Terry,
Like yourself, I'm repainting my Spit (from Inca Yellow to a cherry
red). I'm going the DIY route and using Lucite acrylic lacquer (extremely
labor-intensive but very forgiving & easily re-doable where I screw up); I
have primitive equipment, minimal facilities (back-yard) and limited skills.
On the other hand, I'm an ancient retiree & the Spit is not my daily
driver - so I have the time for such a long-term project (been at it for 2
or 3 months so far & still have the bonnet, front valance & windshield frame
to go - see pic MVC-493).
I'm really writing to give you some food for thought on bonnet
re-inforcement. The notoriously weak areas around the bonnet-latches have,
on my car (&, I suspect, most Spits), resulted in stress cracks around the
bonnet-handle and - on the left side - a split in the bottom 90-deg flare
which meant that the lower line of the bonnet/fender wasn't straight & bowed
inward toward the rear. So I put some 3/4" aluminum channel on the inside
of that flare & fiberglassed the inside of the handle area - see pic
MVC-491. I don't think the fiberglass does a hell of a lot, but adding the
channel to the bottom of the lower bonnet/fender really stiffened things up
& of course straightened the fender line perfectly - plus the aluminum is
easy to work with, easy to cut & easy to drill.
It works for me - YMMV. Good luck & keep us posted on your progress.
Ree G. in Mexico, NY (soon to be Silver Spring, MD) - 78 Spit FM73070U O
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