1979 Trouble Spitfire

[SiC]

I've been continuing with ripping as much of the aftermarket wiring out of this as I could.


I've removed the thermostat switch completely now.


20a rating or is it 16a rating? Who knows! It doesn't bode confidence on quality


Inside looked like the metal contact strip was permanently bent to open. I might have a fiddle another time to see if I can get this working again.


Ripped out the old relay and unused splice blocks


This unknown brown wire by the masters actually was one piece that did nothing. No idea of its original purpose. Certainly not factory though.



Then started wiring the fan in. I decided to use a relay in the end. Mostly as I had one and so I could use cheaper thinner wire to the dash switch.

The main feed to the fan is wired directly off the starter solenoid and through a 15A fuse. For the switch I used the always on fused purple circuit that is shared with the horns, interior fan blower and hazards. The clock had been badly wired in with uninsulated crimps and tape over the top. So I cut all this out and redid so I could tap the switch in.



As none of the aftermarket dash lights did nothing, I chose the red one (easiest to get to) as the fan on warning light.
This light and relay coil is through an additional 1A fuse. Just because it goes all over the place and offers better protection than the 17A fuse while allowing me to use thinner (cheaper) wiring.


It does work but the main factory fuse holder in the car seems to be problematic and so doesn't always kick in. I think the springiness of the contacts is lost and not grabbing them well.


Today I went off to a local classic car show. It was in a village park and a great selection of very varied cars turned up.

I arrived an hour late so snuck next to some other British Leyland shite.


I don't know why but this car does attract an awful lot of attention. Far more than any other of my classics I had on the road. Maybe because of the colour it catches peoples eye?


I'll upload all my photos later as I have loads but I'm being badgered by the other half to get up from the sofa and sort stuff.

[PhilA]

Definitely, the color really suits it well.

[Scruffy Bodger]

Stripping out some of that old wiring and replacing bits of it properly looks like being a very wise use of your time. It really is a great colour, suits it very well.

[SiC]

I don't usually like metallic or modern lacquered paints on classics. However on this car I think works really well.

I'm pretty damn enamored with this car. Even Mrs SiC likes it too. Even though she is not a show off or vain in any way, I reckon if a car garners positive attention then she quite likes it.

For the first time it's making me seriously consider about selling the BGT. Not helped by it being another month where it's pay day and I've spent pretty much everything already. But this does pretty much everything I want to in a classic.

[fried onions]

Oh gawd this is shaping up to be another bag of shit. Why are these sports cars a magnet for fuckwit bodger owners. MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, they all fall victim to the same type of idiot. If the cars were just left as they should be they'd probably be alright. I wouldn't trust those replacement master cylinders either if I were you.

[SiC]

Aaaaand here comes Mr Cheerful

[Jerzy Woking]

As I see it, many people would have just run it as it was bought, never concerning themselves with the safety issues they would face very shortly.

It's probably why I've not owned a classic, no real car related skills. I'd be a danger not to just myself, but others on the road

[fried onions]

Keep Death off the road.

[SiC]

So the car show! There was a good selection of everything and a few odd balls thrown into the mix. Its always nice to see old Renaults and such in attendance at a British village car show - I do quite fancy a Renault 4 one day. 







This is a Sunbeam but I seem to have misplaced the front photo.



 





 
 

[SiC]

This was ace

This is cool but I struggle to see why they go for an awful lot of money.

 
The star of the show for most was likely this pre-war Bentley. It was lovely, apart from maybe the bit over restored paintwork on the side.

 
But for me the star of the show was this 12 seater "luxury" bus

 
As I was leaving this trundled in.

 
In total we were there a good 40 minutes or so. Then we pottered off to a local Cider farm shop (because Somerset) and picked up a pasty and scotch egg.

 
Then pottered down to Weston Sea Front to eat it. Busy but not unbearably like it can be in the summer holidays.

On the way we got stuck for 10 minutes in stop/start traffic at roadworks. The temperature started to creep up just above half way. While I really didn't need to, I flicked the fan switch to see what it'd do. Very quickly the gauge dropped back down to just under half where it normally sits. While not particularly useful for the coolant, at least it allows extra airflow across the engine and more importantly for a 1500 bottom end, the oil cooler. I don't really expect to use it more until we get 30c+ weather later in the summer but it was a good test to see what it does.

Really the only things left I need to sort on it are cleaning it and replacing the seat foam/diaphragm. Carbs probably could do with a rebuild or even service, but its all behaving at the moment, so that can wait as it'll take the car off the road for a bit and the weather is stonking at the moment. Maybe look at replacing the fusebox if that becomes troublesome again in the future.