Greg, I also haven't raced the Spitfire since February and am also getting
ready for Texas World Speedway in 2 weeks. Yesterday I finished the install of
my "newâ?? one piece competition axles and hardy spicer u joints. The axles
are new to me. I upgraded to long wheel studs. Replaced the pinion seal in
the diff. Rebuilt the brakes and got new tires. Tried to take it for a test
drive yesterday and the starter is fried. I push started it and ran it around
the block. The good news is my intermittent low speed rear wheel wobble seems
to be fixed although I never really identified what was causing it. The bad
news is that the car ran fine for a couple minutes and then decided to sputter
and try to die while I limped it home. Could be the battery getting weak as
the tach started reading too low and then totally stopped working about a
minute before it started running bad, the battery hasnâ??t been charged in 5
months and I donâ??t have an alternator
so itâ??s probably pretty weak. Or it could be starving for gas as it was low
when I parked it in the spring. When I shut it off the back bowl was about
half full, the front bowl was a quarter full or less.
It was amazing how stubborn some of the parts where. I suspect the u-joints
hadnâ??t been replaced in a few decades, Iâ??ll bet I spent 6 hours fighting
them just to get the old ones out. One of them I ended up having to drill and
cut the cap to pieces. I also had a terrible time getting the new wheel studs
to seat. The first two where so difficult that it took my full body weight on
a 4â?? cheater bar. I broke off one of the new studs and bent another. Good
thing I had extras. I ended up grinding the teeth down just little which got
them in with a reasonable amount of force. I think they are tight enough,
weâ??ll see. Also one of my trunnion bolts on the suspension upright at the
hub was so stuck that I never did get it out after hours of trying. Apparently
the bolt can become a part of the sleeve after a few decades of rusting, Iâ??ve
learned this is common. I found a â??junkâ?? upright in my stash of spares and
although it looked just as
rusted it came apart easily and is now on my new axle. I imagine my alignment
is pretty far off as I can see the toe in. Iâ??ll be in England from tomorrow
until the day before the race, but I think Iâ??ll be ready for TWS more or less.
Joe Alexander, this is the rainbow colored Spitfire that I bought from Tom
Chandler 2 years ago. Thanks for helping me find it, although it's been more
of a project than I expected... no surprise for an old racecar that's been
sitting up for 20 years, right?
Dusty Nicholson
1971 FP Spitfire #4
--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 9/8/15, Michael Moore <mmoore@mtmcpafirm.com> wrote:
Subject: Re: [Fot] What are you working on?
To: "Greg And Alison Blake" <ablake2@austin.rr.com>, "FOT" <fot@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2015, 7:16 AM
Early end of season for me, so took
engine out for rebuild. Found two cracks in stud bosses for
head bolts. So now I am tearing down one of my spare engines
to use that block, which so far looks in really good shape.
Thanks, Mike
62 TR4, Race car
63 TR4, Street car
Mike & Becky Moore
6050 Ruhl Road, Fairview, PA 16415
mmoore@mtmcpafirm.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Fot [mailto:fot-bounces@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Greg And Alison Blake
Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2015 11:06 AM
To: FOT <fot@autox.team.net>
Subject: [Fot] What are you working on?
Getting the 3 ready for CVAR's TWS last run redo in a couple
weeks.
Can't wait, I have not raced the 3 since February and we
have another new TxFOT member taking the drivers school.
Have a great Labor Day weekend.
Greg
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