So first, the bad news.
The GT6+, that constant source of joy and agony, decided it had had enough of
its old, whining gearbox this morning. After a particularly bad crash into
second, there was this horrible sound of rattling metal in the first three
gears. I drove a lot in fourth coming into work. I'll probably use fourth even
more going home...
Looks like John Kipping will be getting a fax today. I'll report on the
condition of the GT6+ when I receive the new gearbox, and will report on getting
stuff from Kipping. His price was - well - unbelievable! A reconditioned
gearbox, no core, including shipping, is 220 pounds, or $350! Dan Parlow was
really pleased with him. I'm glad Dan found him, since I'd be stuck with a $999
unit from VB otherwise!
OK, good (??) news.
First load of Spitfire paraphanalia arrived Saturday. Got the Mark III and the
engine/gearbox/misc for the Mark I. The Mark III looks pretty sad. It is a sound
car, but the paint has oxidized into this pathetic flat maroon that is
sickening. A big flake of paint came off the bonnet, revealing about 1/8" of
paint jobs underneath. Being lazy, I'm taking the car in for media blasting to
get all that off. There's not much in the way of an interior, so I'm going to
strip it down completely, remove the windscreen frame, and take it in on a
trailer (I will have it running, however). They will blast it for about $300.
That seems high to me, but another place wanted $450! I just can't see scraping
all that paint off with stripper or sandpaper...
The engine for the Mark I was a surprise! It had already had the machine shop
work done. Bored to .040 over, new pistons (not installed), new camshaft,
reground crank, rebuilt head. They say the transmission is solid, but I'll have
it looked at before I install it. When you look at the great condition of the
body and the rebuilt mechanicals, this could be a sweet little car. A friend
of mine now seems quite serious about buying it - he's going with me Sunday to
get the body and frame. Too bad, I was beginning to want it myself...
So, I would like to announce that you can contact me for early Spit parts. I'll
be picking up two spare engines and a couple of spare gearboxes, too. I have a
couple of doors, two spare boot lids, and a spare tub w/bootlid, taillights,
etc.
I will also have a spare Mk II bonnet and a spare Mk III bonnet, although I'll
probably hang onto it, since I'll be driving a Mk III.
Am I getting too deep into this?
Larry
lesnyd@monsanto.com
|