Hi, I've been on the list occasionally, but it's taken a while for me to get
the Spitfire roadworthy (e.g., legal in emissions land). I bought a house
out in the country, so I no longer had to worry about emissions.
So, my '76 1500 is now on the road. I thought I'd pass along a few things
I've figured out while working on the car:
1. If your Spitfire, like mine, has a non-stock carb (in this case a Weber
DGAV), headers, ported-polished manifold, etc., then you've probably
experienced the high oil pressures associated with this. The pressure
relief valve is not enough to keep oil pressure at the right level and the
black stuff will eventually find a way out somewhere. In my case it blew a
hole in the oil pan gasket. How to fix it? Well, there's a company that
sells a receptacle to catch the overflow, but it strikes me that that
doesn't really cure the problem. So, fitment of an old MGB vented oil
filler cap (I believe from the B-series motor) works great. The old Triumph
vented cap is too large for the 1500, but the MGB guy fits perfectly. It's
only held in place by pressure, but you could spot weld two retainers to
hold it in.
2. Removal of the rear overriders produces a much cleaner rear end look.
The job's pretty easy to do. Also, if the arm rest covering the emergency
brake is really ratty, removal of it actually looks kinda nice.
3. On mine, the light switch went all wonky--one of the contacts in the
switch went bad. However, by jumping the dash lights onto the headlight
rail (or vice-versa) you can make them all work again. You won't have a
parking light position, but I don't think that's an issue.
I'm sure there's more, but it's not coming to mind. Hope to see you folks
on the road.
|