Triumph Spitfire Body Removal Preparation #7

Sorry if the title is a bit confusing, but it was the closest I could find to what I was actually doing.

Though I have not moved anywhere near the tools and parts that I need to the new garage yet, tonight was the first night that I got some real work done. I cannot tell you how much different a few feet around the entire car makes. I got a lot of stuff done in the tear-down department in much less time that I'm sure it would have taken me at home.

First, I wanted to get the bonnet off and put to the side. Part of this was in preparation for the body removal and part was to see if it, along with the rest of the body, would fit under the stairs that are in the back of the garage. In short, everything will fit just fine as a picture at the end will show.

Bonnet off. Note the tool box which did double-duty as a coolant collector since I forgot my catch basin.

Once I got the bonnet and the front valance (which seems to be in pretty good shape, though with the dents and dings you may expect after 50 years of life at the bottom of a low ground clearance car) off, I moved on to pulling the radiator. I forgot my oil pan so I used a HF toolbox that I brought with me (holding my temporary tools until I get the big tool box over there) to collect the coolant so that I could pull the radiator off without making a mess.

Bonnet, front valance and front bumper in their new resting place.

After that, I decided to pull the gearbox. I didn't drain it of the oil that I put in it after rebuilding it and I fought with myself if this was a good idea. However, since I don't intend on doing anything to it other than putting it back in when it's time, I figured the oil wouldn't spill during removal and didn't see any harm. Along with the gearbox, I removed the drive shaft...it had to be unbolted anyway.

Drive shaft removed. I supposed I'll refurbish and paint this, too.

Gearbox sitting under the very bottom of the steps. I used the mounting bracket to keep it somewhat level.

That's looks familiar. This time, however, the motor is coming out.

After that, I was pretty much done for the night. I did some cleaning up and re-arranging of things, but nothing significant.

My "corner" gets more populated.

Oh, I did take the door braces off the black car and bring them to see how they aligned. I knew, based on the Mk2 doors having the anti-burst fittings, the braces wouldn't fit, but I wanted to get an idea of what I need to do. The driver's side was pretty close. The passengers side, however, was pretty far off. Of course, the two-plus feet between the door hinge mount and the closure will exaggerate any difference, but this was large compared to the driver's side, which lined up within a half-inch or so. Given that the lower A-post on the passenger's side is essentially not there and there is little to no metal connecting the upper A-post with the sill, I suspect that the front area of the car is the culprit. Future me.

Something is not straight. Either the whole body is bent (bad, but unlikely) or the door hinge is not aligned (or the upper A-post).

After all of that, I wanted to make sure that the tub, once removed from the frame, would fit under the stairs. As I suspected, it will fit just fine; front to back, that is. It will stick out a bit side to side, but that's not a concern.

Perspective a bit off, but the tub will sneak right in under the steps.

I cleaned up and called it a day. Sunday is the British by the Sea Car Show. I went to this show last year, very much enjoyed it and have been looking forward to it for 364 days. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking so hot right with rain in the forecast. I will bring an umbrella, but may cut it short and find myself at the garage for the remainder of the day.