Another Spitfire build

The teardown begins in earnest! I couldn't believe the amount of desert sand that came pouring out of the heater! <img src="" />

The rubber windshield gasket had been cooked by the desert heat so much it literally scraped off with a knife, and I just lifted the windshield out. That's what all those little black chunks are. Once the dash is out the windshield frame will come off.

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Only things left to get out of the interior are the steering and dash.

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Not much separates the trunk and gas tank from the passenger compartment on these cars.

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So I finally figured out an easier way to get my photos posted via Imgur, so I updated earlier posts with the photos showing instead of links. This should all go a little better now.

We have a long way to go, but I'm feeling pretty good about how it's going so far.

DLD wrote: Not much separates the trunk and gas tank from the passenger compartment on these cars. <img src="" />

Yeah, that trusty layer of vinyl coated pressboard will protect you in a crash ...

Well, if anyone has looked, obviously we had some setbacks on our project, and it is now definitely aimed directly at the 2016 Challenge. We have some engine work done, and are about to get going again on the chassis/body. I should be posting more photos soon.

In reply to erohslc:

If crash protection is important, then a Spitfire is not for you. I liken it to being on a motorcycle... only less visible.

That little formula car you built is super cool. Was it built for DSR?

Ian F wrote: In reply to erohslc: If crash protection is important, then a Spitfire is not for you. I liken it to being on a motorcycle... only less visible.

Yeah but a custom steel firewall can go a long way toward preventing gasoline from entering the cabin in a simple rear-end hit. I'm going to be installing one in my Spit.

In reply to Winston:

I wouldn't bother. If the car gets a rear-hit hard enough to push the tank (which is fairly well protected in it's location) into the passenger compartment, you have more pressing problems.

It's not like this was uncommon for the era. Most pick-ups from the 50's and 60's have the tank right behind the seat back inside the cab.

Well, I plan on bothering anyway, even if it only mitigates the corner cases. Have you seen the extent of my build? I've redesigned the entire front suspension (on a car with multiple SCCA championships) because the original design doesn't live up to my engineering standards.

DLD, sorry to hijack your thread. I'm glad to see another Spitfire project getting some attention! That 2.3T w/Supra IRS will be sweet. I'll be on the lookout for updates.

In reply to carwhisperer: The car was built for autocross and hillclimbs. It was built in 1990 for A Modified, which it still has to run. We wouldn't be competitive on a national scale today, as we have no wings. Still, the car is great fun to drive and VERY quick!

There hasn't been a lot of visible progress, our engine is being freshened up by one of our team members. Fortunately it was in reaqlly good shape, you could still see the crosshatch on the cylinder walls! I was going to upload some photos of the intake manifold mods I'm making this morning, but Imgur is being a little weird. I'll either get them in the album or post them here when I can.

Here are links to the photos I was referring to;

http://i.imgur.com/ftavxv7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wJRwnKG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jIZZMbY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JuZ879n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3sHEWot.jpg

A couple more photos of the manifold work. The second photo is where the EGR boss was cut off.

http://i.imgur.com/V69h5aS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fmb9D8x.jpg

Here are the photos from the previous posts. I had forgotten how to get them directly on. Photos show the manifold work I'm doing. The intake has 2 inches cutout to reduce overall height, and it's being gutted and rotated to facilitate a front mounted intercooler.

What did you use the cut way down in the four hole spacer like that?

I used a long blade in the SawzAll to cut out the web. I used a long 1" diameter end mill with a radius end to hog out the rest. I'll use a die grinder and a Dynafile to do the rest.

The upper intake pretty much done, just needs to be welded onto the base rotated 90 degrees to point forward. Second photo is the lower intake, opening up and knife-edging the ports. Almost done, a little more work in the center needs to be done.