Finally found out what actually fits in the Spitfire’s boot (aka trunk).
To set the record straight, that’s a FULL SIZE pie, and it only takes up HALF the trunk… so it could fit 2 STACKS of SEVERAL PIES EACH, if I was willing to remove the Safety Milk Crate full of Britcar indispensables like jumper cables, flashlight, tonneau, tire iron, ratchet set & carb/choke cleaner.
Before: the bane of my gearhead existence for over a decade…
After: STREET LEGAL & ON THE ROAD for the 1st time in this millennium!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again turning to my factory manuals and cache of highly specialized British Leyland certified mechanic’s tools (or maybe just a couple cold ones), I’m hard at work locating & prepping to cut mounting holes for seats & seatbelts in new carpet for the Spitfire with an awl, 3″ roofing nails and chalk. Seems to work out fine, just the same.
In the event of a gearbox explosion, counting on the upgrade to high-tech century ABS transmission cover to better serve my lower extremities than the OE rotting cardboard one at right.
Plastics! The Triumph Spitfire 1500 gearbox is now ensconced in 21st century better-restoration-through-chemistry in the form of an ABS gearbox cover. I feel safer already.
In the topless world of roadsters you don’t need heaters anyway, especially ones that leak on your feet once turned on. Added bonus for improved mpg: the Spitfire is now about 15 lbs lighter. At some point, restoring and ebay-ing this bad boy is on my list, but for now I’m more concerned with getting the car on the road.
Triumph Spitfire 1500 heater bypass installation – cleans up the plumbing in the engine bay a bit too!
Solid floors in the Spitfire! Picked up from the shop today with freshly welded floorpans (replacing the previous Tin Worm specials) & inner sills. One major step closer to street legality. 15 mile trip (with a ’95 insp. sticker – only in VT) also was the ’74 Spitfire’s first real road test in 21st century: managed it with just one seized brake caliper and a brief leak from the (otherwise useless) lame-duck heater on my shin. Gotta love the smell of brake pads and coolant in the morning…
New floorboards primed – waiting to paint body color and install new carpet. Watching the paint dry….
The downside of liberating the seats: A soon-to-be ex-floorpan. Reckon I’ll want to upgrade something with a little less rust & no daylight shining thru it between my ass and the pavement. Time to order some new floorpans and either learn how to weld, or book some shop time…
Given my sadistic determination to inspect what may (or may not) be left of the floorpans, coupled with the intervening 3+ decades having rendered the ’74 Spitfire 1500’s seats non-adjustable, it was time to evict them and see what gives (or doesn’t give)…
Not surprisingly, there was the obligatory one godforsaken rusty bolt that wouldn’t come along quietly. This last one had to sheared off with a mallet blow.
Also, not shockingly, removal of the seats and seat frames yielded more evidence that the previous owner hadn’t gotten the memo on rust that winter(s) he apparently left the Spitfire un-garaged with the top down. In Vermont. So much for that floorpan.
One down, one to go: Seat frames, prepare to meet your new pal, Rustoleum. After a generous helping of elbow grease and a thorough bout with a range of abrasives (ranging down from 100 grit sandpaper to steel wool), I was pleased to find there was still some actual steel left in the Spitfire’s seat frames. All things considered, they cleaned up nice!
