Engine compartment this week!! I took the front hood of and hung it up on the wall.

I then removed the air pump, alternator, carb, and radiator. I unbolted the engine from the transmission and removed the motor and finally the rack and pinion.

I am concentrating on the exterior of the car this week, I have removed all of the black molding as well as all of the exterior lights and rubber. I can now tell that this car has been repainted…. very poorly. There is overspray on the molding as well as the finishing caps by the door. The chrome headlight covers are basically ruined with blue paint as are the hood latches. At least the bumpers were clean when I took them off. The original paint must not have been treated correctly when the car was newly painted. It is just bubbling and peeling off. It definately looks as is I am going to have to grit blast the car down to the metal and repaint from scratch.

So, With the vehicle inspection out of the way, I can start to strip the car down. So, I did just that. I started with the interior by removing the seats. The slide mechanism for the seats was jammed so I could not get access to all the bolts that hold the seats down to the chassis. I solved this problem by squirting wd-40 into the roller mechanisms. With the seats out, I took out the carpets which were in really poor shape and so they went into the garbage. Next up is the dashboard. I removed the torn cardboard gloveboxes, steering wheel, wood dashboard, lights, gauges, and then the top dash cover. I have also taken the door panels off and the door handles/window handle mechanisms out and the top assembly. The interior is pretty much stripped (down to the metal)

Here are some photos of the interior before I stripped it:

Drove the car to to the inspection station this week. Hey, the chassis number on the car and the title don’t match!! Well, that raised red flags at the state patrol. So, they are going to run the correct number through the stolen car registry. All my co-workers are giving me hell. 🙂

Got the car this week, it actually runs which is a shock but the plates have been expired for over two years. I’ll have to go by the licensing department and get a trip permit. Washington State has a vehicle identification inspection that is required for all out of state cars. (I picked this one up from California).

Chassis Number: FM70893U
Original Color: French Blue

Well, Here is my Spitfire!
I am currently in the process of doing a restoration on this car but here are some before photos so you can see where I’m coming from: