Harve,
You had to ask ;-)
Fifteen years ago I built a "Spit6" using a MKI GT6 and a body shell of an
early MKII Spit I recovered from a junkyard. I encountered only two minor
problems. First, The firewall on the Spit body had to be cut out behind the
brake master cylinder. Cars with tandem brake cylinders have any
indentation on the firewall to accommodate the larger brake m/c fluid
reservoir. Earlier cars with single-line brake systems do not, so in order
to use the GT6 brake m/c I had to cut the firewall to make it fit. If I had
used an early MKI GT6 (pre KC7500) I would not have had this problem since
it also employs a single-line brake system. Conversely, I could have used a
body shell from a MKIII Spit as these utilized tandem brake m/c's. the
second problem encountered was the difference in dashes between the two
cars. I cut the spot welds that hold the metal dash panel out on both cars
to remove them and welded the GT6 panel onto the Spit. Everything was a
straight forward, bolt-on swap. - GT6 chassis, running gear, bonnet and
electrical with a Spitfire body.
My recommendations for anyone contemplating a project like this
would be:
-Stick with similar families as follows:
Spitfire MkI and MkII with GT6 MkI
Spitfire MkIII with GT6+
Spitfire MkIV and 1500 with GT6 Mk III
The reasons for this are mostly aesthetic - the bumper height
remains the same front (GT6) and
rear (Spitfire) and the bonnet hinges don't have to be modified.
-Swaps involving rotoflex GT6's are more difficult and take a little
more skill (like welding) but don't pose any insurmountable problems.
- It is easier to build a Spit6 from a GT6 chassis rather than
transplanting the GT6 suspension and
drivetrain into a complete Spitfire.
-From a purist standpoint, don't 'kill' a couple of good cars to do
this. Rather, find a rusted- through GT6
with good running gear and straight Spit with blown
engine/tranny/pumpkin. Both should be relatively easy to find (and cheap).
I remember the car drove just how one would expect. It didn't handle as
well as a stock Spitfire because of the additional weight in the nose, but
was faster (though not exhilarating) in a straight line and was more relaxed
at cruising speed.
Later,
Karl
> ----------
> From: Thorn
> Reply To: Thorn
> Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 1999 07:19 AM
> To: spitfire-enthusiast@egroups.com
> Cc: spitfires@autox.team.net
> Subject: sixfire ? 6spit?
>
> Appreciate hearing from those of you who have melded the spit body and gt6
> trany & engine. Off list if fine with me.
>
> Many tks.
>
> harve
>
> '79 Spitfire driver
> '75 Spitfire donor
>
>
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