Mark Gehlhausen wrote concerning Spit 1500 thrust bearing mods:
>No, I never did receive a response.
Mark, from my archives I pulled the response below from mjb that he
made awhile back regarding this question. I would also suggest you
download some of the archives from the team.net server and search on
thrust washer/bearing. You may find other advice as well. Good luck.
OBTW you wrote:
>I have temporarily abandoned my restoration as I want a dependable car
>when finished, one that I can have confidence in.
I drove my Spit hard for eight years (used and abused through high
school and college) and it never left me stranded. I parked it when it
blew a head gasket (it was 15 years old at the time). I believe with a
proper restoration and subsequent care, you will find the Spit to be
very reliable.
(snip)
>I still do believe that the Spitfire body is one of the most
>attractive. I have always loved designs with shapely hips, am I the
>only one who feels this way?
No. That is why I kept the car and am restoring it--for the looks
as well as the fact we have been through a lot together.
Regards,
Pat Willems
'72 Spit Mk IV
mjb wrote concerning Spit thrust washers:
>>The car I am running this year has no thrust washer problems.
>>The way to fix this is to modify the end bearing cap to use two
>>sets of thrust washers, and pin them in place. This gives a
>>full circle of thrust surface instead of half, so the wear is
>>theoretically cut in half. I haven't pulled the pan to check
>>the bearings yet this year, so I can't say how well it is
>>working. By the way, that motor will be in the Spitfire I
>>bring to VTR this year, I just don't know at this point if it
>>will be in the '74 currently housing it or if we'll make enough
>>pogress on the early car to bring it along. We'll see.
>>
>>What one does is take your 1500 (or big bearing 1300) and a
>>couple sets of new thrust washers to a competent machine shop.
>>Finding one of thses may be the most difficult step. What the
>>shop should do is bolt up the rear cap to full torque, and
>>machine a slot in the cap that is the same size and shape as
>>the slot in the block, allowing the use of two thrust washers
>>on that face. They don't need to do the front side, as there
>>is not nearly as much wear in the other direction, the wear
>>almost all comes from reaction to depressing the clutch
>>diaphragm.
>>With a full 360 slot for the thrust washers, they would spin
>>uselessly and then fall out if you didn't so the next step.
>>Have the shop drill some holes, on the order of 1/8 inch, in
>>the block and the bearing cap. If the holes go all the way
>>through to the other side, it will make marking and drilling
>>the thrust washers easier. So with the slots milled and the
>>holes drilled, offer up the thrust washers and mark the hole
>>locations on the back. The "back" is the side without the
>>slots for oil, and usually has the part number stamped in it,
>>too. Then drill partway into the back of the washers. It may
>>be wise to drill a spare set or two of thrust washers at this
>>point, assuming you have some of the proper thickness. The
>>next step is to put some roll pins of the proper diameter into
>>the holes in the block, and leave them protruding a bit less
>>than the depth of the holes in the washers. Then tap the
>>washers into place, and you should have full circle, pinned
>>thrust washers that won't spin out and have the clutch work
>>funny and the crank machine itself into the block.
>>If you have an 1147 motor, or a small journal Mark 3 motor, the
>>same procedure can be used. It will take more care on the part
>>of the machine shop and in the assembly of the bottom end, as
>>there is less metal in those bearing caps, and the faces may
>>not be that parallel, so getting the cap and block lined up
>>properly during crank installation can be tricky. But it is a
>>worthwhile modification for Spit (and Midget 1500) lumps. I
>>may try to cobble up some drawings and put them somewhere in
>>the ftp tree.
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