1971 Spitfire Mk8 - A long overdue build thread

That a LOT of clutch.

Is this awesomeness under budget?

I hope so!  And, I hope not!

It is sooo rad!

I also hope you don't finish it before the challenge, so I can help make it happen!   But, I also hope you do finish it!

I don't know what I'm feeling.  I think I'm in love!

Yes the clutch is overkill, but they say the correct amount of kill is overkill. It does really nice burnouts!

The car is definitely NOT IN BUDGET. I have 1.5 x budget in the gearbox alone. However if you amortize my purchases over the build life of 25 years, I have less than 1k per year in it. I bought a lot of the drivetrain parts when the source vehicles were only a few years old, so paid premium prices for some of them.

It's been a few days. My work week was as hectic as expected but I managed to make some progress. In the last episode we had the engine ready for install.

Since then the engine and gearbox did go back in the car.

The fuel system is installed and the pump plumbing has been updated.

Most of the interior tin work is installed.

Today's the goal is to get the front suspension sub frame reinstalled and fit the cooling assembly. And finally fit the hood.

After that it needs fluid systems checking and bleeding. Then make noise for the neighbors.

Hell yeah!!!

As a self-appointed representative of your neighbors, I say "bring the noise!"

Afternoon update.

This needs to go on the front of the chassis/body.

There, see it all fits.

And current status, the front bumper, exhaust, and cooling assembly are installed.

Next up add fluids and bleed the hydraulics and cooling systems. I need to convince someone in the house to pump the brakes...

To make sure I add some extra confidence i have officially registered for the challenge too.

Good lord I'm excited to see this.

Yes, this definitely an example of taking a Spitfire and turning it up to 11!

I did get the fluids filled and bled. I was ready to fire it up when out of town family arrived, so no neighbor annoying yesterday. Perhaps today.

The interior is done except for bolting the seats in. This is due to new harnesses in shipping. The rules state no less than two years old, and sfi rated. The schroth belts I have are not sfi rated but are intended for street use. So we wait...

I have blue sfi rollbar padding I can give you.  Bought a giant lot for the nascar project and haven't used a stick yet....

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

I appreciate the offer, but I already have enough.

The good news is the fire up on jackstands went great all systems working as expected.

The bad news, the clutch update did not go as well. I think the change from 3 to 2 plates affected the throwout to clutch finger dimension changed and I did not catch it. The throw out bearing is out of travel so no clutch release.

I have two options, bring the new Lexus or pull the motor/gearbox and throw the triple plate back in it.

I am deciding what to do over lunch...

In reply to stafford1500 :

There's only one real answer:  Triple clutch.

We all want to see this at the challenge this year!

Thanks for the encouragement. I will stand in front of the car shortly with a cold beer in hand to make the final decision.

Indy - Guy said:

In reply to stafford1500 :

There's only one real answer:  Triple clutch.

We all want to see this at the challenge this year!

He's right you know....

stafford1500 said:

Thanks for the encouragement. I will stand in front of the car shortly with a cold beer in hand to make the  decision to add another clutch disc back into the car and bring it to the Challenge.

Fixed that for you.

stafford1500 said:

Thanks for the encouragement. I will stand in front of the car shortly after re-installing the triple disc with a cold beer in hand.

Perhaps this FTFY is more appealing?

Do eet.

I had clutch issues that came up while addressing clutch issues as well.

I know the pain.

Since it is now 6:30 Eastern time, we have all assumed that you have opted to fix the clutch. Good call.

;)

Spacers behind the throw out bearing should be easy and keep the twin disc. 

Turner FTW

I did commit to diving into the clutch repair after getting clearance from Mrs 1500 and my out of town family visitors.

Started at 3pm. Went to bed at midnight. Work today will suck for lack of sleep and background thinking about what's next to finish up.

Turner, yes spacers are the solution. I made the mistake of not taking the setup measurements when I had it apart originally. I have those measurements now and will build up the appropriate spacers for the next time it comes apart that far.

I wasted more time by trying to shortcut pulling everything the way it is intended and still wound up pulling all the stuff that I tried to avoid. Sometimes doing it right is more efficient than doing it fast.

I still have lots of stuff to nut/bolt as I got the hydraulics sealed and called it a night. Still need to reinstall the cooling system and run the car to verify no leaks in the fluids. I also created an exxon Valdez sized oil spill when the gearbox dumped all it's fluid on removal. luckily i had extra redline mtl on the shelf.

pictures of the REINSTALLED front half after work today.

Ready to go to the floor!

Noises made this evening but not on the street. All gears accounted for. Had to chase a stuck thermostat.

I may even have time to do a little more cleanup before loading Thursday.

Numbers and class stickers are waiting.