1981 Triumph Spitfire 1500
Discussion
Hi all, I am looking at buying the above vehicle.
It's in a bit of a state to be honest, but looks fairly complete. The owner only wants £300 for it. I'm in no hurry to get it back on the road, it's just something for me to work on over the next few years.
Thing is, I never planned on getting a Spitfire until this came up, so I don't know much about them other than what is available online. I would really appreciate any first hand advice/thoughts on them, especially the later 1500 model I am looking at.
Many thanks,
Rich.
It's in a bit of a state to be honest, but looks fairly complete. The owner only wants £300 for it. I'm in no hurry to get it back on the road, it's just something for me to work on over the next few years.
Thing is, I never planned on getting a Spitfire until this came up, so I don't know much about them other than what is available online. I would really appreciate any first hand advice/thoughts on them, especially the later 1500 model I am looking at.
Many thanks,
Rich.
All parts are available, they rust like anything else of that era but are easy to work on.
I had a 1300 a long time ago (1983) and it was good fun, I think the 1300s are more desirable & tuneable that 1500s but at that price you can't be fussy!
If you're used to a modern car you'll probably find it feels slow and uncomfortable but it will be more fun than a modern.
I had a 1300 a long time ago (1983) and it was good fun, I think the 1300s are more desirable & tuneable that 1500s but at that price you can't be fussy!
If you're used to a modern car you'll probably find it feels slow and uncomfortable but it will be more fun than a modern.
If you're handy with a MIG welder they are a great home resto project, I had a MkIV (1300) at 17 I bought for £300, needed lots of welding (already had 3 cover sills each side....) but basically taught myself all the mechanical bits, it is very basic. My welding however was always dreadful so I got my Dad to do most of it!! I put in a 1500 O/D gearbox which made it MUCH better, best of both worlds some would argue.
If I had the space I'd be tempted to do it properly this time!!
If I had the space I'd be tempted to do it properly this time!!
As you've said, loads of buyers guides on-line (http://www.tssc.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=212).
Outside what they will say:
1. Rust
2. Rust
3. Rust
4. Engine - generally fine. Get friend to operate clutch while you hold on to the crank pulley. Nothing should really happen, but if the thrust washers (known weakness) have gone it will move back/forth.
5. Check sills - although it's a separate chassis the sills ARE structural.
6. Front vertical links - these should be oiled with EP80 oil (and NOT greased). If you can whip the nipple/blanking screw off and it looks oily the general maintenance has probably been quite good. If it's greasy...
7. Almost every thing's available but watch out for badgered bonnets - you can buy new ones but they are NOT cheap!
Outside what they will say:
1. Rust
2. Rust
3. Rust
4. Engine - generally fine. Get friend to operate clutch while you hold on to the crank pulley. Nothing should really happen, but if the thrust washers (known weakness) have gone it will move back/forth.
5. Check sills - although it's a separate chassis the sills ARE structural.
6. Front vertical links - these should be oiled with EP80 oil (and NOT greased). If you can whip the nipple/blanking screw off and it looks oily the general maintenance has probably been quite good. If it's greasy...
7. Almost every thing's available but watch out for badgered bonnets - you can buy new ones but they are NOT cheap!
//j17 said:
As you've said, loads of buyers guides on-line (http://www.tssc.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=212).
Outside what they will say:
1. Rust
2. Rust
3. Rust
4. Engine - generally fine. Get friend to operate clutch while you hold on to the crank pulley. Nothing should really happen, but if the thrust washers (known weakness) have gone it will move back/forth.
5. Check sills - although it's a separate chassis the sills ARE structural.
6. Front vertical links - these should be oiled with EP80 oil (and NOT greased). If you can whip the nipple/blanking screw off and it looks oily the general maintenance has probably been quite good. If it's greasy...
7. Almost every thing's available but watch out for badgered bonnets - you can buy new ones but they are NOT cheap!
On 6 - EP90 should be used. It's impossible to tell condition of the links without removing them for a look. Mine has good ex-California links now. The driver side broke last year in the usual elegant way.Outside what they will say:
1. Rust
2. Rust
3. Rust
4. Engine - generally fine. Get friend to operate clutch while you hold on to the crank pulley. Nothing should really happen, but if the thrust washers (known weakness) have gone it will move back/forth.
5. Check sills - although it's a separate chassis the sills ARE structural.
6. Front vertical links - these should be oiled with EP80 oil (and NOT greased). If you can whip the nipple/blanking screw off and it looks oily the general maintenance has probably been quite good. If it's greasy...
7. Almost every thing's available but watch out for badgered bonnets - you can buy new ones but they are NOT cheap!
1500 benefits from frequent oil changes with good oil. My recommendation is penrite 20W60 at present.
Pure fun to drive if suspension is in good order.
Bought mine 12 years ago. Spent a couple of years doing it up, used it during the summer for about 5 years and it slowly became my daily driver. I now prefer it to the modern! I use it in all weather including snow.
As long as you have a basic understanding of mechanics then they are pretty easy to live with.
Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles and the 1500 engine is happy, as long as you don't rev past 4500 rpm for prolonged periods!
Join a dedicated Triumph club and the knowledge and support on the forums will help you through anything.
finally, buy on the condition of the body, panels can be expensive.
Buy it, do it up and drive the nuts off it! You will have fun.
Steve
As long as you have a basic understanding of mechanics then they are pretty easy to live with.
Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles and the 1500 engine is happy, as long as you don't rev past 4500 rpm for prolonged periods!
Join a dedicated Triumph club and the knowledge and support on the forums will help you through anything.
finally, buy on the condition of the body, panels can be expensive.
Buy it, do it up and drive the nuts off it! You will have fun.
Steve
Thanks everybody. This is helping a lot. I totally appreciate many of the bad points are probably going to be present, but knowing what they are is a massive help. I'm not looking at chucking loads of cash at it in one go, because quite frankly, I can't afford to. I am in for the long haul!
Great little cars. I've still got mine, albeit in bits.
The only thing which is comparatively expensive to replace is the bonnet - pretty much every other component can be had for less than a hundred quid.
If you're going to refurb it, my advice is strip as much off as you can and then go crazy with Hammerite and waxoyl.
An O/D box is worth having, and if you're doing any mods, I'd recommend a tubular manifold,electronic ignition, uprated rear spring (with lowering block) and a gas flowed head. I'd also recommend replacing all the suspension bushes - makes a huge difference on these - but be cautious about using polybushes as they can make the car feel jittery.
TBH they are so simple you really can't go wrong, and even if you do, it won't cost much money to right it. They're slow, but small size, large noise and having your arse 5" off the ground make them feel pretty rapid.
Go for it!
The only thing which is comparatively expensive to replace is the bonnet - pretty much every other component can be had for less than a hundred quid.
If you're going to refurb it, my advice is strip as much off as you can and then go crazy with Hammerite and waxoyl.
An O/D box is worth having, and if you're doing any mods, I'd recommend a tubular manifold,electronic ignition, uprated rear spring (with lowering block) and a gas flowed head. I'd also recommend replacing all the suspension bushes - makes a huge difference on these - but be cautious about using polybushes as they can make the car feel jittery.
TBH they are so simple you really can't go wrong, and even if you do, it won't cost much money to right it. They're slow, but small size, large noise and having your arse 5" off the ground make them feel pretty rapid.
Go for it!
Also, if you get the commonly fitted after-market twin exhaust, you will never be able to get over a speed bump with a passenger in the car; I have a picture somewhere of a friend and a helpful stranger lifting the 1500 under the rear arches to get it over a sleeping policeman in ASDA's car park. And your ears will bleed on any journey longer than half an hour.
spitsfire said:
Also, if you get the commonly fitted after-market twin exhaust, you will never be able to get over a speed bump with a passenger in the car; I have a picture somewhere of a friend and a helpful stranger lifting the 1500 under the rear arches to get it over a sleeping policeman in ASDA's car park. And your ears will bleed on any journey longer than half an hour.
And whatever you do... don't believe all you read on the 'net! The above comment from a bloke who recommends lowering one... 
I've run Spitfires, Heralds, GT6s and Vitesses for thirty years so if there is anything specific you want to know p.m. me if you want.
My Hurricane is basically a g.r.p. bodied Spitfire Mk4. It's a daily driver and has been so for the last ten years, has overdrive so does forty to the gallon on a run, is lowered and polybushed etc. and handles like a kart, has one of those loud after market twin exhausts yet has managed not to make my ears bleed and has even managed to cover a fair few miles off road in places like Snowdon or the Scottish Highlands and the like. Horror stories abound regarding the front suspension collapsing and the rear tucking under but as "spitsfire" says maintained properly it's all pretty reliable and easy to live with..
And just for interests sake, for servicing and parts mine has averaged at about two pence a mile over the last ten years - that and cheap insurance (£50 p.a.), free tax etc. makes for cheap fun.
spoodler said:
And whatever you do... don't believe all you read on the 'net! The above comment from a bloke who recommends lowering one...
I've run Spitfires, Heralds, GT6s and Vitesses for thirty years so if there is anything specific you want to know p.m. me if you want.
My Hurricane is basically a g.r.p. bodied Spitfire Mk4. It's a daily driver and has been so for the last ten years, has overdrive so does forty to the gallon on a run, is lowered and polybushed etc. and handles like a kart, has one of those loud after market twin exhausts yet has managed not to make my ears bleed and has even managed to cover a fair few miles off road in places like Snowdon or the Scottish Highlands and the like. Horror stories abound regarding the front suspension collapsing and the rear tucking under but as "spitsfire" says maintained properly it's all pretty reliable and easy to live with..
And just for interests sake, for servicing and parts mine has averaged at about two pence a mile over the last ten years - that and cheap insurance (£50 p.a.), free tax etc. makes for cheap fun.
Thanks Spoodler, appreciate the help and advice there...I've run Spitfires, Heralds, GT6s and Vitesses for thirty years so if there is anything specific you want to know p.m. me if you want.
My Hurricane is basically a g.r.p. bodied Spitfire Mk4. It's a daily driver and has been so for the last ten years, has overdrive so does forty to the gallon on a run, is lowered and polybushed etc. and handles like a kart, has one of those loud after market twin exhausts yet has managed not to make my ears bleed and has even managed to cover a fair few miles off road in places like Snowdon or the Scottish Highlands and the like. Horror stories abound regarding the front suspension collapsing and the rear tucking under but as "spitsfire" says maintained properly it's all pretty reliable and easy to live with..
And just for interests sake, for servicing and parts mine has averaged at about two pence a mile over the last ten years - that and cheap insurance (£50 p.a.), free tax etc. makes for cheap fun.
Spitfire2 said:
//j17 said:
6. Front vertical links - these should be oiled with EP80 oil (and NOT greased).
On 6 - EP90 should be used. It's impossible to tell condition of the links without removing them for a look. Mine has good ex-California links now. The driver side broke last year in the usual elegant way.1500 benefits from frequent oil changes with good oil. My recommendation is penrite 20W60 at present.
Pure fun to drive if suspension is in good order.
Here is a discussion on Club Triumph about why oil is specified for the trunnions instead of grease, and comparison to the similar Morris trunnions which required grease.
A few very good reasons for sticking with oil are offered, but unfortunately it seems that the exact reason Triumph specified oil are lost to time.
A few very good reasons for sticking with oil are offered, but unfortunately it seems that the exact reason Triumph specified oil are lost to time.
You want to spend £300 on a Spit, and take 'years' to get it back on the road?
Well "look for rust in the window channels", or "make sure the exhaust isn't blowing" are a waste of time.
Buy the car, take 'years' to get it back on the road and learn as you go along.
You can't buy a car at that level and expect any kind of buyers' guide to be of much use. If you want a project,and you want it to be a Spitifre, then spend 300 quid. Either you'll enjoy the tinkering and problem solving, or you'll lose less than 300 quid when you sell the bits.
Well "look for rust in the window channels", or "make sure the exhaust isn't blowing" are a waste of time.
Buy the car, take 'years' to get it back on the road and learn as you go along.
You can't buy a car at that level and expect any kind of buyers' guide to be of much use. If you want a project,and you want it to be a Spitifre, then spend 300 quid. Either you'll enjoy the tinkering and problem solving, or you'll lose less than 300 quid when you sell the bits.
spoodler said:
spitsfire said:
Also, if you get the commonly fitted after-market twin exhaust, you will never be able to get over a speed bump with a passenger in the car; I have a picture somewhere of a friend and a helpful stranger lifting the 1500 under the rear arches to get it over a sleeping policeman in ASDA's car park. And your ears will bleed on any journey longer than half an hour.
And whatever you do... don't believe all you read on the 'net! The above comment from a bloke who recommends lowering one... I've run Spitfires, Heralds, GT6s and Vitesses for thirty years so if there is anything specific you want to know p.m. me if you want.
My Hurricane is basically a g.r.p. bodied Spitfire Mk4. It's a daily driver and has been so for the last ten years, has overdrive so does forty to the gallon on a run, is lowered and polybushed etc. and handles like a kart, has one of those loud after market twin exhausts yet has managed not to make my ears bleed and has even managed to cover a fair few miles off road in places like Snowdon or the Scottish Highlands and the like. Horror stories abound regarding the front suspension collapsing and the rear tucking under but as "spitsfire" says maintained properly it's all pretty reliable and easy to live with..
And just for interests sake, for servicing and parts mine has averaged at about two pence a mile over the last ten years - that and cheap insurance (£50 p.a.), free tax etc. makes for cheap fun.
I had mine lowered with a block at the rear ( a brand spanking new standard rear spring makes the back end poke up like a dog mating, which makes braking in the wet quite interesting), and slightly shorter, heavier springs on the front. Which didn't help ground clearance either, but c'est la vie. Did corner like it was on rails though. What it does do, however, is increase negative camber in the rear suspension, reducing it's propensity to tuck under. Here's some information on them - http://www.canleyclassics.com/?xhtml=xhtml/product...
My experience of the dreaded front suspension collapse was that it didn't collapse, it just got stuck in a position it shouldn't really have been in! That was partly due to scabby bushes in the wishbones, and partly due to badly set suspension geometry at the front. Easily avoided by good preventative maintenance on the suspension.
OP, as Spoodler says, beware what you read on the net - take everything you read with a pinch of salt, and if you need advice, speak to somebody who knows about Spitfires - I can't recommend Canley Classics highly enough.
Good luck - do you have any pictures?
Spitsfire - wasn't meant to be a serious dig at you... was just a perfect example of what both you and I have just said about believing everything you read on the net and accepting at face value. Those loud exhausts for example, loud in who's opinion? We both have opinions on that - my background is in modified classics, hot rods and unsilenced choppers - yours may be in Mercedes, Jaguar and Lexus... we'd be bound to differ. The comments re: ground clearance tho', without further explanation (which you have now added), on one hand you seem to be saying that Spitties are too low to fit a widely available and very popular after market exhaust system to, yet, on the other hand you advocate lowering... you can see how that could be confusing...
As for the off roading, if I can find any suitable pic's I'll post them but suffice to say the Hurricane has done a good few miles away from proper roads but is a little low, a little too hard core, has 195/50/15s on soft alloys and did suffer chassis damage from a malicious chunk of flint whilst in Anglessey. Our old Spitty Mk4/1300/1500 hybrid thingy had 175/70/13s on Minilite rep's and did many a mile off road with no trauma including negotiating a rainswept trail through Bedgelert forest, greenlaning in the Highlands, fording rivers and generally being taken places that most folk believe are only accessible in a four wheel drive. The biggest bugbear isn't, in my experience, the lack of ground clearance but the difficulty in cleaning them properly afterwards (lots of places for mud to collect) and keeping them dry inside as there are so many places they can leak!
Of course I can't recommend treating a "classic" in the above fashion... oh what the hell, yes I can!
As for the off roading, if I can find any suitable pic's I'll post them but suffice to say the Hurricane has done a good few miles away from proper roads but is a little low, a little too hard core, has 195/50/15s on soft alloys and did suffer chassis damage from a malicious chunk of flint whilst in Anglessey. Our old Spitty Mk4/1300/1500 hybrid thingy had 175/70/13s on Minilite rep's and did many a mile off road with no trauma including negotiating a rainswept trail through Bedgelert forest, greenlaning in the Highlands, fording rivers and generally being taken places that most folk believe are only accessible in a four wheel drive. The biggest bugbear isn't, in my experience, the lack of ground clearance but the difficulty in cleaning them properly afterwards (lots of places for mud to collect) and keeping them dry inside as there are so many places they can leak!
Of course I can't recommend treating a "classic" in the above fashion... oh what the hell, yes I can!
spoodler said:
... The above comment from a bloke who recommends lowering one... ...
He didn't say that?? ... 
All I would add is that the 1500 needs very frequent oil changes (as mentioned by an earlier poster), plus watch for the thrush washers on the crankshaft wearing/falling out and the 1300 engine is arguably better (smoother) than the 1500 (but then the cars aren't "smooth" and that's part of their 'seeming to travel fast' charm
...); the 1500 engine is sadly relatively fragile 
.Having said this, OP, good luck
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