Another Cordite Is Born ...

[Paul L]

A gap in the weather...
Well Sunday was a complete wash out, and it looked like this afternoon would match it.
So I rearranged my chores to see if I could get some things done this morning while is was dry.

First job was to clamp & weld the panels to cover the original Spitfire de-mister vents.







Then I cleaned up the metal on both the new heater vent panel and the bulkhead.
After drilling a few holes to allow me to "puddle" weld, in went the passenger side panel.





As it lies up with the edge of the dash it is "invisible" when viewed from the front.
( Even though this area will be covered by the wooden dash, I will tidy it up a bit first. )



Unfortunately, the driver's side did not go in quite as easily.
It started off well enough when I put a few welds on to holds the bottom section in place.



But it was clear that the bend in the top did not lie up properly with the bulkhead.



So I had to start at one end, weld a bit, hammer a bit, weld a bit, etc.
But eventually I got more than enough of the panel welded on for it to be properly supported.



The edge of this panel does stick out a little bit under the dash when viewed from the front.



But as it will be painted black, it should not be easy to spot when finished.

Next I bolted the heater and bulkhead connecting pipes back on for some more mock up work.
I wanted to check if I needed to build something to support/guide the heater hoses.
As it turned out, the hoses look fine as they are.
( Although it took a while to get the right lengths to avoid any kinks in the curves.





There was still plenty of room for the heater ducting above these hoses.



I just needed to work out the best location for this "Y" joint.



I took my time double checking the ducting routes and lengths required before finally making my cuts.



This is the final duct routing from heater to vents.





And is the view from the front showing plenty of room for the instruments.



I know it seems odd to be finalising the heater when I still haven't bolted the frame to the chassis.
But it has been much easier to get the welding done when I can rotate the bulkhead with relative ease.
Attempting to do anything like this with the bulkhead fixed in position would be a major pain.

There are still a few other jobs to do on the bulkhead before it will be ready to fit.
So I will keep chipping away at them and see how I get on.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Scottie22]

Good job Paul!
When we have so much left to do it really matters not what we work on, but that we work on something!

It's all got to be done in the end!

Scottie

[Mister Towed]

If your builds go anything like mine did it'll seem like there's no light at the end of the tunnel for ages, and then it'll suddenly dawn on you that all the little jobs are done and it's a short sprint to the MOT.

Keep on plugging away.

[christinedmc]

Good job Paul. You are getting a hang of it.

Michiel

[Paul L]

Scottie, Mr T & Michiel - Cheers gentlemen.
I don't mind small progress, as long as there is some progress.
Seeing Michiel's 'moon rover' video does convince me this is the right thing to do.
If I just stick to the jobs required for that for now, I'll worry about the rest later.

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More Little Jobs...

Gearbox tunnel cover
I mentioned before that the brace I welded to the back of the bulkhead is in the way of the gearbox tunnel cover.



I need this to sit flush so I can see what repair work is required on the inside edges of the bulkhead.

So I cut & welded three sections of box section like so.



I then welded this to the existing cross brace.



With allowed me to cut out the middle section.



Which in turn allowed the gearbox cover to sit flush against the bulkhead.



Now I can make a list of repairs which will include things like this.
( I just held a bit of wood behind the holes to make it easier to see in the photo. )



I am currently considering getting a new tunnel cover as the one that came with my donor was not in great condition.
There is a plastic cover available that comes in black which would also save me the hassle of painting this white one.
I guess there comes a point when I need to pick my battles if I am ever going to get this finished.

Battery Box
Unfortunately this is another one of those things where I am actively making more work for myself.
I don't mind buying something new to save me some time, but I can't ignore a previous bodge and hope for the best.

There had been a half hearted attempt to repair the battery box by simply welding something over the top.

You can see the new metal through this hole in the original battery box.



Also the engine bay edge of the box looked very "bumpy" on the inside.



Now I have already seen repair panels welded over rust on this bulkhead.
I've also spent a long time removing and repairing / treating every bit of rust I've found so far.
Which meant that if I was going to do this job properly, I had no choice...



Whilst I know this will be a pretty big job to sort out, I'm pleased that I cut it all out.
Because, sure enough, there was a rusty mess where the repair was made.



So now I have a gaping hole in the bulkhead where the battery box used to be.
( There is some white plastic in the bulkhead to make the hole easier to see. )



I will take my time making a cardboard template and then build the new box in metal.
However, I did spot something in my recycling pile that might come in handy.



Dash Support
I made another bracket to hold the driver's side of the dash in place.



This fits in the same way as the one I made for the passenger side.



The only difference is that the driver's side is also connected to the steering column supports.



After all the work I have done so far on this dash section, it is now really solid, miles better than I expected.

Heater Control Panel
I drilled two holes in the dash so I can bolt the new panel for the heater controls in place.



There is a "step" in this area after I bent a section backwards.

For now I made a quick fix by clamping and angle grinding some washers.



They then fitted in here.



And the plate with the nuts could be held like so.



There is still a bit of fine tuning to do here, but you get the general idea & I might weld the whole thing in place.
However, I can't put any holes in the new panel until I have the wooden dash fitted so I can line it all up properly.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Ringo Grumio]

Nice work marra. At the rate that you are welding you may need to visit a weigh bridge in case the car is now an HGV.

[PJ GRABOWSKI]

Awesome build thread fella.
Top job , it makes great reading.
I tip my hat to your perserverance and look forward to seeing you achieve your goal.

[christinedmc]

I agree, lot's of passion resembles out of this thread.

Michiel

[Paul L]

Ringo Grumio & PJ Grabowski - Welcome to my build thread gentlemen.
Just remember that any current Ribble, Miglia, or Tribute kit will all be easier to build than this!

Ringo - If you get the chance, could you edit your reply to remove the quote of my post? Cheers.
( This build thread is already pretty long without posts being repeated in full. )

Michiel - Thanks, I just try to do the best job I can and hope that will be good enough.

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Bring me sunshine...
My garden really has seen enough rain for a while and now keeps flooding my "workshop".



That photo was taken yesterday, another complete wash out.
Today wasn't much better but I did start on the battery box...

I checked the old battery in the bottom of the tray and there is a lot of extra room.



I then got the dimensions from a number of new replacement battery options & drew that to scale.



( This sheet includes a 1cm margin around the maximum dimensions.)

Sorry the next two photos are blurred, the light was fading and they looked OK when I took them.

This is a cardboard template for the battery box.



The main fixing points will be the front and rear "tabs" at the top of the box.
So I may trim down the tabs on the two sides in the final design.



This is the basic pattern, but I will not be cutting out this shape from a single piece of metal.



I just had time to cut out a section of Spitfire floor for the base of the box.
As this will provide some drainage channels at the bottom.

My next job will be to cut out the sides from the sheet of steel I have to play with.



But by now it was dark & it had started raining again, so I called it a night.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Paul L]

Brrrrr...
Managed to get a few hours outside today, but with the wind howling it was so cold my nose was running!

Still, I got some work done, and it all helps me to continue to inch my way toward the finish line.

I bought a new battery clamp, as my original donor didn't have one.



As I now have a Spitfire bulkhead to play with, I won't use my previous plan of "handles & velcro strap" set up.

I trimmed the battery box template as I realised I had originally made it a bit deeper than required.



Then it was time to tidy up the section of floor I was going to use for the base.
( There is just no escaping rust on this project! )



After an initial clean up it was looking a bit better.



I then proceeded to attack the panel with my lump hammers & angle grinder to straighten & bend it.

I trimmed a small section off my wooden block so it sat inside the battery box.



In the end I was left with a floor and the rear panel of the battery box.



There is plenty of room for the old battery, or a slightly larger replacement.



I cut off a small section of metal tubing that will be form part of the drain.



I then re-arranged the remaining sides of the cardboard template.



Which allowed me to mark up the metal & add a bit extra (in red) for tabs on the edges.



I took the time to clean up the edges for welding while the panel was still flat.



However, I then proceeded to hammer the first bend in the wrong direction.

Thankfully I spotted it at this point and cleaned up the other side before finishing the other bends.



This is the two halves of my battery box resting together.



My initial plan was to have these tabs on the inside.



Which would let me weld the "folds" in the floor on the outside.



But it was going to be much easier to weld if I put the tabs on the back of the rear panel.

So a couple of quick cuts later and the tabs could fit like so.



After cleaning the metal some more, I welded the outside edges of the box together before I had to call it a day.



There is still a little bit of work to do on this box, but it is nearly there.

Although I need to do some more preparation work on the bulkhead before I can finally fit it.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[scimjim]

Paul, sorry to suggest this after the fact (I've been away and am catching up) but did you consider simply bolting in a plastic battery box?

[Paul L]

Jim - I had a brief look at the plastic battery boxes, but they were bigger than the space available.
( I want to re-use the Spitfire brackets above the box for the electrics. )
Plus I need all the practise at metal working & welding that I can get!

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Another inch...
I did the final trimming around the edge of the battery box hole in the bulkhead.
I then needed to make a few fine tuning "adjustments" to the box itself to ensure it fitted into the hole.
( In other words using my small lump hammer, not the big one. )
Finally I was left with this gap in front of the battery box.



This gap will make painting this area on the inside much easier to do.

But I wanted to provide a bit of extra support, so I welded in a section of small box section.



Then I marked up where the battery box met this bar & bent the front tab to match.



I just need to hammer out the left & right side edges until they touch the bulkhead before they are welded in place.



I will start welding from the bulkhead and work my way forward.
That way I can trim the front edge when I know how it all fits in place.

I've started preparing the battery box for the small rust repairs I need to make.
I also welded up a small slit in the bulkhead where I was a little too enthusiastic with the grinder cutting the old box out.

My final task of the day was to start playing with the heater control value.

This was the original Spitfire set up.



So I plan to reuse the bracket with my new heater control value.



I just need to trim one edge of the bracket to allow the hose to sit tighter.
I also need to add an extra hole in the bracket to mount it to the raised section of bulkhead.
Plus trim off the front edge & original mounting hole where my thumb is in the photo.



I may also need to replace the self tapping screws with nuts & bolts, or make sure the return hose on the left does not hit the screws.



Note: I still need to work out the route for the heater control cable.
This will allow me to weld up some more of the original bulkhead holes that I will not need.

Cheers, Paul.

[Scottie22]

Kinda glad you used steel for the battery box Paul, I feel something would have been lost going over to plastic after all the welding you've gone to great lengths to get right!

Scottie

[Paul L]

Scottie - Cheers, I also think the metal box will keep more strength in the bulkhead.

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A bit of consolidation work...
Despite keeping the bulkhead under a tarpaulin, surface rust was appearing on my recent welding work.
So it seemed like a good idea to sort this out before getting too much further on other work.

So out same the Kurust and I got a few areas covered with two coats:









There are a couple of areas still to do, but I need to rest the bulkhead upside down to reach them.
( And I couldn't do this after covering the top panel with Kurust. )

I'd read that upgrading the earth clamp on my welder might help...



Unfortunately, it was pretty windy out, so that was hampering my welding.

Still, I patched another surplus hole in the bulkhead.





I also added two overside repair panels to the battery box.
By putting the panels on the outside, I can keep the drainage channels on the inside.





Then I drilled a hole and welded on my drainage pipe.





Now I need to work out the best place for this to drain out of the bulkhead.
Then I can weld a corresponding piece of pipe through the bulkhead and join them with some surplus heater hose.

Then the battery box was given the anti-rust treatment inside & out.





While waiting for the Kurust to dry I finally managed to find the box with the centre dash section mounting screws in it.



Which means I can now do some final checks on mounting the wooden dash.

Finally I got a first coat of etch primer on:











These are the brackets to hold the metal dash in place.
Plus two brackets for the speedo trip reset button (one from my original donor & one from the 2nd hand shell).

Right I'm back off outside now to cover up the bulkhead for the night.
( As the primer should be touch dry by now. )

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Ringo Grumio]

Great work Paul. It's going to be far stronger than the original bulkhead.

[Paul L]

Ringo - Cheers.
I've been really amazed at the difference my repair work has made to the strength/stiffness of the bulkhead.

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More Tinkering...
I cut out a metal "blank" to fill in the original cigarette lighter hole.
( I might use some wood filler for some of the bigger cracks / gaps in the dash. )



This is how the choke cable attaches at the back of the dash in its traditional location.



But I want to relocate to the right of the steering column.
So I tried re-using the hole for the original fog light switch (which I don't need).



Whilst this looks OK from the front, the hole at the back is too big.



So I made a small bracket like this.



Now the choke cable can be tightened up against the bracket.



And the mounting screws will go into the original switch locating holes.

I then put a coat of etch primer on these two parts.



Plus a few more bits while I had the paint out...







One of my next jobs will be to get some filler over the welding "scars".

Finally I had another play with how to hold the three separate sections of dash together.

This is one of the original connecting brackets.



This holds the outer dash section in place when the centre dash piece is screwed in.

I plan to use this approach on all 4 of the centre dash section screws.

So the brackets will look something like this.



Obviously the cigarette lighter hole means I can't run a simple straight bracket here.

Note: I still need to line everything up properly and drill the locating holes.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
Just realised the last photo also shows the angle of the Spitfire dial fixings.
This angle ensures that the fixings do not hit the dash bracket I bent back 90 degrees.

[Paul L]

Have I ever mentioned the weather before?
Well in between all the wind and rain I only had a few minutes to work outside today.

I made a start on applying fibreglass filler to the battery box.

The inside doesn't look too bad, although there is more filler to go in here.



But it was a mistake to try to smooth the filler on the outside with my fingers (while wearing surgical gloves).

As I turned the whole area into a complete dog's dinner.



Still, nothing that can't be fixed next time I am out.
( Which might be next week at this rate. )

And finally I had to say good bye to my current car work jacket after some 20+ years of loyal service.
It was a gift from the MZ factory when I used to races MZ250s for one of their main UK dealers.



Unfortunately, I have caught it so many times on the sharp edges of the bulkhead it wont survive the washing machine.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

You could always pass that old jacket off as the one worn by Michael Jackson in the thriller video. Should make about ten grand on ebay...

[Mister Towed]

It's just occurred to me that it probably wasn't make up.

[Scottie22]

Surely trying to pass the jacket off as something it was not, would be against the law?

Who would possible advocate such a thing? :-)