| Issue #10 - 2002 |
In this issue |
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| Page 1 |
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The lastest rantings from the editor. [more]
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| 'Flawed Diamonds' |
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John Wood on the Triumph Spitfire & GT6. [more]
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| Jonathan Crossley's GT6 Restoration |
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Jonathan sent me the details on his restoration in late 1999...[more]
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| Josh Hickey's GT6 Restoration |
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...and Josh sent me his in early 2000...[more]
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| Lola |
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...and Roger sent me the story on Lola in mid 2000...[more]
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| Graham Johnson's GT6 |
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...and Graham sent me his in early 2001.[more]
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- [back to new format] -
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| My Spit 6 |
A Work in Progress... |
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This article originally appeared in Spitfire & GT6 Magazine Issue #4, Volume 1. I have reused & added to it to try and keep it up to date and accurate.
This was a car bought very much with the heart not the head. The ad read "Convertible GT6 Triumph, rare, part restored, some reg" and then an exorbitant price. A more accurate ad would have been "Triumph Spitfire, partly converted to GT6 running gear, mostly butchered, partly tarted up". The problem was I wanted it the second I saw it...
I have been around Triumphs for a lot of my life. My father has a penchant for classics and in his time has owned an MG TC, a Triumph TR4, a Mk2 Jaguar, a couple of Jaguar XJs and numerous Triumph 2500 sedans. He is currently restoring a TR6 and a Jaguar E-Type. So it was no surprise that when it came time for me to buy a car, it was a Triumph. A Mk2 2.5 PI Sedan to be precise, a car that I owned and enjoyed for many years, but I really wanted a convertible. I've always liked the TRs and Spitfires, and in the midst of a restoration of a TR6 (the car my Dad is now finishing) I started to look for a Spitfire. It was a while before one came on the market, and the above ad caught my attention one Saturday in February of 1996.
I rang the seller, and it was reasonably obvious that he wasn't a 100% percent on what he had, so I went around to have a look. When I got there this wonderful little red sports car was sitting there waiting for me. It was perfect, red exterior, black interior, Mk3 Spitfire body, Mk2 GT6 bonnet, hardtop, good softtop, later model seats and custom GT6-like dash. OK so it was a little rough around the edges (understatement of the century) but after taking it for a drive I was hooked. It went like a rocket and was a lot of fun to drive. So I swapped my trusty 2.5 PI and too much cash for what I was about to find out was a major money pit.
On getting it home I discovered the following:
- That custom dash I had admired was just a piece of wood screwed to a thin lip of metal - somebody had just cut out the Mk3 dash and hadn't welded in new metal;
- It was a Spitfire body (chassis is origin unknown, assumed Spitfire), with a GT6 bonnet;
- The engine was from a Triumph 2000 Sedan, but was on "custom" mounts - these were there to raise the engine slightly as someone had fitted a home-made baffled sump;
- The radiator is of unknown origin, but seems to be coping;
- The gearbox was at least GT6;
- Unfortunately the suspension & brakes weren't;
- The wiring was totally butchered, and even burnt in places;
- It was missing some items, like the console.
It wasn't all bad news though. The engine had good compression and ran flawlessly, the body is basically straight (the bonnet exhibits signs of the DPO closing the bonnet with items on the engine, as well as stress tears around the edge, and you can tell people have leant against the doors to lean in to the car) and only has one small rust spot, the doors close properly, it doesn't sag with both doors open when someone sits in it, the mags are good period items and suit the car, the softtop is in great shape and it came with a hardtop.
The first job was to put some metal behind the dash, a job that my father did for me. We fabricated it from a template made up from the existing wood and welded it in without any major dramas. At the same time my father strengthened the steering column mount, as it was in danger of seperating from the body. After that the wiring was partially tackled, removing all the burnt wires and making sure that everything worked. There is still a fair bit of work that needs to be done, but that is for later.
The car was then on active duty, and got driven as often as possible. The brakes were next to useless, so I started tracking down the parts I needed to convert it to GT6 brakes. What an expensive exercise that turned out to be. I rang a supposedly reputable firm who had all the parts I required - GT6 uprights, hubs and discs as well as a complete rotoflex rearend. Much money was handed over and the parts were awaited in anticipation. I nearly cried when they arrived.
Everything was in pretty average condition, to be expected when bought from a wreckers. The problem was the adjustable radius arms were missing, one of the uprights was bent, the stub axles were pitted and scarred and as I later found out one of the hubs had spun a bearing. The long and short of the ensuing negotiations was that I got a new hub, and a suggestion to heat the upright, bend it straight and quench it in oil. Needless to say I was less than happy and will never purchase goods from him again.
So I now had to find new uprights and stub axles at least, and after many phone calls managed to find someone who had brand new uprights and stub axles dirt cheap! It pays to ring around. So I had all the brakes reconditioned, bought new polyurethane bushes and bearings, had all the suspension parts sand-blasted, and they all sat there until this year (2000) as I never quite got around to fitting them... My excuse - I was having too much fun driving the car.
This year I finally decided to bite the bullet, and at least rebuild the front suspension. Everything was removed and checked, and the only major problem found was that both lower wishbones had elongated holes were the trunnion mounts. With much trepidation I started the ring around. This time I managed to find a firm who had fair prices, and the parts were exactly as described - I was stoked!
The reassembly began with all new polyurethane bushes, new bolts, new bearings and the discs and calipers that had been reconditioned about 4 years ago. With only a few minor hurdles (fitting those blasted felt hub seals and coming up short on one 'D' washer) it was all reassembled and quite amazingly all seemed to work. Which was just as well as about 3 days after finishing my girlfriend and I completed our move from rental accommodation to our own home. There are still some things that need to be sorted at the front-end, such as the fact it is still using Spitfire brake lines and mounting points, and I had to wind in the tie-rod ends a fair way to remove the tire splay so who knows what the alignment is like. For now though I'm having to turn my attention to things house related, but I'm sure that will change as summer approaches.
There is still a lot of work to be done on my hybrid - the synchros are going, the body and interior are very rough and I still need to fit the GT6 rear-end, but I still enjoy having it around.
Some earlier articles on my Spit 6
Issue 1 - Feature car
Issue 1 - Restoration
Additional Items
Work List - Past & Future Modifications
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