Well very little has happened since the last post except the 1500 miles the spitfire has done.
However the list of things to do has expanded.
Remove and check preloads on diff, as it's noisy. I checked the diff before painting it and found no wear so I suspect I’ve upset the crush ring on the input shaft. Well see.
The engine mounts need replacing as the exhaust hits the chassis occasionally.
I do however have a plan.
The first three projects will run together and these are the gearbox project, The cylinder head project and a Lambda sensor project to help with tuning.
Gearbox
I have completed most of the research and will shortly be looking for a donor gearbox to start.
This will be partially stripped and checked before being painted.
I will then part design the interface plate. I will finish this when I disassemble the spit in about October time.
Cylinder head
I am researching porting of the cylinder head I think that I’m going to start with the current head if this is successful I will then buy a unleaded head and do the same to that. I it all goes badly wrong I will go straight to the unleaded head and forget about porting.
There seems at present to be three areas to concentrate on.
Valve area
Unshroud valve area in the cylinder
Smooth the valve seat into the port especially on the short side.
Ports
Smooth and remove obstructions or at least minimise.
Manifold
Match the manifold to the cylinder head.
I might change to stainless steel headers at this point.
Lambda sensor
The research is done and I have constructed an electronic box/readout
I need to buy a 02 sensor and fit.
I hope this works if not I will buy a gauge from ebay to work with the 02 sensor.
Later
After this i will need to think about fueling as the standard setup on the SU carbs will be way off thanks to the better breathing cylinder head. This is when i will think about servicing / modifiying and changing jet needles. This will hopefully happen spring 2009.
After this i will look at breaking again but i'm certain that i will be using Metro turbo calipers with bespoked mount brackets.
However the list of things to do has expanded.
Remove and check preloads on diff, as it's noisy. I checked the diff before painting it and found no wear so I suspect I’ve upset the crush ring on the input shaft. Well see.
The engine mounts need replacing as the exhaust hits the chassis occasionally.
I do however have a plan.
The first three projects will run together and these are the gearbox project, The cylinder head project and a Lambda sensor project to help with tuning.
Gearbox
I have completed most of the research and will shortly be looking for a donor gearbox to start.
This will be partially stripped and checked before being painted.
I will then part design the interface plate. I will finish this when I disassemble the spit in about October time.
Cylinder head
I am researching porting of the cylinder head I think that I’m going to start with the current head if this is successful I will then buy a unleaded head and do the same to that. I it all goes badly wrong I will go straight to the unleaded head and forget about porting.
There seems at present to be three areas to concentrate on.
Valve area
Unshroud valve area in the cylinder
Smooth the valve seat into the port especially on the short side.
Ports
Smooth and remove obstructions or at least minimise.
Manifold
Match the manifold to the cylinder head.
I might change to stainless steel headers at this point.
Lambda sensor
The research is done and I have constructed an electronic box/readout
I need to buy a 02 sensor and fit.
I hope this works if not I will buy a gauge from ebay to work with the 02 sensor.
Later
After this i will need to think about fueling as the standard setup on the SU carbs will be way off thanks to the better breathing cylinder head. This is when i will think about servicing / modifiying and changing jet needles. This will hopefully happen spring 2009.
After this i will look at breaking again but i'm certain that i will be using Metro turbo calipers with bespoked mount brackets.
