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Mike_Bouse

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FrankenStein lives...

Took my first drive last night, and actually put on a whopping 6.5 miles. Weather was too beautiful to pass up. Had been 70ish all afternoon, and no precipitation. Only ventured around the country block three times cuz i have no tags, and no lights.

Discovered that the speedo in addition to the tach works. No gauges or idiot lights function, so the dash is now the major issue. Lucas, Lord of Darkness will have to be taught to obey.

Brakes are a little weak. New pads, shoes and rebuilt calipers don't seem to overcome the inertia of the six cylinder engine's weight on a system designed for a four cyl motor. maybe after the rotors get a chance to set... any suggestions on a "correct" fix?

The aftermarket exhaust keeps the noise tolerable, but it sure isn't producing the correct sports car sound. eventually, will have to get a correct muffler. the tranny and clutch seem just fine, both in all four forward as well as reverse gears.

So, i am pleasantly encouraged to proceed with this restoration project. tackling the electrics will be a month long ordeal, i am sure. and the upholstery will continue to be restored. where is the most economical seat vinyl for a '69 Spitfire?

Periodic progress reports to follow.
 
Just go slow until you sort out the braking issue. Plenty of time for speed after that.
 
We are sooo far away from worrying about SPEED!!

50 mph seemed as much as the front end wanted to tolerate. anything above that, it started shaking....i'm sure bushings and such will need to be addressed before we do any serious driving.

however, if i am to consider upgrading the brakes; what am i looking at potentially?
 
Mike_Bouse said:
... if i am to consider upgrading the brakes; what am i looking at potentially?
Click to expand...
What do you have now: the original Spitfire brakes? GT6s used a larger front disc (9.7" v. 9" for original) and the larger calipers of the TR6. In back, drums were 8" instead of the Spit's 7". At a minimum, I'd think you would want to source GT6 uprights, stub axles and hubs (good idea, especially since the GT6 also used different wheel bearings) and front disc brake bits. You might be able to get by with the original 7" rear drums, though.
 
So, I'd be looking for a GT6 donor vehicle, or someone parting out same. Was what I was thinking too.

Guessing that I'd forego the rear modification until several handling runs were accomplished.

Anyone have other suggestions, or a voice of experience?

This Spit 6 advice seems more sparse than i originally anticipated.

Anyone wanna claim they own one of these hybrids?
 
Mike_Bouse said:
...This Spit 6 advice seems more sparse than i originally anticipated.

Anyone wanna claim they own one of these hybrids?
Click to expand...
There are lots of folks who have done this in one way or another...including a friend of mine who actually did the initial "basics" of a conversion in the rain...in my driveway...over a weekend, AND then drove the car home! But that's a story for another time (or when I can locate again the web pages that document it)!

Meanwhile, Paul Tegler has a pretty good web site here with information.
 
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