Triumph Sports Cars

Will a gt6 hood fit on a spitfire??? if not how far is it off???

Also, can i get door handle rods anywhere???? mine are bent and mangled!

Thanks Guys!

Also, for a high torque engine, you guys reccomend building a frame.. but is it possible to re-enforce the stock one???

How much power will a gt6 rear end hold (for the 2nd spit?)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2009 06:56AM by MrT0mJones.

OK, 1. Yes a GT6 hood will fit a spitfire, should bolt right on and fit fine.
2. The door rods are supposed to have a bend in them. Make sure that they're really damaged. They are not listed as available parts, but they should be able to be straightened enough to work without much effort. If not then you'll have to check with other owners and see if anyone has some spares.
3. Yes, for a truely "High Torque" engine (300 ft lbs or over) then I'd definitely think about building a new frame for the car instead of just reinforcing the old one. The Spit/GT6 frame is a back bone type and has little resistance to torque and with an engine swap the forward area around the transmission would need serious modification anyway. The only other way to give the car increased torque resistance would be to use a roll cage to help prevent body flexing.
4. Don't know about the rear end. The real weak link there with high power and torque is the rubber doughnuts on some versions. Those tend to wind up and then release causing a lot of stress on the axles and differential. I generally look at the diameter of the ring gear as a good indication of how much torque a rear axle is designed for. For a decent V6 or small V8 that's generally between 7 and 8 " and for big blocks you need to start looking into designs with around 8.5 to 9" diameter gears. I think the stock GT6 and Spit diff carries about a 6.5" diameter gear, so just marginal for a small 6 and questionable for a V8. I've heard of a conversion using the diff and half shafts from a Nissan/Datsun Z car, check the web for more information on those, they work ok with a small block V8 as long as you're not abusing it.

The plan of the main one has basically been seated to -

Nissan Ca18det - which puts out about 175Chp-and 225nm, i'll probably keep it bone stock acctually. think the stock diff will hold??? if not i guess i'll look into that Z car stuff.

awesome about the gt6 hood, going to use that on the car instead, i love the look!


the door handle rods are very bent, but fortunately i found a donor car on accident today when i picked up my hardtop (200 bucks with all the glass!!!!) i'm super excited, probaly have a part out section for this car soon!



Other question is, i have a perfectly good 1500 motor... runs great with no issues, and my 4 speed shifts like butter.. where sould i market that for sale? I dont want to trash something that may breathe life into someones car with a dead heart?

The stock diff would probably hold up if not abused, but you'd probaby wind up wanting a better ratio anyway, so I think I'd seriously look into the Nissan conversion both for the better axles without the rubber doughnut couplers and the better gears. That's the big drawback on a lot of conversions, the lack of higher axle ratios in the stock differentials to match the power and gearing of modern 5 speeds. A 3.9 with 13" wheels is probaby going to be a bit on the low side, I found that for my Midget around a 3.2 to 3.4 worked much better. Gave about 2400 to 2500 rpm at 70mph with my 205 50 13s in fifth gear.
As for a good home for the 1500 and transmission, that shouldn't be much of a problem. The engine was used in most of the Spitfires and with a couple of changes in manifolds in the later MG Midgets from 75 through 79. I'd post it for sale on any of the Triumph forums and the MG forums, you'll probably get a hit.
With that engine I think the modified stock frame would work out ok. For a V8 or even a 3.4 V6 I'd consider something stronger, but for a 2.0 or smaller 4 you shouldn't have any problem.

cool, i appreciate it!

will take pics of everything!