Having grown up with a father who is an avid diy'r and a grandfather who had a full machine shop at home, I naturally leaned towards a technical career. Starting in the airforce doing avionics, I learned a raft of skills including basic engineering. From there it is a wide list of technical jobs. Now days I'm office bound during the day, so like to get into practical work in my spare time. And I'm still finding plenty of things to learn.
Hi James, I just found your videos. I'm recommissioning a GT6 in Christchurch and looking forward to seeing what you've done :-) Great to see this sort of thing being done in New Zealand; sometimes the tips & tricks from overseas aren't so easy to carry out here (!)
Hi Oliver, i hope to get back to the car soon, after a year doing house renovations and now moving to CHCH. I have film in the can of the last few welding jobs I did last year but need to do a few more to get it back on the road again.
I did a bunch of welding to pass it's safety test at the start of the year but didn't video a lot of it. Then when the mechanic found a bunch more issues I had a go at sorting those but they kicked my arse and I've had to focus on house renovations since. Starting to think about attacking it again soon though.
It's pretty much at the top of the system so just drain a litre or 2 using the tap on the engine block (if it's still installed). You will have to burp the air out of the system after though
@jamesfromwellington thanks. I'll watch your video again and read a little more and get back to you with questions. My heater valve is stuck open just a little and I'm trying to figure out if I can fix it or if I have to replace it
James, i noticed you drained the coolant by undoing the lower radiator hose. Does your car not have a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator? My MK1 seems to have a drain plug for the radiator and I can't tell which is the preferred method of draining the coolant (lower hose vs drain pin/plug)
This is one job where the proper Churchill tool or a made up copy is really a MUST. If you don't you are unlikely to succeed in getting the hub off without distorting the hub flange and ending up with a wobbly wheel. When the new hub is assembled it will fully set how far it seats down the axel shaft. The same applies to the shield if you have removed it. I would not put the trunnion bush kit in until everything else is assembled and the vertical link goes on. Once you grease something it becomes a magnet for dirt and grit. The assembled bush kit on the hub should be VERY close to 2" wide. Many aftermarket kits are the wrong specification and the vertical link would be forced apart getting it on. So when the spring is bolted to the vertical link it pinches the trunnion bushbinding it up, which will possibly cause inappropriate pressure on your new inner roller bearing and will bend the vertical link.
Did you have to spread the vertical link uprights apart to get it over the new trunnion bush kit ? It looks very wide at the spring attatchment end. Many trunnion kits are wrong, they are too wide when assembled and will bind on the hub
James, this is great! I just got a 65 spitfire and it's missing the entire wiper and washer assemblies. I bought a kit like you did. Did the washer knob just secure in the dash or was there some kind of back plate behind the dash that it also secures into?
Hi, thanks. My dash has an approx. 1 inch hole where it was meant to fit. The hole looked factory punched in the vinyl and metal work. It was a bit fiddly to fit as that part of the dash forms a back facing channel but with patients I got it to screw up tight in the right orientation after only a handful of attempts
Thanks for the videos. Just took ownership of a neglected 65 Spit and starting the process... I'm sure I will learn much from your videos. Signed, Shane from Jackson
Hi James, Thanks for posting the video... very interesting as I'm planning to do the same on my spitfire. Just out of curiosity, what size wire did you use for the earth strap. Cheers John
Yes I must admit my first drive was nerve racking and exciting at he same time with fingers crossed that all the work we put into these cars is going to hold up. Only time I broke down was my condenser wire had come loose from the points. Working my way through your videos Kev👍👍🇬🇧
Hi James I just gone back to your introduction video. You are a braver person than me driving back all that way, I can see that your spitfire needs some love and attention and your just the person to rescue your 1960,s time capsule beauty. Mine is a mk 3 jasmine paint code 34 and registered Nov 1969 now owned by me 25years this year.. Keep up the great work I still love my car and every journey is an adventure with a connection you cannot get from a modern vehicle take care Kev in Devon UK 👍👍🇬🇧
Thanks Kev, It's been good so far. If you watch more of the videos you will see the laundry list of things I found that really make that first drive a complete miracle.
@@jamesfromwellington I heard that you need to lower ground clearance for the compensator solution, but other than that is there any advantage over the swing spring?
Hi, my basic understanding is that the compensator does more to prevent wheel tucking. Here's a webpage with a full explanation (amongst other topics) auskellian.com/paul/links_files/performance_enhancements.htm
@@jamesfromwellington thanks for the link, I'll take time for a read. I am prepping the car for a classic endurance rally, so ground clearance is a bit important for me.
Nice video! The Hyundai Ioniq 5 looks absolutely amazing! It is spacious, flexible and has a sustainable interior made from sugar cane components and crushed PET bottles.
james if the new freeze plugs aren't leaking then job accomplished.... but i wanted to mention that up here in canada where it gets very very very cold..... freeze plugs are installed cup side down. in other words the hollow side of the freeze plug is on the outside. if they don't leak don;t bother. but if they do.... you might want to try this way. cheers,
Do you use over sized plugs for that (i.e. how do they form a seal)? I don't really have to worry about cold temperatures here so I can get away without some of the steps others need.
core plugs seal by shrinking into the block hole. the bottom of the cup edge is slightly smaller than the top side of the cup. when pumched into the hole the plug shrinks into the hole.... naturally the walls of both sides need to be scuff free. so sealant on old engines is a good idea..... if she doesn;t leak don't worry.
@@jamesfromwellington oh yes we call them freeze plugs up here.... but they don't do anything to prevent cracked engine blocks. i think they are more to close up holes needed in the casting process or holes for maintenance to clear out scale.
Morning James! Couple of questions from this vid as I do battle with my own '64 gearbox. The seven bolts for the rear extension, did you use thread sealant for the top4? When you removed the top of the gearbox, it looks like you didn't do any messing around with the gears or rails (nor will I) but did you do any sort of cleaning/spraying/flushing of the interior of the gearbox? I'm thinking about how to clean it to get all the (in my case VERY dirty) old gear oil out as well as any metal shavings that might be lingering about?
Hi Eric, I actually used plumbers thread tape on the rear bolts, mainly as it was what I had handy. I think thread sealant would probably be a good idea. Not sure about cleaning without disassembling as any thinning agent has a lot of places to get trapped
Hi James. Thanks for the videos, I’m about to start a body off restoration on my 69 Herald your videos will definitely come in handy. Keep up the great work and I’ll be looking forward to seeing your progress! I’m in Auckland btw
Thanks Chris, though she didn't sound as good yesterday when a core plug blew out doing 100km/h on the motorway. I think I stopped in time to not do any permanent damage though
Thank you for a strong critique on this car. I've been looking at many reviews and many of them only say good things and it feels like hyundai paid for their review.
You're welcome, the trouble is the reviewers only get the top spec versions of cars. As a pleb in a country where the bottom end one is the only one that qualifies for our rebate, that's what I was offered to test drive.
if for any reason you need to remove the spring again.... remove mineral oil and the product to use on leaf springs is two or three coatings of graphite. not worth doing unless you need to, but the graphite does not attract dust or dirt and performs very well in this application.
Hi Nick, I've also upgraded the front discs so it's a bit hard to tell. I have had the Spitfire out a bit over summer (my videos are about a month behind) and it seems to be a bit better at stopping. I haven't noticed any fading, though I've only had the Wellington streets and motorways to test it on. All in all the current set up feels very good especially as it is unassisted.
Keep these coming man, I'm getting ready to work on a '64 Spitty and your videos are pure gold for a medium savvy guy like myself. First battle is a new clutch, I've got your video bookmarked!
Thanks, I'm glad to help. Just keep in mind I'm not a mechanic so I may not always be correct. If you look up the workshop manual online, Chris Fisher has scanned and shared a copy, this is what I use for a lot of my work.
This car interior has more cheap plastic parts than my 1995 Renault Clio! 😲🤔 They've also roll the car out of the factory prematurely and forgot to put the logo emblem on the steering wheel; instead opting for horizontal holes! 🙄🤔 I'd probably skip this base model... But alternatively I will look at the *BMW i3, or better yet, the BMW i4!*
