Ep.15 | Restoring my '73 Triumph Spitfire 1500 

Started watching then went and bought a spitfire. Love it!

Hi everyone!! I just noticed the upload quality of this video is garbage sorry!!! Let me know if I should re-upload it

Good to hear there are crankshaft options in the works! My preferred woodruff key trick is to use a brass drift/punch and hammer it down on one end (on the flat top surface). As it’s round on the other side this’ll have the same effect as what Elin did, but is a bit less fiddly as you’ve a bigger area to aim at.

very nice video! keep forging ahead!

Great video! Glad that you already have options for another crank! I love how you edited the video too. You made me sound like a pro LOL.

That Crankshaft will make a nice paperweight 😂

Cool video, I'd love to resto a Spitfire one day

Measuring is fun

Excellent video again Saige. You are making great progress. Pleased to hear you have sourced a replacement crankshaft. On a side note I have seen the sad news reports of the forest fires that are causing so much damage in Canada. Hope you are not anywhere near and hope they will be under control soon. Cheers, Steve in the UK

Bonjour Saige :) I think it would be more convenient & economical for you to get your parts from a North American supplier, so I'd suggest BPNorthwest who can sell some of the specific parts you are after. Unfortunately I cannot browse through their site right now so cannot include any part number from it.. 🙁Yesterday it was ok so hopefully it will be up & working very soon. They do supply flat top piston sets in many sizes. In case your cylinders are std size, the first rebore size will be +0.020" from the nominal size spec stated in the manual, and so accordingly this will need +0.020" oversize pistons. You'll find tappets in uprated heat treated HD version which are darker (dull finish) on the pic. You'll find the uprated rocker shaft too (dark grey ). They also have an oil pump rotor kit. As your pump might have been damaged from sucking in metal chips and swarf, if pump body inner surface is good it could be repaired/rebuilt cheaply using this kit. You'll still need to control the rotor clearances as per manual (3 gaps to mesure) and possibly correct the pickup plate surface if it has been scratched by rotor action. For this you can use an oiled emery paper supported by a very flat block, doing "8" figures with the plate in your hand to level the surface totally flat. (Of course wash fully the grit with a solvent afterwards + blow dry then oil lightly all rotor faces and pack dust free till assembly) Tip: If you need a strong cheap degreaser for engine/chassis etc.. parts, try white spirit (the real one, not eco substitute). very effective and it does not harm plastic, rubber.👍👍 Re. piston set / cylinders : Your machinist will need the piston skirt to bore clearance in order to finish the cylinder at the right size. This spec depends on the piston brand so don't use the one from the manual. (new aftermarket pistons being different manufacture/material from original ones). New pistons are County brand and their skirt to bore clearance is set at 0.0025" (measured square to pin axis). Sometimes you find a spec sheet inside the box.. sometimes not Awaiting the next stage! 😉

So excited for the next episode ❤

thanks for the upload and best wishes from Columbus Ohio USA ❤

Bonjour Saige & Elin, :) Good video! Sourcing good quality tappets can be a problem these days as many remanufactured ones are made in Asia and are very soft with poor hardening properties. They are quite cheap but if you don't select them wisely it can ruin a complete new engine in just several hundred miles... 😢 Preferably old genuine ones that can be refaced very lightly by the machine-shop are best & cheap, but if too worn this is not possible. Good quality ones do exist but are quite expensive (made from EN40B steel). Same problem for the rockershaft : unless you succeed in finding an original one by British Leyland.. new refab are made of cheese metal 😡..and so don't last more than several hundred miles. If your shaft is very lightly worn, personally i'd keep it (giving it a good brush cleaning in its bore after removal of the two end plugs.) Ensure to put back new plugs. Alternatively if you wish to buy a new shaft, take the stronger tuftrided version. It will need to be polished/cleaned thoroughly to ease the rough surface caused by the hardening process. As Elin is saying, a slight smoothing of all the rocker pads with an oil stone (sure Dad has that somewhere in the shed) , following the pad radius curve will do the job cheaply😜 Something is telling us that at the end of this resto ..and beyond, definitively you'll be a graduate mechanical engineer 🤓 Waiting for the next one!

Good progress... Elim is a great teacher, isn't he?

You are such a beautiful young lady keep up the great work you are doing.

Elin was more cranky when he was helping me with my TRiumph😀

Sorry to hear about the crank not being usable. Usually the crank and block are the big cost items on a engine. If both are bad that would be a big set back and need to source a good donor engine. Has the block been checked and magna fluxed to check for cracks....or did Elin see anything when it was at his shop? I hope the crank shaft is your only major problem and sounds like you already have a solution....good luck and great video

I have a set of new connecting rods for a 1500 if you are interested Regards, Sandy 🔧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Ohhhhhhhhhh, dad- you sly dog! You got "her" fans to send parts in so "she" can fix "her" Triumph! 🤔🤣🤣🤣💲💲💲🏧🏧🏧

Nice video, but how is the quality so low?

The Triumph 1500 engine had a bottom end that was weaker than the earlier 1300 because they increased the stroke and that made the engine run rougher and give the crankshaft and bearings a hard time. If you rebuild it carefully and maybe balance the new crankshaft and piston / rod assemblies together with an oil cooler you should be fine. That will be especially worthwhile since you don’t have overdrive on the car so you can drive at higher revs without worrying. All the other wear you have found is quite normal for a slightly tired classic engine, it was clearly ready for a refresh and probably the previous owners knew this. I’m suspicious that the car had that oil pressure gauge fitted and surprised that it seemed to read OK because poor oil feed to the bottom end causes bearing knock and failure, yet nobody noticed anything ? That garage you took the car to for a checkover seem like complete clowns, they lost parts of the car and missed things like the failing engine and fan belt. I’m surprised that the car has Dolomite Sprint wheels fitted… I’m sure those never made it to the North American market. I think they needed special wheel bolts which may explain why you have a few different types. They look great but if you find a set of original Spitfire steel wheels that the steering will be lighter and more precise and you won’t lose out on the handling. Looks like you’re on your way to having a great little car !