Latest Spitfire update :)

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
02/27/2014 at 18:52 • Filed to: Spit6

In addition to finishing the work on the Alfa, I also welded on some brackets to locate the lower wishbones on my rotoflex(ish) setup. In the stock setup, the swing axle acts as a lower wishbone so you need to tack !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on if you're swapping over. Plus, they've got 3 different heights you can bolt the wishbone to, each one resulting in less camber change as the wheel compresses. Clever stuff :)

DISCUSSION (10)

jkm7680 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
02/27/2014 at 19:06

Nice welds! I don't trust myself with one of those.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
02/27/2014 at 19:15

Nicer welds than mine typically are - then again, I've got to get away from welding half-rotted Landy 18GA stuff. Were your build in the US, it'd be a prime candidate for Mustang II front susp, but since it isn't... Not sure what an appropriately 'Merica rear susp setup would be, but it'd likely not be a neat and off-the-shelf IRS. Not enough spits over here.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > jkm7680
02/27/2014 at 19:18

Thanks :) not nearly as pretty as some of the professional stuff (look for Browndogwelding's work, it's amazing). Seems to hold very nicely though.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
02/27/2014 at 19:39

Thanks :) it's marvelous what welding onto good metal will do

I'm fairly happy with the front suspension actually. It was used unchanged in the Lotus Elan, so if it's good enough for Colin Chapman it's good enough for me :) I am thinking of a trunnionless front link to cut down on the required maintenance though.

I've heard of people who convert Nissan rear ends to fit Spits and GT6s. Tricky to find something with a narrow enough track though. My little modified rotoflex suspension should be good enough, although the diff is a weak point apparently. Still, I've read about someone running a 235bhp supercharged Triumph I6 through the same diff I've got with a Quaife LSD. Seems like a good enough excuse to get one to me :)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
02/27/2014 at 19:45

Just googled, and the track width is a full 5" more narrow even than my Falcon, which shares a track width with the Jag E. No wonder it's not an easy match.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
02/27/2014 at 20:09

Yeah it is tricky. Most people stick with swing axles and install the later cars' swing springs, lowering blocks and camber compensators. They handle pretty damn competently after that, but I rather like my trick rotoflex rear :)

Spits are dinky little things. Probably about half the size of an E-Type. Smaller than an MX-5 even.

Jobjoris > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
02/28/2014 at 05:34

Nice Welds ;-) So what frame are you working on, an MkII? Later Spitfires (MkIV's and newer) had the rotoflex setup already, right? Will you be doing some 'cosmetical' work on the frame before mounting it all together again?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jobjoris
02/28/2014 at 05:47

Thanks :) I'll be spending ages wire-brushing it down to the bare metal and painting it with some POR-15. Hopefully that should stall the rust indefinitely :)

It's a MkIV that I've got. It was only the Mk2 GT6 that got the rotoflex setup, early and later ones had swing axles.

Spitfires only ever came with swing axles, but the later ones had a 'swing-spring' setup, where only the lower leaf was attached to the chassis and the rest could move freely. That way, roll stiffness was reduced but spring rate stayed the same. The swapped back to the swing-spring on the Mk3 GT6/GT6+ as if anything it handles better and was less of a faff to maintain.

With the modifications I've got planned that won't be the case though :)

Spit84120 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/25/2016 at 09:27

For to weld the News parts on frame have you used a template ?

If it’s yes can you send me some information ?

Kind regards

Eric

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Spit84120
09/06/2016 at 13:02

Hi Eric,

If you’re looking to do this yourself than Canley Classics sells the kit that I used, and there are dimensions to help published on their website :)

Do you have any pics of your car? Always good to see another Spit project :)