Hey guys,
Thought you might be able to help me. I just bought a '78 Spitfire (pray
for me) and am trying to reverse 25 years worth of problems (ok, maybe
only 24!) The car is mechanical in very good condition, though a front
suspension rebuild is in order, among a few other odds and ends. One
problem that is unacceptable for driving is that the brakes squeal like a
pig. Brakes look new and rotors seem to be like new. I believe the
pads are semi-metallic. The PO mentioned that the brakes worked well
after being replaced, but then started to do this. I noticed that it
seems to be missing the metal brake shims which I assume could be part of
the problem. Is this a problem typical of Spitfires, or something that
can easily be rectified by putting the shims back in?
I also spent some time trying to tighten the steering column mounts as
the column has a fair amount of play. Every bolt tightened helped make
the column more solid, however it seems that part of the bracing is not
connected and I'm not sure where it attaches. If I could get this fixed,
I think it would go a long way to making the steering more secure. Hard
to explain, but here goes: On the right side of the column, there is a
round "brace" which goes somewhere from the column to behind the center
dash section and stops there. The end of the brace is flattened with a
hole for attachment. I would assume it attaches to the metal dash frame,
but don't see anything obvious. Is there a part missing? The end of the
brace is situated behind the center section of the dash, so if you were
to remove the center section of dash, it is sitting right there behind
that dash section. Is that confusing enough? LOL! I can send a picture
to anyone who is willing to tackle this one.
It also looks as if some of the parts are unobtainium new such as
bumpers, side light chrome, etc. Any suggestions?
TIA
Dale Osterndorf
'76 TR6
'78 Spit
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