Triumph Spitfire
Nigel knocks up some engine bay valances for the Spitfire
Predictably, my time in the workshop over the last few weeks has centred on my recently acquired project Spitfire, as I get to know it better and identify its various imperfections. There’s a plan coming together and it goes something like this… spend the next few months getting everything mechanical in good order, then move onto bodywork once the weather warms up, and eventually tackle the interior. The little Spitty is actually pretty sound mechanically, but being a perfectionist by nature, there are a few jobs I would like to get ticked off my mental to-do list. There’s a little play somewhere in the rear suspension that needs
tackling and, while we’re in that area, one of the halfshaft universal joints is rumbling slightly. Upfront, I’ve already serviced the engine with new oil, filters and plugs but there’s an irritating drip of oil from the sump plug. There’s also something amiss with the twin SU carburettors, as there’s quite a flat spot in mid-range response where the mixture appears to go very weak.
I can mask the problem by setting the carbs too rich at tickover but it needs to be properly investigated and fixed. I wonder if the weak mixture may actually be a result of the ever so loud twin box ‘sports’ exhaust, which will be changed for something more refined as soon as I get the chance. Finally, there’s a bit of play in the upper steering column bushes, a typical Triumph fault. So there’s quite a list of mechanical bits and pieces to do, none of which are urgent but they’ll all need fixing in due course.
Though it may not have been the highest priority, I decided for now to concentrate on making a pair of side valances for the engine bay.
The small chassis Triumphs with their large one-piece front ends look
‘I have already serviced the engine with new oil, filter and plugs’
somehow incomplete without valances, though the ‘open plan’ engine bay certainly makes for excellent access. Triumph’s original valances were made of a type of impregnated cardboard, beloved of cost accountants no doubt, but very short-lived in the real world. As a consequence, many Heralds and their siblings are running around with incomplete engine bays.
Parts suppliers offer replacements in the original material for the purist, or pressed from sheet metal for those of us who like to use our cars regularly. I could have bought a ready-made pair, but preferred the challenge of producing them from scratch using my sheet metal folder, which spends too much time sitting on the shelf. Most would probably choose 1.6mm sheet but I’ve gone for 2mm thickness, as it’s noticeably stiffer and therefore less likely to rattle and flap under the bonnet. It may also be strong enough to provide a bit of extra bracing for the Spitfire’s full width radiator support cradle. The extra thickness may be a little harder to bend, but it actually costs only a few pence more. I ordered two conveniently sized sheets from Alloy Droitwich’s ebay shop.
Making the valances is quite straightforward, starting with corrugated cardboard to make a template for the basic outline, which could then be transferred to the sheet metal. The straight cuts were all short enough that a large hacksaw could cope, with the only difficulties being the curves over the steering rack gaiters and the enclosed straight cuts above the tops of the suspension towers. The alloy sheet was a bit too thick for tin snips but I was able to cut the trickier sections fairly quickly using a hand nibbling tool. Bending the 2mm sheet was tough but bolted firmly to my largest, heaviest workbench, my bending brake just about managed.
Trial fitting each side proved the shape was correct and, with mounting holes drilled, both valances were soon bolted in place. The pair of struts that brace the radiator mounts from the tops of the suspension towers were a bit snug against the valances’ sides but in all other respects they fit very well.
The engine bay now looks complete, as the car’s previous owner had already fitted alloy cheeks in front of the radiator. I’m considering whether to take out the valances and finish them with a coat of satin black aerosol. In any case, that will have to wait as the garage is far too cold for painting right now.