Learn me 1980Triumph Spitfires-Page 2: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Nov. 9, 2011 4:44 p.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

Toyman, my previous Spitfire experiences are why the Abomination is basically a rotary powered Miata clothed in British tin. Found a picture you might like:

That's Dave Herr's Turbo Coupe powered Spit and the Abomination at the $2006 Challenge. He and I were pretty excited about the photo shoot, we thought we'd get an article; sadly, no.

93EX, they aren't hard to take apart. The brake caliper and rotor have to come off, then the bolt through the lower control arm has to come out. After that, you simply unscrew the trunnion from the bottom of the upright. My personal test: unscrew the trunnion about a turn and a half or so, then see if it can be wiggled. It should have a little movement, that's normal. If it can be wobbled, that's bad. Also the trunnion should unscrew easily, if it's stiff to turn it's probably been greased and the threads are worn. If that is the case, you will need new ones. Wire brush the upright threads to get the bronze and hard grease off, then fill the new trunnion 2/3 or so with gear lube and screw it onto the upright until it bottoms.
Nov. 9, 2011 9:05 p.m. Ian F SuperDork

93EXCivic wrote:

In reply to Curmudgeon:

Can you take apart the lower trunnion to check it?

Yes, but it more or less requires tearing the whole trunnion and spindle assembly apart. And once you get to that point, replacement trunnions are cheap enough you just replace them. Spitbits sells a complete front suspension kit for $169:

http://www.spitbits.com/store/FRONT-SUSPENSION-KIT-INCLUDES-ball-joints-2-wishbone...
Nov. 10, 2011 8:34 a.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

Ian F is right that they are cheap enough that it makes good sense to start out with new ones, since they hold the entire weight of the front of the car.

I did the Miata upright swap on the Abomination and was pleased with the results, pleased enough that the Jensenator has Miata uprights as well. If I were to do the Spitfire swap over again, I think I'd use TR6 upper ball joints since they have the larger taper needed for the Miata uprights and still bolt into the Spitfire upper control arms. For the lowers I'd get some of those circle track ball joints and the sleeves they thread into. That would have saved me a good bit of fabricating.
Nov. 10, 2011 8:51 a.m. 93EXCivic SuperDork

Any difference between the GT6 and Spitfire trunnions?
Nov. 10, 2011 11:12 a.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

No, they are the same.
Nov. 10, 2011 11:14 a.m. ransom Dork

Is there an Abomination build thread?
Nov. 11, 2011 10:35 a.m. bearmtnmartin New Reader

475 horsepower in a triumph is pointless. It's a really good car if you use it as intended or modify it in a reasonable way. You can if you want to spend the money squeeze 180 or 200 hp out of the stock 2 litre, or go to the 2.5 that the TR series came with. That is double the stock output and in a 1700 (gutted) pound car, that is serious performance. And the stock driveline will take that if you are not out doing stoplight brakestands.

The weak link is the rotoflex, but it's not that bad. Eventually they tear apart, but in the meantime they do a great job of absorbing driveline forces and saving the diff. They come in different sizes and a number of vehicles came with them, including formula fords, landrovers and the ford gt40. Oh, also a few lotii. The rotos are more commonly replaced to eliminate the weak axle end which tends to come apart at speed if you corner hard and often. Also rotos are not really available in good quality anymore. Canley classics sells a bolt in replacement axle assembly, or you can make your own in a variety of ways. Which is what I did. It seems to me that a high horsepower high torque triumph gt 6 would be easier achieved by dropping the body of one on a different car altogether. On britishv8 there is one that has been cut down the middle, widened and sports a v12.
Nov. 11, 2011 10:41 a.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

Sorry, no Abomination build thread but I do have some pics and stuff. Tell you what, its ~140 high revving rotary HP is quite entertaining. Ask Toyman. 475 HP in a Spit is definitely overkill. Actually, when you come down to it, 475 HP in anything is pointless. But isn't the pointlessness that the fun part?