Matthew Taylor's Journal

Father And Son Project Part 7.3 - Wood Working - Steering Wheel

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:27:22 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

Cole's job was to cut the old rubber off the old wheel, and get the rim cleaned up. He did some cutting alright. And got a reminder about the knife rule - always cut away from your self. We are calling him "Leftey" for the next little bit... After 2 hexagons were cut, and glued together, I made 3 cuts with the router. Outside, the grove in the center, and the inside. Next, I cut the relieves for the rim to sit flush - on both the top and bottom. I used a 3/8 round over bit to soften the edges. It still didn't fit my hand "just right", so I took some strong 100, ripped it into strips, and hand shaped the wheel until It felt correct. I removed the "Black out" from the wheel center and "brushed" it with 400, 600, 1000, then 2000 grit sandpaper. It got some "clear coat" spray.

<Cutting the outside>	<Cutting the inside>	<Top and botom>
<Rim in place>	<Sandwich>	<Putting it together>

Posted 2015-07-23 13:27:22 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 7.2 - Wood Working - Steering Wheel

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 12:42:24 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

5-4-15 I have always enjoyed wood working, and I am the "Jerry" in that area, so, this was one of my favorite parts of the project. One of the things Larry (the PO) and I had agreed on was leaving him the awesome racing steering wheel that he had for years and years. In exchange, he put the original wheel back on the car. It was, well crumbly. And ugly. My last Spit had a very nice after market wood wheel that wood (ugg, yes agian) serve as the inspiration for this project. For the build, I took the general idea from Mitch's tech buliten: http://www.mgexp.com/article/diy-wood-steering-wheel-1.html I am going to break this up a bit, to allow more pictures. Not that I think you really care, but, I have them, and, well hopefully, no one will see them if I leave them on my computer. For more detail, see the thread: http://www.triumphexp.com/phorum/read.php?8,1287428,1287688#msg-1287688 In Addition, I finally got the clear coat on the dash. That was motivation! The basic idea is to make a hexagon for the top and bottom of the rim. They will sandwich the steel rim of the original wheel.

<The inspiration - with a younger Cole>	<Dash with final finish>	<The original wheel>
<Got to have a plan>	<Got to have a plan part 2>	<Steering wheel in the rough - top and bottom>
<100 2885>	<100 2886>

Posted 2015-07-23 12:42:24 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 11.2 - Exterior Accessories - Tail

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 10:17:41 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

4-26-15 Cole has been busy polishing chrome, and wire wheeling hardware. We both really like the original luggage rack - and it cleaned up well. We fabricated gaskets for the bumperets. Neither one of us could bare bolting steel to clear coat. I could not find the elusive Lucas L847 that came on the '70 only - but the extra set of L672 that came with the car (Thanks again Larry!) are found on all the other round tails, and look nearly identical. Ebay brought us new gaskets. I chucked a .223 bore brush in a drill, and cleaned up all the wiring connections. We wired them up, and had tail and break lights. Now it was on to badging. From the beginning, Cole loved the badging on the pre '70 Spits, and I found it hard to argue. Triumph toted a cleaner look with the elimination of the lettering, in favor of the 1 year only badge. We didn't have anything, it doesn't say "TRIUMPH" or "SPITFIRE" anywhere. Having a clean slate to work with, We stepped back a year, and went for the '69's badging on the rear. More than a little nervous about drilling all the odd placed holes to get the letters to align and be straight, we came up with an alternate plan. Cole cut all the pegs off the letters, and filled the undersides in with JB weld - leaving a nice flat surface. Next, he stuck 2 sided body molding tape across each letter, and very carefully, cut off the excess. While he was doing that, I laid out boxes for each letter on the trunk lid. When they were ready, we just pealed off the backing for the tape, and stuck the letters on the trunk. That worked very well!. Next was the "Spitfire and Mk 3. Cole did the research - the Spit was at 15 degrees, the Mk was at 7. Armed with that - the trunk has no flat or straight edges to measure from, I laid them out on a piece of paper. I taped the paper, aligning the bottom to the bottom of the trunk, and sliding it until it just touched the side. 15 and 7. I drilled them out, and they fit perfectly.

<Tail Light L672>	<Luggage Rack>	<Bumperets>
<"TRIUMPH" Layout>	<Applying "TRIUMPH">	<Making a transfer>
<Drilling the holes>	<Completed tail (almost)>

Posted 2015-07-23 10:17:41 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 12 - Interior

Sat, 16 May 2015 23:37:16 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

4-19-15 With the paint making us smile every time we walk through the garage, it was time to turn our attention to the interior. The wood working, specifically the dash, was coming along nicely. When we test fit the original gauges back in the new dash, it was clear they would not do. The gauges needed going over for sure. The "black out" package of the "70 Federal" was apparent on the gauges as well - the nice shiny gauges of the earlier cars was painted black on ours. Unfortunately, the open backs had allowed a good bit of dust inside too. No choice but to take them apart and clean them up. The original plan was to take off the chipped black paint, and repaint them. But, with some steel wool, and a run on the polisher, they shined up nicely. We decided a more "chrome " look worked with our dark dash. After cleaning up the gauges, we need some O rings to mount them to the dash. After some hunting, we decided to make some out of Silicone.

<100 2834>	<100 2835>	<100 2836>
<100 2838>	<Making Silicone O ring>	<100 2863>

Posted 2015-05-16 23:37:16 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.6 - Color

Sat, 16 May 2015 23:13:15 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

4-11-15 It probably would have made more since to do it the other way around - but when you do have a Jerry, you tend to use a Jerry! So, in all the great body work and final finish, we still had not addressed the door jams, or anything under the bonnet - paint wise. Fortunately, the striping gave us some good stopping points, and Jerry taught us a new trick with rolling tape, and gun/trigger technique, for blending. We have door finishers, and intend to use them, but, we painted the that area anyway. The finishers tend to go bad, and body color is a popular alternative. So, a few more hours under the mask, and a bit more clear to clean out of the garage, but the jams, and some of the under bonnet work is done. I still need to do the actual back of the bonnet - a project for another day.

<100 2819>	<100 2820>	<100 2821>
<100 2822>

Posted 2015-05-16 23:13:15 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 11.1 - Exterior Accessories - Tail

Sun, 03 May 2015 22:30:16 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

3-22-15 We spent a few nights during the week, and most of Saturday and Sunday cleaning up accessories. Cole put every piece of chrome and polished stainless through a process: Steel wool and W-40, followed by the polishing wheel mounted to the end of our bench grinder. When he wasn't running it, I was. I used a bit more mild polish, and after a good cleaning, ran the plastic lenses across the wheel. The main focus for Saturday was the gas cap. The PO had mounted a new gas tank (thanks Larry!), but, it didn't quite line up with the gas cap. We had to center it, and found appropriate spacers in my "spare spacer" drawer. I think my dad said his dad gave them to him. 4, exactly the right thickness, and diameter. I have no idea why I kept them all these years, but there it was. A dab of grease on each one, to hold it to the tank, and we bolted it in. Lined up perfectly. Next up, the rear piece that the top snaps too. Originally, this piece was glued into the top. Then the piece was attached to the car, so the back of the top was always on the car. Somewhere down the line, the aftermarket top makers stopped adding the pocket for the piece. On most Spits today, as ours was, the piece is panted black, and snaps are added to it. It is then fasten to the car, and the top just snaps on to the piece, just like the sides of the car. In this configuration, since it would show when the top was down, I painted and striped it. Cole pop riveted in the snaps (his first pop rivet job) , and I painted the right half again. The pop rivet gun really shot across that paint fast when it let go. The other piece that needed to go on was the center tail light assembly. This piece was unique to the '70 U.S. version, known as a "Federal". Although allot of the look of the car would more closely resemble the '69, we wanted to keep the piece. Wire wheeled, I had painted and striped it as well. Next up, the 3 lights fixtures inside got a going over with some 400 grit, and some di-electric grease. Cole polished the chrome caps,and I hit the white - well it turned out to be clear - lens. We changed the bulbs and put 12 volts to it all. No smoke, just license plate and back up lights. We rounded out the fittings with the trunk handle, and a couple temp turn indicator lights. The hunt was still on for the correct ones.

<100 2775>	<100 2849>	<100 2848>
<Threw out the project, Cole cleaned up all the hardware, and polished all the bright work>

Posted 2015-05-03 22:30:16 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 3.1 - Pans, The Trunk This Time

Sun, 03 May 2015 22:05:34 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

3-14-15 Very busy time of year, work wise. And, lets face it, Our grades needed more attention than the car. So Cole broke the Triumph fast on his own, while I was doing a bit of Saturday work. He wire wheeled the trunk, and hit it with the remainder of the bed liner.

<100 2765>

<100 2766>

Posted 2015-05-03 22:05:34 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 0.0 Taking A Break

Sun, 03 May 2015 21:50:16 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-23-15 We are from Mobile. Those that don't know, Mardi Gras originated in Mobile. It's no joke - we take our culture very seriously. I know what your saying - "but you moved to Mobile, your FROM Indiana!". To you I say "Shut up! Its Mardi Gras!".

<This King Cake was shipped to us. It didn't see a sunrise in Florida>

Posted 2015-05-03 21:50:16 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 7.1 - Wood Working - Dash

Sun, 03 May 2015 14:49:34 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-15-15 Now that things were in the "assembly" stage, It was obvious we still needed a few parts, and not having them wood hold us up (wood, get it?), so we hit the dash again. We had just about finished up the drivers side piece, so we started on the center section. An oil pressure gauge had been added to the passenger side piece. We loved the gauge (who doesn't love knowing their oil pressure in real time!), but thought it might be an opportunity to change the layout, and get it with the other 2. A quick look on the internet confirmed this was not an original idea, and it would fit, if we flipped the light switch. The drafting tools came out once again, and we marked up a layout. It passed final inspection, and we started making holes. The gauge whole was slightly larger than a whole saw, so Cole made them bigger with a drum sander. Some relief was required on the back side, so I gave Cole a class in blind routing as well. Once again, a good bit of final sanding to get things just right, and it was time for stain. I recalled the magic formula that gave us the color Cole liked - conditioner, then 50/50 American Walnut/Gun stock. After letting that cure, we would be ready for final clear coat in a couple of days - or a couple of months....

<Cutting the relief>	<Opening the gauge holes>	<Top old, bottom new>
<Stained>

Posted 2015-05-03 14:49:34 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 11 - Exterior Accessories - Windshield

Sun, 03 May 2015 14:21:31 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-14-15 With the windshield frame complete, it was time to put the glass back in. Never having done a "string" windshield installation, and after talking to the Safelight guy while he changed out my work cars windshield, I gathered that I would be the better bet, even with my lack of experience. Turns out, most auto glass guys have the exact same experience - none. And he promised that when they did figure it out, they would, by policy, still glue the crap out of it. He did not recommend hiring him for the job. I took his recommendation. In search of an education, I watched a guy put in a Volkswagen window - via YouTube, and got the concept figured out. Next, I read a few threads on the forum about it. Seems most folks that ran into trouble had one thing in common. A gasket from VB. Lucky for me, I spent the extra $3 and got one from TRF. It fit over the glass perfect. After putting the gasket on the glass, I had Cole spread the lubricant (non-petroleum, water based is the way to go - KY). He put a good bit into the slot the frame needs to go in. Next, 550 cord. The stuff our parachutes are attached to our harnesses with, the stuff wrapped around the o'l K-Bar handle, the stuff in every survival bag, turns out to be the correct diameter. To thin, and the string will cut the rubber, too thick and the gasket wont have enough room to fold over the frame. So, it gets wrapped around the entire gasket, in the same well lubed slot the frame will go in. Next, we placed the windshield over the frame. I started a corner, and Cole kept pressure, to keep it from popping out. Next it was time to pull the string. From what would be the inside, I started pulling, the string caused the gasket to fold up, allowing the frame to slide into the slot, then, as the sting moved, the gasket fell into place, on the inside of the frame. Neat, it worked! As we were going around, Jerry showed up. With a folding chair and some popcorn, we now had a peanut gallery, for extra advice. The string got fairly tight for that last corner, but it went. Glass installed, It was time to fit the trim. Jerry had finished his popcorn apparently, and not being a good watcher at all, deiced to help us figure that out. Turns out, more KY, and lots of elbow grease got it in, 1/4" at a time. We all took turns pressing it in. It was at this point I recalled, I had never seen a Spit in real life with the chrome trim strip on the windshield. Now I know why! You wouldn't have to use 3 people, to give your hands a break, you could do it by yourself, over about a week. New bottom gasket on the fame, and onto the body with it. Once again, not a 3 man job, but we had 3, so we used them, and it went in with minimal fuss - it was much tighter than I expected. If I had it to do again, I would have prepped the car side of the mounts as well - rolled sandpaper on a drill bit, for about 30 minutes each side would have been just enough....

<100 2736>	<100 2741>	<100 2747>
<100 2749>	<100 2751>	<100 2752>
<100 2753>

Posted 2015-05-03 14:21:31 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.5 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:21:20 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-9-15 Jerry's help was invaluable all along, but, he kinda "took over" the color and clear. I didn't mind at all, the results are spectacular! But, this was also supposed to be my education. To make sure I was "getting it", Jerry left me a few projects that were not attached to the car. The biggest test was the valance - the body piece that goes under the grill. It was banged up, dented up, and bent. The windscreen frame was still in red paint, as was the rear light fixture. The rear snap molding was in black, and we decided it would be nice to paint it body colored. The front grill was black, and needed to match the silver stripe it would center in. So to prove my worth to Jerry - my mission was to complete all of the loose parts. Strip the paint, do the body work, prime and block to wet sanded, shoot the stripes and color, and clear coat. I moved a bit slower than Jerry, but within a week they were done.

<Silver Grill>	<Windscreen and valance prime>	<Valance in silver>
<100 2730>	<100 2733>	<100 2734>
<100 2735>	<100 2738>

Posted 2015-04-16 14:21:20 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.4 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:56:59 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-1-15 After carefully pealing the tape and paper, it was time for the clear coat. And not a minute too soon. The sound of a lawn mower coughing to life rattled us all into action. We ran outside, and had a quick but animated conversation with a neighbor. He agreed to hold off, if he could get a look at what we were doing. A few others were wondering, and Jerry was going to have a crowd outside waiting for the "big reveal" when the doors could be opened all the way. The clear coat on the body was all Jerry. And he was in the zone. Cole and I had 1 job- don't disturb Jerry! It was cloudy, it was sticky, and it was amazing. He explained the "melting" process, and how to read if it was dangerously close to a run or sag, and he stayed fairly close to that line, after a couple of light dusting coats. i would describe the amount of clear coat as "allot". The biggest problem for Cole and I, the masks kept leaking, because we were grinning to much. After cleaning out the gun, and walking around the masterpiece about 100 times, it was safe to ease up the doors. Lots of "oos and aaaahs". A few cars driving by came to a stop for a look. It was beautiful! After a few hours, I carefully put the seat back in - and made a dash for the safety of my garage. She was home, with color. It was better than I ever expected. Cole said he was pleased, it was everything he wanted, but, he knew Jerry and I would insure it turned out that well all along. Wow, that's some faith. We still had a long long way to go, but, that was a big one!

<Wet Clear>	<Home>	<Here is the color with some light>
<Trunk resting in place.>

Posted 2015-04-16 13:56:59 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.3 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:29:54 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-1-15 After shooting the outline, it was time to lay it down. Just like the primer, only faster, the first run is a light dusting, the second gets more paint on, and the 3rd insures its fully covered. Hose and cloths, feather off and feather on, steady distance, steady speed, follow the light through the paint, overlap 50%, wet the edge, melt the layers, it all happens really really fast with color.

<100 2706>	<100 2707>	<100 2708>
<100 2709>

Posted 2015-04-16 13:29:54 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.2 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:21:57 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-1-15 The bugs were getting in, and the hour was getting late. We decided to knock off until morning. We would rise before the sun - Jerry explained lawn mowers were not our friend - and it was the weekend. The work for the day began with taping off the silver, at the stripe line. Just by coincidence, the tape was blue, so before the blue paint. the blue stripes would be silver, and the silver stripes would be blue. The trunk lid had to be fitted and matched, then removed for paint. Then car was ready for the blue color!

<Paper bonnet>	<Paper side>	<Starting the blue bonnet>
<Starting the blue side>

Posted 2015-04-16 13:21:57 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10.1 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:00:53 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-1-15 So much changes so quickly on the color step, I decided to break this up to allow more pictures. After the bonnet stripe was done and the bottom of the car was painted silver, the rest of the stripes were laid out. To get the stripes to line up across the bonnet seam, I installed the latches. Both Cole and Jerry paid attention to every single inch of tape. Jerry spent about 5 hours on the tape alone - but when he was done, it was perfect.

<Nose>	<Side>	<Rear Quarter>
<Trunk>

Posted 2015-04-16 13:00:53 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 10 - Color

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 12:48:16 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

2-1-15 Color choices were made. Cole long ago had decided on a blue with silver scheme. With some guidance, he picked "Blue velvet pearl" - with lots of pearl, and a shot glass worth of it in the silver to help it blend. And a sleeve of 1/8" blue tape. Jerry had volunteered to lay out the stripes. The stripe package had been a 3 way discussion for a couple of months. I presented the general ideas, Cole culled out the ones he didn't like, and Jerry laid out his interpretation of what would look right. Being Cole's car, he had final veto power - and was not afraid to use it. He explained it best "this is a once in a lifetime gift (Jerry's assistance), and I want it to be exactly right". The idea that survived - A Le Mans inspired stripe at the bonnet, rolling along the sides, and having a modified version of the very rare dealer installed side strip up the rear quarter. Jerry liked it, but, insisted it needed pin striping outlining everything. And through the raised part of the bonnet. He laid it out on the primmer, and it was obvious, he was right. We lowered the car, and stripped off all the primer covered paper. I bolted in a seat, and fired up the old girl, and drove the 1/2 block to Jerry's. We got her in his garage about mid day Saturday. The plan was to drive her home, painted, Sunday afternoon. Allot of very hard work was about to get covered up - and an incredible transformation was about to happen. Back up on the stands, we papered the car again. Sweep, blow, mop, blow again, let it all settle - adjust the doors, masks on, mix the paint - moment of truth! Jerry started on the raised portion of the bonnet. First a stripe of blue. When that was ready, he taped off the stripes - under very demanding supervision from Cole - and shot the silver. O-my! This was going to be fun!

<First color>	<Tapped stripes>	<Second color>
<Pulled tape>

Posted 2015-04-16 12:48:16 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 9 - Blocking

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 09:45:46 -0500

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

1-29-15 I have no finger prints. Strange feeling, but, my finger tips are a smooth as glass. Picking up wet stemware is a bit dicey at the moment. How did this happen? I will get to that in a moment. I intended to make 3 entries for the month of January - one for each stage of the primer process. However, it has been pointed out - the steps are almost identical, the pictures ARE identical, and this journal is already boring enough...So this one will cover it all. Once the primer was set up, we used cheap black rattle can paint to "smoke" the car - a light dusting, everywhere the primer was. The smoke did 2 things for us. 1 - The "master of all things paint" Jerry had taught me, paint doesn't stick to paint (or primer), it sticks to scratches. Very fine scratches to be sure - but scratches non the less. Our primer was nice a shiny, and needed to be "scratched" for the next layer. Anywhere that was still smoked was not properly scratched. 2 - We would be removing the "smoke" with flat tools - and any place that was not "flat" would still be smoked - more shaping was required, until it was flat. After smoking the car, it was time to "unprimer" the car. I've been told that's not really a thing - but that's what we did. 80 grit sand paper, our paint sticks, and a long board - and lots of elbow grease. And lots of "no, not like that, like this". I felt like I was corrected more times than Lois Lerner. But, learning how to shape the car was exciting - we could really see the results, the lines were popping, the curves were rounded and flowing, and the edges were sharp. It was the same car - just better defined. Once our inspector gave us the thumbs up, we were on to coat 2 of the primer Coat 2 was similar to the first round. We reduced the primer a bit more - it came out faster, and Jerry had me move the gun faster - with his genital real time feedback - I don't remember exactly what he was yelling - I think it was something about his Grandmother paints faster - or I was painting like old people screw - but I got the idea, about the time I finished. We smoked it again, and blocked it again. This time with 180. Most of the shaping was done, just a few touch ups, and it was ready for the last coat. Coat 3 was much thinner, and it went on real fast. After smoking it this time, Cole had a brief moment of "how about a stealth fighter look" - it did look cool. The blocking was with wet 400 this time, and we switched to sanding pads. We were very happy with the results, the car looked great. After a month of sanding away our evenings and weekends, and our finger prints, we were ready for color. At this point, with the aid of the internet, I self diagnosed my right arm with a triple injury - tennis elbow, golfers elbow, and mouse elbow. It was done for a while. Jerry offered to clear out a space in his garage to shoot it, he reasoned he was more comfortable with his rig anyway. I took him up on it - mostly because it meant I could drive the car 2 more times. I think he was glad for the injury, he was going to have to tell me I sucked too much with the gun to clear coat it. We had a plan, and were off to the paint store....

<Under Primer>	<Smoked>	<Blocking off the smoke>
<Final Wet sand>

Posted 2015-04-16 09:45:46 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 8 - Priming

Mon, 16 Feb 2015 10:33:00 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

1-4-15 The "after New Years" sale on fireworks must have been incredible, and my thrifty neighbors have taken full advantage. Its like the 4th of July - every day! My dogs are as rattled as I am when Jerry looks at my body work. I do drool a bit less though. So, after another intense inspection - all is ok - time to prep the car. A light sanding to expose fresh metal, lots of compressed air - and a final wipe down with "Whip Out" - and I am ready for the "primer class". Another "suggestion" on the primer, we are using "Slick Sand", and a fairly high end version of that. We go over the plan: Its explained that it is like spray body filler. We are going to put a bunch of it on, and take a bunch of it off. Using the 80 grit sand paper, and the paint sticks we just used on the body filler. So, its kinda the same as what we just spent a month doing...."No", Jerry says, but it sounds like it to me...All along Jerry has been telling me we will use 3 coats - sanding the first one with 80 grit, the second with 180, and the final with 400 wet. I got all that. Now he is talking about hitting the car 3 times right now. With no sanding in between. As lost as a Second Lieutenant with a map and compass, I point out this glaring discrepancy in the plan. Turns out I wasn't paying proper attention - my idea of a "coat" and a painters are not the same thing! We are going to cover the car 3 times for EACH coat. That's 9 times, for those of you as dim as me. But, if my body work doesn't suck too bad, we may only go around twice on the last coat. Have to wait and see... So, now its Chemistry 101. But without the Bunsen burners this time. The primer is reduced to the desired flow rate. And we decide thick for the first coat. We will reduce it more each time, so the final is about 20%. Then the science of hardener vs temp/humidity comes to play. It seams as exacting as a politicians moral compass. Kinda like the harder in the body filler. Primer is mixed, and the clock is ticking. Jerry and I had made a dry-run rehearsal, so we both knew what was coming. He would shoot the first pass, I would shoot the second, and he was going to "clean up" on the 3rd. The only part we didn't practice was that he was going to do his "Drill Instructor SGT Simpson" impersonation over my shoulder during the second pass. It felt like I was home...on Parris Island again. His instruction was easy to follow: "FASTER!!!....SLOWER!!!....FEATHER!!!....MORE TRIGGER!!!....". I expected to get the command "MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS TILL YOU DIE - GO!", but it never came. Instead we had a debrief on what went well, and what I needed to work on - there were 6 more passes to go - and then color and clear coat. Jerry said he wasn't yelling, just talking loud enough to be heard over the compressor - but he never did explain the "bony maggot" reference... Last step was the paint gun clean up. Turns out, if you ask a bunch of dumb questions, and that delays cleaning out the gun, the primer will harden in the gun. I got the bonus class on how to break the gun all the way down and clean it. I didn't bring it up, but, I kinda wanted to grab a stop watch and blindfold, and have Jerry put it back together.

<Second Pass>	<Paint Gun Instruction>	<Following the Wet Edge>
<Coat 1 complete>

Posted 2015-02-16 10:33:00 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 6.1 - Body Work Continues

Mon, 16 Feb 2015 08:25:45 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

12-31-14 The going got a bit slow here. Jerry's expert inspections often began with "close, but...." Cole even got fired once. He took it well. While my technique improved, so did my ability to tell what wasn't going to fly. My own inspections started to begin with "close, but..." Cole kept the body filler sandings on the floor swept up - and that was becoming a full time job. However, the body WAS taking shape. It seamed everywhere I touched, there was a mountain or valley - or the contour wasn't quite right, but, we stayed on it, and eventually...Jerry fixed it in a minute or 2. Well, it seamed that way... The body was exposed metal, and although blessed with dry weather, the days were dragging by, and rust was a real concern. We still had allot of work on the bonnet to do, but it was decided we would get the rest of the car under primer, before we had to deal with rust mixed in with our new body work. I learned the proper way to tape and paper, and did that correctly - on the second or third try. We were all set for primer.

<Tail Body Work Complete>	<Door is ready>	<Right Side Done>
<Ready to Prime>

Posted 2015-02-16 08:25:45 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 7 - Wood Working

Sun, 15 Feb 2015 17:24:22 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

12-7-14 While the body work was stretching my patients, ability to learn, and Jerry's laugh lines, Cole and I decided to tackle some of the wood work. Now the dash in the 70 U.S. version had a plastic overlay - somewhere along the line, someone "upgraded" the dash to all wood (veneered plywood). Unfortunately, the years had taken a toll. I am no stranger to wood working, and replacing it would give me a chance to teach the boy a thing or 2 about wood working as well. The other item I had in mind was the steering wheel. It had started to decay, and would need replacement. I shared the idea with Cole - make them both out of the same thing to match. He loved it. The search for the correct wood was on. Cole is a particular fella, and the search lasted from early November until mid December. What he finally decided was the "right" color for his car - Walnut with a custom stain. So, I ordered enough Walnut to make a dash, steering wheel, and have enough left over for the shift knob. All back burner pieces, but, I needed a little break from the endless dents and dings on the body. The first item of business was to reduce the thickness from 1 1/4 down to 1/2 inch. Sure wish i had a plainer! I do have a bench mounted router - on the end of a cast iron table saw. So, we chucked a good sized bit, and took off about 3/8 at a time. Once it was down to size, we laid out the pattern (simply traced the pieces of the old dash), and cut it out with the scrawl saw. Cole went to work sanding and shaping to get it all just right. We figured out a way to cut the holes for the speedo and tach using the router as well. Staring with a hole saw, he used a Rabbet bit to cut about 1/2 way up. Then flipped the piece, and used the new cut as the guide for the bearing on a trim bit. We could adjust the finish hole size by changing the bearing size on the end of the Rabbet bit. We had a great productive day. But, then Jerry showed up and made me work again....

<Final color>	<Raw stock>	<Cutting the big holes>
<Whats done to date>

Posted 2015-02-15 17:24:22 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 6 - Body Work

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 08:43:26 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

12-1-14 Well, I can't say I have never beaten on a car with a hammer anymore. Jerry brought over his body tools, and explained how it all works. Several times. With examples. Then more slowly with simpler words....Well, you get the idea. We started on the drivers side quarter panel. Turns out, its not a "rear wing", its a quarter panel. And the one in the front is NOT a quarter panel at all. We have had many a discussion about what a "hood" really is, and I have heard Jerry say "Bonnet" twice so far. So, I can give some too - its a quarter panel. But, unfortunately, it was a bashed in mess of a rear wing - er - quarter panel. Jerry also explained that an inch of body filler is not a good thing, and we need to shape it as close to the correct shape as possible. And, FYI, its not called "Bondo" if it cost $90 a gallon with a discount... So, this lesson was a big one. We shaped the metal. Filled the holes and sanded it flat until we feathered the edges. And repeated, going out farther, until the shape was correct. I was just learning how to "see" with my fingers...and they had a lot to see. I was struggling with getting the highs and lows just right, and allot of filler had to come back off. Jerry repeatedly demonstrated that 20 minutes of his time was much much more productive than several hours of mine. Good thing the body was so dinged up, I had plenty of opportunities to learn how its done. Ya, real good thing....

<First Layer>	<Second Layer>	<Third Layer>
<Final Shape>

Posted 2015-02-04 08:43:26 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 5 - Cleaning Out The Filler

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 08:06:11 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

11-30-14 We passed Jerry's inspection at this point - with some corrective action ("looks good, just get right here, and over here, and here, and here...." ). The next step was cleaning up what was left - time to put the DA sander and the shop air to the test. The smell of fresh paint getting hot filled the garage, as the compressor got a break in. Some of the dents proved to be so deep, I had to dig out the angle grinder to get down into the pockets. Jerry showed us why we were DA noobs a few times, but, we started to get the hang of it - as we finished. That's how most of this project went - we got really good at a particular step - as we finished that step. But, we were both learning, and Jerry kept us out of the ditch. To us, and our untrained eyes, the car looked incredible down to the metal. There was NO RUST anywhere. Jerry had said, we can fix anything, but NO RUST! So, that's what we had. I was thrilled. Jerry mentioned "allot of body work". Hmm, wonder what "allot" means...

<Shop air and DA sander...>	<Body filler removed>	<80 git DA sanded>
<100 2616>

Posted 2015-02-04 08:06:11 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 4 - Taking Off The Paint

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 07:34:12 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

11-28-15 My mentor for this project, Jerry, is no fan of the heavy commercial "aviation" paint strippers available today, especially for use in the home garage. Most of his "recommendations" were actually "requirements", and the choose of stripper was not optional - "Capt Lees Spra Strip". Capt Lees is far more gentle on fingers, fumes and clean up - its water soluble! It can be deactivated on the car with alcohol as well. Very easy to work with, not as easy to find. Jerry started using it when he was stripping Corvettes - it wont eat the fiberglass - and that's where I had to go to get it - online Corvette suppliers. I ordered 2 gallons - and we have 2/3 of one left. Cole and I hit it hard during the Thanksgiving break, and put the paint job in a cardboard box with a couple of putty knives. We used a drill and wire wheels to get in all the nooks and crannies. The only thing left on the car was a light residue of melted pigment that had hardened, and the deeper body filler pockets. And there were a ton of those.

<There might be some body damage!>	<That filler is hiding something>	<No rust, but lots of dents>
<No turning back now>

Posted 2015-02-04 07:34:12 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 3 - Pans And Disassembly

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:27:20 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

11-26-15 A friend of mine for high school still brings up the holes in my floorboards. There is just something about the Spits floor pans, they just really like to rot out. So, I was very happy to see this one had 2 actual floor pans! And originals at that. I attributed that to the fact the pans where magic, or the fact the car has been primarily in storage since 1980 or so. Since the later was more likely, I expected that the pans would soon rot right out the second we started driving it regularly. To prevent that, I put the boy to work with a wire wheel and a gallon of truck bed liner. The next order of business was to get our "shop air" up to the level required to take the paint off a car, and put something back on. My 2 1/2 gallon compressor was not going to cut it. I picked up (ok, a fork lift picked up) a 60 gallon, 11.5 scfm (@90 psi) compressor. We ran 220 to it, and laid out a 50 foot sloping header, with drop legs drains, a regulator and a couple water separators. Problem was, to get the fall we wanted, we had to run it in the attic. Cole did a bang up job crawling around, and strapping it up nice and tight. Just ask him, he will tell you how good a job he did. If you have a system even slightly inferior, you wont have to ask him, he will volunteer the info on it. And now he knows why it pays to stay in school.... Planing on using a chemical stripper, we laid tarps on the garage floor, tape them down, and went to work removing everything from the car. Bagging all the hardware, and taping the bags to the main parts, we created a "file" system in the floor to ceiling shelving next to the work area. Everything came off quickly, and we took lots of reference pictures.

<Bed liner>	<Removing the Windshield>	<Removing the Windshield frame>
<Ready for paint removal>

Posted 2015-02-02 14:27:20 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 2 - Taking Stock

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:23:38 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

11-15-2015 After getting her home, I unloaded her from the dolly. She really didn't want to come. When she did, it was clear the header was what was dragging. There was a bit more of an exhaust leak now than before. The first order of business was to inventory parts, and clean up the car. I put Cole to work washing and polishing the car - not that I had any hope the paint was salvageable, I just wanted a better look - and I didn't know how long it would be before Jerry could give me a hand on the body work. I will say Cole did a great job, it polished up well. Unfortunately, if you polish a turd, its still a turd. I was all proud "look Jerry, its shiny! Maybe its not so bad after all". Jerry "...fish eyes....a$$holes...orange peal....dent...dent....dent...dent...dent...dent..dent...dent..." So, the verdict was as swift as it was harsh - paint has to come off. He gave me a list of materials, and we laid out a plan. In the mean time, Cole went to work on all the chrome with some WD-40, and steel wool. The shiny bits came out well, with most being usable on the finished car. A class on electrical took us through a diagram, tracing out why the horn didn't work. With Cole driving the meter, we found a bad horn, missing push brush, and no ground wire on the ring in the steering wheel. Ordered the brush, along with the supplies we would need to de-paint the car in our garage. Cole got a class on soldering, and we added back the missing wire to the steering wheel. Meanwhile, I changed out the distributor, went for a few more "test drives", and took stock of all the parts that came with the car, vs what I knew we were missing. Then went shopping. They didn't say it, but I could tell - TRF and Moss had missed me. I added a couple new friends too - Spitbits and Rimmers.

<Polishing Chrome>

<Learning to Solder>

Posted 2015-02-02 13:23:38 by Matthew Taylor

Father And Son Project Part 1 - Getting The Car

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 12:36:37 -0600

Matthew Taylor's Journal --

Pre 10- 25 - 14. My son, Cole, is nearing the legal driving age, and the time honored question "what will I drive" has left the theoretical, and become a real, practical question. I wont go into the months and months long debate that led to the choice, but - in the end, he decided on a round tail Spitfire. He wanted to "earn" the car with sweat equity, and learn a thing or 2 about cars in the process. I was leaning toward a 2004 Corolla - but my first car was a 1972 Spitfire Mk IV - that I earned with sweat equity and $300. The sweat equity was BECAUSE it was $300. So, I was (all to easily) persuaded. His mother took a bit longer. I will refer to her as "the Saint" throughout this journal. And I am happy to report, as of right now, we ARE still married. Now that the car type was decided on, the hunt was on! After several promising leads did not pan out, Craigslist brought us together with Larry and his 1970 Spitfire Mk III. After several emails, a ton of pictures, and some phone calls my perception was: A rust free, mechanical sound car that had most of its interior - in boxes - and needed body work. Larry kept causally mentioning things - weeks after I would have - that may have scarred off a mere mortal - but stuff that was big pluses to me. "...it idles a little rough, because of the de-tuned A6 cam..." or "it runs ok, probably run better with the electronic dizzy that comes with it"..."or "I don't know what kind of mileage it gets - not as good as factory because of the twin HS4's that are on it. It flows more with that, the header and Monza exhaust" or it comes with 2 Koni shocks in the box for the rear. I only got around to the 1 inch lowering springs and adjustable Konis on the front". The only sticking point, and the only reason I didn't just snatch it up - I am far more comfortable rebuilding an engine and gear box, than body work. My neighbor, and good friend, Jerry is the other way around. My TR3 has needed body work for some time, and its a project I have been dreading. Jerry volunteered to teach me the basics on a Spit, so I could tackle the TR3. He is almost as good a salesman as he is a painter (I have seen his work, he is a true master!), and he had me talked into it. We could do it during half time of an Alabama game, and it will look so good traffic would part for us wherever we go. All for the price of a six pack, and a few dollars. And it was just a short 7 hour drive away. Road trip! 10-25 / 10-26-14 This was not our first "father/son" road trip, and Cole knows the deal. We stay in the lap of luxury when we travel as a family - the Saint deserves at least that...but its all business, and on a budget when its just me and the boy - so cheap food and cheap hotels it is. Armed with his driving permit, Cole took us most of the way. We spent the night about 1/2 hour from Larry. The great thing about cheap hotels, you typically don't feel the desire to "hang out" longer than necessary. This one was no different. We were out the door with the rising sun. In the same parking lot was food on the same level. Not a norm for us, but, I treated the boy to some "Awful Waffle", just for the experience. Each with a couple of bricks in our stomach, it was off to U-haul for a dolly. Larry was a twisty country road or 3 away. He greeted us with Southern hospitality. And there she was. "She" doesn't have a name yet (Cole says he cant name here until he drives her, needs to "know" her personality" ). Larry had painted a fairly good picture in my mind. She fired right up. A small exhaust leak aside - it was clear there was defiantly a cam involved. Larry figured we would like a road test, so he had bolted in a couple seats ("did I mention - it comes with these original seats - there kinda rough, so, I will throw in these 1500's hounds tooth seats if you have room for them..." ). It had been a few years (just 15 or so) since I had laid a Spit through some tight twisty bits - but it all came back! She was the quickest Spit I had been in. And if we hadn't started running out of gas on the way up the hills, I would probably still be on that test drive. Hooked. Fortunately, Larry's was on the way down, and we coasted in on fumes. Larry looked relieved. Something about 10 year old tag, no insurance, no seat belts, the "SEG" plastered under my nose as I tore off at 6k, going 45 around his 15 mph curve from the house... I don't remember everything he said...he was just glad we were back. So the engine ran, the suspension was tight. The body looked a little worse than I thought. But, we were planning on a down the metal paint job anyway. In an afternoon, for a few bucks, right Jerry? A quick conference with Cole - who was still wearing his SEG under his nose from the test drive - it was agreed, she was a keeper. Good thing too, plan B was a green MKIII an hour from Larry, but, I hadn't been able to get in touch with him to tell him he was plan B that weekend. That left me in a week bargaining position, but I decided to haggle with Larry anyway. He had a number, and I beat it. 10 seconds, start to stop - and that's mostly because of the easy southern drawls involved. Maybe not the best negotiators, but we were both happy, and parted as friends. Larry helped us load the car on the dolly, and then proceeded to fill it and my SUV with all manner of odds and ends that were Spitfire related in his drive-in basement. And then we are off. Took a bit longer getting home - a bit slower towing a car. And we didn't pass too many truck stops without a mandatory "remember the Awful Waffle" tribute.

<100 2527>	<Extra seats>	<spit3>
<photo>

Posted 2015-02-02 12:36:37 by Matthew Taylor