit of […]
Once the gearbox was complete the overdrive was next up. It’s a Laycock J type used on many cars of the era. Mine always worked quite well so I wasn’t expecting to find anything particularly out of order. It basically consists of an epicyclic gear system which allows the input shaft to reduce speed by about 25% in 3rd and 4th gears. Much […]
When I first took the Spitfire off the road I thought it would be best to exchange the gearbox for a reconditioned one as some of the parts were a bit scarce. I saw a single rail (non-overdrive) gearbox on eBay not too far away and decided to take the chance on it so I handed over a tenner and took it home […]
It’s been a while since I posted anything but I’ve been working on the diff again recently. I ordered the carrier bearings and the two pinion bearings, small and large. All was well until I realised that one of the pinion bearings was the wrong size. It’s part number is M88040, I needed M88048. They also share the part number M88010 which I […]
I finally got to the stage of putting some colour on the chassis today since the humidity was low enough at 50%. Although I’ve not been working on the car at every given moment, I have been stripping the chassis down and preparing it for some time now. The old paint on the chassis was nice and smooth but it started showing signs […]
The past few weeks have all been about getting the engine stripped down and painted. I’ve also stripped the chassis down, applied a couple of coats of Por15 and a couple of coats of self-etch primer specifically designed to etch the Por15 and provide a suitable surface for the top coat. I think the chassis could do with another coat or two of […]