Hi Patrick!
As the owner and very part-time driver of a race Spit (technical
problems and no budget to speak of yet, so it sits in the garage and
goes to the occasional car show, but just you wait... ;), it can be very
fun and rewarding to autocross/road race a Spit. In my Texas Region
SCCA Solo II group there are/were several Spitfires -- one ran stock
with no mods or updated tires, one runs DSP, and one ran DM since he had
a Weber carb. All of them enjoyed themselves greatly. My car is
eligible to run DP or DM, depending on how I feel (twin SU's and no
Weber). I bought it set up to raod race, so it has the oil cooler and
fire suppression system and heavy-duty roll cage, etc., but it does fine
autocrossing. I have autocrossed and driven on the track in the car,
and it's FUN FUN FUN either way!
The best thing you can do first to a competition Spit (before any engine
mods or anything) is to fix the rear end. A sway bar or Joe's camber
compensator should help or take care of this problem. I autocrossed
Elliott (street Spit) a couple of times, and it's kinda disconcerting to
feel the rear end tuck up under the car during a sharp turn. A locking
or welded diff helps a lot, too. The next best thing is a roll bar.
Cars do turn over in autocrossing, although infrequently, and it is the
cheapest self-insurance you can get. Make sure it mounts to the frame
and not just the body.
The next step is probably a stiffer suspension. I run Koni shocks on
all four corners of the race car, and it makes a big difference.
Stickier tires come next, but only after the suspension is beefed.
Now you can get into the engine and horsepower mods. Be sure you don't
overdo it while you are learning about competing in your car. Start
with a more stock engine and learn the car, then start tweaking after
you are competent in it and familiar with it. Following the factory
competition guide is the best way to go, here. Basic stuff: port &
polish the head, deck the block & mill the head (be sure to check your
pushrod height when you get more extreme -- you may have to go to
shorter ones), overbore the cylinders, use aluminum pistons (Venolia is
one example), etc. A header is a good first mod -- sounds good,
reasonable cost for a few hps, and allows better exhaust flow. Jet Hot
coating is a good thing to do to it was well (the header).
As for vintage racing, the organizations I am familiar with use the SCCA
rulebooks from 1972, which are available from the SCCA in Colorado
(www.scca.org). Cars up to 1974 can be backdated to 1972 rules and be
eligible. Vintage racing requires the car to be built to the specs back
then, and so far has not included fiberglass body parts, fender flares,
or race slicks for Spits. Minor infractions lose points; major ones
change your run group to exhibition class, which has much more strict
regulations regarding speed and passing.
I hope this helps! Even working on my car and not doing much
competition (yet!) has been loads of fun. And there are lots of folks
out there with competition Spits. There were several at Nationals, and
two or three featured in the Runoffs issue of Sportscar (two for winning
their classes!).
Please let me know if I can be of further help!
Keep Triumphing,
Susan :)
"Bowen, Patrick A RP2" wrote:
>
> Well, add one to the family. I was called by a Triumph friend the other day
> (one who does not deal with Spitfires) and was asked if I wanted a free spit
> (gee, now lets think about that) The only condition was that I could not
> part it out and it had no title, with the main idea of my making a race car
> out of it. He is out of town for two weeks but I should shortly be
> receiving one more basket case to add to my troubles. As such I am looking
> at building an inexpensive race car (very inexpensive). What is the best
> resource for info on this. Also I looked at the SCCA rule book yesterday
> and it allows Spitfires competing in prepared D producion (I think that is
> how it goes) one Zenith or one SU carb. Where do they get one SU carb from?
> these cars have never been built with one SU (or am I once again wrong) Is
> this an error?
>
> What about info on vintage racing? Also is there an SCCA rule book online
> anywhere?
>
> Patrick Bowen
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