My new Spitfire!

Author
Discussion

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Monday 22nd November 2010
quotequote all
Too much like a Monday morning to get any work done yet so I thought I would share some pictures of the Spitfire I picked up on Saturday.

1975 1500 non overdrive. Runs very well, body and chassis in very good condition, needs a little bit of attention to one spot on the floor. Needs a good polish and some TLC, other than that is all good! Was told it is called Lucy but you shouldn't name cars...













Daz

A911DOM

4,084 posts

241 months

Monday 22nd November 2010
quotequote all
Looks like a good'n - very tidy.

Have you now fitted the hood or just taken the roof off?

Engine bay looks well looked after too, and the interior very smart.

Little more than your proposed budget - but hey isnt that always the way with a boy toy wink

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Monday 22nd November 2010
quotequote all
Yes the budget did go a little astray but oh well I think it is worth every penny! Bit of a bargain really!

We had to put the hardtop on to drive the car home as it wouldn't fit in my civic (did not anticipate this). I took some pictures whilst it was light as we were taking the roof off to be stored.

It now has the softop roof back on, which is in very good condition - but certainly will not be waterproof!

Here you are:








saladin

296 posts

171 months

Monday 22nd November 2010
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very nice cool

Looks great in black smile

deemo

35 posts

194 months

Monday 22nd November 2010
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Looks really good, fantastic with those wheels. Great colour too, I though black wasn't standard colour for a 1500 spit? (I may be talking rubbish)
She's much nicer than my red 1500 frown

davepoth

29,395 posts

205 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
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Black wasn't standard on any Triumph of the period, but could be done as a special order colour.

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
quotequote all
Thanks guys, think I have fallen in love!

Black was only a standard colour on the MKII or so I am told. But yeah I have heard on good authority that it was avaliable as a special order.

Mine was re-sprayed (from Red according to HPI) in 2007 but apparently it was done to match the Triumph black which the hard tops were sprayed in.

Done a few bits already but doesn't need too much, oil change and water flush this weekend!

I love the wheels too, they arn't cheap chinese copies but 'original' UK made Minators. The tyres just look silly in that size! Plus they scrub so have to go!




mattius

457 posts

221 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
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thats a very nice tidy spit, takes balls to paint one in black, every slightest imperfection shows up in black.

is it just an illusion or are those tyres 90's or something? your speedo must be well off with that.

Minators are good strong wheels but quite heavy compared to the original magnesium minilites.

your tyres to keep the same rolling resistance the same should be 175/70/13 's like these which i used to run.



im currently running 15" wheels due to the flex in the sidewalls affecting handling on the 13's the 15's are too big, in my opinion the rare size of 14" is ideal for the spitfire.



Edited by mattius on Tuesday 23 November 21:48

Wacky Racer

38,836 posts

253 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
quotequote all
Very nice....thumbup

Had a brand new 1300cc Mk 4 Pimento Red Spit in 1973.

Great car....35,000 miles of trouble free motoring in three years.

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
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If I remember rightly it is currently on 175 80 13s but they look huge! Speedo is hugely out yeah! About 15% under which is very worrying! Speed cameras are interesting!

Plan is to see if I can take these ones somewhere and do a swap for some smaller ones I hear 175 70s are best? Doesn't sound too much smaller though?

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
quotequote all
If I remember rightly it is currently on 175 80 13s but they look huge! Speedo is hugely out yeah! About 15% under which is very worrying! Speed cameras are interesting!

Plan is to see if I can take these ones somewhere and do a swap for some smaller ones I hear 175 70s are best? Doesn't sound too much smaller though?

Hammer67

5,855 posts

190 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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According to this http://www.tyretraders.com/Tyres_Calculator.aspx the difference between 155/80/13 and 175/80/13 is only 5.5%, an indicated 70mph equals 73.87 actual. Speedo inaccuracy can be double that. Not worth worrying about IMO.

anonymous-user

60 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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The GT6 I had in the mid 70's was black, wasn't resprayed, I bought it second hand so don't know if it was a special order, but it wasn't brought to my attention by the seller that black wasn't a std colour.
I can't remember seeing black spit, but it does look good in that colour.

MKnight702

3,186 posts

220 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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Nice, I had a red 1500 as my first car and I miss it loads. Good looking GT6 behind too, quite fancy one of them at some point, I love the sound of the straight 6.

Nick_F

10,272 posts

252 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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My Vitesse was at its best on 165/70/13s; very sensitive to pressures, as I recall.

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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Thats my mate Andy's (Wizardskills) MK I GT6 which is now very rare! Apparently not as rare as the MkII though! It is very nice and is very well looked after. Not half as cheap as a spit to buy though hence why I couldn't afford one!

They do look good together!

mattius

457 posts

221 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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the problem is you cant really make a choice in the tyre sizes, they need to be roughly the same rolling resistance as stock. Saying that im running 205/50/15 on mine biggrin .
Most of these cars are a bit cobbled together so chances are your speedo drive gear is wrong (there are about 5 different options), it is a gearbox out job to change so not really worth the hastle of changing until you have to.
Love the GT6 it looks sweet in black too.

D18OCK

Original Poster:

825 posts

198 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
quotequote all
I'm not worried which tyres I need to go for, I just want them to be as close to stock as possible and more importantly not rub on the back when I hit a bump! So what should I buy then 175 70 13 seems to be common? Doesn't seem like enough of a difference to stop the rubbing though!

The GT6 is actually original Triumph Royal Blue but my picture isn't very good! Ill get Wizardskills to post some more pictures up here seeing as our old triumphs are causing a bit of a stir!

Daz

Wizardskills

243 posts

173 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
quotequote all
D18OCK said:
Thats my mate Andy's (Wizardskills) MK I GT6 which is now very rare! Apparently not as rare as the MkII though! It is very nice and is very well looked after. Not half as cheap as a spit to buy though hence why I couldn't afford one!

They do look good together!
Thanks mate smile. You are correct, Mk I's are quite rare now as there were only arround 2300 made for the uk market. Mk II's are even rarer again as they made few of them.

Anyway, as requested, some more photos from the Sunday afternoon drive










mattius

457 posts

221 months

Wednesday 24th November 2010
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it depends where the tyres are rubbing? they shouldnt rub anywhere in that size to be honest.
If it is bottoming out it could be the rear dampers are gone. Usually you only get rubbing on the outer edges of the arches, but that only usually happens when you go to 205 ish on the width.
Tbh i would go for 195/65/13 or something similar. That should keep sidewall height down to a minimum whilst improving your speedo accuracy.