Need advice on buying a Triumph Spitfire 1500

[frankiethebear2002]

Hi folks, just dipping my toes into the water with this.  I'm asking for the main cons to watch out for when buying on older car such as a spitfire.  Maintenance looks straightforward enough.  Mk is pretty irrelevant, as long as it runs and doesn't need too much to get back to scratch.  Also, the 1500 always sounded a bit underpowered, so may well look at a swap, perhaps a 2000/2500 tc.

Open to any thoughts, suggestions and advice.

Thanks

Frankie

[Clive]

Hi and welcome.

Yes, the cars are pretty simple mechanically, and the tricky part is always bodywork. Best advice is to see a few, get along to your local Triumph meeting and talk to some people and let them show you around their cars pointing out the usual rust areas.

The driving experience is very different to a modern car, wise to get hold of a car, use it and get a feel for what you want to do. 

Next bit of advice applies to all classics. The cheapest way to a good car is to buy the best you can afford. 

[PeteStupps]

Hi Frankie, would this be your first classic / old car? My general observation is that there is always a long to-do list of fixing broken things, routine maintenance and then improvements. How quickly you get through the list depends how good a car you start with and how much time + money you want to pour into it. 

As Clive says, most of the value or cost is in good bodywork so pay close attention for signs of rot or rust (perhaps recently painted over). Mechanical and electrical bits are usually easier to sort out except for the minefield of poor quality parts. Some things you buy don't work very well, some things are completely the wrong size or shape, some things break randomly after 3 weeks. The customer is generally the quality control department for the suppliers, so watch out for that. There is plenty of good stuff but you have to shop around and keep your ear to the ground. 

Apart from all that, they are great cars and I've never regretted buying mine. In fact I like it so much I bought two more... Power output is indeed modest but drive one and see what you think. 90mph in a Spitfire feels like 180mph in anything modern. And before you stick a bigger engine in you really want to get the braking and suspension sorted. 

Edited May 23, 2022 by PeteStupps

[yorkshire_spam]

To echo what @PeteStupps and @Clive said... shop around, get one, drive it, then decide what needs doing.

I had a similar 6-pot-plan in mind when I got the Spitfire 1500, never went anywhere. Ok, so I now have a "fast road" spec. 1500 engine in it, but we enjoyed it on a standard engine for years before that vanity project got fitted. Similarly with our Dolomite, I was worried about the 3 speed auto box.... then I drove it and it's fantastic and I wouldn't change it. 

If you really want to up the BHP on a Spitfire.... talk to @Clive about Zetec options. 

[frankiethebear2002]

Thanks all.  Like I said, just testing the water as I may be retiring shortly and need to find something to keep busy.  Always liked Spitfires and although I'm new to the prospect of owning a vintage or classic car, my father in law has a 1955 Prefect 100e and a rover 2000 p6, so there is some experience in the family. 

My main problem will be space as we only have a driveway, so space would be needed.  We live in Dundee and there are plenty farms/barns around the area.  Just need to find a friendly farmer.  I still have mountains of research to scale in the meantime though with the question of a straight or v6 is academic for the time being, I was letting my imagination go a bit loopy.  

I've just bought a used Haynes manual to do a bit of background in the meantime. £4.95 well spent, I hope.  I'm currently focussing my searches in Scotland as It gives me the opportunity to travel not too far and to give any prospective purchase a good look over.

Ideally, I'd like to modernise the car while still keeping close to the sprit of what the car is and what it was intended to be, but technology moves on and upgrades to the suspension, braking and steering etc would be definitely on the cards, depending on the cost.  I'll be on here now and again until I find something that I want then will rapidly become a pain in the bum with all my questions!

Thank you all again for the information and I'll be back soon.

 

Frankie

[DVD3500]

Most upgrades that make the car more of a daily driver are in the fuel and ignition dept.:
Electronic ignition

Better carburetion (dual SU or Weber side/down draft)

Headers are a good option too

The above can all be done with a little knowledge and reading up. They are all easily reversible.

One BIG upgrade is adding a relay to the headlight circuit. Otherwise the headlight switch may burn out!

You can fiddle with the suspension and brakes to make ride and stop differently (better)

Stiffer/lower springs/shock absorbers etc.

After that you start getting into tuning and tweaking purely cosmetic stuff.

Knobbier camshafts and the like.

There are two good books on the subject: Everyday Modifications for your Spitfire and the Competition Guide by Kas Kastner.

Opinions will vary but that is my take.. 🙂

 

[RobPearce]

46 minutes ago, DVD3500 said:

Better carburetion (dual SU or Weber side/down draft)

For a daily driver, the factory standard twin SUs are pretty good. Certainly a better "minimum hassle" option than any sort of Weber conversion.

For my money, I'd go electronic ignition and tubular manifold - mostly because the 1500 manifold to downpipe flange can be a pain - and the (AAN?) needles to match, but otherwise leave things alone on the drivetrain. Relay on the headlights helps with the old wiring, plus a halogen or LED conversion if you're doing a lot of night driving. Mine has GT6 front brakes but that's not really necessary as long as you use Mintex 1144 pads.

I would not mess with the suspension. Just about every "improved" suspension setup I've ever driven has been worse than the standard one. But then I'm old, and like my cars to be comfortable with decent road holding. I don't like lowered or rock-hard or other boy-racer-isms.

[DVD3500]

I have heard that a lot about the SUs.

When I had my first Spitfire it was the single Zenith Stromberg and getting dual SUs in my part of the US (all pre-interweb) was tough plus I had little knowledge of them.

I bought a down draft Weber kit and it was pretty straightforward and problem free.

I reckon if someone had been around to help me and the parts had been available dual SUs would have been just as fine...

[Velocita Rosso]

On 22/05/2022 at 20:46, frankiethebear2002 said:

Hi folks, just dipping my toes into the water with this.  I'm asking for the main cons to watch out for when buying on older car such as a spitfire.  Maintenance looks straightforward enough.  Mk is pretty irrelevant, as long as it runs and doesn't need too much to get back to scratch.  Also, the 1500 always sounded a bit underpowered, so may well look at a swap, perhaps a 2000/2500 tc.

Open to any thoughts, suggestions and advice.

Thanks

Frankie

Not sure what you mean by underpowered and what you need the car for

My MK3 car came out the factory with 74 bhp, has now been tuned with profiled needles(on a rolling road) Newman FR cam, electronic ignition and many more improvements. Sticks to the road with good tyres and has adjustable radius arms for setting up. It will go all day cruising at 75/80 mph chasing down big sixes and we never have a dull moment

[JohnD]

Frankie,

Haynes publish(ed) a book, "Guide to Purchase and Restoration of Triumph Herald/Spitfire/GT6 etc"   My copy (1988!!) includes a whole chapter on the first, detailing all the faults to look for, with a guide to the restoration cost expressed in 'tyres', so inflation proof.  I don't think they publish it any more, but there are some used copies on Amazon.

Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald Vitesse: Haynes Guide to Purchase and D.I.Y. Restoration: Amazon.co.uk: Porter, Lindsay, Williams, Peter: 9780854295838: Books

Good luck!

JOhn

Edited May 26, 2022 by JohnD