Fizzy

I used rhe capri as my daily for about 4 years, which ended up much the same way as the spitfire - mechanically sound and well looked after but rust and paint issues beyond my ability. I eventually sold it to a local lad who restored it, I saw it around town for a few months with fresh metal and paint, but its currently sorn so who knows. I definitely felt a bit jealous when I saw him bombing about in it. after 8 years of the spit then capri (both bucket list cars) and all the foibles of daily classic motoring on a budget, I decided to get something a bit more modern and luxurious. no more de-icing the inside of the car for me! so I brought an alfa romeo gt (another one on the list) and it was like getting into the starship enterprise. electric windows! heated leather seats ! electric mirrors! a heater that is worth actually turning on! no ice inside the car! I still have it, despite it suffering a major (common) engine failure, it is now rebuilt. it's amazing to drive, looks great, is beautiful inside, but it is a diesel and sounds like one.  however 2 months ago I became a dad and the bloody baby seat doesnt fit past the front seat, so now it needs to be replaced by something with 4 doors. I did also briefly own an insane mk1 TT while the alfa was being rebuilt. 280bhp, quattro, and it being tiny made for a very fun car. which rinsed my wallet on a weekly basis. and my dad still has the spit. nobody has been allowed in the passenger seat for months because they would probably go through the floor, the boot floor was only attached along 1 edge, both bottom rear quarters are AWOL, and obviously the boot lid is bubbling on the bottom edge. on the plus side, forward of the doors seems very solid, apart from the passenger floor.

I hope I'm not butting in here as I've been away a long long time. but that puts me in a bit of a unique position. I'd say it's been 7 or 8 years since I was last on this forum, and upon coming back to get some info, my initial reaction was one of confusion. the layout seems all over the place, not very clear. I had to go through the 'forgotten password' action and it was fiddly and a bit ambiguou I'm browsing on my phone, and from what I remember of the old forum, it now seems very slow, old fashioned, out of date and not a user experience that one expects in 2020. definitely feels like a backwards step since I was last here. I never used to use the website so cant comment on that, but I remember the forum looking fresher, busier, livelier, more streamlined. clearer to navigate. the content of the forum was always second to none, as was the general 'feeling' around the users. for new, or maybe even returning users, the layout,speed and working of the forum could easily be enough to just say "cant be arsed with this I'll look on Facebook"

oh, cant remember that happening with photobucket when i used to use it. oh well.

hello everybody I used to be an active member here, I brought a mk3 spitfire as my first car 11 or 12 years ago, drove it as my daily for 4 years, then sold it to my dad and brought a capri. he has been using it on and off since, but hes now on furlough and has decided its prime time to treat the many rust problems and crap paint the car has gained over the years. so I'm back for some help and pointers.   I seem to remember there was lots happening when I stopped posting, when I got my capri, and wonder what happened to some of it.   there was somebody doing an amazing nut and bolt job on a wedgwood blue mk3 spit. somebody scratch building an aluminium GT6 shell. and an Olympian in scotland who I actually had  a phone convo with, I think he had a fibreglass le mans replica. i sold the spit to my dad in the interest of keeping it within arms reach for when I moved out and got a home with a garage and drive so I could buy it back. I've moved out, but no drive or garage so its in my best interest to help him keep it on the road! after another 4 years of using the capri as a daily, and encountering the inevitable rust problems associated with it, i sold it and brought an alfa romeo GT. the engine ate itself, so I briefly owned a 280bhp Audi TT mk1. it was fun but expensive to run, and once the alfa was fixed the audi went. hope everybody has been keeping well. I wanted to add a photo of my spitfire but not sure how....

post count not even in double figures before the smut appeared. good effort.

why ? my roof has a flap with press studs on it that you press around the bar above your head. the rest of it was tight enough.

disaster ! now starting to bolt everything back together to get my car finished and sold, but im stuck at the first hurdle. despite bagging everything as it came off the car, I have somehow lost the 3 screws that hold the lock/catch mechanism onto the door. is there anywhere I could get these locally, or am I going to have to wait to get some posted to me ? I need the doors on so the car is watertight and I can bin the cover and spray the tub. or if anybody has some kicking about spare.......

disaster ! now starting to bolt everything back together to get my car finished and sold, but im stuck at the first hurdle. despite bagging everything as it came off the car, I have somehow lost the 3 screws that hold the lock/catch mechanism onto the door. is there anywhere I could get these locally, or am I going to have to wait to get some posted to me ? I need the doors on so the car is watertight and I can bin the cover and spray the tub. or if anybody has some kicking about spare.......

whats people thoughts on hubcentric spacers as opposer to normal ones ? i dont see it mentioned very often on here, but on the capri forum im on if a spacer isnt hubcentric and is more than about 10mm people dont dare go near them.

this used to happen to me, unfortunately cant remember how i fixed it. mine used to go off if i turned left or if i went over a bump, was pretty amusing.

be aware that stuff shrinks.

pull the capret back behind the pedals and see if the paint is all wrinkly and soft. if it is, the master is leaking.

i have some electronic ignition to put in the dizzy of my capri, which is about the same age your tina. what did you end up doing ? mine isnt pertronix but ive not even taken it out of the box yet.

the door on my 67 mk3 cracked just like that aswell.

i agree about the loudness getting old. i used my spit everyday for 5 years, and the single box pheonix system i have at first sounded insane and put a huge grin on my face. 5 years later, i wish had something more tame, something that noise wise, sat between the std exhaust and the pheonix.

what is std ? when i got my spit mk3 it had 3.5j wheels on it, but most people seem to consider 4.5j as the std size for spitfires.

i had to do the same fitting to a mk3 spit. i changed the flange on the prop for one from the non od prop i took off. as to which end of the prop goes where, ive seen soem people say it doesnt matter, but i always thought, and seems to be the general consensus, to put the moving end of the prop at the diff to help take up any movement in the rear suspension.

yes you need the plate you've labelled C. the A and B parts come as a one piece unit these days. it confused me when i done mine.............

I think I've got 175's on my 4.5j wheels. I just brought 4 185 70 13's toyo 350's for my Capri for 160 quid delivered off the web. Fortunately I'm getting them fitted etc for free.

i always use motofacts. just take the old filter with me, or show the guy in the shop while its ont he car, and they go get one from out back. costs about 6 quid.

Was the choke on during the test?

im near caister aswell incase you have any problems, although i dont really travel anywhere so all i could offer really was somewhere to keep them until you get something sorted to collect them or whatever. pm me if you need me, this isnt part of the forum i frequent. im not even really sure why im here  :-/

probably depends on the dish of the wheel, but i always managed to get a ring spanner on mine, at least enough to tighten it up. not a standard wheel though;

i dont think a parcel needs to have a return address on for the PO to take it. i have never put one on, and have no trouble sending anything. he made a cock-up not selecting better postage though. also, i always get asked if the value of the parcel is over 40 quid (i think) if sending just regular first class. if he only used a regular postage service, as appears to be (first, second class or std parcels) he would have been asked the same question. and id have thought IF he owned up and said "yeah its worth 400 quid", they wouldnt have let him send it without a signature/insurance.

1344 wrote:I might just leave it standard (scared) I'll have a chat with Mr mike papworth when I ring him later i've got a dismantled 3-rail box from a mk3 spit/herald. its about 98% complete, just missing some bushes. nothing looked too worn last time i saw the bits. yours if you want to come get it and want something to experiment with, maybe next time you're in 'Lowestarft'. its just sat there doing nothing, seems a waste to weigh it in. got a non OD prop going spare aswell  ;D  ;) are gearbox internals/cases common enough that i shoudnt worry about binning the lot ?