Here’s my newest car project, a 1978 Triumph Spitfire.   California driving anyone!

Yes, it’s been parked for 20 years and needs a lot of work, but that’s what I love.

Let’s see, list of things to start with – replace leaking rear brake cylinders and cleanup rear brakes, get all running lights and turn signals functional, tune to pass smog, replace broken rear leaf spring, replace front and rear suspension bushings, shocks,  and springs, replace fuel pump, rid car of spiders, create new wooden steering wheel, fix speedometer and fuel gauges, find any oil leaks and replace seals,…

I guess I will start with replacing everything rubber and then see what I can do about the paint.

 

 

While I work out the mechanical quirks, this car needs a custom wood and aluminum steering wheel!

• Back into my materials pile – oak slabs and aluminum plus that I melted and saved:

            

• Lots of cutting, shaping, and glueing into place.   Figuring out fixing aluminum to wood was definitely a challenge:

 

 

• Now for a keystone:

 

 

 

 

 

 

• It’s beginning to come together:

        

• Fitting it up on the car, still rough: