question about a 1962 Triumph Spitfire...

my dad's got a '78 1500 we're sort of restoring (for the last 15 years.....pretty much done now though. we're not very motivated haha).

anyways check out:

www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/board

-it's basically the sports car version of the HAMB
-and subscribe to the mag too it kicks ass.
-and no, i dont work for them.

 

Professor Lucas..the Father of Darkness..funky English postive ground electricals, make sure you have a cell phone, a newspaper and a sandwich for passing the time there on the side of the road..I drive a Nash Metropolitan and an MGA...

 

Well, I'm a Triumph guy. The early Spits are cool little cars. Body styled by Michelotti, 4-wheel independent suspension, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering. An early Spit would be 1147cc if I remember right. A 1300cc would be a good upgrade especially with an OD gearbox. The late 1500cc engines were overstroked and the cranks suffer. I've never had major issues with Lucas electrics. I had more trouble with the electrics in my 55 Chevy than I've had with any of the British cars. The best thing you can do is right off the bat, clean and check every electrical connection, especially the grounds, and you'll prevent lots of problems. The early Spits had swing axel rear suspension like the early Beetle. Get a camber compensator for the rear, it will help handling alot. The front suspension design is brilliant. Unequal length a-arms with a coil over shock unit. It was so good Lotus used it on a number of cars and the uprights (spindle assemblies) were used on many F1 cars through the '60s.

Parts availability is good from the likes of Moss Motors, The Roadster Factory and Spit Bits. Be leery of Victoria British, their quality is iffy and they tend to say a part will fit when it doesn't. There is also Rimmer Bros in the UK.

You can get info and support on the net from the North American Spitfire Squadron (NASS), and there is an e-mail list group run by team.net. Also check out the Vintage Triumph Register (VTR).

Beside the camber compensator the best upgrades would be an electronic ignition and really loud horns. The horns are so you don't get run over by the nimrods in the Escalades and Sequioas talking on their cel phones.

Kurt O.

 

I won a lot of races with a Mk l but there wasn't much original Spitfire

G prod was a very competitive place late 60's

There are bolt on mods to fix the rear from killing you...... stock it will

If you break a halfshaft it will launch you like a pogo stick

GT6 Gearbox has better ratios

Toss the SU's...... for a Weber

AND put a petronix in it

That's kindda it

Won 18 outta 24 races with that POS worst race finish ever was a one 4th and no DNF's But I never want to ever work on one of them again.....and I bet now they a more than a hobby to keep running

 

I've got a '59 bugeye. F'n blast to drive. Overdrive trans (mines a datsun) lets you go highway speed without fear of burning up the motor.

300 sounds like a good deal if it's drivable. Parts availability is good.

I get more waves & thumbs up in the sprite than my T or my GTO.

 

I've owned Briish and european sports for the past 35 years, my advice is that it will make a fine hobby. As a daily for the old lady, well, don't let her outside of Taft.

I wouldn't butcher it either, clean it up mechanic wise, body wise and interior wise, enjoy it for what it is, maybe buzz over to the coast in it for kicks but as a daily for the wife I'd recomend against it unless she is a fair mechanic herself.

For $300 unless it's junk you can't miss.

 

rewire and put a small american motor in her... slant 6, small V8, whatever - it'll all be just fine.

 

You would have loved the 67 Jaguar XKE Roadster Convertible I pulled out of a barn a month ago. All there/triple carbureted/matching numbers!

Hate to say it, but I sold it 30 minutes after closing the deal. I just had no love for it, but the wife liked the nice size check I received for it.

 

You can Hot Rod those too...

 

I had a '65 in college and loved it. Mine had wire wheels with knock-off hubs-cool but no end of trouble. Balancing twin carbs was always a challenge, but it had a walnut dash and a hardtop that once person could carry and two could lift iff. One night, my friends picked up the car and carried it away,so it was missing when I came out to drive to class!

I'd buy one for $300 in a second!. But the body isn't great metal, they'll scoot but it's under powered and they are as safe as roller skating in your undies on the Interstate. But it sure was fun!

Old joke, but true. Why do the British build cars and not computers?
They could never figure out how to get computers to leak oil on a daily basis.

 

Really? Are you sure?

http://www.alanturing.net/turing_archive/pages/Reference%20Articles/codebreaker.html

 

I was about to say be careful their auto industry did the same thing 40 years ago the the US one is doing now, building what the manufacturers want not the consumer.....

Back to pommy sports cars i was surprised to see the bodies stacked up outside the wreckers yard in Phoenicx that was oposite the place that shipped my car, they were not even in the gates and at that time the rust free panels might have been some good over here.
Now days the flood of used jap import Miata/MX5's has ment anyone can have a cheap, reliable rust free lillte sports car so you never see MG's and Triumphs anymore the girls that were keeping them going all drive Jappa's now rather then try to keep up with the rust repairs.

 

She a patient woman? If no, flip it and get a Miata. Nothing like continually working on your other halfs ride.

 

I have been out in the garage all night looking for my alley dweller that knows the guy up the street that is selling it. Saw him fly by in a truck. I normally can not get this guy out of my garage. now that I need to talk to him he is no where to be found.

I drove by to look at it again. it is solid and is for sure a 62-64 era spitfire. Hell, I could probably get it for 200 considering the alley guy probably raised the price so he could make a little money off of it. haha.

oh well i will check again before going to bed.

 

Buy it. Rewire it. Brakes. Carbs. Fluids. Tires. Enjoy.

I have thing for TR4's....5.0 Fords fit in them.... hee hee...