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RE: 1979 Spitfire Door mech help?

To: "'Bob Greene'" <rgreene@whoi.edu>, Spitlist
Subject: RE: 1979 Spitfire Door mech help?
From: "Gosling, Richard B" <Richard.Gosling@atkinsglobal.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 17:19:40 +0100
Bob,

Try the exploded diagram on the Rimmers website at
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/spitfire/images/151a.gif - that's probably as
good as it's going to get!

One problem I found with my door mechanism is that there is a piece in the
outer handle mechanism, made of white plastic, that pivots when you pull the
handle.  There is a screw screwed into this piece that presses against a
plate on the catch mechanism itself.  If this screw is mis-adjusted it can
cause problems - basically if the screw is a little too far out, it has the
same effect as the outer door handle being slightly pulled, which stops the
inner door handle from having any effect, and also prevents you locking the
door (although what the point of locking a Spitfire door is I never worked
out!).  How a screw that was correctly set and has worked fine for 20 years
could move out of adjustment I have no idea, but it happened to me!

Another common fault is that there is a 'P'-shaped piece in the outer door
handle that slides when you pull the handle - the end of the handle itself
is connected to the bottom of the 'P'.  The end of this 'P' can break, so
the handle no longer pushes the 'P' around, thus making the outer door
handle ineffective.  The Rimmers picture states that they only sell complete
handle assemblies (b******s - why should you pay for an entire assembly when
all you need is one spring or something), but I have bought the 'P' piece
alone from TRGB - and the replacement was metal, not like the original
plastic, so less likely to break again.  However, I have no idea if these
are available anywhere in the US, I'm afraid!

Good luck, I hope you fix it, I know that door lock mechanisms were one of
the recurring issues with Daffy during my time with her...

Richard Gosling


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