1974 Triumph Spitfire MK IV 1300

[Homersimpson]

Back in 2014 I was picking up a part for a friends car from someone near where I live when I noticed (couldn't really miss it!) a bright yellow spitfire bodyshell in his front garden.

The shell looked to be in reasonably good condition and upon enquiry it seemed he had bought it, stripped it down and then didn't really know what to do next so just left it.

After a bit of negotiation it was purchaed and transported to my parents house where my dad and brother helped me put the shell up on some tressles in the garage with all the bits it came with pilled in and around it and there it has sat since.

At the time I was in the middle of restoring a MK2 Jag and when that was finished l bought and restored another MK2 Jag for reasons that are still not entirely clear to me! 

Fast forward to 2023 and the second Jag is complete and i'm thinking about the Spitfire, my knowledge of Triumphs is very (very) limited and although i've restored dozens of cars over the years i've never done one with a seperate chassis.

As the car came in bits I don't know if I have all of it but it seems to be reasonably complete, no doubt though some bits are broken/missing as the guy who stripped it was a bit heavy handed.

Does anyone have any tips on things that I should be aware of that are specific to these cars, known weak points (body and mechanical) requiring extra scrutiny etc?  All advise, tips etc. greatfully recieved.

Sadly I don't have any picture of it, the best I can do at the moment is a photo of the rear wing from when I was moving another car out of the garage, hopefully I will dig it out soon and make a start.

https://i.imgur.com/UaX1DFm.jpg

[Homersimpson]

Just to add it seems to have been repainted in a brighter shade of yellow than the original, I assume its now Inca yellow or something similar.

[Josef]

Known weak points are only really rust related. The Spitfire is semi monocoque, the sills are structural. So you probably want to start off checking the chassis is straight (dimensions can be found in the factory workshop manuals, reprints are available and you can find originals for non insane prices if you shop around). If your sills are rotten, then the body can bend, especially with no chassis underneath. But this is fixable with door spacers, ratchet straps and lots of jacks to position everything sensibly before welding.  Most panels are available, and most parts. Canley Classics, TD Fitchett, James Paddock for new and some secondhand / NOS, Spitfire Graveyard and Spitbitz for secondhand. Rimmers and Moss have plenty of Triumph stuff too but tend to be on the more expensive side. With a couple of Jags under your belt, you should be fine! Looking forward to seeing how it goes!

[Homersimpson]

Thanks very much for the reply, I did wonder about the sills as they seem substantial on the car and the chassis has nothing on the sides so I assumed they were structural. 

I guess once i've checked the chassis dimensions the best thing to do would be bolt the body back on to do the repairs so its all one unit?

If anyone is interested these were my last two restorations:

https://imgur.com/OCscXhs

https://i.imgur.com/ruKMvUn.jpg

I did all the welding, body work, paint etc. on both and to give an idea of how bad they were, this was the drivers side wing on the blue one (used to be beige) that was repaired not replaced (wings are around 2.5K which is well outside of my budget!).

https://i.imgur.com/LYiRlyj.jpg

 

[Josef]

8 hours ago, Homersimpson said:

I guess once i've checked the chassis dimensions the best thing to do would be bolt the body back on to do the repairs so its all one unit?

Yep, bolt on the body, set up the bonnet (there’s adjustment at the hinges in all dimensions) and start to work from there.

Those Mk2s look great, especially seeing the picture of the wing you had to repair! Panels for the Spit are muuuuch cheaper, but personally I’d still aim to repair where possible. It’s easier to maintain the structural integrity, and some of the panels available are not the best fitting things. Not that I could with mine in many places 

 

[AlanT]

If you do have to replace the sills, buy 'original' not 'pattern' outer sills...the patterns leave your doors hanging out an inch or so at the back and mess up the lines of the car. I learnt the hard way...had to cut them off again & replace with the proper parts! And agree with @Josef Dave @ The Spitfire Graveyard is a terrific supplier. I got replacement front inner arches off him...they fit and saved a load. He checks his stuff properly before sending it vs. others that have sent me scrap. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by AlanT

[Josef]

Even with a genuine NOS Rover stickered sill I had to do some work to get it to fit well! Though I had also replaced pretty much all metal on that side below the line of where the bonnet meets the sill so…

[Homersimpson]

Thanks for all the helpful advice, looking at pictures of Spitfires a lot of them seem to have a large gap between the bonnet and scuttle/doors, is there a reason for this or is this just the result of the original build quality from BL?

Are there any mechanical  bits that are difficult/hard to disassemble and rebuild, any nuts/bolts that always snap or give trouble etc?  On the MK2 Jag the rear hubs are an absolute pain to get off and if you don't have the special puller its a case of luck, heat and/or a big press!

[Josef]

The bonnet to scuttle / door gap does end up being a little larger to allow the doors not to hit the bonnet. The expected measurements are all in the manual though. 

You also need a special puller for the rear hubs on the Spit. You’ll destroy them with a three leg before they move! (It’s possible I’ll have one of these to sell shortly, or know of a source at least) They also changed spec close to 1974, well the driveshafts did, so you’ll need to be careful identifying exactly what you’ve got.

The exhaust manifold studs tend to have welded themselves on to the manifold, the manifold to head studs can be a pain for similar reasons. Trunnions need to have been oiled not greased, and if the threads on the vertical link are at all suspect replace them. The alternative is them snapping and your wheel falling off! Generally this is a low speed failure, still not desirable though. The handbrake wears in to the rear brake backplates, the wear should be welded up and ground down, and all the handbrake links and levers at the rear replaced. If you do that the handbrake is perfectly fine, otherwise it’s usually terrible. Err, can’t think of anything else just right now!

[Homersimpson]

Thanks very much thats a grear start, i'm just finishing off a few minor bits on one of the Jags and then will be moving it to my mums and will start bring up bits of the Spitfire and no doubt will have a lot more questions then!