I'm making my bid for the shiny spittie title!

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THE BIG BOLT TOGETHER...

Yep, the spitfire finally arrived back from the painters and the big bolt together could begin. This went surprisingly quickly - mainly because all the parts had previously been either replaced or reconditioned separately whilst the body was away. Progress was measured by the number of boxes of bits remaining to be bolted on...the only problem is that even now that it is finished, I still have one box left!

Handy hints for potential rebuilders that I have picked up on the way include -
» Do replace all the nuts and bolts as you go with new ones - reusing the old ones just isn't worth the hassle.
» Do label all your wiring ends and parts, and take photos of the wiring loom and under the bonnet to remind yourself how it all goes back together.
» Don't steam clean your chassis if you used water-based pen for your wiring labels - I found this out the hard way!
» Get an upholsterer to recarpet your vehicle - the carpet kit I bought from the UK was an appalling fit.
» And finally, for the sake of your sanity, don't move house five times while restoring a vehicle! Despite moving around so much during the course of the restoration I only managed to lose two bits - the bonnet prop and the fuse box lid. I did have a bit of a moment when I realised I hadn't seen the exhaust pipe for about 3 years, but a quick trip back to the flat I lived in at the time reunited us!

Anyway, the Motor Vehicle Registration Department set me a deadline of June 2001, when the car registration was due to expire (this had been placed on the restoration register thus protecting the registration for 5 years), which we managed to make with a couple of months to spare. Pausing only to dent the front spoiler reversing out of the garage (duh!) the car took its first drive on Feb 5. Yeah!

It is great to have 71 SPIT back on the road again, and I would like to thank my friends, Bruce and Richard, and my partner Sue for all their help putting it back together.

Thanks also to everyone at the Triumph Owners Club who re-enthused me at times when my enthusiasm was at its lowest! It will be good to attend a club event in a Triumph once again!

The reassembly process starts - working from the easiest end forward!

First firing up of the engine - all smiles