Have any of you fellow TR owners experienced a demanding, needy
attitude as part of a factory installed option on Spitfires, in
particular Spitfire Mark III's?
I bought mine to be a driver requiring little to make it
operational so that I would have a TR to drive while I take my
62 TR4 off the road for some major work. The TR4 has never been
restored, only fixed to keep it running, in all the 32 years I
have owned it. I am also doing a frame-off restoration on a 67
TR4A with less than 35 000 original miles but it will be awhile
yet before seeing the road.
I put about $600 worth of parts into the Spitfire to get it
through the safety check so that it could be driven. After it
passed the safety check, I drove it for about 50 miles when it
dumped all the brake fluid down the firewall, thereby removing
all the new paint.
This was an opportunity to re-sleeve the brake M/C, replace all
the brake pipes, install braided stainless steel hoses, and
change over to silicone fluid. Now, I can drive it and get the
rest of the TR family back on schedule. Wrong!
Once on the road again, the battery seemed to keep going flat.
After much investigation, the fault was traced to the lack of a
grounding strap (cursed DPO) and a contact in the voltage
regulator that had broken off. Two easy fixes and now I can
direct my attention to my long time friend, the 62 TR4---nope!
After another 100 miles, the steering had about 45 degrees of
steering wheel movement before the wheels would begin to
turn---not a lot of fun! Well, I had already bought a complete
set of poly-urethane bushings to eventually rebuild the
suspension (thanks to Ted Schumacher at TSI Automotive in
Pandora, Ohio) so the parts were already on hand. That done, now
I can turn my attention to the TR4---nuh-uh!
After another 20 miles, the clutch started to behave badly and
shortly thereafter, fluid started to leak from the clutch
M/C---taking with it some more of the bulkhead paint. Again, the
parts were on hand because I figured to eventually rebuild the
clutch slave and M/C as well as replace the pipe. During the M/C
rebuild, the piston spring broke due to what looks like a
fatigue break. A suitable replacement was eventually found (more
about that in another posting) and the clutch was back in
service, also filled with silicone fluid. While the dash support
and transmission cover were out to allow bleeding of the slave
cylinder, I thought I might as well install the gearbox bushing
kit I picked up. Since getting this car, shifting gears has been
a real adventure! A push straight forward could get anything
from reverse through third!
While working in the engine compartment, I noticed that all the
rad hoses, the steering rack boots, the bulkhead sealer gaskets,
and the heater hoses that I had installed only one year ago
(less than 200 miles) were cracked! I suspect one of the big
three suppliers that specializes in Spitfires either uses
inferior products or keeps them on the shelf so long that they
get dry rot. I'll see how the new ones hold up and whether the
supplier will do anything about it before I bad-mouth them here.
These rotted rubber pieces were all replaced with new parts from
a different supplier.
While working on the rad and heater hoses, I noticed that the
anti-freeze solution that had only been in the car for 12 months
was all brown and the rad cap (and later other components) was
all covered in a brown mud-like substance. I then flushed the
rad and engine block before replacing the antifreeze.
Another 20 miles today and what a difference that gearbox
rebushing kit made! No slop at all! Cruising through the city, I
saw a yellow TR6, parked but with the top down. It eventually
started to rain so I had to put up my top. Oh, Oh, what is
that...!
Now I smell the distinctive odour of gear oil! Will I ever get
the opportunity to just drive this car? All the while, the TR4
has sat patiently under cover in the drive waiting its turn!
When will this needy child grow up? Of course the gearbox oil
seal will be next, but then what? Is this a common trait of
Spitfires or does mine just have a mind of its own? I thought we
were supposed to drive them, not them us. Why can't Spitfires be
better behaved like my trusty friend of 32 years?
Cheers
Keith
_ _
| \ / | Keith R. Stewart
| \ / | 75 Camden Road
| \_/ | London, Ontario
| 62 | TR4| N5X 2K2
| 67 |TR4A| Canada
| 70 |Spit| Home: (519)660-1916
__| |Mk3 |__ E-Mail: kstewart@wwdc.com
| | | | |
\T \___|___/ H/
\ R I U M P /
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