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Spitfire Total Rebuild!
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Was hoping to get at least a thousand amen's, but, anyway.......
A little video from last week:
Well, a very big mile stone has been achieved on Tuesday! Two and a half years+ coming, still cant believe its done, but, she's in color!!
But before that happened there was a bit more work to be done....
Brought outside for a final rub down and cleaning.
All smooth and clean, same could be said too for the poly tunnel....
My spray booth! I emptied it out, hosed it down, swept it out several times, washed it again and swept it out another few times! Gotta be sure!
All masked up and ready for the final clean down!
Blue roll and panel wipe were not spared!! My biggest fear with the sprayed was not the actual process of spraying itself, but the fear of some reactions, contamination, solvent pop or fish eyes! I've been very throughout in my cleaning and not letting any products containing silicone near the car for the past number of months, hope it pays off!!
Paint mixed up at a 1:1 ratio with a gloss thinners. The gun I'm using is a 1.4 LVLP gun. I did have a pressure regulator fitted but as luck would have it that decided to break on me just before I began spraying!!!! So, I had to go it alone with the wall mounted regulator.
Time to spray!0 -
5 coats were applied at intervals of about 15 mins.....basically by the time I got all around the car it was time to go at it again!
It might be a small car, but after going around it 5 or so times, in a hot environment, noise of the compressor, face mask and overalls on, bending to all kinds of shapes and angles I was only fit to collapse outside.....and admire the work.
As for the finish, well, it's shiny-ish and smooth-ish but does have a fair bit of orange peel, dissapointed about that, was hoping for a smooth finish straight from the gun, but, it's my first time painting a car, so I dont think I did too bad. I'm also gonna blame the lack of a regulator at the gun to control the pressure There is enough paint on there to cut back and polish (1500 grit, then 2000 then onto the polishing compounds).
So what happens now? Well, it'll have to be left for 2/3 weeks to cure fully and harden enough to cut back and polish but, in the meantime I need to crack on with the doors and bootlid and get them primed up and ready for paint.
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Just realised my water bottle is pretty much the exact colour you're using.. in case you want to accessorise they're available on Amazon ;P
Hah, its not too far off it alright!
And I thought you'd feckec off on holidays, Croppy, I was waiting for my project report fix. Well done.
I was on holidays been fairly busy in work too. Obviously didnt make the Carlow show which was on Sunday last, wonder will I even make the Kilkenny show at the end of the month?! 0 -
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Brought her out into the sunlight on Saturday for her forst time since the paint job.
I dont like it.
No, I love it!!
Stuck the grill on too for a look'see....
Was finding it hard to get work done Saturday as I was standing back so often looking at the car!!! :P It'll still need to be flattened back and polished in a couple of weeks so it'll be even shinier.
Got the centre console covered also....
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She's looking great croppy, loving the colour! You must be feeling very happy with yourself, and deservedly so.
PS. Are you beginning to think "What's next................."
Yeah, loving the look of it now! Still so much to do though, but the end is very much in sight.
Whats next? hah......think I'll enjoy this one for a bit, I'm sure there will always be something that needs doing on it, certainly wont be taking on any projects for some time! I could do without the hardship :PYes absolutely , next is ............
.... A brand new car on PCP
Hah, or an engine replacement for my Starlet, the thing the burning oil like crazy now
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Been a while guys!
What have I got for ye?!
Well, started putting on some shiney bits to newly shined paintwork...
Then I got the backs of the doors and bootlid sprayed up...
Followed by the fronts a few days later....
Few days then after that I got the doors fitted and the windscreen in on my own (on the third attempt!)....
Headlight bowls and lights fitted next.....
Do they work? Yes they do....
Headlight cowls still need to be painted as well as the front valances, but, its really taking shape now! Mirrors have also been fitted and Wallace and Gromit have been reinstated....
March 2014...
September 2016...
Rear lights have also been wired up properly and are functioning and bootlid fitted. So, once I get the front valances sprayed and fitted I can attach the front indicators. Give the doors and bootlid another couple of weeks to harden and I'll cut and polish the whole lot, for this I picked up Farecla G3 and G10 and the correct pads.0 -
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Bet you're looking forward to a grand day out! It may be mentioned somewhere in the thread, but what sort of compressor are you using? HP, tank size etc.
Looking great, happy for you!
Cant wait!! Only thing is the good days are slipping by quickly now! Still though, it'll be fantastic to take her for a proper drive.
I'm using a small Aldi compressor. Its a 2.5hp motor and a 24lt tank, so, its pretty small. To be honest it just about managed, it was constantly running while I was spraying and was a bit out of puff. to be fair you'd need a bigger tank and bigger motor to get an even better job, but, it did me and I was happy with the results.
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Been tackling another job the past number of days so didnt get to spend much time on Spitty :rolleyes:
Squeezed in a few hours though and took her for a little spin down the road
Before hand though I got the light cowls and valances sprayed out. They turned out well...
....hopefully I can get them put on next week.
Recovered the old dash pad and fitted it and then popped in the vents that I had sprayed chrome but then rubbed back to make them look stainless...
Only to realise that when I was driving it they were giving an awful distracting reflection on the window!
Back to black for them so! 0 -
Update time.....
Had a few days off last week so I got stuck in. Got a bit done, but ideally would loe another week or two to work on it, but hey, mans gotta work :rolleyes:
Started out by fitting the front valances, headlight cowls and indicators...
Then the bumpers went on. Took more than a few hours playing around with them; adjusting, readjusting and getting them to sit how I wanted and I think they turned out well....
Got the modified gearbox tunnel wrapped inside and a little on the putside with fireseal foam, this stuff should cut down on heat coming from the gearbox into the cab as well as noise; we'll see.
Got that bolted into place.....eventually! Hell of a job but I'm hoping that I wont have need to take it back out for a long time as the access panels I've cut should allow ample access to the geabox, overdrive and slave cylinder....
Stuck the dash in then for a final look see before I take it away to wrap it...
Note the Toyota stalk attached to the dash, this isnt a pernament fixture, just there to operate the lights/indicators because by now I had it taxed and insured and all the other vital ingredients to take it out on the road proper....
.....which I did :cool::D
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Time to tackle the steering wheel!
The original wheel is a rather thin rimmed and large 15" wheel, these were used in very late Mk3's and early MkIV's (1970-72) so its a nice original feature to have.
Unfortunately it was a bit worse for wear. The rim had taken more than a few knock, the chrome had flaked off the spokes and the centre was dull and faded. Time for a revamp...
The whole lot was sanded back and the spokes, back and front were sprayed gloss black. The knocks and dents in the rim were filled with epoxy filler. Then I tried some chrome wrap I had on the front face of the spokes....
The centre section of the wheel is a soft ut kinda dense foam with a leather effect finish, this I cleaned up and sprayed with a vinyl spray...
Then the rim got a coating of rubberized black enamel....
Turned out ok I reckon.
Then it was time to tackle the dash, so, with a last few holes and dings filled and cleaned up, a last it of recessing and modding on the rear it was time to get it wrapped up in lack leatherette....
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Wrapped!
Time to offer it up then and see how it looked...
Looking pretty sharp! Very happy with it, even if none of the dials and fixed in place yet!
Time to put a lid on it then!
New vinyl top attached and being stretched out, hopefully over the next few evenings I'll get to stretch it out more and more and work the wrinkles out before final fixing down at the weekend.0 -
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Brilliant project from start to finish, ive really enjoyed seeing what you've done.
Gone miss it when its over, well done.
Cheers
I've been thinking about it recently and although the end goal is to have a fantastic little sportscar at the end, the process of getting to that point almost becomes what its all about. Its like, when its finished (which it never be really :P) it'll be like 'so thats it?!'
I hope to enjoy driving it though, pity I'm coming to the closing stages just as the weather is turning, but hopefully I'll be able to get her out and about to many shows come 2017 0 -
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SpitfireIV wrote: »Cheers
I've been thinking about it recently and although the end goal is to have a fantastic little sportscar at the end, the process of getting to that point almost becomes what its all about. Its like, when its finished (which it never be really :P) it'll be like 'so thats it?!'
It'll never be finished!:) (don't mean that in a bad way!) As long as you have it there'll be things that you'll want to tinker with/work on!
It's great getting to watch your progress though - thanks for all the updates!0 -
Great work, pics and posts as usual. If like many people, you enjoy the journey somewhat more than the actual destination, I imagine you'll find something else to occupy yourself with before long.
Well done as always and thanks for the excellent posts. Look forward to maybe seeing it in the flesh some day!
As much as I'd like to I dont think I'll be taking on another project any time soon, perhaps at some stage again in the future. Just looking back at the first posts in the thread its crazy the amount of work that lay before before me, but, I didnt have that hindsight so just took it one part at a time and tried to do something, no matter how small or trivial each day, it all adds up
I'm sure when I get it out to shows, judging by the amount of views the thread has got, there will be more than a few that will recognise her, just hope she looks as good in the flesh as it does in my grossly photoshopped images:DIt'll never be finished!:) (don't mean that in a bad way!) As long as you have it there'll be things that you'll want to tinker with/work on!
It's great getting to watch your progress though - thanks for all the updates!
Yeah, always some little job that'll need to be done, or some new addition to be made. Still lots to do though to keep me occupied for another while.0 -
Took her for another spin on Saturday, longest yet. Everything seems to be working fine, still though, she's a bit noisy and rattly, but, I guess thats to be expected for a car of its age and the fact I have no sound proofing or carpets just yet :pac:
Still though, its never gonna be a quiet car....
Got the roof stretched as much as possible and glued to the frame, still a few wrinkles that I'm not happy with but I'm hoping they'll settle over time. Still have another few snaps to put in around the rear side windows...
Since those pics I've stuck on the chrome trim rings on the rear wheels and got a few bitumen sound absorbing pads on the floorpans, rear deck, bulkhead etc, so we'll see if that makes much of a difference.0 -
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More about that later!
Nothing overly exciting to report. Got the door windows fitted, they took a bit of work and still a bit more to do. Passenger window is not sitting right at all so I may have to get a new window cut and tempered, luckily they are flat. So, we'll see.
Brought it for a good spin on Friday, into town traffic; she handled fine but given that the soft top was fixed in place only a week previous I wanted to leave it up to allow it to stretch out thus it was somewhat noisy and a bit rattly in the cab, but, thats to e expected from such an old and basic car, so that alone took a bit of getting used to.
Decided to try out a bit of bling on the rear end....
Still have to finish my rear bumpers, but I put one in place for a look'see...
I like my bumpers, but equally I could live without them if needs be
All the shiney its came off then as it still needs a good cut and polish.
Monday morning, nice autumnal sunshine, threw the top back and took her out for a spin and was having a great drive when just on a roundabout there was a bit of a racket and she died on me!! Had enough momentum to roll through the roundabout and into a hard shoulder where I had to wait to be towed.
Found out eventually that I had snapped my timing belt! I reckon it was a stupid mistake on my behalf in apparently not tightening and/or not using thread lock on one of the bolts that holds the water pump in place. The screw worked itself loose, ripped the belt lenght ways for a few inches before snapping it and then bursting through the belt casing!
As far as I can tell them engine (4EFE) is non interference, meaning that in the event of a belt snap the pistons dont come into contact with the valves, so, I've gotten a new belt to try on. Hopefully all will be well once thats replaced......fingers crossed.
^ Field repair on the timing belt casing.
So, to finish on a happy note, a few beauty shots.....
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