QuestionQUESTION: My son Chris and I have disconnected everything (we think) and the 12 bolts are out. How do we lift it out over the gearbox and wheels which means raising it about 12 inches at least. How many guys? We have the use of a very sturdy hydraulic lift but where are the best lifting points? Do we need to brace across the door openings in compression and tension? Is it more likely to sag the front and back apart, or buckle them closer to each other? Can we turn it upside down to work on the floors?
Thanks we are really stuck at this time.
ANSWER: Roger,
Don't forget to unhook the parking brake cable at the rear wheels, or undo the entire cable including the pivot bolt on the body down in front of the rear axle... or you'll move the tub about a foot then be stuck.
As long as the floor pans and rockers are in good shape you should be ok by just leaving the doors in and latched. The Spitfire tub is reasonably stout and there's not much weight forward of the door openings, unlike the Big Triumphs (TRs). It is better to pull off as much weight as possible though. Seats, carpets, trunk lid, and windshield if you're planning on blasting/painting the tub anyway.
I'd count on at least 4 people, if not a 5th at the trunk end to help out. The tub isn't heavy but it is awkward.
If you're going to turn the tub upside down keep in mind that the windshield frame is part of the tub and is fairly flimsy... any extra force on it bends it quickly.
Cheers,
Jim
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for the quick and helpful reply. Did not realise the HB pivot was attached to the body. Now we have the doors off for working on them hence my question about bracing the space. What do you think? If we upside down it we were planning on supporting it on the firewall and the arch across the trunk not the windscrees. Does that sound ok? Sorry what do you call the rockers? The drivers floorpan has a few rust holes which is what we want to repair but it seems strong (you can stand on it). The rest is in good shape perhaps due to liberal use of waxoil. Thats been our biggest problem cleaning it off because it had become soft, oily smelly and difficult to remove. We have used gasoline and power washing.
Roger and Chris
AnswerRoger,
You should be able to remove the tub without bracing the door openings, as long as the rockers are sound. You might try measuring the opening then lifting an end of the tub then re-measure. If you see a real change then you'll want to do some basic bracing. The normal danger is the door openings "closing" as the tub will sag at the rockers. As I've said, the Spitfire is better in this regard than the larger TRs.
It sounds like you have a reasonable plan for flipping the tub. I have seen different references to people making "rotisseries" to allow the body to be flipped around at will. The down side is you need to have good iron working skills (or a friend with such) to build the setup.
Cheers,
Jim
