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BEGINNING
OF THE PROJECT, WHY, WHEN
 Why
do mountain climbers climb mountains? Answer:
Because they are there! Why do some auto
enthusiasts modify their cars? Same answer! Some
other answers include:
"I want more power!"
"I want to improve the handling!"
"I just want to own a very unique car - a one of
a kind!"
You can probably add your own answers to the
list. But, the bottom line is that, whatever the
reasons, you plan the project then build it. As
an example, let us pay a visit to a radically
modified Spitfire, The Beast.
 The
Beast, was conceived and constructed by Dave
West of Campbell, California. The idea for the
project came to Dave one afternoon as he worked
on his then current project - an Austin Healey
Bug-Eyed Sprite - into which he had shoehorned a
Ford flathead V-8. The Sprite was a problem
child from the beginning and required a lot of
upkeep and repair. As Dave labored to solve a
tricky problem on the Sprite, a friend came by
for a visit driving a 1964 Spitfire (stock) and
Dave vowed, due to the amount of room under the
hood, that he would build a better modified
based on a Spitfire.
The building of The Beast has been an ongoing
process since 1970. In 1969, Dave purchased a
Spitfire, which was driven for a year in its
stock configuration. Many lunch hours were
logged in American and British auto wrecking
yards. This time was spent in recording the
measurements of several types of candidate V-8s
(Chevy, Ford, Buick, & Mopar) and the empty
bodies of Spitfires. The time spent in planning
made the project straight forward. Not easy, but
there were very few surprises.
To start the project, a Spitfire frame was
purchased and re-engineered to support the
engine and take the increased horsepower and
torque. When the frame was complete the engine,
differential, rear suspension, transmission, and
driveshaft were installed. Then came the
suspension modifications. Finally, the brake
lines.
Soon it was a complete a rolling chassis and
it was time to take the body off of the stock
Spitfire and mount it on the new chassis. With
the study and planning that were accomplished on
the project, the firewall and other body
modifications required were completed and the
body fell right into place. Now it was just a
matter of completing the wiring and several
other systems completed.
The Beast was initially on the road in 1971
powered by a stock Chevy 327 V-8, a Muncie 4
speed transmission, and a 1963 Corvette
independent suspension. From that point on the
car has undergone a long list of changes and
improvements to its present configuration.
Today, The Beast, is powered by a blueprinted
350 cid Chevy V-8 putting out 350 horsepower and
380 foot-pounds of torque. The Muncie 4-speed
transmission has been replaced by a Tremec
5-speed with a 5th gear overdrive ration of .63.
The differential gearing was lowered from a gear
ration of 3.36:1 to 3.08:1 for better freeway
cruising. This ratio, along with the overdrive
ratio, provides a great cruising experience on
the freeway. With the torque and horsepower of
the 350 cid engine, there is no problem moving
the 2225 pound car.
The ride of The Beast is much better than you
would suspect with the amount of mass
represented by the cast iron V-8. The extra
weight of the Corvette rear suspension and third
member along with the extra weight of the frame
modifications helps to balance out the engine
and transmission weight. The center of gravity
of the car actually moved back about a foot and
a few inches lower to the ground with all of the
new mass. The car was set on four independent
scales that recorded the weight supported by
each wheel. It is roughly 56% of the weight in
the front and 44% in the rear. With a driver and
a passenger in the car, the weight distribution
is about 54% front and 46% rear. To enhance the
cornering capability of the car, it is taken to
a shop that "tunes" the suspension to encourage
cornering. All in all, it handles quite
well.
FRAME
MODIFICATIONS
The frame was fully re-engineered to
accept the Corvette rear suspension and to
survive the torque and power of the engine. Dave
fabricated all of the frame parts and had a
company that built off-road "Baha Bugs" TIG weld
the assembly. The front engine mounts were
placed on the suspension pedestals to provide
direct support from the suspension. The
transmission mount is within a couple of inches
where the old Spitfire transmission was mounted.
The rear fourth of the original frame was
redesigned to allow mounting of the Corvette
differential. 2 inch x 2 inch box steel rails
were run the length of the frame to provide
resistance to twist and frame flexing. When you
jump on the accelerator and open all barrels,
the car moves perfectly straight ahead, there is
no sideward movement due to frame flex.
To further stiffen the car and provide for
safety, a four-point rollbar was manufactured
and installed and welded directly to the frame
by Magnum Force Race Car Fabricators, in
Campbell California,
In order to fit the Tremec transmission into
the car, the original portion of the Spitfire
frame (where the frame is the narrowest) had to
be modified and strengthened. Magnum Force Race
Car Fabricators performed the mods.
UNDER
THE BONNET
The engine components were balanced and
blueprinted. It has a Competition Cams 268
camshaft and roller tip rockers. The engine is
rated at 350 hp and 380 foot-lb.'s torque. The
intake manifold is a Weiand X-elerator and a
Holley 650 double-pumper sits on top of it.
The ignition system is based on a Mallory
Unilite Distributor which uses an infrared
sensor instead of points. The distributor is
joined by a Mallory Hi-Fire Ignition to provide
increased fire-power. A 78 amp Delco Alternator
replaces the original Lucas electrical
system.
 The
Beast's cooling system starts with a radiator
designed to fit into the confines of the engine
compartment: The core is 26 inches by 14 inches
and consists of 4 rows of tubes separated by 3/8
inches. A street version of the Moroso electric
water pump has replaced the stock belt driven
water pump.
Due to the cramped conditions at the rear of
the engine, the original General Motors
rams-horn exhaust manifolds were retained. A new
pair of manifolds are currently being ceramic
coated to enhance the view under the hood. In
order to run the exhaust to the rear of the car,
Mussman Automotive of Campbell, CA had their
artist of exhaust systems perform his pipe
bending magic and put the pipes up out of sight.
They ended the pipes at a pair of turbo mufflers
that provide good extraction and great
conservative sound.
A planned modification to the engine involves
the installation of a set of Twisted Wedge
aluminum heads. This will provide three
benefits. The first of which is 60 to 70 fewer
pounds in the front of the car, the second is
that it will provide hardened valve seats to
compensate for unleaded gasoline, and finally,
the heads will provide approximately 40
horsepower more and boost the torque close to
400 foot-lb.'s.
TRANSMISSION,
CLUTCH, & HYDRAULIC SYSTEM
The present transmission is the
Tremec
3550 5 speed. The Tremec is one of the few
transmissions that can withstand the torque and
horsepower put out by The Beast's engine. The
Tremec, originally a replacement for a Mustang
transmission, was modified to fit into a General
Motors application without having to use
adapters. The modified was supplied by Forte's
Parts Connection of Waltham, MA. A "5.0" shift
kit was used instead of the stock Tremec shifter
to provide for a shorter and very accurate
throw.
The hydraulics consist of a Tilton clutch and
brake assembly, including pedals, with a
three
master cylinder design which provides for
the proportioning of the braking power between
the back front and rear brakes. The slave
cylinder-mechanical linkage and throw-out
bearing was replaced by the McLeod hydraulic
throw-out bearing; a beautiful setup.
Originally, with the standard clutch fork and
external slave cylinder, the drivers foot room
was narrowed by 3 inches. With the hydraulic
throw-out bearing assembly mounted to the front
of the transmission in place of the bearing
retainer, the driver' foot room was
reclaimed.
A very nice outcome of this transmission
selection was that the shifter was positioned
within 1 inch of the position of the Muncie's
shift linkage. The Tremec is a much larger
transmission and the possibility of the shifter
being too far back was an initial concern.
REAR
SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS
The 1963 Corvette rear suspension has
been the recipient of several transformations
which include a 1967 third member that now has
3.08:1 gearing, shortened 3" diameter half
shafts, Vette Brake custom strut rods and
trailing arms that were designed to provide the
room for the use of 40, 45, or 50 series
radials. The 11 inch drum brakes were retained
for stopping power.
With the track of the rear suspension
narrowed about a foot from the stock Corvette's
track. The transverse leaf spring had to be
narrowed accordingly. Then, through
experimentation, the right combination of leaves
from the Corvette
full leaf spring had to be selected to
provide the best ride and acceleration response.
Consideration was given to have Vette Brakes, of
Florida, manufacture a fiberglass spring like
those used in the newer Corvettes, but the cost
was prohibitive.
FRONT
SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS
 The
front suspension was modified for strength by
boxing in the "A"-arm members and welding a 1/8
inch plate to the underside of the "A"-arm. The
upper and lower "A"-arms were modified to accept
Chevrolet ball joints. 1967 Chevelle spindles
with 9.5" drum brakes were bolted on and the
steering arms modified to match up with the
Spitfire rack and pinion steering. The front
Koni coil-over shocks were modified by
Truechoice Motorsport of Hilliard, Ohio by
providing adjustable lower spring seats to dial
in the correct ride height and geometry.
Maybe, a future project will be to replace
the drum brakes with disks. But, the stopping
power of the present system is more than
sufficient. The conversion to disks would not
add much to this project except for more
bragging rights.
INTERIOR
AND SEATS
 An
interior kit, consisting of carpeting, and door
panels was purchased from The Roadster Factory
of Armagh, PA. The door and rear interior panels
were installed at home and modified to allow the
4-point rollbar to reach the frame of the car.
Prior to installing the flat portions of the
carpeting, Miata tan leather seats were
purchased and mounting adapters manufactured for
their installation.
The floor pan of the Spitfire was wire
brushed to clean out many years of accumulated
dirt and grime and some superficial rust. Then
the metal was treated with Jasco Metal Etch to
stop any future rust and to preserve the metal.
Sound deadening material was then laid down
throughout the car and in the doors to give the
Spitfire that luxury car quiet interior. The
carpeting was installed with a 1/2 inch padding
and the Miata seats were installed.
A professional interior shop was retained to
install those areas of carpeting that required
stretching and gluing to curved surfaces. Many
thanks to El Gato Auto Interiors in Los Gatos,
CA. The owner covered the entire transmission
tunnel with a single piece of carpeting - a most
awesome job.
To "top off" the interior, a blue fabric
convertible top was special ordered. The
removable frame for the top was sand blasted and
powder coated. The blue top adds a bit more of
sexiness to the car and matched the color scheme
selected for The Beast (Triumph blue interior
and accessories, a bright white paint job with
chrome trim.).
The final interior project is now underway;
it the construction of a new dashboard with a
full complement of VDO gauges. Triumphs Only of
San Jose, CA extracted a dashboard frame from a
mid seventies Spitfire to replace the small
dashboard frame that was stock in the 1964
Spitfire. This will allow the installation of a
full width dashboard. This project requires the
rewiring of the car from the dash to the front
lights. Universal wiring harness kits with
rocker switches and fuse block have been
purchased and are awaiting their incorporation
into the project. A beautiful piece of teak
veneer wood has been purchased to provide a face
for the dash.
Many body parts are not available anymore and
transplants are required. In to eliminate
rattles and keep the doors shut, door latches
from a 1985 Oldsmobile were transplanted and
reconnected to the original door opening
mechanisms.
WHEELS
& TIRES
Now for the final touch, a set of
Zenith 16 x 7 lip laced series I chrome R/R
laced wire wheels. Mounted on the front wheels
are a pair of Euro T/A 205/40 R16s and on the
rear wheels are a pair of Euro T/A 225/45 R16s.
The addition of the wheels and the blue top
added a high level of sexiness to this modified
sports car. The Zenith wheels are held in place
by knock-off adopters and three eared
knock-offs. With purchase of the wheels you are
given a lead mallet and officially inducted into
the "knock-off" society.
BASIC
DRIVABILTIY (FUN)
Driving The Beast is the fun part. It
is a highly dependable car and it has been used
for vacations, camping trips, trips to Reno, and
many other experiences. The feel of the car on
the freeway is very solid. Of course, the ride
is a little hard with the spring rates necessary
to support the added weight of the engine, rear
suspension, transmission, and frame
modifications. Entering and exiting the freeway
are very fun. With the suspension tuning
provided by Wax and Wheels of Campbell, CA. The
Beast is glued to the curving offramps near my
home.
It is always fun to come down a curvy
mountain road in a stock sports car, but with
The Beast's power and good handling, going up
the mountain roads are equally as fun. On trips
over the Sierras, it performs in the high
altitudes almost as well as it does at lower
altitudes.
There are many stories of the impromptu races
that it has engaged in as well as getting to
know it and the awesome acceleration experienced
under open throttle. The Beast has been in local
hotrod and British car shows for 20 years. Much
of the work on the car is now dedicated to
making it a polished show car.
CURRENT
STATUS as of 1/9/01
The Chevy 327cc V-8 has been replaced
with a bored and stroked Chevy 350 cid; the
final displacement is 383 cubic inches. The new
engine was built by Beck's Racing Engines of
Phoenix Arizona. With iron heads it was dyno'd
at 432 hp and 478 ft-lbs of torque. The heads
were upgraded to Airflow Research aluminum heads
that provide an extra 60 to 80 hp over stock
Corvette engines. I would say that
conservatively, the new engine will have over
450 hp and 500 ft-lbs of torque.
Dave is constantly updating this Beast. To
find out the latestest, visit www.Ye-Beast.com
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