A40 and other family cars - Spitfire Youtube fame

[N Dentressangle]

I don't put any grease in those either. The ones one the Disco are just plastic caps with no hole:

and no-one fills them with grease.

[Scrubworks]

13 hours ago, Matty said:

So we found a specialist selling mk3 rear screen rubbers. Bought one and fitted it or didn't. Far too fat and glass wouldn't go in the hole.  Rang him up.       " Yeah its for a GT6 really but they fit". No it fucking doesn't

PARTS GUYS. FFS WHY DO THEY

But yeah, fitting older screens where they have a sharp curve at the side is always a complete pain in the dick. The final boss is of course split-screens.

[Matty]

I've attempted to make some videos. This is difficult for me being technologically subnormal. I made a video of me driving it over the moors and back. I did this by putting my phone in an old phone holder cable tied to the passenger seat head rest and videoing in selfie mode. What I ended up with was 20 mins of the dashboard and trees. And selfie mode transfered the handing of everything from right to left. Sigh 🙄

So instead, if it works, have a walk round video showing where the car is at now. @worldofceri it doesn't seem the same car now that you brought to me 3 years ago!

 

[N Dentressangle]

Very smart.

You'll be taking that to shows and sitting in it with a thermos and sandwiches soon 😉

[Matty]

41 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Very smart.

You'll be taking that to shows and sitting in it with a thermos and sandwiches soon 😉

I've taken it to two. I park it up and rapidly walk away before anyone can ask questions 🤣

[worldofceri]

8 hours ago, Matty said:

@worldofceri it doesn't seem the same car now that you brought to me 3 years ago!

Indeed! But I liked it then and I like it even more now. It’s a credit to you.

Funny that you should tag me, I just caught up with your thread this morning. 

[Matty]

37 minutes ago, worldofceri said:

Indeed! But I liked it then and I like it even more now. It’s a credit to you.

Funny that you should tag me, I just caught up with your thread this morning. 

Happy days. The fear really hit when you sent me this picture as I waited round at my dad's 😆

[Matty]

Mum and Dad have took the kids down to my Auntie in Essex for a few days. So weds night i took the Austin over to his and left in the Spitfire. The intention being to do a few little jobs but then a change is as good as a rest.

Considering I only live 10 mile away I did well covering 50 mile home 😁. Couple of beauty shots.

I've attempted to rehang the stainless exhaust but getting it off the ground enough at home is hard work. Be much easier at our Tonys on the four poster. Can't ever hang an exhaust proper unless the car is bearing it's weight on all 4 wheels.

New (old but good) window winder on the drivers door, plus new check strap and sill carpet glued down. And tickled the idle speed upto about 1000 rpm. Or 900. Depends what the car feels like. Fuel injection. Gods own invention. Previously it idles so low you could here the gear sets rattling.

Easiest cars in the world to work on 

[High Jetter]

3 minutes ago, Matty said:

Fuel injection

Um, you seem to have carbs?

[Matty]

4 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Um, you seem to have carbs?

Come on kidder. Hence fuel injection being gods gift to smooth running vehicles. Ie fuck carburation 😁

[tooSavvy]

I once did a *kwality bodge on a spitty...

A continental colleague of my BIL bought a tatty spit to take home, over on the North Shields ferry.

Unnerved by the cars wayward steering, he asked BIL if he knew someone 'cheepz' might have a gander 🤔... Enter, yours truly.

I popped the bonnet and got BIL to twist the wheel and I watched the rack move L/R with little tyre movement 😮. The rack was held with U bolts and some rubber bushings so, having only a suitable size spanner, I loosened the U bolts off and wrapped coarse grit Black & Decker disc pads [folded back on themselves/grit both sides] and fed one under the U bolts either side + cranked up really tight!! (I was 17..).

He went home... I heard nothing more...

🚙💨

[N Dentressangle]

6 minutes ago, tooSavvy said:

I once did a *kwality bodge on a spitty...

A continental colleague of my BIL bought a tatty spit to take home, over on the North Shields ferry.

Unnerved by the cars wayward steering, he asked BIL if he knew someone 'cheepz' might have a gander 🤔... Enter, yours truly.

I popped the bonnet and got BIL to twist the wheel and I watched the rack move L/R with little tyre movement 😮. The rack was held with U bolts and some rubber bushings so, having only a suitable size spanner, I loosened the U bolts off and wrapped coarse grit Black & Decker disc pads [folded back on themselves/grit both sides] and fed one under the U bolts either side + cranked up really tight!! (I was 17..).

He went home... I heard nothing more...

🚙💨

IIRC the bushings quickly get soaked in oil and get spongy, so nothing wrong with that fix IMO!

The Spit exhaust isn't the easiest to get right - the bit where it runs under the rear of the chassis is quite tight, and it needs a bit of fettling with all the joints loose to find the sweet spot. Two pairs of hands help too: one person can twist the front whilst the second sorts the back end.

[Matty]

Burnley Classic Show at Townley Park. My local one. Always a really good show. Tons of interesting and varied stuff. Non of which I photoed so it's a use your imagination job.

Very official

Mine and Dads

Arse end of the job.

Very enjoyable. I love getting stuck talking to all the old boys. Dad and Uncle walk off sharp and pull faces at me but I like the tales.

Time to have a few now before work tomorow. 

No other updates. Haven't broken anything yet. 

Did fit mirrors to my Dads. Preferred it without but surprisingly hard without, especially motorways and bypasses. The bullets were his choice. I think it looks ok anyhow.

Cheers all.

[Matty]

Just using it at the moment so no momentous updates. Nothing broke (yet) few little jobs to do but they can wait for winter.

Could be my imagination but I'd swear its getting quicker as the miles pile on. Real little flier. You can see why the A series lived for so long. Slight cheat I know considering how much has been done to mine but still.

Have some moody shots taken tonight. Last one is outside one of the first places I plied my trade as a machine mechanic. Local soap works. Long closed but happy memories.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Matty said:

Just using it at the moment so no momentous updates. Nothing broke (yet) few little jobs to do but they can wait for winter.

Could be my imagination but I'd swear its getting quicker as the miles pile on. Real little flier. You can see why the A series lived for so long. Slight cheat I know considering how much has been done to mine but still.

Have some moody shots taken tonight. Last one is outside one of the first places I plied my trade as a machine mechanic. Local soap works. Long closed but happy memories.

Running in. Only pass, if you're fast enough.

[comfortablynumb]

On 29/06/2025 at 15:54, Matty said:

Very enjoyable. I love getting stuck talking to all the old boys.

When dad used to take my mums woody mini to the Harpenden classics on the common show, he took great delight in talking to anyone and everyone. 

Both mum and dad were more than happy to let kids sit in the mini and pretend to drive, have their photos taken etc etc, made them really happy.

Best one we had was a bloke who was absolutely delighted to see it, and asked excitedly if the rear door hinges creaked ( they all do)

We let him open and close the doors, he was the happiest bloke on the showground, even if his other half thought he was completely insane!

Apparently his aunt had one, they used to ride around in the boot as kids, that was his overwhelming memory of it.

Small things... 🙏

Glad it's still providing sterling service, nice to have that after the effort you've put in 

[Tommyboy12]

The A-series definitely gets better as it loosens up. Until it hits about 60k miles when it becomes too loose and starts to need a rebuild again 😅

[Matty]

51 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

The A-series definitely gets better as it loosens up. Until it hits about 60k miles when it becomes too loose and starts to need a rebuild again 😅

The current fly in the ointment is my new rebuilt gearbox zings and fizzes on the overrun in 3rd and 4th. Such a shame as its the quickest and sweetest changing one I've had. The actual vehicle mechanic in the family rode with me to a show the other weekend and pronounced it non internal and said it wouldn't bother him.

Ah well. I've bought a new anti vibration kit for the lever turret. And I've still 18 months warranty left.

[Matty]

Another new arrival. Uncle is still on with the Ascona SR. All the engine and running gear has been rebuilt. Bodywork is finished. Just needs paint now. Im sorry but i forgot to take any recent pictures. Just imagine this but not as buggered.

With the end in mind thoughts naturally turn to the next parcel of shite with which to inflict mental and physical torture on yourself. Naturally. Bit like obsessive decorating (an affliction of mine).

What he has wanted to do ever since i started building the Austin is spmething similar. Obvs no point doing another A40 as we already have one. Doesnt like A30/35s. Doesnt like Minors (sorry @Joey spud. I do though). What he does like are Standard Tens. The approach to a quick Standard is supposedly reasonably similar to that of a quick A40. Austin approach, take a lot of standard and fast road Midget bits and nail them into your car. Standard approach, take a lot of Spitfire bits and, well you get the gist. We do love a cosmetically standard but mechanically hot bit of porridge in this family.

Tldr, this has happened.

It is (and i dont say this lightly) absolutley mint. Original paint and interior. Not a blob of filler to be found. Arches and door bottoms as they left the factory. Just as good underneath as on top. Just unbelievable.

Quite beautiful. I have a real weakness for 50s and 60s cars.

Luckily, in much the same way as mine, modifications are bolt on or in. Completely reversable. Externally and interior wise, the car wont change. What it will see is a 1300 or 1500 SC engine, front discs, anti roll bar and an overdrive box. The gear box is the only thing that will require modifying the shell. Again we intend on fabricating the part of the transmission tunnel in question do that the original area can be carefully cut out and thus replaced in the future.

I stress this as we have forum members who i have a lot of respect for who would be horrified to see such an original car abused. This will not happen here. Anything removed will be stored correctly and will go with the car should it move on. As Kenny Everett used to say, itll be in the best possible taste 👍

[chadders]

I had an Ascona 1.6S Voyage, the estate. The build quality and handling was generations ahead of the equivalent Ford or BL box.

A brilliant car especially after replacing the standard Solex with a Weber 28/36 with a manual choke.

[Matty]

10 minutes ago, chadders said:

I had an Ascona 1.6S Voyage, the estate. The build quality and handling was generations ahead of the equivalent Ford or BL box.

A brilliant car especially after replacing the standard Solex with a Weber 28/36 with a manual choke.

I was lucky enough to have a mint 30 thousand mile Manta GTE in my early 20s (1500 quid in 2003 😭). That 1900/2000 cam in head engine is a peach. And i agree the build quality and handling vs say a Capri was night and day. 

[JMotor]

I like the idea of a building a wee back road blaster 10. 

To be honest the plans sound like what would had been done back in day. So it's period correct in a way 😆. 

Can't wait to see the build come together.

Got one question though. Is it getting some steelies like what your A40 has. That would suit it I think. But paint the rims white as a nod to the originals. 

[Matty]

14 minutes ago, JMotor said:

I like the idea of a building a wee back road blaster 10. 

To be honest the plans sound like what would had been done back in day. So it's period correct in a way 😆. 

Can't wait to see the build come together.

Got one question though. Is it getting some steelies like what your A40 has. That would suit it I think. But paint the rims white as a nod to the originals. 

Those JBW smoothies like mine would suit it painted cream. And open up a world of better tire sizes. But when my dad wanted a set for the Spitfire no body could restock on the correct pcd for standard triumph (from memory 97.9 something mil). The other option like i said to him today is to pay someone who knows what theyre doing to band the wheels on it. But that then means the original wheels are gone.

Always a way but sometimes needs a bit of thinking about.

[Joey spud]

I had one of these a while back with a 1296cc spitfire engine and disc brakes.

The only downside was the ancient and tired steering box although with a bit of enginuety a a herald/spitfire rack could be squeezed in.

[Matty]

16 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

I had one of these a while back with a 1296cc spitfire engine and disc brakes.

The only downside was the ancient and tired steering box although with a bit of enginuety a a herald/spitfire rack could be squeezed in.

I might want to pick your brains at some point. Did you build it yourself or buy it like that?

[Joey spud]

17 hours ago, Matty said:

I might want to pick your brains at some point. Did you build it yourself or buy it like that?

It was the worst car I've ever bought. Totally my fault as I I didn't view it as it was down Bristol way I just trusted the sellers description and a few text messages we exchanged.

It didn't run the owner said it lost power on him on a fast A road. He thought it had just got hot and included a head gasket set in the sale. I pulled the head off it and found a piston was melted and smeared up the bore. The recently replaced sills were pigeon shit welded on (there was a receipt for £140 for this quality work) and the whole car was just far rougher than I was lead to believe. I can't recall now but it's Herald gearbox wasn't fully fitted and had parts missing like the mounts and gear lever.

Thinking back the guy had two Standards and got the feeling he swapped the best bits over before eBaying this one I definitely had my pants pulled down. I sold it on to a chap who turned up with trailer made from a single axle caravan chassis being towed by a V6 Ford Probe.

What I can recall is the ancient steering box was a shame as it limits any idea of having a nice sporty handling little car (my box was bone dry,badly worn and very notchey). Although the front suspension is similar to a Herald it can't just be swapped straight over as one lump.

On the net somewhere (owners club maybe) there was a lad trying to engineer fitting a Herald rack to the Standards crossmember. Mine had herald/spitty discs and from memory seemed a simple enough swap. The wheels were from a Toledo with 165/65 tyres.

Have a dig through Retro rides site as a few years back a guy was doing a great job uprating one of these for his partner to use as a daily.

Great little cars I think that look cool when lowered a bit with wider rims and a bit more power under the bonnet.

 

[tooSavvy]

RR rummage....

1957 Standard 8 - Winter upgrades | Retro Rides https://share.google/7oqJ6HChiCBPcUKkh

... 🫣

🚙💨

[Matty]

Just an aside really. I said i hadnt any up to date photos of where the Ascona is up to. I had to nip out to the hydraulics supplier on thursday which is round the corner from our Tonys so i bobbed in.

Fully rebuilt now top to bottom with a new old stock cam. The old cam was  knackered as apparently the head drains down of oil after switch off. On start up it then runs dry briefly as oil pressure gets up and the flow starts. Theres a mod which involves putting a drilled plug in the drain from the head which still allows oil to return to the sump but raises the level of the drain leaving a few mil of oil in the head.

Ready for paint now (anyone who zooms in on the bottom of the c pillar, yes not totally ready). His major aim with this is absolutely bone stock standard and original. We considered a 5 speed getrag from a Manta B like i had but the cost these days is prohibitive as the supply of cars being broken dries up. And it wouldnt be standard. Unfortunatly the whole car has to be painted now due to how much metal work has been done. We tried to avoid it but so much now needs painting, against the 40 odd year old paint remaining, itd never match and look right.

Also a bonus photo for @chadders. Long standing customer and absolutley mint. In for a new heater matrix (now done). It was reshelled with a British Motor Heritage shell a good few years ago. Again done absolutley faithful to how it should be. No piped seat covers or any of that nonsense. Lovely but for me itd have to be a GT not a roadster. Sorry pal 😁

 

[N Dentressangle]

Somehow I always preferred the Ascona's styling to the Mk 1 Cav, plus it hasn't got a Vauxhall badge on it 😉

Shame there are so few survivors

[chadders]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

Somehow I always preferred the Ascona's styling to the Mk 1 Cav, plus it hasn't got a Vauxhall badge on it 😉

Shame there are so few survivors

After I passed my test my dream car was a 1.9SR, a mate of mine's uncle had a new one. Far more achievable than a Daytona even if you could buy one of those for £5k, which you could then.