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Steve's Triumph Spitfire 1600
The ongoing saaaaaaga
Stock Repairs
Select the headers below for more information on that particlular subject.
Frayed Condensor Wire
Not long after purchase I noticed that the wire to the condensor was frayed and had only a few strands left. It was still working so I left it until I had time... of course it finally failed on my way to meet my family in Vancouver. Quick road-side fix as I was confident I knew what it was.
Coolant Hose Failure
Again, delayed regular maintenance lead to this failure (and some squawking by my brother :) ) in Campell River. Fortunately a great guy in an El Camino stopped and gave me a lift to the closest Canadian Tire and back. Easy fix only because of the good nature of that Islander.
Half-Shaft Revelation
Interesting discovery while doing a home wheel alignment; I found that a PO had replaced the passenger's side axle and Radius Arm with earlier versions, including the 1" shorter axle. Suprised the car wasn't handling much worse than it was.
Zenith Stromberg Rebuild
Standard stuff.
Many years later, while tuning the same carburetor my hand slipped off the tool and I inadvertantly twisted and ripped the rubber diaphram without knowing it. The test drive revealed an engine that would not go above about 2000 RPM if I recall. Not too tough to figure that one out.... fortunately I had an old one on hand.
Softtop Replacement
Not an overwhelming task, but it did seem daunting before I started.
Flywheel Ring Gear Replacement
After years of use the Ring Gear finally was damaged enough that I was having to regularly nudge the car slightly to move the gear alignment to allow the Starter to engage. Pretty easy fix in the end.
Dashtop Repair
I've seen many dashtop repairs done with Great Stuff Foam and then covered with vinyl. Certainly inexpensive and effective at hiding cracks and foam but I have yet to see one that looks good. Everyone I've seen shows every imperfection beneath and in the heat of the sun develops waves that would give the Beach Boys a woody.
I was very close to replacing the entire foam, but cheaped-out and went with an ABS overlay. Turned out great, never waves, and was pretty straight forward to install. The only negative thing I've seen so far is that when my dash cam fell off the window during an AutoCross it marred the surface with a tiny white mark; I have yet to address it, but it is barely noticable.
New Battery
I measured just about every battery on display at Canadian Tire, Part Source, and Napa. In that process and my countless dealings with crappy lead posts and clamps I decided that I would much prefer a side terminal set-up. Fabulous choice, so much less hassle than those clamps. Used an Exide 7275 battery.
Fuel Level Sending Unit
With poor readings I thought there was an issue.
Initially replaced the Voltage Stabilizer, but that didn't make much difference.
Tried a new sending unit and eventually just bent the arm on the sending unit to get a somewhat accurate reading at the Empty level. Seemed to me that an accurate reading at Full was much less important, especially considering how tough it is to tell when one has filled this tank appropriately anyway.
Rear End Repair and Paint
I had the misfortune to be rear-ended by a large pick up truck in 2005. The damage was actually pretty minor and when the insurance company paid to have the repairs done I paid the repair facility more to have the entire car painted. It was not a great place so the car looked good from far (and far from good).
The following year I was rear-ended again, only this time by a semi. The damage was still not that bad, just cosmetic, but the insurance wanted to write the car off. After much arguing I managed to get a cash settlement to fix it myself. Gave me some great experience with body work and painting, including blending into an already painted surface. Turned out okay but eventually it deserves better workmanship.
Home Wheel Alignment
These cars are so easy to work on. I'd never have thought to do my own alignment, however, I read enough times now how guys have done it with much success.
Mine turned out great, achieved slight Toe-In front and back, and Negative Camber on both axles as well.
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