Ian1208 Posted August 12, 2021 Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 Hi all. Great forum full of information. I bought my 1st Spitfire (F reg) in 1975 as an impatient teenager aged 16. I wandered in to a dealership and announced I had £250 in my pocket and what was available. I was promptly pointed to the 'trade in' area. There I saw this red rust bucket of a spitfire that I simply had to have as it was exactly 250 quid even although no price was displayed. Strange that! Anyway after driving it the 3 miles home, no tax, insurance, MOT, licence (not condoning this now or then) my old man promptly but verbally slapped me about for being so stupid. After a week or so and the interior was striped out I got a guy to come and price the welding that there was much off. I had removed the doors for ease of access and this bloke stepped into the car and it hilariously broke in half. It wasn't even sold for scrap. It was slowly dismantled and the binmen gradually removed it over a couple of months. That's my introduction to the Spitfire. Fast forward some 40 something years and I was passed by one in the street. My wife commented how cute it was and the hunt began. I had a strict budget (3.5k) and provided it wasn't full of holes, it ran and would pass the current MOT standards, couloir and condition was unimportant as I had a plan. You see, my wife is Thai and my main business is in the far east. We would buy, export over the winter and run in a classic rally that runs through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I looked at what seemed hundreds of ads. Most were projects that were not full day to day runners or, priced at 4/5/6k. I wish I had joined this forum first but hey, by sheer chance was looking at my daughters facebook and there it was in the classifieds. It appears the chap only just advertised it and off we went to Ayrshire only one hour from home. The guy was really nice. we exchanged formalities and each new what the price was beforehand. If it was what I wanted I would buy. It turns out he wanted it to do the N500 run with his Mrs but for various reasons it didn't happen and the car was up for grabs. I could see some work had been completed and in general the car looked used (albeit it hadn't completed 20 miles in a year) and off I went with the wife on a 30 min test run through some nice twisting roads. The chap siad I would find no problems with the drive and warned me it was 1975 brakes and not expect to stop on a sixpence. Great run, bought the car, drove it home, used it everyday since the end of march. Daily run to work some 20 miles, and another 100 or so each weekend. In general no issues except the temp seems to run hot whilst driving and surprisingly (for me) returns to normal at idle. I'm beginning to experience some electrical problems, some noisy exhaust issues and a few rattles here and there. All in all I love it but I'm not practical in any shape or fashion on mechanicals so soon, the car will be going to the garage for some serious and not so serious fettling. As you can see it has an aftermarket roll bar and I believe (?) wire wheels but I am in two minds whether on not to remove them and replace with original. It also comes with a factory hard top. Once again thanks for having me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted August 12, 2021 Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 Welcome to the forum , nice spitfire . Great advice and banter sometimes in the opposite order . I joined close to 5 years ago with my newly acquired Vitesse and hadn’t lifted a spanner for more than 30 yrs . With the help of the forum I’ve managed most work on my own . It’s been tough at times though rewarding . Just struggling to get a gearbox back in which Pete Lewis has rebuilt for me . I was able to watch and learn . Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 12, 2021 Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 im sure you will keep the smile no matter what unfolds in work or titivating a thought on the temperature readings if the reading rises when driving but stabilises when idleing this sound like the voltage stabiliser is failing to control the gauge stabilised voltage as you drive the vehicle voltage increases with charge so the gauge reacts and reads hotter it will also affect the fuel gauge the stabiliser is quite cheap and is fitted on the back of the speedo but investigate here before you get all the myths of overheating digging in the wallet stick to basics and it will do what it says on the tin wires , thats a love or hate thing me i hate them punctures are imeadiate and flat in flash , they can be quite unstable as the spokes need servicing to keep them taut, wheels do distort on cornering forces and wires can be alarming , if you have the steel wheels go and try it , ah but then you have to remove the adaptors ..more Grrr and then when yyou need to remove the adaptor you wont have anything to fit on the nuts Grrr you see why i hate them , look nice thats about all thats good Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted August 12, 2021 Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 Welcome to the forum. That does look quite tidy. I see it has a servo so your brakes will feel somewhat less unusual than they would on an as-it-left-the-factory example. Pete's probably right (he usually is) on the temperature gauge behaviour - the fuel gauge will tell you if so. I also tend to agree with him on wires but if they're not giving you any trouble and you're willing to put up with the extra maintenance effort then no need to change. That said, if you're serious about the classic rally then you will want steel wheels for that - they'll take a lot more punishment than wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted August 12, 2021 Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 Welcome to the forum Ian, i'm sure you will be able to do some jobs minor jobs yourself soon after joining the forum. You only have to ask A friend has just bought a Spitfire a couple of months ago, same colour and wheels as yours and he hates the wheels already as he keeps hitting his shins on the spinners..... He still loves the car though. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian1208 Posted August 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2021 Thanks for the warm welcome guy's. I like the look of the wires. Makes the car look older than it is but they will definitely go before any hard or long distance driving. One question. Did Triumph (or BL) ever produce an alloy hard top for competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 13, 2021 Report Share Posted August 13, 2021 9 hours ago, Ian1208 said: One question. Did Triumph (or BL) ever produce an alloy hard top for competition? No. But light fibreglass hardtops are available, in varying quality. I had a great one, very well made but that met an untimely demise. Re temps, as NM said, if fuel gauge does the same, it is the voltage regulator. If not, it could be the radiator needs a recore. It can cope at idle, but when moving can't dissipate the extra heat the engine is producing. If you want a reliable setup, I would get a high quality recore done by a local (if any still exist) radiator shop. Saying that, I fitted a new "full width" type that works well enough, but not convinced it is as ell made as it could be. As to the roll bar, I have no idea what the roads/drivers/etc are like in teh countries you mention. But adding a diagonal to the roll bar may be wise. Or even a full cage? not pretty, but strong. As to brakes, it should stop fast, certainly be able to lock the brakes. If not, some fettling is required. Lastly hood folding. You should unpopper all the black studs, then fold the 2 ends of the hood up the vinyl between the back windows. It then folds in without creasing the windows. http://www.triumphspitfire.com/Spittop.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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