John Bonnett
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 07:38 AM |
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Advice sought on adjusting Spitfire door apertures
I'd be grateful for some advice from anybody with coachworks experience.
This Triumph Spitfire has rotten sills and I believe, as a result, the body has gone out of shape slightly so that the doors do not close properly.
The body is still on the chassis.
Obviously, the car needs new sills and struts need to be welded between the A and B posts but I would have thought that the apertures must be adjusted
first. Is there a preferred way of doing this?
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
John
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 07:51 AM |
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you must put the car up on supports (several axle stands) to remove the weight of the car from the wheels. This should/will get the doors to fit and
go around checking that all the panel gaps are correct. Then replace one sill at a time only (very important!) do not remove the body till the sills
are done or you will have no way in checking the chassis is correct. I have seen many cars with removable bodys welded totally twisted due to folk
jumping in and taking the bodys of cars just to make a rust free banana. Once the doors fit it is a good practice to weld in tubes across the
passenger compartment and door gaps till all the welding has been done that way you will end up with a straight car.
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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HappyFather
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 09:08 AM |
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Mark Evans show "A MG is reborn" shows to some extent the care and importance of what Mr Whippy said. Even if it's not the same car,
I believe it could be interesting to watch that show as I believe many tips on keeping the structure straight while replacing panels should apply to
the Spitfire.
Anyway, his shows are funny. 
Have fun,
HappyFather
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 09:23 AM |
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Thanks chaps for the good advice. I'll post some pictures when I get started.
John
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designer
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 09:51 AM |
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I had this problem and, when fitting the new sills I jacked the body (not chassis) under the door and it opened the gap back to where it should be.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 01:23 PM |
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this may be of some help as it shows the panels used in the body
My brother in law (who lives next door) did a full rebuild of his spitfire, unusually for chassis based cars they do seem to need their bodyshells for
a lot of the cars strength
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 4/4/11 at 09:06 PM |
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You're right Mr Whippy, the Spitfire chassis is little more than a backbone so the sills are structural unlike the Herald where the body is
better supported by its chassis.
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