williamcolumbine.blogspot.com
Will's Spitfire Blog: May 2010
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Wednesday, May 12, 2010. Helicoils How To. (And How Not To! I got home today to find my Helicoil. Kit waiting on the doorstep. I threaded the alloy rear oil seal housing at the weekend and decided it'd be a better idea to repair it rather than buy a new one and risk threading that too! It's cost efficient too, a new housing would've been £20 whereas. Kit was £15! I got my kit from Chronos. The kits are specific to a certain bolt size and contain around 25 Helicoils.
williamcolumbine.blogspot.com
Will's Spitfire Blog: March 2011
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Saturday, March 05, 2011. There's not been much to write about going on with my car recently. I've been slowly working on the bonnet to get it back into tip top condition before I weld any new panels to it. This was annoying but easy to fix so I set about making a 'corner piece' from a bit of scrap panel. This was easy enough but made slightly more complicated by the fact there was a spot weld drill hole in the middle of the intended join between the two panels!
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Will's Spitfire Blog: October 2011
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Monday, October 24, 2011. My first project on the lathe is complete! I've created three knobs for the end of the feed handles on my pillar drill. They're not very complex, which is why I thought they would be a good first project to get used to the lathe! This is the drill as purchased - with nasty black plastic knobs. The freshly turned aluminium replacements! I think they look pretty good! If anyone knows a good tip for stopping the chuck marking a previously wor...
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Will's Spitfire Blog: October 2010
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Sunday, October 17, 2010. The Round Britain Reliability Run! Better late than never! Here are some of my photos from the RBRR. And that's it really! The car was flawless all the way around and we didn't have anything to do other than just drive. It was great fun and if you're thinking of doing it then go for it! It really is the ultimate test of man and machine! Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). The Round Britain Reliability Run! Holden Vintage and Classic.
williamcolumbine.blogspot.com
Will's Spitfire Blog: February 2012
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Saturday, February 04, 2012. More Pictures from the NEC Classic Motor Show 2011! At the time of writing, it's covered with snow outside and it's absolutely freezing. I spent some time working on the car this afternoon but it's not easy keeping momentum up when you've got a couple of hundred spot welds to drill out and you can see your own breath! While warming up with a cup of tea, I found a few more photographs from the NEC in November. Enjoy!
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Will's Spitfire Blog: September 2010
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Saturday, September 18, 2010. I wrote this blog entry a month or so ago but I was so busy preparing for the Round Britain Reliability Run I never got a chance to post it. So, finally, here it is. After it failed again on the same dark country road as before I decided it was probably time to fit some headlight relays! Now to start the wiring. At the front of the car I crimped it into a butt connector along with another two short lenghts to supply both of the relays&...
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Will's Spitfire Blog: July 2010
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Saturday, July 17, 2010. I also took the time to replace the clumsy old exhaust clamps with Mikalor band clamps. I decided to make a better effort at sealing the gear tunnel and renewed all the fixings, replaced the sealing foam and also made an aluminium cover for the slave cylinder inspection panel. I also repainted the gear pattern on the gearknob before I refitted it. It looks good! I'm just waiting on the leather seat covers now! Monday, July 05, 2010. So far ...
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Will's Spitfire Blog: November 2011
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Sunday, November 20, 2011. Okay, I've got a bit distracted recently with the lathe, the tool trolley and my trip to the NEC. It's time to get back to the Spitfire! It's just amazing how decent a car can look and yet still hide all manner of bodgery! This weekend I turned my attention to the drivers side rear wing. It seemed solid enough but when I passed over it with a 'Dronco' clean and strip disc I was in for a nasty surprise! Finding the wing in such poor condit...
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Will's Spitfire Blog: The Shark!
http://williamcolumbine.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-shark.html
Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Thursday, August 09, 2012. Sorry for the lack of Spitfire news recently - I've been working on 'The Shark'! That's the nickname my girlfriend's gives my Mercedes Benz 300CE 24! I bought it last year as a bit of fun. It was cheap, fast, had ruched leather and seemingly only needed a very small amount of work to make it a very usable modern classic. Unfortunately, that small amount of work has been increasing by the month! It's definitely a '5 spanners' job! Remove r...
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Will's Spitfire Blog: January 2011
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Restoring a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500. Sunday, January 30, 2011. I've spent the last month or so practicing my welding whilst continuing to strip down the bonnet. I'm quite enjoying learning to weld. I'm getting good results and it seems to be quite straightforward. If I'm honest, I think I'm being flattered by my equipment! Replacing the alloy headlamp cowls is straightforward enough. I actually bought a drivers side cowl on eBay for 99p. The listing ended on Christmas day and nobody else bid! View my ...
