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Seems like a better deal, especially if there going to wait for you to pick up. Just Googled Tiger GTA, it seems a similar style? Won't you think one doesn't perform as well as the other one?
Completley different beasts, the GTA although road legal is an out and out racer, 248 bhp at the flywheel (tested on Scholar racings engine dyno not a rolling road) with a twin plate 5 1/2" clutch thats more akin to a switch and a tranx straight cut box, hence building the cordite, i need something sane i can drive without giving me major back damage and probably ending with me in a ditch!
Well after 2 false starts i finally picked up my donor today, a complete car less the body but including the required chassis plates and a V5, 2 spare od gearboxes, 4 speed box, 1300FD engine, brand new calipers, 3 diffs, 2 fuel tanks and a brand new generator and boxes and boxes of "Spares" the seller threw in as he is moving next week.
The chassis looks to be totally rot free and has been dropped off at the blasters on the way back so will be clean ready for closer inspection next saturday when i get back from Swansea.
This is what about a spitfire and a half looks like in kit form!
Finally got the chassis back from the blasters this morning, its in pretty much perfect condition with no...yes read it again...no rot visible anywhere. Have had a good tap around with a hammer and cant find any parts that sound as though they are even thin so very very happy.
and rarity! i was steeling myself for a few days welding but looks like ill be able to plough on with the running gear refurb instead :-)
Even all the brake pipe and wiring capture tangs are all present and correct!
And as a nice onus the chassis number is now even clearer than before and matches the V5 perfectly, i was sure it did but nice to see it clear as day.
Only bit the blaster didint get was behind the 2 fron suspension turrets but 30 minuts with a set of spanners and the grinder with a wire brush and there removed and all cleaned up already.
Yes definately fell on a good one and at silly money as well so alls well that ends well, dropping off the 2 diffs and 3 od gearboxes to my transmission man tomorrow for rebuild of 1 of each using the remainders to rob bits off if necessary.
Just starting building the frost DIY build blast cabinet, once thats done it will be full steam ahead with cleaning, painting and refurbing suspension parts.
Well I'm back again, bit of a false start I seem to have suffered the sammio communication issue so will be re ordering whatever the cordite replacement is called ( yes I know I need to catch up) from Andy on my return from Sri Lanka where I am currently sunning myself till the end of the month. Unfortunately it doesn't look like I will be able to go the German front end option as that's not available from Andy, unless anyone has one knocking around?
So far I have had the diff and gearbox stripped and rebuilt and have completely blasted and etch primed and painted all the suspension parts. All the ball joint, trunnions etc have been renewed and a full polybush set has been fitted. Now I know the front end of the chassis won't need cutting to accomadation the German bonnet other than the usual front bonnet mount ill be getting the chassis off to the galvanisers on my return and then get it in the booth for etch priming and finish painted in black truckcoat. Bearing in mind that all the parts are ready to go I'm hopeful I can get a rolling chassis together in a couple of days once its back from the paint shop.
Engine should be ready on my return, gone for a full rebuild with some tweaks, fast road cam, mild head porting with oversized valves as I managed to pickup a brand new triumph 1500 FWD head off ebay for pennies and apart from being skimmed a bit it will drop straight onto the 1300 FD. I already have a megajolt system so will be doing away with the distributor, I also have a shiney new webber manifold waiting to be fitted along with a webber DCOE45 that I picked up off ebay, it's all stripped just needs reassembly.
I have also managed to pickup a set of triumph wire wheels of gumtree for the princely sum of £200 and they seem to be in v good nick with little or no corrosion so they will be getting blasted and repowdercoated, unfortunately they didn't come with the hub adapters or spinners so will have to buy those new unless anyone has a set they want to move on?
Think that's it for now
Mac
Welcome back, Mac. If you've got 13" Spitfire wires then you should be able to get a new set of 'short' hubs, nuts and spinners for a little over £200.
cheers for the link, i had that bookmarked anyway, i will definatley be buying new as the splines on the wheels are pretty much perfect so dont want to spoil them by using naff adapters. will probably orer some whilst im away so they are there when i get back as im keen to get the chassis rolling on its intended wheels so that body fitting highlights any issues (not that im expecting any) rather than find out when i change from steels to wires.
Might be worth shopping around first - about a year ago that set was under £140.
What tyres are you planning to use? I had originally planned to use 13" wheels and would've gone for 175/80/13's with white walls to make the wheels look bigger.
This is quite a useful tool for working out the effect different tyre sizes will have on the looks, clearance and gearing -
... Now I know the front end of the chassis won't need cutting to accommodate the German bonnet ill be getting the chassis off to the galvanisers on my return ...
Hi Mac,
Just want to check if you are planning to have a flip up bonnet, or use AndyP57's new approach...
AndyP57 wrote:
... To this end, I'm mounting the front on a set of locking pins on top, a dzus at each sill and a single screw at the front accessed through the grille. Daily access will be through a conventional bonnet but heavier jobs can be done by taking the whole front off in a matter of minutes...
As the traditional Cordite/Navigator bonnet will not fit the standard Spitfire chassis.
This is a view of the inside of my bonnet which had hinges fitted as an optional extra.
Clear the front brackets are in the way and need to be removed to fit the bonnet.
Unfortunately this can't be done until after the re-body inspection.
This is was the original Cordite demonstrator frame looked like.
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This has the front brackets removed and the hinge mounting brackets welded on.
Just thought I'd mention my understanding of how I think it is meant to work.
I guess if you just had to touch up the frame after cutting off the brackets it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Thanks I was aware of the need to remove the front bonnet towers, won't say any more but I have a cunning plan..........thanks for the heads up anyway.
Got a phone call from Bradbury engineering late last night local time saying my engine is done dusted, bench run and ready for collection, still have a week till I'm back, torn between wanting to get back and get stuck into it and wondering wether I should have jumbo prawns for dinner again.....how's the weather?
:-)
Nice timing. Weather is due a turn for the better at the weekend. You'll be outside in shorts and T-shirt when you fit the engine. Looking forward to pics.
Chassis goes off fro galvanising in the mornin so thought i better remove the bonnett mounting horns, i know they are needed for the test but they will be "applied" by nefarious means just for the test then fall off again.
Good job i did it this afternoon as i found the only bit of serious rust on the whole chassis lurking behind one of them, 20 minutes wit the welder had the rot removed and a plate welded in so its all good now.
There is some pitting in places (See Below) but by the time it has been galvanised, eposy primed then epoxy top coated i reckon the surface finish should be ok
And a last shot before it gets loaded on the trailer, next time you see it it should be lovely and silver grey....
Oh just before i go heres a question, i am new to triumphs so please forgive my ignorance but i was under the impression that one of the spitfire foibles was that they had no chassis no? if thats correct then whats this?
picture is of the number with some paint blown on, i later polished it off and took some pics of the number fully legible should Mr Vosa want to see them as by the time it comes back there is no way it will be readable.
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