Wiring woes - here we go again

What started as a day where I *thought* I would be able to get her started turned out to be a day of more dismantling and surprises. The day first started with cleaning up the carburetors. The dual HS2's needed some attention. The dashpot oil was full in both with is a good sign. After replacing the fuel lines and swapping the plastic tee (who uses plastic for a fuel line?) for a brass one, I checked the floats which both seem to be okay. Here's a view from the top of the engine with the rocker cover removed just after checking the valve/rocker gap.

Here is another view from the top from the driver's side. Note the ballast resistor located just below the coil. Prior to Triumph using a ballast wire in the ignition wiring, a separate ballast resistor was used to cut the voltage from 12v to 6v while the engine was running. If a 6v coil is continually fed 12v, it will overheat and have a shortened life.

Upon looking closer at the ballast resistor, I noticed that the positive (+) side of the coil was attached to the distributor. In my 1972 Spitfire 1500, the negative (-) side of the coil is attached.  That immediately made me wonder if this car is set up with a positive (+) ground?  The initial indications such as how the coil was attached were that it was.

Another indication is that the positive (red) battery cable was attached to the block, while the negative cable (black) was attached to the starter solenoid.

However, taking a closer look at a photo I took when I first got the car home, look at how the battery is attached.  The negative post is attached to the red battery cable/engine ground (-), while the positive post is attached to the black battery cable (+) and solenoid.  Also, there were wires with inline fuses routed to under the dash, probably for an aftermarket stereo. So, it appears that at some point the system was converted to a negative (-) ground system, but the wiring to the distributor does not suggest that it was done correctly.  Here's a nice article on converting a car to negative ground, which I will follow to ensure that everything is connected correctly: http://www.vtr.org/maintain/negative-ground.shtml  With these questionable observations, it immediately led to investigating the overall wiring situation on the car.

The 1969 Spitfire MK3 uses a generator along with an external voltage regulator, instead of an alternator (which is internally regulated).  Looking at the connections on the voltage regulator, they were for the most part intact other than the connectors being oxidized.  Each connector was removed and both the connector and posts were cleaned. Dielectric grease was used on each when replaced.  However, the wire missing on the second-from-the-left post is attached to the starter solenoid, and part of the insulation on that wire had melted, likely from a short in the system.  That wire will need to be repaired.  Also, the wire on the far left is a junction of two wires, and one of the wires broke easily when moved. This led to taking a closer look at all of the wires and connectors in the harness to evaluate their condition.

One wire leading from the starter solenoid was home-built and led from the (+) feed on the solenoid to a relay.  However, next to the solenoid was the wire connector that had been disconnected. The previous owner had not taken the time to see what the problem was an instead just fabricated and routed a new wire in its place. That's a bad omen, as I soon was about to find out.

Here's where the other end of the home-built wire led to. You can see the disconnected wire (purple) in the bottom right.

Finding more and more evidence of wiring in need of repair, each of the wires/connectors on the firewall were removed until the entire harness was free.  Below is a spade connector with three wires feeding it that was mounted on the firewall with no other connector leading into it, as if a relay was removed and never replaced.

After disconnecting all of the wires and feeding it through the openings under the brake and clutch master cylinders, here's what now lies in front of me.  I cleaned each wire with degreaser so that its original Lucas color could be identified.  This will help with troubleshooting as I trace each wire to where it is supposed to go and verify the integrity of each connection.

Here is a close-up of the connectors to the fuse block. Some of the connections here are very questionable and will be repaired.

After removing the wiring harness, it was a good time to remove everything off of the bulkhead so that the surface rust can be addresses. It will be treated with a rust converter/rust inhibitor and primed/painted.

 Here is another view of the colorful Lucas wiring harness. Each wire will be looked at individually.

As it typical on most older Triumphs, the battery box has been eaten through with rust/battery acid and will need to be replaced.

Here is the braided ground connector between the body tub and the engine.  It's questionable how good the ground actually was since it was covered with rust. 

Here is another view of the bulkhead with the battery, starter solenoid, heater valve, coil, brake master cylinder, and clutch master cylinder removed.

With the wiring harness removed from the bulkhead, access was going to be needed under the dash to be able to correctly trace each wire.  That meant that the dash had to be removed.  Below is the after photo.  All wiring connections were kept in place for the time being.

A close up of the tachometer & speedometer backsides.

Another view of the inside of the car. This picture is remarkably similar to the current state of my 1973 Spitfire 1500!

A final picture of the Lucas colored wiring. Notice the melted condition of the insulated brown wires in the middle of the photo. That same issue is on at least some portion of the majority of wires, typically at where they emerged from the bulkhead.  I will have to check the continuity of each wire to determine whether it needs to be repaired or replaced.  Wiring fun!

Interior tear-out

Spent the evening removing the interior and seats. With the car being uncovered for the winter, there was still considerable moisture throughout the bottom. The carpet came up in handfuls.  Underneath the carpet, a previous owner had put down sound insulation which also was soaked. The seat rails were rusted and were not going to budge no matter how much PB Blaster was sprayed on them.  So, that meant that all 4 mounting bolts on each seat had to be cut. Note: in the future, get a saws-all!  It would have gone much faster.  Since the floor pans on both sides will need to be replaced due to rust, I didn't have to be gentle in removing the seat bolts.

Here is final result inside the tub. It will be good to finally let it air out a bit.

Close-up of the driver side. The wiring harness for the rear lights/fuel sender looks to still be in good condition and hopefully won't need a re-wrap.

The passenger side.  The footwell is completely rusted out and was removed. Fred Flintstone anyone?

Both sides still have the original lap belts in good working condition.

The rear of the pan is in much better condition. Only surface rust so hopefully nothing will need to be replaced/welded.

The seats did not fair well in the wet conditions.  The foams are destroyed as are the coverings.  The seat frames themselves are in OK condition and may be salvageable.

Here is the foam from the passenger seat bottom.  It was soaking wet.

Sometimes when you clean out from under the seats you find something cool, like this Spitfire keychain. Oh, and $3.30 in coins!

Anyone remember these? :)

New MK3 project - she's home!

With one Spitfire project already in process, might as well add a second one! A local Utah Spitfire owner advertised that he needed to sell his 1969 Spitfire MK3 to make room on his side yard. After looking over the car and taking well over a week to convince my wife that it was a good idea to bring home another project, I transported the car home last night (3/3/2014).  Here are the initial pictures of the new project in the garage.  She is in slightly better shape initially than when I brought home "Lola", my 73 Spitfire 1500 project (http://73Spitfire1500.blogspot.com), but I can already tell there's going to be lots of work to do!

It looks like the paint is original (code 25: Triumph Racing Green).  

Kind of looks like a frog from straight on :)

The body is straight except for a crease in the bonnet nose that shouldn't be too difficult to repair.

I really like the bonnet center design.

The windshield glass is in good shape.

Love the square-tail look.  Some surface rust on the boot lid.

I like the look of the license plate mount area that's in body color.

View from the top of the bonnet. Some surface rust along the centerline creases.

The wire wheels are a classic look.

There were probably knock-offs originally on the wire wheels.

The seats are in OK condition.  They'll need recovering, but at least there's two of them, unlike my 73Spit1500 that only came with a passenger seat!

Aftermarket steering wheel wrap, but it looks like the original steering wheel.

Love the Triumph elements like the gearshift knob.

Here's the cockpit. The far right section of the three piece dashboard is bare wood. The black plastic must have been damaged and removed.

68,843 miles, or is it 168,843 miles?

The soft top frame is in good shape (not attached).

View from the rear.

Trunk area. Inside of the gas tank looks to be in good condition although the outside of the tank will need a coat of paint.

Close up of the license plate mount and light.

She will need the red tail light lenses on both sides. There's some curious tail light wiring inside the trunk.

Close up of the surface rust on the boot lid.

Driver side view.

Driver side view #2.

The boot lid uses exterior hinges. Internal hinges were used in the next model (MKIV).

Top view of the 1296cc engine. Not sure of its condition yet. It supposedly "ran when parked" years ago.

The bulkhead surface under the slave master cylinder and brake master cylinder looks in good shape. Again some surface rust but not much paint peel which it typical when brake fluid leaks from the master cylinder. Also note the ballast resistor for the ignition system.

Another overhead view of the engine.

Inside of the bonnet. The rag was placed on the bonnet support so that it lays on top of the battery. There is probably a better solution.

Some surface rust on the wheel covers which is typical.

 

Top view of the engine from the passenger side.

Passenger side suspension.

Battery tie down was a stretch-cord, and the negative ground from the battery is a red cable, while the positive cable is black going to the solenoid. Need to make sure not to hook those up incorrectly!

Dual SU HS2 carburetors.  Looks like they are 1 1/4" diameter.

The battery box is lined with some sort of foil-backed insulation. Likely a sign that the battery box has significant rust.

The battery was still hooked up.  The manufacture date was July 2009, and it's a 6-year prorated warranty battery. I'll give it a good charge and see if it has any life left.

The rocker cover breather tube is not connected to anything and vents to atmosphere. Also, a port on the intake manifold is plugged with a bolt. The same port on the 73Spit1500 was also plugged in a similar fashion.

View from afar with the bonnet up.

 The infamous 3-fuse Lucas electrical system.

The engine number is  an FK, 8.0:1 compression 1296cc engine. This is not the original engine and is likely from a 1971-72 MKIV.

The commission number (VIN number) has "U" for United States and "L" for left-hand drive.  The US compliance date is April 1, 1968 although it is registered as a 1969.  The Trim "11" is black.

Here is the body number. This plate is located just below the commission plate.