On Sunday, Dennis Riggin wrote: I gave my son my parts Spit so he could do
a frame off resto and much to my surprise, he wants to put a small block V-8
under
the bonnet. I told him I didn't think it would work well due to weight and
space. I
told him I thought handling would sufer and clearance for the tranny
was also a problem. Does anyone out there have any experience =
with such a conversion? Any advice to pass along to him would be greatly
=
appreciated.
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Dennis - I can tell you from personal experience that a V8 almost certainly
will not fit without MAJOR front end surgery, including widening of the
frame rails, and pretty severe cutting of the firewall (bulkhead to those of
you in the UK). When I found my 64 Mk I Spit, I also thought about dropping
in a V8, preferably a lightweight all aluminum Rover 3.5 liter unit (which
you probably know as the old Buick 260 V8).
After carefully measuring everything I ended up doing a full frame off
restoration of the Spit and leaving it almost entirely stock. Your son
MIGHT get a small Chevy V6 to fit, since one of the problems with the V8 is
length (go measure the distance from the firewall to the radiator - it is
only 18 inches!!) Plus, as you correctly noted, the weight will affect the
handling even if he does manage to stuff a V8 under the bonnet (which of
course will also require significant metal work to clear the motor, intake
manifold, carburation, etc.
Grassroots Motorsports is in the middle of an engine swap involving a
Spitfire - they are putting in a Mazda rotary engine and trans, which I hear
is not that difficult relative to stuffing a V8 or V6 under the bonnet. I
would suggest that your son pick up a copy of their magazine (actually, the
project has been going on for a few months and he should try to get the back
issues as well). This will give him some idea of the amount of time, money
and effort he will need to expend to finish it off.
Since you asked for advice, I'll throw in my $.02 worth - look, there aren't
a whole lot of old LBCs running around these days, and there are likely to
be fewer as time passes. My experience has been that most people truly
appreciate a car that has been restored to original specifications (or with
appropriate PERIOD modifications such as Lucas Flamethrower driving lights,
or a Shurrock blower, or dual Webers) rather than one that is a "one-off"
conversion. And while I do not mean to suggest that we should all build our
LBCs in a manner that appeals to others (after all, they're OUR cars), I do
think that over time your son will come to appreciate a stock original spec.
restoration job far more than a clapped out V8/V6 conversion of the
Spitfire. Call it maturity, call it wisdom (call it senility and
sentimentality), but the aging process seems to make one appreciate
originality over raw horsepower. Kepp us all posted on your son's progress.
Ross D. Vincenti
64 Spitfire 4 (undergoing surgery)
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