1971 Spitfire MKIV - An Adventure

We've enjoyed some nice runs in the Spitfire, always being very cautious and listening for noises and such. Over the weekend we did a 30 mile run on Saturday morning and a 40 mile run on Sunday morning. No problems. While I got used to the difficult gear shifting, my wife didn't and it took away from the fun of driving the car for her. Therefore this is one of the jobs I tackled this week.

Upon reading about a similar problem someone else had on the forum I decided to disassemble the gear shift assembly. It quickly became quite apparent that the bushing (2-2102) that is supposed to be at the bottom of the gear stick had disentegrated. In fact I found little smashed bits of it resting on the rear transmission mount. Other nylon washers and bushings were also heavily worn so I ordered a gear shift kit from VicBrit....should be here in a week or so, and should solve the shifting problem....3rd to 2nd was impossible.

With the carpet/throw rug that the previous owner put in cut back to expose the screws to take off the transmission hood, I've decided to get a new carpet kit...which I need to order. The seats are also shot so I need to do something about them too.

When driving the car I felt that it had some get up in the lower gears, but once in 4th there wasn't much power. After seeing a British TV show called "Wheeler Dealers" where they restored a 1500 spitfire and did a compression test to see if each of the valves were sound, I decided to do the same. I had 170, 145, 150, & 185. These are good numbers right? Shouldn't be effecting power, right?

Last night my 11 year old daughter did a great job of cleaning the vinyl cover and door trim with 409, and I replaced all the plastic and broken snaps with new stainless steel ones. Beginning to look better....even though the interior is scattered in heaps around the garage.

Seeing as I was standing looking at it I decided to get rid of the torn top and to rip out all the moldy and torn vinyl behind the seats. For now we don't intend to drive this car in the rain, so I'm not too worried that a new top will cost almost $400.

With the frame and bolts safely stored I rip out all the moldy and ripped vinyl on the side panels, wheel wells, and rear gas tank cover. It looks better already, but since I have a roll of brown pleather lying around I buy a can of spray adhesive an affix it to the panels I took off. This isn't perfect but it's the first improvement to the condition of the car!

The previous owner removed the seat belts to install a throw rug he had lying around, instead of actual carpet. He put the seat belts and one of the latches in the trunk. A trip to NAPA and Autozone with the one fine thread bolt I had was discouraging.....neither place had any such bolts. I called the previous owner and asked him if he had any more parts lying around and he did. A coffee can that included the other latch and the 5 other bolts to secure the belts in place. I never knew finding a bolt could be so fulfilling.

Next is replacing the rear shocks. Another trip to Autozone and 30 minutes of work the rear shocks are replaced. No major improvement to the ride, so drive over to the local tire shop to get 4 new tires. They don't have 13" tires in stock so I place an order for 185 r13s. Wider to try to improve the ride and handling. Three days and $330 later the 4 new tires are on. Wow. What a difference! The car is no longer jumpy in the back end, no dramatic pulling to the left; it's great.

Okay, so here's a list of all the things that I can find in need of attention:

The Ride:
Terrible - the back of the car is all over the place, even in a straight line. New tires and rear shocks must be put on asap.
Gears - The gears are difficult to find and change, but they are all there and they all work. Downshifting from 3 to 2 is particularly hard to do. Practice will help, but I'm sure other Spitfires aren't as bad as this. I'll change the transmission fluid and see if that helps. Seems to be geared very low or else it has no power from the engine...compression?

Engine
Turns over nicely; new ignition coil and distributor probably helping with this. Idles at 1000rpm. Looks in rough shape, but what do I know?

Electrical:
The following do not work: horn, front right headlight, front side marker lights, radio, signal lights, hazards, right bulb on license plate light, reverse lights, fuel gauge.

Body:
Rust is chronic: Both front valances are shot. Sills and bottoms of A post were badly repaired. Bondo replaces any metal that once was the passanger side lower quarter rear panel at the bottom of post B. The driver's sider was repaired with sheetmetal and looks ok, but underneath is a different story. There's a hole in the trunk and on both the front wheel arches.some small rust holes where the fenders meet the hood.

Paint:
The color is great, but is cracked, chipped, pitted and rusted all over the car. Looks t=like the original paint job though.

The Hood - Previous owner bolted a 4'x 1' piece of 3/16 sheet metal across the front to stiffen up the hood. he didn't align this properly as the gaps aren't even.

Chassis:
Looks straight and like the car has never been in a serious crash. While the chassis has surface rust it doesn't look like there are any holes. Needs to be sanded and primed to prevent further damage.

Interior:
Seats are junk, no carpet, mold behind the seats, torn cover that is useless, frame is good though.

The reason we got this car is so that we could take short cruises on secondary roads. We've no plans to take this on long trips on I95. Also, at this stage we're not looking to make a show piece out of this car. We just want it to be safe to drive and to be fun. It's almost as old as we are....and I ain't in the shape I was a few years ago either.
Finally, in addition to a car I bought a hobby. I want to take my time and enjoy tinkering with this car, enjoying each enhancement, and learning from each setback or mistake.

On July 25, 2009 we bought the Spitfire I been driving by for the past month. It was sitting in a driveway with a too small tarp over it that was supposed to be protecting the inside from the elements. My wife and I have long admired the smaller European sporty convertibles...MGs, Alfas, etc. and now we have one! I'm no mechanic....yet, but I am so excited about learning all about these cars.

After looking over the car I could see that the owner had done some work: new exhaust, changed the distributor, spaks and wires; rebuilt the carb; and replaced front brakes.We paid $1250 for the car, its accompanying Haynes Manual, and a lot of body rust. But it actually runs, and I drove it the 1/2 mile home to our house.

Insurance (@ $250/yr) and registration ($177 for 2 years) puts us up to $1677.