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rebuild the motor... |
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rebuild the motor... |
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THE HEAD - 1500 Spit intake & exhaust valves, double valve springs, 1300 Spit rocker supports, ported & polished, matched to intake and exhaust manifolds. Manifold locating rings removed, and manifold & head drilled to accept a pair of locating pins. Rocker geometry corrected for head shave, and bronze sleeves on rocker shaft to replace original centering springs. 9.6:1 compression. |
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THE BLOCK - Bored 0.040" over, fully balanced, reground crank and cam to 264 degree duration and 0.372" lift. The crank was re-drilled to accept the 1500 cc Spit flywheel, and I'm using a custom made 10 spline clutch disk to mate it up to the early tranny. Rear crankshaft oil throw was spray welded & machined to bolt up a 1500 cc rear plate & main seal. High-flow oil pump in a slightly modified pan keeps the whole thing lubed properly. And, yes, the freeze plugs were replaced as well... |
| THE RESULTS - So here we are, putting it all together. I found a factory exhaust header from a Mk II Spit, and I haven't put the dizzy with the Pertronix ignitor in it on yet. SU's are rebuilt & re-shafted, and they also have grose-jets in them. Little by little, it's getting closer to being started. |  |
Joe Baba of Original Duplicates here in Fresno, was a great deal of help in getting the motor right. He has years of experience with Spits, and was extremely helpful in offering his advice and technical expertise in setting the block up. He suggested a local machine shop that he works closely with, and their work was outstanding. He knew what parts to order and where to get them from, what works well, and what doesn't. Thank you, Joe. Now that the motor is more or less done, what am I to do with it?
| ...START IT! - Here's the powerplant, safely nestled on new motor mounts. High flow air cleaner elements, and polished American Mags, with Yokohama AVS II's. Mag centercap stickers from Arizona Spitfire enthusiast, Joe Curry. I first fired it up on March 19, 1997 -- it ran great -- Oh, what a feeling! |  |
| September, 1999 - The Monza tips add to the high performance look. The running gear is on my trailer in preparation to take it to the 7th Annual Very British Car & Motorcycle Meet, in Fresno, California. |  |
Well, that's it for now. I will post more pics & info as progress occurs. Let me know what you think. Thanks for visiting this site,