Anyone know much about the Triumph Spitfire?

[JB]

Seeing Deathstars thread has reminded me that the current Mrs JB has decided that a Spitfire (Mk3) is what we need for France to be our runabout with a difference.

http://www.triumphowners.com/uploaded/34/264-264-111014_06dcp_0034.jpg

Now I know it's not fast or anything but I'd like some tips on what to look out for if I find one and any useful sites.

Cheers

[Ken]

Had a Mk 3 Spitfire on an F plate, great little car, easy to work on , basic mechanicals so not hard to maintain, have to be careful with rust in the chassis and outriggers

http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/car/car_links.htm

The Truimph sport six club might be worth a look

[Wak]

Rust, rust, and er, rust!

If memory serves from reading classic car magazines years ago the chassis outriggers, the sills and the bulkhead are particular rust spots, but the whole car should be checked obviously. Also check the bonnet very carefully because it's one piece with the front wings and VERY expensive to replace if rotten or badly repaired. Front suspension needs checking carefully too, it has grease nipples and needs periodic greasing. Many owners don't bother so look for fresh grease around that area.

[jim potter]

one word


RUST!!!!


jim

[JB]

Would I be right in thinking that you can get complete new shells for these, or is that just the MGs?

Incidentally, she likes them because she drove past one on the M6 once. It was on the hard shoulder with an AA van in attendance.

[Deacon]

yep they rust and dont get a mrk 4 1300 there the slowest

i like the mrk 4 1500 and mrk 1 1500 has creature comforts and overdrive :) (well some)

lovley little things sister drives one :)

http://www.thebpc.com/gallery/myspit.gif

[PhilMorrison]

Probably the most dangerous car I have ever driven..

[Ken]

Be nice if you could get one with the GT6 engine and drivetrain

[Deacon]

or as they call them

"gitfires"

[Paul_S13]

I think its the Spitfire, a mate said their head bolts go in diagonally and when you get the head skimmed they don't go back in because there out of line!

[Deacon]

no thats the ledgendary stag engine :D

[Wak]

Originally posted by JB
Would I be right in thinking that you can get complete new shells for these, or is that just the MGs?


It has a seperate chassis so you can't by a complete body shell like you can with an MG but I think all the body panels are available.

Here http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/ would be the place to look

[Paul_S13]

Originally posted by *DeathStar*
no thats the ledgendary stag engine :D

Thats the one! :D

[Tenman]

Rusty, twitchy, b4stard to work on... need I go on, they always rot in the most awkward places as well :mad:

[Deacon]

all they did was set the tool they use to meximum tourqe and force them down in the 70s :|

[Ken]

Originally posted by Tenman
Rusty, twitchy, b4stard to work on... need I go on, they always rot in the most awkward places as well :mad:

Always found mine easy to work on as the whole front hinged forward, then you could sit on the wheel while you worked

[NikB]

Yep, rust is a BIG problem, but I think you probably got the message by now. Check the sills, bulkhead, floor, boot floor and the underside of the bonnet.

Also check for play in the front suspension as they have trunions which allows them to have a ridiculously small turning circle. They also have a (I think it's called) single transveres spring on the rear suspension which means that when the suspension is unloaded (i.e. when cornering) the back wheel tucks under the car which can lead to some interesting handling characteristics. This can be fixed with the Triumph Vitese rotaflex axle.

If it has overdrive check this works. Also check the hood for rips, tears and brittleness.

Engine is easy to work on as the whole bonnet flips forwards. Not sure which capacity is easier to get now but the 1300 is more tunable than the 1500 because it is basically an A series engine (fitted to minis).

I know all this info (I know it would come in useful) as a mate is restoring one and spent a fortune on panels! Should be nice when done though!!! If you need to know anymore I'll get him to post and despense some more knowledge.

Cheers

Nik

PS here's a couple of pics to illistrate the rust issue!!!

http://www.more-power.co.uk/theprojects/images/spitfire/andy8.jpg

http://www.more-power.co.uk/theprojects/images/spitfire/andy11.jpg

http://www.more-power.co.uk/theprojects/images/spitfire/andy7.jpg

[JB]

I've just made Mrs JB read this thread and I do believe she's starting to go off the idea. I've always liked the look of the Spit but I don't have the time or the technical knowledge to take on a restoration project or risk getting something that going to be more trouble than it's worth.

Back to my preference then which is a nice cheap XJS V12 then I reckon. At least they're reliable.... aren't they ;)

[docwra]

Coming in late to the party ...............

My Dad has a Mk3 1500 - its a minter. Has done 39,000 miles from new, has NO RUST at all, runs like a dream :)
Admittedly, his one is very good (it cost him 4500 :eek: ) but we looked at plenty when he was choosing his - if you are looking to pay decent money, you can get a rust free example. They are also dead easy to work on due to the incredible clam like bonnet - sitting on a wheel adjusting the points is a sight easier than giving it some James Herriot to do anything on a Nissan :mad:
Main points to check are the sills, all the areas round the bonnet etc., and look at the shutlines - we saw at least 3 that were perfectly straight, so they do exist. :)
Aside from that, spares are plentiful and cheap and the car is very moddable ............ :cool:
Oh and they are a right hoot as well - Id highly recommend them :)

Is this a car JB hasnt owned?? *faints* ;)

[NikB]

Sorry JB, didn't mean to put you off.

The point was really to check all these areas for rust, you can pick up minters as docwra points out. I saw a fully restored on on Scoobynet a while back for about 5000.

Cheers

Nik

[Billy]

Originally posted by NikB
Not sure which capacity is easier to get now but the 1300 is more tunable than the 1500 because it is basically an A series engine (fitted to minis).



Sadly not true. Life would be much easier if it were! They're both the same engine, and you can't get much to tune the 1300 (that doesn't fit the 1500 which is just stroked)

I think you're mixing it up with the Midget, which had an A-series in the 1300 and a Spitfire engine in the 1500


If you pick one up with a sorted chassis and lots of GRP panels then you'll pay less for it (beats me too!) and rust won't be any more of a problem than with any other 30 year old car. There are some achingly pretty front and back ends available for Spits, by the way....

Don't be fooled by any bull about the sills not being structural. It was true of the Herald, but not the case with the Spit...

Front trunnions are a weak point, but dead easy and cheap to replace. I had one break leaving me with three wheels, but it still steered OK-ish, and it only happens when they're neglected or greased instead of oiled.

The engines are crap three bearing heaps (70bhp for a mk3) which knock out the centre main and are expensive to tune.
But you could always fit a Dolomite Sprint engine (2 litre 16v 135bhp) :D:D:D

[Jeffers_S13]

HEHE ! ! My first car was a Spitfire, I ended up replacing just about everything, sprayed it racing green and fitted some period wolfrace alloys, roll-over bar ! looked pretty cool by the time I'd finished. Mine was the Mk4 which is generally seen as the slowest but if you get the right 1300 block you have the best of both worlds, if you get a Mk4 you want the engine number to start FD*** not FK***, they have bigger mains supposedly like the later 1500, and with it being a shorter stroke can rev its nuts off, and can ultimatley give the better power. I have a friend who races them, he has a fast road car and a fully race-prepared Mk3, both run FD engines and he pi$$es all over minis who are in the same class. At the end of the day though they arent particularly quick and whenever you take a body panel off you will find kind of recessed shelves of untreated mild steel as if designed to trap water while it eats through to fresh air. For bits I'd recommend TD Fitchets in Coventry and Rimmer Bros in Lincoln (bit pricier, I got all my bits from there as I lived nearer) also there is a dedictated breakers called The Spitfire Graveyard in Sheffield, they have everything you could ever want, they often have cleanish examples to sell that they have cobbled together from the bits they have in stock. Not sure about the sills being structural as it shares the same chassis as the Herald, a spine back with outriggers, the body is bolted on at 4 points. Worse problem rusty area is around the windscreen, namely on the pillars, you cant get replacement screen frames so the only option is to have them patchworked back together. Loads of other places rust aswell but most bits are replaceable with new pressed panels (although they dont fit aswell as originals) There are quite a few with the later 150BHP straight six in them, also some with Toyota 6's. The rear suspension is legendary, being a swing arm which tucks up under the arches when going for it and 'hops' at the limit, best to rip all that off and get GT6 set-up at the back called 'rotoflex' which is a much improved set-up albeit not anything like as good as fully independant wishbone set-up, but better than standard.

You ought to by the Triumph World magazine if your keen and join the Sports Six club they have an excellent monthly club magazine full of useful info and cars and bits for sale.

Oh, and they are a complete doddle to work on, amazing access to the engine because of the bonnet and everything is old school with them being...errr....old, like dizzy and points etc.

[Ripper]

Tell Mrs.Jb to get something else!

They might look ok but the reality will be the same as every other similar-era sporty-ish car: bl00dy expensive and unreliable.

May I take this opportunity to suggest an S13? :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

[Clong]

The only experience i had with one of these was driving down the A1 in the middle of January with a friend. The heating was as much use as a condom machine in the Vatican, we both ended up in our sleeping bags, his feet poking out the bottom of the bag on the pedals. Always liked the look of them, but the journey in this spitfire eradicated any thoughts of getting one.

[JB]

Originally posted by Ripper
May I take this opportunity to suggest an S13?

This is the point where you would normally expect me to hurl abuse at Ripper but no. Because....




















:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: The thought of getting an S13 for said purpose of blatting around France for bugger all money has been at the back of my mind for some time :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

And, the Mrs likes the look of them (though she does say they are much more Max Power than the classy booted S14a ;) )

However I suspect that finding a low mileage minter that's totally unmodded and an Auto will be a lengthy task.

Maybe I should look at Probes instead. After all, same body shell just FWD.




















Scrabble :finger:

[Ripper]

Originally sort-of posted by JB
This is the point where you would normally expect me to hurl abuse at Ripper but no. Because....

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: The thought of getting an S13 for said purpose of blatting around France for bugger all money has been at the back of my mind for some time :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

And, the Mrs likes the look of them (she does say they are much more sporty and less Good Living than the tartan rug festooned S14a ;) )

However I suspect that finding a low mileage minter that's totally unmodded and an Auto will be a lengthy task. Although Ripper's stunning L-reg grey monster is the closest thing and I wish I owned it.

Maybe I should look at 406s instead. After all, same body shell as the S14a, just FWD.

Scrabble :finger:

JB thinking of buying an S13!

Ripper goes all faint at this point and has to retire to a darkened room :eek:

[JB]

Originally posted by Ripper
JB thinking of buying an S13!

Ripper goes all faint at this point and has to retire to a darkened room :eek:

:D

Though I'd have to find one that was reliable, not like yours :p

[Ripper]

Originally posted by JB
:D

Though I'd have to find one that was reliable, not like yours :p

Mine IS reliable; I can reliably guarantee that it doesn't go!:rolleyes:


Until that point it was 200 (:D) % reliable.

I think the problem was because I was only doing about 58mph - car wasn't used to it! :) :(