Spitfire MKIV Restoration Newbie.

[LouisW]

Well I removed the door today to get a better look at the sill on the drivers side. I removed all the rust I could and sprayed it up with some zinc phosphate. Looks much better than before which I'm happy about.





I'm glad I'm now not looking at rust when dealing with my sills though! One more job down. Wasn't too difficult as i thought it'd be to remove the doors.

My skills with welding are OK with spot/ plug welds, better than with my seam welding anyway! I still have some gaps in between with my seam welds which I need to deal with.

[rotoflex]

Good luck finding an upholstery kit for that car.
New Tan is scarce enough, but I've never even seen that pattern of plaid offered anywhere.

[LouisW]

Quoted from rotoflex

Good luck finding an upholstery kit for that car.
New Tan is scarce enough, but I've never even seen that pattern of plaid offered anywhere.

It took me a minute, then i looked at the pictures... 😀

[Saltddirk]

Also looks like you have been in a crash, your airbag has gone off

D

[JensH]

Quoted from Bainzy

Jens, that (first repair you mention) wouldn't pass an MOT in the UK. Any repairs to structural panels would have to be seam welded unless the entire panel is replaced in the same manner it was originally made.

Different countries different rules me guess. Done right, from an engineering point of view, I wouldn't be afraid though.

Anyway - looking at the latest picture, my advise would be to cut that home made sill off and replace with a OE one. Not that expensive.

[byakk0]

Wow Louis, I sit down at my computer and look at your photos on a screen larger than my 7" tablet and that makes a huge difference. I agree that lower sill was probably a custom repair panel and would look much better replaced with a complete sill.
This photo shows it to be very wavy and not uniform at all


compare with mine: (note, the car does look a little bit better now)



~as for the plaid, Resche approves

http://www.triumphdetective.com

[LouisW]

Hi Hazen,
The drivers side sill really is wavy, it's much worse than the other side. Strength wise it's OK, but it's clearly not right and will do with a new middle atleast. The front of the sills seems to be in OK condition actually.

I will look into getting a new sill then I guess, or atleast a part sill!

Thanks for all the help.

Louis

[LouisW]

Well after cutting out the rust from my door, and removing said door, it was time to weld in some new sheet metal! Not flawless but I was able to recreate the bent seam over at the bottom aswell as creating the hole for the door trim. Do I need some sort of sealant along the bend at the bottom of the door? It's not welded here but I could easily weld it on all the way along. Abit of filler and some more weld dressing and it'll be fine. Better than shelling out for a new door anyway. Was quite chuffed with it really.

The only thing I still do with my welding is not hold down for long enough, so build weld up instead of into the metal... All a learning curve though.













Maybe not up to some peoples standards of welding on the forum, but it'll do for me

[Phwoar]

You're getting there, welding is just like everything else, practice makes perfect. I'm practicing on shelves for the shed before I go near the car.

[LouisW]

Well I'll take dodgyish welding which can be sorted with a grind and a bit of filler over any rusty holes any day . Do you think I should dress the welds on the underneath of the door or leave it as it is? It is just awkward to get into the tight areas with a grinder and my dremel doesn't work very quickly.

[byakk0]

If you can't see it without hunting for it is not a big deal if you grind of down or not,  but if the extra height of the weld gets in the way,  definitely smooth it.

Try turning the heat up a little, that should help you get flatter welds and better  penetration, and work in strips of about 1"at a time.

[ferny]

Smooth it as much as you can as it'll annoy you later and runs the risk of scratching the paint. It'll also allow you to get whatever treatment you want into the crannies. Something like these flap discs are great for getting in there as a new one has a nice flap and flexible edge. They really take metal off as well.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-flap-discs-115mm-40-grit/26022

[Clive]

I am a convert to flap discs and also the fibre abrasive discs. They are much "softer" on the hands as they cause much less vibration, and they leave a better finish. And I am certain they are faster too.
I get flapdiscs at the autojumble for a quid each, seem almost as good as the makita ones I have used.

[JohnD]

Louis,
That is a very lumpy weld!
I do know how difficult it is not to blow through the thin sheet of door panels, but suggest more power and a faster 'dither', the side to side movement in a "C" pattern that is how you get the lovely flowing looks of a pro's weld.

And a piece of aluminium clamped behind the work can help too - the weld will not stick to it, and it helps conduct excess heat away quickly, inhibiting blow-though.

John

[MadMitch82]

Also one of these is an absolute must for awkward areas

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cpf13-electric-power-file

[LouisW]

Well I've been up to a fair bit of work on the spitfire of late but still seem to be getting rather lumpy welds with gas-less. However they're OK when ground down and I do have lots of penetration. I rehung the doors to a relatively good position although still getting some paint chip on the inside, but will have another fiddle to deal with this another time. My doors gaps good though.









Anyway, I have cut away the sill on the drivers side as there was some rust on the inner a post as well as on the floor of the spit.







Cut all this out, welding in some panels onto the floor as well as to the A post. It's not pretty but VERY strong and all metal so a bonus to globs of fillers and underseal.



Made another panel for the bulkhead on the drivers side too ready to weld in. Put a small patch in but just waiting on some flap discs to sand down fully.



Today I cleaned up the bonnet hanging brackets along with the bolts so it's looking much better now. Also made a start on painting the underside of the spit bonnet but ran out of black gloss annoyingly...







Re-filled, sanded and primed the rear quarter again too as I wasn't happy with the join. Ordered a panel from paddocks for the otherside too, just waiting for it to arrive.

[WIMPUS]

Good work there Louis !

The rear lower bit looks very nice, a lot better then before !
Now you just need to drill a new hole for hanging the bumper, unless you are going bumperless 😀

[LouisW]

Cheers Wim,

It's still not perfect but just a little bit more filler on it and it'll be OK. The join is mainly covered by the bumper anyway I will need to drill yeah! Need some new drill bits first however as mine are all blunt

[LouisW]

Thought I'd compile a list of things to do for MOT:

1. Weld rear quarter repair panel
2. Weld sill end plates
3. Make and weld sill/ rear quarter panels.
4. Weld rear radius arm mount area
5. Fill and bleed brake/clutch master cylinders
6. Check transmission fluid levels/ fill where appropriate
7. Clean/ paint bonnet hinges and mount bonnet.
8. Add clamps to fuel lines
9. Disassemble shocks/ springs and replace top joint/rust removal
10. Reassemble front suspension
11. Replace shoes and drums in rear.

I think that's about it. Obviously I have more to do for personal mind, but these are just for my MOT.

[nang]

Sorry, haven't been following this thread closely. You're doing some good work but I reckon your welds would be much better using gas.
In no way a criticism but I think argon gives a much better weld.
Tony.

[byakk0]

Coming along Louis. Did you try turning the heat up on the welder yet? You'll get flatter welds, but watch the puddle closely or you'll blow through.

Slow going on my 6. Was hoping to have the body back on the chassis by now. Gonna be longer than I hoped.

[LouisW]

Thats a shame Hazen, whats the delay? How's your daughter doing now? Good I hope.

I have tried turning the heat up but then just blow through, I think gas would provide me with a much better weld and I am going to try to source some soon even if it's just a little bottle.

I hit a nice milestone today of getting the bonnet on!  I cleaned up the other hinge and after scavenging for all the bonnet clamps was able to find them, prime them and put them on. I am really happy with how the bonnet sits considering it's an aftermarket fibreglass one! Could do with a little more fiddling but I am chuffed to bits, almost as good as the old metal one 🙂

Does anyone know of any ways to protect bolts which I cleaned? I was thinking a blob of grease or some wd40? I just don't want them rusting and don't really want to paint them.

Pics:









Louis.

[byakk0]

Oh, I forgot you were using flux cored. Gas is easier to control, works better on thinner stock.

Abby keeps me busy on my time off. I work nights and my wife doesnt get much of a break, so I have to sneak time in for the GT6 when I can. I was hoping to have the body back on the chassis by now...

She's getting big. 9 months, 12 pounds 6 oz, 24 inches.
Hard to believe she was 1 pound 5 oz when she was born.

[MadMitch82]

Looking good there! Nice job. Nice to see your rear repair panel fitted ok. did you have to adjust it at all? the one i am in the process of fitting is 1/2 inch short left to right, so will have to add some metal to it.

[LouisW]

Hi mate,

No, it wasn't short left to right, unless I got it mounted too high up 😀 I did have to add some metal above however as I had to cut more of the rear quarter away than the repair panel covered.

I have pics earlier on in my thread I think.

Quoted from MadMitch82

Looking good there! Nice job. Nice to see your rear repair panel fitted ok. did you have to adjust it at all? the one i am in the process of fitting is 1/2 inch short left to right, so will have to add some metal to it.

Got a little job done today of cleaning up the bonnet stay and using some new nuts and bolts. The only issue I got into was the fastening on the inner wheel arch. On my old bonnet I used the stock bolt which has a bolt head, then a washer then spacer all welded together which went through a hole in the arch. The only problem I have on the fibreglass one is the hole isn't big enough for the "spacer" to fit into. I am just wondering if how the old bonnet had it was the proper way? No pics of that piece i'm afraid but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Here's a pic of the bonnet up, hasn't been this way in a fair while that's for sure! 😎