Pulled the wiring loom out of the spit today...

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228) 08/28/2013 at 19:50 • Filed to: None

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...as well as the heater box. Now the only things left are the fuel and one of the door latches that has so far refused to budge.

Then the body can come off :)

Slave2anMG > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/28/2013 at 19:53

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Hope you're taking a lot of photos and good notes :)

Patrick Frawley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/28/2013 at 19:57

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All, like, seven wires of it.

That's one of the things I entertain doing on my theoretical project when the time comes. Depends on how awful the original is, I guess.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Slave2anMG 08/28/2013 at 19:58

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I hope so. I've taken a decent amount of photos, and I've labelled which connectors fit to what and bagged everything up in little named food bags. It'll probably all go to pot, but a lot probably needs replacing anyway.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Patrick Frawley 08/28/2013 at 20:01

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Yeah, there isn't all that much to remove. I had to take out all 3 fuses as well. All 3!

I've labelled all the connectors, so hopefully I should be able to get it all back into place, although I suspect someone's had a go at the electrics before me (and not a very good one at that).

Which theoretical project is this?

Patrick Frawley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/28/2013 at 20:37

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My Group 44 homage MkIV/1500. Was lamenting to Raphael the other day about my inability to get over my Spitfire longing; that one just remains too much a mix of attainable and attractive (and project-worthy) to leave behind for too long.

CalzoneGolem > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/28/2013 at 21:11

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This space for rent

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Patrick Frawley 08/29/2013 at 07:19

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Big fan of Group 44. Are you thinking full livery or a road-going toned down colour scheme?

I've got a Group 44 homage GT6 in my list of theoretical builds. I'm thinking high revving 2.0l triple-carbed Triumph 6, white with two offset racing stripes in light green and dark green.

Watched this video of them a couple of days back. Some great footage of the cars running around on track.

How much do spitfires go for in your part of the world?

Patrick Frawley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/29/2013 at 09:50

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Okay, since it's a very slow morning and I need something escapist to keep my mind off the gloom of a so-far-fruitless job search, here's the general plan. Please feel free to chime in and let me know how (un)reasonable all of this is.

First, acquire one Spitfire. Availability is much more an issue than cost in this area. A decent one is $3000/£2000ish, often less, cars with needs much less, basket cases verging on free. Preference for 1976 cars, which had the compression bumped back up to 9:1. White would be nice.

Make sure it's in decent running order and doesn't have any major needs or rust issues or what have you. Clean it up, get it nice and tidy. Check to see if there's any opportunities for weight removal; there won't be much, but just a consideration.

Where to start? Maybe suspension. Lowering springs in front, a new set of good stiff Spax dampers and new bushings (urethane?) all around. Not too much of a geometry change, because I don't want to muck up the clearance for the 14x6 Panasports with 185/60R14 tires - the fattest wheel/tire set I'd contemplate, but it matches the original diameter and isn't too wide (a serious concern with the swing-axle rear). Good brake pads/liners.

Engine: Disconnect all the power-robbing emissions gear - air pump, EGR, etc. - and, um, set it aside to be reinstalled later. ( Much later.) New carbs; thinking that a pair of SU HS4s would be the best all-around for the mostly street driving I'd do, but Weber DCOEs sing their siren song. Upgraded camshaft (Fast Road or equivalent), clean up the ports, free-flow exhaust, Pertronix electronic ignition unit. Can see a major power boost without excessive compromise of drivability or fuel consumption. Would love to get like 100ish bhp at the crank with a good torque curve, but that might take some serious work; ~70 hp/liter seems like the upper limits for a traffic-drivable parallel-valve carbureted engine that was never designed for these shenanigans.

Some practical things, like maybe replacing the fiberboard transmission housing with one of the better plastic ones. A pair of good basic Sparco or whatever seats (which should also open up some spare legroom), a roll bar that still lets the top go up, maybe a different steering wheel and shift knob if I'm feeling extravagant. Some fun with sponsor stickers: Mobil, Prestone, whatever brand of spark plugs and tires I'm using, a few others. Retro counterpoint to the billboard silliness on ricer rides. Number circle? Leave it plain white, no stripes. Start researching gear ratios and other engine mods for when the time comes.

That's been about the idea for a while now. A street racer, something flingable and noisy and ridiculously fun. No, it won't mix it up with anything as vicious as a Focus in a straight line, but it'll definitely be something to brighten up the commute and put in some slightly-better-than-average autocross showings on weekends.

Then again, I could just get a Miata (air conditioning! airbags!) and most of the above would still apply. Except the carbs.

We'll see.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Patrick Frawley 08/29/2013 at 13:59

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I've done some maths on weight reduction for my little project. The goal was to get it to the stock weight and weight distribution despite having the bigger 6 up front, but I've weighed up a lot of things roughly.

The biggest weight saver I've found has been fibreglass bits. The bonnet I have is 16kg lighter than the steel one, and if both doors were fibreglass it'd save roughly the same. A fibreglass bootlid should save between 6 and 8kg. Most of them will need chopping up and reshaping to get them to fit nicely, but they're readily available (over here at least).

There's a company here that does various alloy bits for the 4 and 6 cylinder engines too. Not heads unfortunately, but things like engine end plates, alternator mounts, radiators and lightweight alternators and starters. You're starting to get a bit expensive there though.

I think 185s are pretty much the widest tyres you can fit without having to modify the arches. I'll be running 185s on the rear of mine, but I might go 175 at the front as I've heard there can be issues at full lock with the offset wheels I have.

Chassis-wise, there are a couple of things that you can do to prevent it jacking. The later swing-spring suspension (which all Mk4s and 1500s have) is actually pretty good from the factory, but you can get lowering blocks that help reduce it even further. I've even seen people just fix straps to the axles and springs so they physically can't jack up. If it helps, I read a comparo that had a Spitfire Mk4 doing a lateral g test. It came out as the best of the test (including cars like the 914, GT6 and 124 spider), and .1g better than a DC2 Integra Type R.

Also, if you end up doing this sooner rather than later I'll have a set of HS4s and some UK-spec higher-comp pistons from the engine I'm pulling from my Spit. I haven't thought of a plan for them yet, so you're more than welcome to be the recipient of those.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Patrick Frawley 08/29/2013 at 15:18

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Oh, and good luck with the job hunt. Are you looking for anything in particular or just anything to tide you over?

Patrick Frawley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/29/2013 at 16:59

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Something very much in particular, namely secondary mathematics education. Middle and high school on this side of the world. Got another interview tomorrow, waiting to hear back about one in particular (not a certain thing but very hopeful), still sending out resumes, but starting to get more than a bit frustrated and neurotic about the whole process.

I mean, if you know anyone that can use one, please let them know I'm available. Logistics would be a bit odd but I'm open to relocating for the right gig.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Patrick Frawley 08/29/2013 at 19:04

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Alas not. A lot of my friends are in the same boat having just come out of uni. I hope something comes along soon. That way theoretical Group 44 Spitfire projects become that little bit less theoretical.