SITE MEMBERS' CARS

Work has resumed recently after a long break. Working on hardtop refurbishment and stripe designs and paint.

Have recently fixed panel alignment gaps by shortening door heights by 1/4" and lengthening doors overall. Also lengthened custom bonnet by 1/2".

I'm working through issues such as , wiring gremlins, body works blemishes such as mistakes in my respray job.... lots of fiddly stuff that is very hard.

Current State : Undergoing a full Body-Off Restoration.
Full rolling chassis complete - body welded up - primed, colour and clear coated, compounded and reassembling at present...

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Specifications

Paintwork was originally some kind of bright red - then mimosa yellow (as I found it). Now it's metallic Rose Grey Effect (silver). Datsun 1200 GX motor (1,171cc). A post '73 version of the block (as the distributor is located towards the back of the block). The GX motor comes standard with flat top pistons for 10:1 compression, 260deg duration cam, big oval port alloy head with heart shaped combustion chambers, balanced crank, 9.5Kg flywheel, double valve springs, double roller timing chain, 4 into 2 cast exhaust manifold, and five main bearings = all good for a factory redline of 6,800RPM. In standard form the GX motor weighs in @ 87Kg, has a bore of 73mm and a stroke of 70mm, giving max of 83HP @ 6,400 and max torque of 72lb-ft @ 4,400RPM. The twin Hitachi (some call them Mikuni) carbs have been replaced by twin 1-1/2" SU's with custom linkages etc. running Dolomite needles at present. Datsun 4spd gearbox. Le Mans style fibreglass replica bonnet made by an ex aeronautical engineer in standard form and then modified by yours truly (vents and cut back headlights). Dolomite Sprint Alloys (standard mk1 spitfire brake calipers ground down to fit inside the rim). Bridgestone SR 211 205/60/13's. Solid TriumphTune Alloy Rack Mounts. 2>1 1.25" pipes run into a flexible joint and then 1-3/4" pipe runs to the diff. This splits to two 1-3/4" pipes and finishes in two straight through silencers with chrome tips. The whole thing is mild steel and custom built by yours truly. Custom fuel delivery on a removable plate - using a 1980's Subaru 3.5PSI Electronic Facet-type fuel pump prefiltered by a aeronautical glass filter and post filtered by a RYCO - fed through a FuelStar Tin catalyst for lead-free operation. Standard fuel lines are routed around the front crossmember of the chassis (under the sump) to the right-hand side of the car. RAZO pedals. Chromed rocker cover with stainless steel hex nuts. Ram-Flo Air filters. Lucas 17ACR Alternator.

Dash rewired to single in/out terminal for ease of removal. De-badged. Ashley Laminates Fibreglass fastback hardtop (currently being restored and repainted). Remote Oil Filter. Compression test shows 160, 152, 150, 150 psi across cylinders 1,2,3,4 when warm. Suspect this may go up when the motor is hot. Apparently a 1200GX should read 192psi. Thermo Switch triggered Smiths electronic engine cooling fan. Modified bulb holders from a 2500 S fitted inside the tail lights. SABELT TRW 3 Point harnesses. Custom machined billet alloy block inserted under the leaf spring to lower the rear by 1". Stiffening braces and support boards for the panel work above the fuel tank. 330lb front springs with 1" effective lowering height. Spax adjustables fitted all round on a setting of 7/10 clicks. TriumphTune rear Anti-Roll Bar. TriumphTune solid alloy steering rack mounts. Programmable 2 stage advance High-Energy ignition system with keypad security - currently set to a very mild and early advance. A standard A12 distributor has had the weights wired together and the advance plate locked on full. The vacuum advance has been removed and a plate mounted over the access hole. Bosch GT40 High Energy Ignition Coil. Bosch 3 wire (pre-heated) O2 Sensor. Modified OBX Daytona Lightweight seats on modified seat tracks. Custom dash configuration - original tacho and speedometer but with chrome surrounds, Ammeter, Vacuum, Dimmer, Hazards, 2500 Fuel guage, Oil Pressure pod directly in front of driver. MOMO leather and alloy gear knob. Modified 13" steering wheel (re-drilled Holden mounting configuration) 7/8" Front Anti-Roll Bar. 1982 model Toyota Corolla Radiator on custom mount brackets with 90psi cap and overflow into a 2500 bottle.

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Planned modifications

• Investigating front spoiler designs.
  
• Rear Battery conversion planned.

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  Datsun 1200 conversion notes:
  
  Plenty of people seem to be curious about converting the spitty motor over to a Datsun 1200 (A12) motor. Seeing as I can't be bothered typing out emails to everyone that asks I figured I'd note what I've observed from the conversion in my car (that a prior owner had done). So here goes...
  
  From observation (and not having previously owned a spitfire) the changes are as follows:
  • An extra cross member has been welded at the back of the datsun gearbox on the existing chassis rails.
    
  • The datsun sump was cut up and welded to a new shape so that it would clear the steering rack.
    
  • The carbs are on the other side so some basic plumbing changes have been done. Fuel lines on other side - ignition gear (coil) moved to other side of bulkhead.
    
  • The datsun is sometimes a cable clutch (well mine is) so the clutch master cylinder was removed and a sleeve welded onto the bracket to accept the cable. An alteration therefore must have been made to the end of the clutch pedal arm.
    
  • The manifolds are on the opposite side so some exhaust work would have been done. Mine is custom at present and is CRAP. Some two-bit idiot with no idea about gas flow welded something together....
    
  • The radiator hoses come out the opposite directions on the block so an alternate radiator has been used. A radiator specialist told me mine was a renault radiator. It has had an altered bracket used to hold it to the chassis.
    
  • The datsun 4spd box has the selector in a different spot so the gear stick has been reshaped (I assume by blowtorch) to clear the existing hole in the transmission tunnel. There is a pic on the site of the bent selector rod.
    
  • The oil filter pokes out directly where the steering rack is so some magic trix have to be performed to get an oil filter in there. Mine is attached by a remote housing and adapter plate to provide clearance for the steering rack. The remote connector has in/out hoses that swoop around to a filter mounted on the bulkhead.
    
  • The engine mounts seem to be a simple bracket assembly of mild steel which has been shaped in such a way that it accepts the standard spitfire engine mounts.
    
  • The prop shaft has been built by a custom prop shaft business (it still has a sticker on it for the business).
    
  • The datsun gearbox and original datsun car would have been the same 4.1:1 dif as my spitfire so that's all cool and the speedo drive seems to match the spitfire speedo.
    
  • I can send pics but let me know the areas you're interested in. Most stuff is on my page.

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http://www.triumphowners.com/300

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