Spitfire lovers... in here...

Soldato
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19 Oct 2002
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Swindoniantown
Hi Guys... The Bosslady has given me permission to purchase a classic next year (when we have a bit of savings)...

We're looking for a 2 seater soft top.. not too s'pensive.. and not a flippin MG (every man and his dog had one of these!!).

I've looked on a few sites and trolled a few mags and I seem to be drawn to the Triumph Spitfire!...

Looks easy enough to keep running...

What do I need to look for with these?... I'm not a complete mechanical numpty!.. I had various Mini's which I kept on the road nicely!.. I can repair basic Engine problems, Interior bits and electricals!... its the Body (welding) I'm not too sure about!...

Where on the spitty are the 'Black spots' of rusting/rotting I need to check for?...

How much do you recon I'd be looking a spending up-front (not including restoration costs!!)

Any advice would be greatly welcome... :)

Cheers
Sim :)

PS... For the non Spitty Lovers... what other cars should I considder???.. bare in mind I only have about £3000 to spend!...
 
Soldato
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Bedfordshire
Hi there!!

I owned a 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 before I sadly crashed it and had to get rid of it.

It wasn't a great example, I spent less than £1350 on it and it needed body work doing and the rear leaf spring, rear differential replaced.

I never had it long enough to do much to the body work, just replace the bonnet (heavy thing when doing it by yourself, as I did!), boot lid, front 1/4 valances - just bolt on stuff.

As for price, £3000-£4000 (model dependent) would get you a very good one. I wouldn't personally spend a penny more on one - they're not appreciating at the moment and they do need some care. If it needs the body work, interior or engine doing, or mechanical, or anything doing to it, don't buy it. £3000-£4000 is considered concourse money for a Spitfire.

However, you could find the right car, with enough looking, for £1800-£2800 that may just need a blow over, may be a retune and the carpets replaced.

As for what to look for, hope this lot helps;

  • Make sure there is no filler at all. So get the fridge magnet out and check it sticks.
  • Rust/corrosion normally occurs on the wheel arches, wings, wind-screen frame, floorpans, sills, chassis, boot floor, boot lid (edges) and door (edges) and valances.
  • Luckily, the valances, bonnet and boot lid are all bolt on. The body tub also bolts to the chassis (after you undo the hand brake cable).
  • Try to get one with overdrive. On the later models, this is a switch on the gear knob, with in and out on it. This makes motorway and higher speed cruising more pleasant for the car and you.
  • Parts are generally easy to come by. They're also quite cheap in comparison with other cars, with full engines costing around £1000, near gearboxes around £600, and rear differentials are £380.
  • The bonnet is a very large (and expensive). The bonnet includes the headlamp cowls, front wings and top panel. Front wings and front wheel arches (along with the relevant plates) can all be grinded or chiselled off so that replacements can be welded on, however, it's easier to replace the whole bonnet panel with one from a breakers that you can look at before hand. Cowls just screw on. Full bonnets, new, are between £7-800!
  • Breakers are a good place to get rare items and more expensive items (like panels) I got all my panels from a breakers.
  • Standard Spitfires have SU Carburettors. Look for larger Weber/dellorto carburettors on modified Spitfires.
  • The engine by standard is a straight 4. Standard radiators are satisfactory and offer sufficient cooling but full size radiators are good.
  • Electric fans may be found on some Spitfires. They draw a lot of current, and the fuse box in a Spitfire only has 3 fuses on it. They are under enough strain all ready, so check for relays etc. to help the few fuses out.
  • Seats, knobs, switches, guages, carpets are all quite expensive to replace, make sure these are okay.
  • The car was manufactured with a spare wheel in the boot and a wheel iron. These are a good idea to have.
  • The hood should be checked for tears. Hoods are a bit of a nuisance to have to fit and are quite expensive.
  • Chrome bumpers are more desired than rubber ones. Rubber ones (along with cruising lights) are a trademark of certain American cars. They are best avoided as they have also been de-tuned for fuel emission reasons. Re-chroming is expensive, but you may be able to find a cheap one in a breakers should they need replacing.
  • A well tuned standard Spitfire engine should be capable of 28-38mpg, depending on how hard you push it. 0-60 acceleration should be around 13-19 seconds (model dependent) for a standard Spitfire. The 1500 will do 0-60 in around 13 seconds.
  • Triumph Spitfires didn't come with 'unleaded' heads. However, it has been researched, and standard Spitfire engines should have no problem with unleaded fuel.
  • Watch out for excessive smoke, oil and petrol leaks, on start up. Some or all of these may point to major engine problems.
  • The car should smoothly speed up to 60 and further. If you are having trouble going over 60mph, with the gas pedal fully down, this could point to engine, fuel or carburettor problems and may be expensive (and difficult) to pinpoint and fix.
  • The rev counter should smoothly go to 5000+, however, it is recommended not to make a habit of going over 5000 on the later Triumph Spitfire 1500s (1493cc) as they have a large enough stroke already and are considered less hardy than the MK IV (1296cc) MK3 (1296cc) or MK2 and MK1s (1196cc). Make a note of any noises at certains revs or speeds. These may indicate propshaft, wheel balancing or other problems.
  • Only MK IVs (to 1974) and earlier Spitfires are tax exempt. However, many people swap the standard MK IV engine for the 1500 engine, as the MK IV is considered 'underpowered' compared to the MK3 or the 1500.
  • 1500s were produced between 1974 and 1981, MK IVs between 1970 and 1974, MK3s between 1966 and 1969/70 and MK2s were 1964-1966.

A bit exhaustive (sorry) but hopefully that will be a good start for you. If you need to know anything else, let me know!

£700+ is considered poor condition, £1500 standard and £3-4000 very good (if not concourse).

Triumph Spitfires can hold corners well, if not pushed too hard (I learned that lesson, twice!) but they are rear wheel drive, so are tail happy. They brake well, considering, but won't brake as well as a modern car, they also have a little rattle in them, mainly because of their design and the separate (as opposed to monocoque) design of the chassis and body tub. Watch out for fishtailing, oversteer, aquaplaning and spinning when taking corners too fast, especially in the wet. But there is no need to worry if you drive reasonably well and don't take bends too quickly.

Insurance is generally cheap for a standard Spitfire especially on a classic car policy, but make sure you have agreed value in writing, in case of a claim.

David
 
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Associate
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Dont know where you got that from david but some of it seems to be about mg's spitfires all have chrome bumpers none had rubber bumpers. and your out about £600 on your prices for average and good condition prices.
Rust can occur everywhere (sills, front 1/4 valance and rear valance most common), the best check is the paint work if it dont look good steer clear, problem is that you will then pay a premium for that as everyone wants a spit with decent bodywork.
Spit mk3 definatley the car to have but for decent bodywork your now looking at over 4.5 grand for one.
1500's are the all round best car for handling and power and cheapness but a bit uglier.

Mechanicals you cant go wrong, everything is cheap and simple, you can pick up a recon engine for £250! overdrive gearbox for £150! super cheap.

You'll have a nightmare with electrics they always go wrong but are simple to fix just fiddly and annoying.

Bodywork in depth@:


Doors are very hard to come by nowadays rust free, get underneath them and have a look just past the lip, all doors rust here. Check the door hinges and doors for sagging pay close attention to where the hinge attaches, this part is a known weakness and is a pain in the ass to fix.

Bonnet There is a seam allong the sides of the bonnets where the wing attaches to the bonnet top, this is never sealed and always rusts check inside and out. At the very front of the bonnet where it comes to a point look under neath it, there is a channel for electrics and water likes to hide in here and rust.
Avoid fibreglass bonnets, although rust free they are very flimsy and not well supported most of the cheaper ones will crack eventually as the bonnet area is so large there is too much stress going through the fibreglass

Boot lid Check for straightness, the spit boot sticks out furthest back so its the first thing anyone hits when they reverse into stuff. Not major problem flat panel easy fix. Usually rusts on the inside top corners where it seals to the deck.

Sills usually rust everywhere near the front of the car, there are inspection holes along the bottom of the sill make sure the plugs are in place otherwise it will have water in the sill. Peel away the inside of the carpet in the footwell, there are large inspection holes, have a poke about the inner sill often goes before the outer.

Rear wings These usually rust allong the seam at the top cause no one seals it either, rust is usually easy to spot here as it always bubbles up big time. But also rust at the back of the wheel down the bottom, reach inside the rear wheel and check the arches these are very expensive to replace.

Rear valance Get on your back again. down the back of the rear valance is where it rusts.

Floor pans at the front where the feet go is very common to be rusted through, again not an easy fix and not very cheap, make sure you check up by the pedals on the drivers side and same place on the passenger side. Always pull the carpets up, if the seller wont let you walk away.

Middle of the car is generally good never really a problem, and the chassis are sturdy mofos and resistant to rust.

Spitfire is actually a cracking handling car, front suspension was an awesome design copied off the old f1 cars, rear can be problematic but only if driven stupidly, after all it is a rear wheel drive car that weighs about half the weight of a modern mini, you cant be silly with it in a corner and get away with it.
Look for the rear suspension geometry ideally you want decent camber on the rear i.e. wheels pointing like / ------ \ dont worry about it its the perfect setup for handling.
Expect the brakes to be shocking if you have never driven a classic car, you just need to remember to push harder.
Overdrive is needed for motorway cruising, try and get a car with it.
 
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Associate
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ok yeah us spec for a very very limited run, my error but nobody in their right mind would buy an american spit accross here, most of the ones that were imported back were done so in pieces for the main reason that accross there with less rain and no salt on the roads corrosion is almost unheard of. In fact my doors and bootlid are californian import for that very reason (and also that late us model doors have side impact bars). But the us engine was restricted in so many horrible ways i.e. the stupid emmisions butterflies, anti over run valves. most of the engines were left over there. not to mention the electrical gizmos they fitted to keep the americans happy.
 
Soldato
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Cooolll.. Cheers guys!.. Looks like this is the car for me to get my teeth into!!.. I enjoyed keeping my Minis on the road (even though one of em had Fuel Injection.. which scared me!)...

Anymore for anymore!?!...

Just gotta save a few more pennies now!!..
 
Soldato
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between Blandford Street and Mars
ok yeah us spec for a very very limited run, my error but nobody in their right mind would buy an american spit accross here, most of the ones that were imported back were done so in pieces for the main reason that accross there with less rain and no salt on the roads corrosion is almost unheard of. In fact my doors and bootlid are californian import for that very reason (and also that late us model doors have side impact bars). But the us engine was restricted in so many horrible ways i.e. the stupid emmisions butterflies, anti over run valves. most of the engines were left over there. not to mention the electrical gizmos they fitted to keep the americans happy.


And they had Stromberg carbs, instead of SU's
 
Soldato
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Bloody Yanks... :(

Yank1.jpg

Are these the nice Placcy Bumpers??

Yank2.jpg


:mad:
 
Associate
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Bloody Yanks... :(

Yank1.jpg

Are these the nice Placcy Bumpers??

:mad:

nope thats a std 1500 spit, they all come with black plastic overriders which basically hide the hingebox for the bonnet.

Me%20&%20Spit1.jpg


This is a silly rubber bumpered spit.


Best thing is just to get rid of the bumpers they are too heavy and a pain to keep shiny.

IMG_1852.JPG


Go bumperless like mine.
 
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Associate
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Best to drive both first if your looking at a spit with a gt6 engine, totally transforms the handling cause the engine is sooo much heavier, i wasnt a fan the car became more cruiser like and less fun in the corners.
 
Soldato
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Best to drive both first if your looking at a spit with a gt6 engine, totally transforms the handling cause the engine is sooo much heavier, i wasnt a fan the car became more cruiser like and less fun in the corners.

Depends what you want a car for. The spit will be faster than a GT6C round the bends, but you want a car that handles there are better cars out there than the spitfire, like an MX-5 for example.
 
Associate
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Actually Mattius (same as CT Mattius?) I think your both right and wrong.

The green car seems to have the standard US rubber box covers (bigger than the UK/rest of world hard plastic ones) where as the black car has either very late US/Californian bumpers.

UK
car27-lg.jpg

Standard US
Yank1.jpg

Late/Californian US
Me%20&%20Spit1.jpg


General on-topic advise for Simian - buy the best car you can afford, or a complete basket case. Buy a really god car and someone else has paid to make it that way. Buy a basket case and you know you have to do everything. Buy a mid-range car and you will probably end up spending as much on it as a basket case - and more than the cost of the top condition car would have cost to buy.

As your in Swindon I'd be tempted to take a drive over to JY Classics nr High Wycombe. John is a top bloke and normally happy to give advice/ball part prices for repairs/cups of tea. He also does pre-purchase inspections if you want someone to look it over and normally has some cars for sale at the top end of the price/condition range. http://www.jyclassics.co.uk/sales.htm
 
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