Trimph Spitfire first car!

[Agrispeed]

Hi all, I was dreading my first car, and it was a debate between my mums Fiat panda diseasal or my own shopping trolley... however, through here, I thankfully found Classic Car insurance. therefore i was able to upgrade to something slower, smaller, less reliable, thirstier, and just utterly fantastic.

So, I got myself a low slung 1971 bright red and chrome sporty(ish) car, which costs less in insurance than a fiat panda... Success!

although finding one was a bit tricky in the depths of Cornwall, I eventually found one just in Civilization - and Devon.

although in need of a little work (with a possible head gasket failure approaching) it was actually in decent nick, with only a few patches of bubbling, and a sound chassis, UJs, Diff and gearbox.

The first drive back was interesting, to say the least, as it involved Plymouth rush hour traffic, a jerky throttle, No PS, and a bonnet clip coming undone at about 70mph...

however, once back I have driven it around Lanes, where, it really shines out, no matter what you are doing it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face

I have not had a chance to take any decent photos, as It is Cornwall and so almost perpetually cloudy or raining, so here are the sellers:






better than a a Fiat Panda, I hope You'll agree (although they are actually damn good little motors)

[Agrispeed]

Chunkychucky said:

Nicely done chap. Who did you sort your insurance through if you dont mind me asking?

not entirely sure, But as Im still a learner it was a specialist one for learners... (yes, I must own the only spitfire with L plates on ) howver it was about £80PM, compared to something like £120 for the Panda.... My Mum is also insured (she hasnt had the chance to drive it though ) and it was £90 PA (both of these are full cover, unlimited mileage & breakdown cover -probably needed-)

So, In conclusion, you still get a sore arse, but not quite as sore... (£1400 Pa for a Fiat for me, and should be roughly £500 less for the spitfire, when I get my license, and no road tax!)

[Agrispeed]

Steffan said:

Excellent buy, really nice car with the later Mark IV or V suspension. Stylish and different. Good buy!

Drove loads of these over the years, sold my last two years ago.

One word of caution.

The rear suspension is a real Achilles heel on these.

The transverse spring can cause serious wheel tuck in if cornering quickly.

I would take the trouble to learn the limit on these which is not high when potholes, drain covers etc can cause sudden suspension loading in a corner.

Perfectly safe and controllable, but something you should be aware of from the start.

yeah, Cheers for the heads up Dispite preferring the looks of the MKIII i chose this because of the suspension 'issues' being sorted... however you have to avoid Potholes and drain covers, because you can actually feel the car get VERY unsettled also, They bloody hurt...

[Agrispeed]

Steffan said:

I would expect more of this as the realisation of insurance costs sinks in.

Classic Mini could be much better than a modern box in overall costs terms. Virtually no depreciation, rock bottom insurance and cheap to maintain.

Happy Motoring.

That is a very good point, I bought this as not only is it fun and very pretty it also requires some tweaking to keep it going, which means i can actually mess around with spanners and learn how to fix it.

On another note, Buying this Mid January, means that if i ever sell it on, It's very likely that I will get more for it if i sell in the spring/summer. Add that to nil depreciation (and possible appreciation), cheap parts and zero Road Tax, and it works out very cheap indeed... Perfect!

[Agrispeed]

well, Last night (and stretching into today, I suppose) I have been doing a few jobs, with the new parts I got from... Rimmer Bros :big laugh: I've now fitted:

• New Fanbelt
• Spark plugs
• Condenser
• Contact breaker
• Throttle Cable
• Choke Cable
• and Door Straps

And, recently I did a full Oil change, so its now ready to go... Right?

Noooopppeeee, I am Having some slight issues with the new leads inside the Dizzy, with a lead from the Condenser to the others.. When i put it where Pictures show it going, it doesn't work, and where it fires the car, it doesn't clip, so once it starts once, you have to open it up and put it back... Oh bugger, Old cars I suppose...

If anyone has a picture of the inside of a Distributor cap, I would be very thankful

I also found 3 hidden switches under the dash, while trying to feed the choke cable through (stupidly hard job), which I have no Idea what they do... this is added to the 3 extra ones in the cabin that are visible and I dont know what they do... Although Apparently It did have Rally lights at some point, But I haven't seen a picture of a spitfire with any... although if its an Improvement on the 1 candlepower the lights share as standard, they were probably quite handy

Pics to follow soon


ETA: thats some mighty fine looking spits' there Guys, really impressive! (I bet that Engine makes it umm... Interesting though )

Edited by Agrispeed on Friday 17th February 20:29

[Agrispeed]

hoppo4.2 said:

It is a bit interesting especially on standard brakes.

As for the leads get your self a Haynes or similar book u will find it very useful

I'll see if I can find a pic of the standard set up for you.

Just watch out fit the quality of some of the parts. They don't always fit right. Leads can be too short etc.

Where abouts in the country are you from? I have a spare set of standard wheels and a few other bits around that you can have if of any use to you.

Cheers,
its not the leads Per se, its the contents of the distributor so pretty tricky to find photos of.

I'm in the cold and uncivilised wild country that is cornwall (not much traffic though!)

[Agrispeed]

well, All fixed now Folks! I just put the old bits back on, and they didn't work, so i swapped them for the new bit, which still didn't fix it, so I put the old bits back, and hey, It now works!!!

and, I have no idea why but, Hey it now works again

so, I gave it a Celebratory wax & polish, and it's now sitting it the garage, looking really rather lovely... we allowed to name cars?

I think Mine has the other Dizzy, rather than the Lucas one, But many thanks for the Pics anyway, Hoppo4.2

[Agrispeed]

£2,600 in January

has a clean chassis, decent(ish) bodywork, but slightly tatty interior, but some generally in decent condition, and has been looked after well. before i got it it had been in storage for 12 months.

was actually pretty clean, and closeish, which was a problem when the nearest others are London area, so transport costs would start to hurt.

but as soon as I got in it I knew i was going to have to buy it, just so different from any other car, with so much personality, the week before I drove it home was the longest week of my life

[Agrispeed]

Right gents, I took the car out last night for its first run since i put the new parts on it. it runs amazingly better, and is actually usable in traffic now (ish) however, did have a few minor mishaps, including an L plate escaping at 40MPH (spent ages looking for it in the dark) which is now stuck on the front grill, below Knee height, as i figured having one no one can see is better than having none. also, i have a electrical issue that i hope you can help me on (i cant get to work on the car until a fortnights time i expect, but i will have the neighbor who is a fitter with me) and that is...

when i Brake in daylight, its fine, both sides light up, (possibly N/s one lighter) but, when sidelights, or headlights are on, only the O/s brake light turns on, and the N/s rear light turns off (well almost) can anyone help? (i think I know the problem already, and i will draw a diagram in a mo.

cheers

[Agrispeed]

'
I think this may be the problem, will try the fuses though (the guy who owned it before me didn't seem to know much about them...) by the way, the image is copyrighted, so hands off

P.s the wire between the chocolate block and N/S light is thinner than the others, but its all bloody lagged in 'leccy tape, so its a giant mess...

[Agrispeed]

hoppo4.2 said:

If its the same as mine you will have only 3 fuses. Although they can cause issues is far more likely to be an earth fault.

Yeah, while they don't have many electrics, what they do have are not exactly reliable will investigate earth soon... the joys of a lit, insulated garage ... yeah, i found a few hidden switches aswel... so Christ knows what they are

here it is, on the Top right (there's another near the radio far behind the dash, but i guess thats for the radio, which was fitted later)

[Agrispeed]

petrolveins said:

Ahh yes, so I see it has been answered already. Cracking car for the money. If I could afford to run two cars I would be seriously looking at one of these.

very cheap to run... 30mpg, zero road tax and classic insurance (my mum is insured comp for £95pa) I bought in the depths of winter, so
if you sell in summer you will get a decent amount more for one. parts are very cheap and in plentiful supply now too! (as this thread shows, you do need to be prepared to get your hands dirty though!)

[Agrispeed]

New developments...

well, the rear wiring is a complete fking bodge job, including the reverse light & infrastructure being there, but not plugged in, and a new spur from the N/S brake light to the O/S, which by passes the old, and the N/S. (also, all the wiring is covered in acres of electrical tape, which has gone brittle.) I have a diagram here:


as you can see, as well as completely special wiring, it is also missing many earths, so I guess you guys were right , Just there's more bad things as well.

so, I started by taking the rear wheel out and the covers off... Now there is now fuel tank cover, trim or carpet, and the loom has been unplugged and marked. Luckily it looks like the boot has been connected in the past, so there are connections, and I have a local car fitter who hopefully will be able to fix me up with some new wiring. so, the car is now looking very sorry for its self - although, I didn't find any (much) rust in the boot floor, so at least thats one positive .

Does anyone know where i would be able to get a loom for just the rear wiring (I.e; boot) rather than a whole rear loom, as access is an utter bd.... Luckily it's getting done, when the appeal of open top motoring is small, and it isn't getting used.

Edited by Agrispeed on Sunday 4th March 21:41

[Agrispeed]

N Dentressangle said:

It's Ebay for s/h:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-SPITFIRE-MK4-150...

or these guys will give you good advice:

http://www.canleyclassics.com

Spitfire electrics are so basic I would imagine you would be best off remaking it yourself, to be honest.

Have you joined http://www.tssc.org.uk/ yet? Their forum is useful, and membership is probably worth it for you.

You beautiful bd!

cheers, have been meaning to join TSSC for bloody ages now . love how amazing this place is, really great community, and very helpful (even the grammar Nazis...)

many, many thanks, here's a virtual pint!

[Agrispeed]

pthelazyjourno said:

Gorgeous, gorgeous car.

Deeply jealous. I often consider them, or a GT6.

Be careful with the insurance, it sounds downright stupid, but many of them will put the premium UP £500-£1000 after you've passed your test!!

Worth checking to see how much it would cost - even via a price comparison thing or whatever for a rough guesstimate - just to make sure you can still afford it.

Statistically, I guess learners are a lot less likely to crash than a car full of young folk 3 months down the line...

Good luck.

Yes, A GT6 or MGBGT would be nice, but at twice the price , maybe a family car, muuchhh later and, no lovely roof down class

It's not a stupid point actually, and one I did look into when i was considering these sort of cars (originally MG midgets) The insurance will go up, but, its a damn site cheaper than any other car, even a derv fiat panda is more by 1/3, and using go-compare, just to see, their 1st quote was £25 more for the spitfire (I will be using classic insurance, or, at least a specialist one), which is handy as the road tax for the fiat is £30

so yeah, I'm going to be wrecked from behind financially, but, I wont be walking as funny as if i was driving anything modern and small...

Edited because I can't spell

Edited by Agrispeed on Monday 5th March 17:26

[Agrispeed]

Well Gents, More progress today!

So, It turns out I got home around 20 minutes early and didn't need to do any tractor fixing (my god, that thing is st) so i cracked to work. So Ive managed a few smaller jobs, such as fixing the boot lock so it springs back (need to order a new head though, because the keyholes broken) and fixing the door gap on the Drivers side (adjusted the plate - still doesn't lock but mehhhh; hardly secure in the first place, y'know with a removable roof and all that) I got to work, tagging and removing the loom.

Its all now separate in the boot, and tagged,and i have pulled out the earth(?) brick thingy from in between the skins, and followed the wire through the car, until i found the actual connection, under the dash.... however it is on an odd pluggy thing, so I will hopefully get our neighbor who is a mobile mechanic to 'ave a looksy, however, annoyingly to get the wire exposed fully, I will need to take out the footwell side trim (carpet) footwell carpet (done, wasn't glued etc), the Passenger seat, hood frame (which stupidly is attached too...), the rear quarter trim, and the rear panel. I have already labeled up all the wires in various points, so it will (hopefully) be really easy to put in. (although, things NEVER go back as easily ).

actually enjoying this home mechanic lark, To be honest

[Agrispeed]

Well, Fitted the new Loom (old, but never used) that I got off ebay. Proper piece of piss, even cramming it through a inch hole. the longest bit was putting the carpets and seat back in. Only one rear bulb to buy tomorrow

Glad I have the car back on the road in this weather

really glad i actually had time to plan it this time, and label everything, made life a lot easier, even when i roughly knew where it all went.

Grainy and unpleasant photos later.

[Agrispeed]

So, The next job to do on the spit' is the head gasket...I think...

I need a new rocker cover at least as its been over tightened at some point so it leaks oil, and the rocker gaskets gone. However Im mostly doing short journeys and getting huge amounts of mayo, and water droplets. The car is also using a lot of water, but after fitting a new (22") rad, i cant get the hoses to stop leaking, especially as in one the thermostat for the extra rad goes in between it, so i cannot be sure that its the head

So, do I do the head gasket myself? i have all the necessary tools, and spare time, but how hard is it?

the car is also feeling rather down on power, and i know these things have only slightly less power than a sparrow... but would a head gasket effect it? also, how do i get my hands on a compression tool, and how much moola?

yes, I am an Idiot, but I do like tinkering


Will have pics of all these developments soon

[Agrispeed]

Here are the Pics from the new wiring loom, which was outstandingly easy to fit. took longer to put the crap back in the car, about 20 mins tops!



First I labeled the old wiring loom, which was unusual for me, and certainly made things a bit easier, I also drew a diagram... the old loom had a new spur coming off it, so not surprisingly it was rubbish!

Next, I had to get a new loom, as i couldnt find one of Rimmer bros or others, I had to go to ebay (or I could've made my own, and we have all the kit, but that was far too much hassle..


Putting the loom in was easy, and it just threaded through the floor, although I did have to cut the old loom to fit, and pulled it through the rear wing with the remains of it.
here is the old one;


I then crammed all the rubbish back in the car (must treat it to some new carpets and insulation at some point...)

Of course, the Test drive had to follow, where I managed to grab this picture and yes it is that small (fnarr), at 114cm high...




Bonus points for guessing the car in the corner of the upper pic

Edited by Agrispeed on Monday 2nd July 01:26

[Agrispeed]

N Dentressangle said:

Agrispeed said:

So, The next job to do on the spit' is the head gasket...I think...

I need a new rocker cover at least as its been over tightened at some point so it leaks oil, and the rocker gaskets gone. However Im mostly doing short journeys and getting huge amounts of mayo, and water droplets. The car is also using a lot of water, but after fitting a new (22") rad, i cant get the hoses to stop leaking, especially as in one the thermostat for the extra rad goes in between it, so i cannot be sure that its the head

So, do I do the head gasket myself? i have all the necessary tools, and spare time, but how hard is it?

the car is also feeling rather down on power, and i know these things have only slightly less power than a sparrow... but would a head gasket effect it? also, how do i get my hands on a compression tool, and how much moola?

yes, I am an Idiot, but I do like tinkering


Will have pics of all these developments soon

By coincidence I've just found a new old stock head gasket set from my own Triumph tinkering days in my parent's garage, which ought to fit your car if it's still a 1300cc:



Yours for the cost of the postage (£4ish probably) if you'd like it.

Yes! fantastic. PM'ed