Spitfire MK II - 1965 - Help Needed.

[dodgey_rog]

Hey guys,

This is the first time i've ventured into these parts, so hello, please be gentle. Now this is the situation, i've been given a Triumph Spitfire MK2 which is a 1965 model, thats all i know at the moment. The story behind this is, my boss knows a bloke, who knows a woman and she wanted to get rid of it, so he told my boss, my boss knows i like British cars so he said, i'm giving you a car. All sounds good so far.

There is a catch though, its been sat around for a while, so i don't know what condition she's in, i'm due to have a wander over and take a look so i'll get the camera poised and get some snaps for your viewing pleasure. The car is in New York so the bodywork will be fairly good (i hope), but knowing nothing about these, i'm very green, i was brought up with TVR & Lotus' as my father used to be a dealer for them.

My questions are;
- What can you tell me about them?
- Are they worth anything restored?
- How hard or easy are the parts to get hold of?

I really appreciate any information and know you guys are a useful lot, so i'll have a look later on and see what the story is, will post some pics as soon as i get them.

Cheers.

Rog.

[Wacky Racer]

Give Nigel Bancroft a ring, he owns his own garage in Stalybridge, Cheshire, (Bancroft motors)0161 303 7665, probably knows more about Triumph sports cars (Spits, GT6's, TR's) than almost anybody else in the country....

He has built several new ones from all new parts........

To be honest I don't think a '65 Spitfire Mk 2 would be worth that much, but maybe to a collector......


Just mention Alan when you ring.....

[Sporting Bear]

I've found that repro parts are of abysmal quality

[tr3a]

dodgey_rog said:

Hey guys,
My questions are;
- What can you tell me about them?

What do you want to know? They're very simple cars, just a backbone chassis with a body screwed onto it. Independent suspension all round, but the pre-MKIV rear swing axles can be tricky, due to a fundamental design fault in the rear transverse spring. Easily sorted once you start spannering.
They're among the most easy and cheap cars to restore, run and maintain. I find them a lot of fun and full of character, but if you're looking for speed and ultimate street cred, look elsewhere.

I have my own web site about Triumph Spitfires. It's mainly about European-spec 1500's, but a lot of what I've written also goes for all the other types. Have a look, maybe you'll find some of the answers you're looking for.

dodgey_rog said:

- Are they worth anything restored?

They are sought after by some people and hence worth some money if restored well. But I have never heard of a Spitfire that was worth restoring from a financial point of view. Restoring a Spitfire can be a very rewarding hobby, but never a successful way of making money.

dodgey_rog said:

- How hard or easy are the parts to get hold of?

Very easy, although you may have trouble finding one or two MkII-specific parts. General Spitfire parts for engine, body, suspension and such is easy to find and cheap. Even used parts are plentiful and cheap on Ebay and through dedicated breakers yards. Here's a link to the most respected suppliers of new Triumph parts in the US. There's a lot of other useful information on the VTR web site, too.

dodgey_rog said:

will post some pics as soon as i get them.

Please do.

[steaming2uk]

dodgey_rog said:

Hey guys,

My questions are;
- What can you tell me about them?
- Are they worth anything restored?
- How hard or easy are the parts to get hold of?

I really appreciate any information and know you guys are a useful lot, so i'll have a look later on and see what the story is, will post some pics as soon as i get them.

Cheers.

Rog.

If you log on to the Club Triumph Website, www.club.triumph.org.uk you will find lots of info and people more than willing to help and advise you.

Good luck,

Alan

Edited by steaming2uk on Wednesday 25th April 22:31

[dodgey_rog]

Thanks guys, appreciate the assistance. Well we had a wander over to where its being stored and its in a right old state. I took some snaps the best i could, but i was wearing flip flops and it was hemmed in like a MOFO. But see below;









She doesn't look too bad, i'm told the engine is very good, although what cc i forgot to ask at the time, it has the usual round the arches but bearing in mind where its stood and for how long, its done very well in my view. There might some salvageable parts from it, we'll have to wait and see.

You see now i'm in two minds, i wouldn't mind the challenge of doing it up, i just don't have any spanners with me over here, plus i'm not that hands on. I live in Manhattan but i can store it at a warehouse we have upstate, so storage at the moment isn't a problem. I might contact the American Owners Club and see if they want it as a project car or maybe even do a deal with the Classic Car Club here in Manhattan, they can use it as a hospital job or such like. I knew there wasn't alot of money in restoring it to make a profit, it would be a horrendous loss, but you have to ask these things, afterall, you guys have or are probably doing something fairly similar.

[//j17]

Shame but from what I can see that ones had it - unless someone who wants THAT can comes along.

Based on the rust on the outside of the bonnet/hood the (more vulnerable) inside will be shot.

Looks like it's been outside sans-roof for some time, so every rain shower will have filled the footwells and sat there eating the floor pans.

[Wacky Racer]

Best place for that is the scrapyard imo............


Shame.....

[tr3a]

dodgey_rog said:

I took some snaps the best i could

Hmmm. Not pretty. Could be a parts car, though. And there are bound to be takers on Ebay or in clubs for those aftermarket front and rear bumper bars.

Whatever you do, ditch the luggage rack. Burn, crush and bury it. Whoever thought of putting that on a Spitfire should be shot.

[Pistuphead]

Oh dear, rust, a Spitfires worst enemy, get the body off and see what the chassis looks like, but judging by the pics it doesn't look promising

[//j17]

Pistuphead said:

Oh dear, rust, a Spitfires worst enemy, get the body off and see what the chassis looks like, but judging by the pics it doesn't look promising

Chassis will probably be OK as they are fairly sturdy... so you could turn it into a Caburn (used to be Vincent) Hurricane (www.caburn.demon.co.uk/Contents/CaburnEngineering/Hurricane/)