Yeah it will be if it sorts it :)

Fixed mudguards are normally far more robust. The only thing you will have to contend with is, as they don't turn with the wheels, if you happen to be unlucky to be out in the rain each right hand bend will soak the driver with spray and each left hand bend the passsenger. But that's all part of the fun...

Robin

Yeah, If I'm caught in the rain that's the least of my worries ;)

Almost finished them now - haven't driven it yet but they seem much more sturdy to me.

New arch supporst done now and fitted - drove it home and they seemed to be much better than before - alot less vibration and movement. - only time and more driving will see how they hold up.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...eb4024cd_z.jpg1 arches 5w by paul ward, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...a90a8ab2_z.jpg1 arches 6w by paul ward, on Flickr

Looks great, hope they work out well for you!

Thanks - took it for a decent run today - seems to be much better than before :)

Very nice!

Good news, hope they continue to work well!

So, I took the car for it's longest run out so far on sunday - to the Pershore Plum festival. went in a small convoy of local cars and had a great day.
only one little thing was still niggling me about the car - the new looking plastic switch cover on the dashboard.
I've been looking on ebay for a vintage looking one, but can't find any so yesterday I decided to make my own.

using the cheap plastic one as a template I used aluminium to make this one (on the left) - painted it and then suitably scuffed it up to look 'authentic' - fitted it today :)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/...672a8209_z.jpg1 switch 2 by paul ward, on Flickr

in place on the car next to the old 'new' one
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/...706f992f_z.jpg1 switch by paul ward, on Flickr

Like the look of that switch and agreed looks a lot better than a plastic equivalent

Looks the business, great job!

cheers guys

New update ..... so the arch supports are still working well - I've done a few miles and been to a few shows this year and had no issues with the arches for a while now .... so that's great news. Generally the car is great - I get lots of attention most places I go in it ..... but.... I've decided I'm still not happy with the way the front of the car looks.

It's a bit radical but I've decided to chop the front off .... so that I can get a copy made up that I can experiment with - I'll still have the original to put back on if I cock it all up, but I will also have a copy that I can cut up and mess about with to try and get the look I'm after for it

hopefully I can come up with something that won't look too different, but give it a more 'vintage' feel - probably using some sort of grill from a jaguar or something - so here's how it currently looks while I'm waiting for the nose to be copied ;)

[IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1957/...a8945c7c_z.jpgno front by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]

Looking good. Great job on those switch covers. Please keep updating with pics of your planned new front end.

Paul, You have been busy while I’ve been away from the forum. Your car is looking great and I agree with you that the original front end could be improved. I bought a 1999 Jaguar S type grille for mine but it’s not quite big enough to fill the hole. I was at an auto jumble type auction today and there were a couple of old car grilles which might be a better choice for a more “authentic” look. And they didn’t sell for a fortune either!
My Fiorano is still in pieces at different locations but I will soon start building the garage for my motorbikes so, eventually, I’ll have some space to do some work on the kit. Keep up the good work!
Paul

Thanks guys
Cool, yeah I bought a mk 2 jaguar grill to use on mine - I'm going to have to bring in the appeture a bit to get it to fit the smaller grill,

I had looked at using an xk140 grill but the cheapest I could find was £600 so I gave up on that idea ;)
And I got asked today if I'd show my car on the TSCC stand at the upcoming NEC classic car show this November, so if that happens it could be good ...... providing I can get my front end back before then of course ;)

So got my new nose cone copies back today - now I need to decide which size grill I'm going to go with .... any ideas?

[IMG]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4844/...de39665c_z.jpg1 options by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]

Have you had a look at inverting the larger one?

yeah that's actually what I prefer - I just didn't take a pic of it

Thought you might.

Looking good. I almost ordered a Fiorano but opted for the 250 SWB instead. Spitfires are pretty long in the teeth and replacement parts very dear on this side of the Atlantic.