My Triumph Spitfire 1500
Discussion
My Triumph Spitfire 1500
By way of introduction I'm Daz I'm 25 and I live in Bedfordshire.
In October 2010 I decided I needed to go out and buy a classic sports car. I didn't have a huge amount of cash and wanted something I could easily work on.
This was the first Spitfire I went to see and it turned out to be a bit of a bargain. It had a full MOT, was entirely rust free,had an original hardtop and was mechanically sound. However, it was not without a problem or two, the interior was a little shabby and it had no history whatsoever so as far as I was concerned was in desperate need of a service, it also sat a little funny, the rear tyres scrubbed on the body and the hardtop needed some real attention.
I started off with a few cosmetic things like a real good clean and polish, replacement of the headlamp surrounds, rear lights, number plates and tidying up the chrome but knew soon I would have to make a start on some other work.
Firstly I completely replaced the ignition system, this was not only ridiculously cheap but also very simple to do with the help of a basic set of tools and a Haynes manual (true of everything so far). Then I decided to try and get it sitting correctly as I was starting to get annoyed.
I started with the tyres as the previous owner had fitted some enormous ones and swapped them for some Yokohama A Drives which looked and felt great they were a bargain too at £120 for all 4. It helped but it still wasn't right so I investigated the front end and found someone had fitted longer GT6 springs to clear the front wheels, a few hours hard labour and £60 worth of parts got the car sitting really nicely!
The car is far nicer to drive now and turns in really nicely though it is noticeably harder. I get lots of comments from other owners about the way it sits as front end ride height appears to be a common problem.
Next I wanted to get the interior up to scratch so have done some retriming and refitting of the dash panels, The seats had been recently covered in leather when I bought it and look really good.
Over the last few weekends I have been trying to get the car to run a little cooler as I have had concerns about it in the hot weather so I have backflushed and cleaned the system and replaced all the cooling hoses. I have also relocated the number plate to help with airflow.
The car is still far from perfect but it is looking really good and I am pleased with my efforts since October, it's going to be great fun to drive in the summer! It is by far the best car I have ever owned it is so easy, cheap and rewarding to work on and a pleasure to drive.
So here it is today prob looking the best it ever has.
Next on the job list is a nice SS exhaust and then I need to get to work on the hard top ready for the autumn! That's a big job!
I love my Spitfire, I like the fact I'm one of only a few young classic car owners. It's not fast or particularly pretty but I love it all the same. I don't plan on changing it for anything other than a Lotus Europa Twin Cam.
Hope you've enjoyed reading, be nice if you can...
Daz
By way of introduction I'm Daz I'm 25 and I live in Bedfordshire.
In October 2010 I decided I needed to go out and buy a classic sports car. I didn't have a huge amount of cash and wanted something I could easily work on.
This was the first Spitfire I went to see and it turned out to be a bit of a bargain. It had a full MOT, was entirely rust free,had an original hardtop and was mechanically sound. However, it was not without a problem or two, the interior was a little shabby and it had no history whatsoever so as far as I was concerned was in desperate need of a service, it also sat a little funny, the rear tyres scrubbed on the body and the hardtop needed some real attention.
I started off with a few cosmetic things like a real good clean and polish, replacement of the headlamp surrounds, rear lights, number plates and tidying up the chrome but knew soon I would have to make a start on some other work.
Firstly I completely replaced the ignition system, this was not only ridiculously cheap but also very simple to do with the help of a basic set of tools and a Haynes manual (true of everything so far). Then I decided to try and get it sitting correctly as I was starting to get annoyed.
I started with the tyres as the previous owner had fitted some enormous ones and swapped them for some Yokohama A Drives which looked and felt great they were a bargain too at £120 for all 4. It helped but it still wasn't right so I investigated the front end and found someone had fitted longer GT6 springs to clear the front wheels, a few hours hard labour and £60 worth of parts got the car sitting really nicely!
The car is far nicer to drive now and turns in really nicely though it is noticeably harder. I get lots of comments from other owners about the way it sits as front end ride height appears to be a common problem.
Next I wanted to get the interior up to scratch so have done some retriming and refitting of the dash panels, The seats had been recently covered in leather when I bought it and look really good.
Over the last few weekends I have been trying to get the car to run a little cooler as I have had concerns about it in the hot weather so I have backflushed and cleaned the system and replaced all the cooling hoses. I have also relocated the number plate to help with airflow.
The car is still far from perfect but it is looking really good and I am pleased with my efforts since October, it's going to be great fun to drive in the summer! It is by far the best car I have ever owned it is so easy, cheap and rewarding to work on and a pleasure to drive.
So here it is today prob looking the best it ever has.
Next on the job list is a nice SS exhaust and then I need to get to work on the hard top ready for the autumn! That's a big job!
I love my Spitfire, I like the fact I'm one of only a few young classic car owners. It's not fast or particularly pretty but I love it all the same. I don't plan on changing it for anything other than a Lotus Europa Twin Cam.
Hope you've enjoyed reading, be nice if you can...
Daz
Edited by DazBock on Sunday 17th April 17:51 - Took some pictures this morning after a good clean and polish and thought they were a little better.
Edited by DazBock on Sunday 17th April 17:53
Edited by DazBock on Tuesday 26th July 11:05
I'm sure I've seen the same car on one of the Triumph forums?
Good going for £1900 - and I'm liking the Spitfire in black a lot.
Here's a few of mine taken at the April Production Car Trials at Forrestburn. The missing front spoiler is back on (it parted company with the car at the March round so I figured it was as well keeping it off until I'd finished competing in April
)
Good going for £1900 - and I'm liking the Spitfire in black a lot.
Here's a few of mine taken at the April Production Car Trials at Forrestburn. The missing front spoiler is back on (it parted company with the car at the March round so I figured it was as well keeping it off until I'd finished competing in April
)Spitfire2 said:
I'm sure I've seen the same car on one of the Triumph forums?
Yep, you have probably seen me on CT they helped me source it and advice on fixing is always spot on! Cars trials sound like fun, as does RBRR and TCR, not sure mine would make it though!
Yours is nice too, mine used to be that colour I think at least bits of it did!
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