> Hello to all,
>
> I have been working on and off on my '72 spit... The body is in..
> fair/poor condition, I was wondering if anyone on the list could help me
> descide if I should or should not take the body off and do a ground up
> rebuild. Or should I just patch it up and use it as is? Plase give me
> any information you can (advantages / disadvanteges)..
>
> Thanks!
>
> Pierre-Yves Morissette (pym@abacom.com)
> '72 spit
> Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada!
The advantages:
The sooner you start the body off rebuild the easier it will be
because there will be less "patched up" work to repair properly.
There will be more original reference points, eg panel flanges to
work from. As you do the work you can rustproof the body shell like
the factory never did, i.e. weld through primer between spotwelded
seams, painting inside of sills etc. You can get the bodyshell just
as you want it, ready for a superb paint job, safe in the knowledge
that the car won't just rust through again in six months time.
The disadvantages:
It will cost far more than you anticipate. You _will_ get
shipwrights disease, and suddenly you will find that only concours
spec. is good enough for you. It will take longer to do than you
anticipate, so you lose valuable driving time (my "three month
refurbishment" has turned into a full rebuild and I've been doing it
for a year now).
Advice:
Go for it! do the rebuild, but above all else: 1. repair the body
work before taking the tub of the chassis, and preferably keep a
steel hardtop in place whilst you do the work. 2. before removing the
tub from the chassis, fix the steel hardtop in place if you have one,
and weld angle iron across the door gaps to prevent the body from
sagging. If the body tub sags, it ain't easy to get back in
alignment.
Hope this helps,
Jonathan
'77 spitfire 1500
*************************************
Dr J.E.Miles
School of Biological Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
Great Britain
Tel. 0121-414-5884
Fax. 0121-414-5925
j.e.miles@bham.ac.uk
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