Every once in a while, something miraculous happens. These events are often so hard to believe and rare that people feel that the hand of God must have been present for the act to occur. Well, I am not so sure that this find indicates that the hand of God is present, but this one is kind of a miracle. Located in Calhoun, Georgia is an honestly almost perfectly preserved 1973 Triumph Spitfire. It is currently for sale here on craigslist for just $2,200, and I am amazed that this British beauty hasn’t sold yet.
Here is the amazing story on this little wonder. It seems that this Triumph was driven until 1980, then it sat in a garage until purchased from an estate sale by the (maybe) second owner. This guy then set about taking apart the interior to fix it up, promptly lost interest, and the car again went into storage. The current owner states that all the parts and pieces are there, and believes the only non-original part is the trunk lid. Unfortunately, there is no explanation as to why the trunk lid had to be replaced. My guess would be that it had stuff stacked on it while it was stored, and some damage occurred from that. Or maybe a meteor strike. Who knows. It does look out of place though, but would be an easy re-spray.
Inside, the upholstery looks like it would be perfectly useable with a cleaning and maybe some new foam for the headrests. The dash looks to be in tip top shape, with no cracks or blemishes noticeable in this fairly dark photo. The really great thing we can see is those beautiful, unblemished floor pans! Finally, a British car with intact floor pans! While the car will certainly need a lot of new weather stripping, door rubbers, and other replaceable bits, think of the time and money you would save by not having to disassemble the car and replace the floor pans.
Under the hood, the story continues to be a good one. The owner thinks that even the plug wires are original. With 37,905 miles on the car, he may be right. He even claims that the car isn’t leaking any oil. Once again, for a British car that is kind of hard to swallow. I think some time with a steam cleaner and some detailing would make this engine compartment look great. One of my favorite things about a Spitfire is the clamshell hood arrangement. If you have ever fought to replace anything in a 1980s car, you know how cramped and miserable the experience is. The wiring and hoses alone look like the snake scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark for most cars back then. Not so under the hood of a Triumph Spitfire. Someone should have been knighted for their genius in making these cars so easy to work on.
As you can see from the photos, there are no outward signs of rust anywhere. There are a few spots where surface rust is starting to appear, but nothing that can’t be easily fixed. The owner claims that there are no areas where rust has even made an area soft. Furthermore, he claims that the car is completely original and that all the pieces are there. When was the last time you saw a 40+ year old British car so perfect, yet so original?
If I purchased this car, I would immediately get the trunk lid re-sprayed, swap out the old tires with period correct replacements, and re-install the interior after detailing all the parts and pieces. Then, I would start under the hood, replacing the fluids, belts, and hoses, then flush out the radiator and engine block after looking for any suspect freeze plugs. The fuel system would likely require pulling and dipping the gas tank if it were in good condition, and replacing it if it wasn’t. The carburetor would have to be rebuilt, and the fuel lines would need to be flushed. The brake system would need to be flushed, and the brake hoses replaced. Of course, you would need to rebuild the master cylinder, the front calipers, and the rear wheel cylinders. Add to that re-greasing the wheel bearings and a drain and re-fill on the rear end oil, and you would have yourself a practically new Triumph Spitfire to play with.
You could, of course, just try to replace what you must to get it running, but that would just set you up for hardship and misery down the road. The parts and fluids needed to get this car back on the road correctly wouldn’t be too expensive, and labor would be the biggest issue. The car is selling for just $2200, and it would cost probably another $1000 to get it back to near perfect. That is, if you did the work yourself. Which you should. The car deserves to be treated right, and it needs to be driven by a careful new owner. It is not often we are given the chance to own a miracle.
Nice writeup, Jeff! Good to have yet another Spit enthusiast on staff :-) I still say as far as bang for the buck, there’s no better classic sports car out there.
I had a 67 Spitfire that was beat up pretty bad back in the day. This one definitely looks a whole lot better than my old one. Sure looks like a driver to me.
I got in a street race against a Triumph Spitfire back in the day. I was driving a 61 Rambler American flathead 6. He didn’t stand a chance.
No comment!
Message on Craigslist: “This posting has been deleted by its author.” Looks like it is now long gone.
I had one in college. The 13″ tires were so cheap, it was affordable to keep it in Michelins.
Someone got a bargain…
I had a 1978. It had if I recall a rated 57 horsepower. I once argued a speeding ticket using the argument that the car would not go as fast as the officer said I was going. I was lying by about 10km/h but so was the cop by about 20 km/h
Schpitfire’s were fun cars. The front access is 2nd to none. Under the dash and rear axle area, not so much. Again, no mention of O/D, I know, people are probably getting sick of hearing that, but put it this way, it’s like the difference between a tree stump ( 4 speed) and a recliner (O/D). Both do the same thing,( take a load off your feet) except the recliner is so much nicer. Spitfire’s always seemed to be people’s “starter” roadster, like a Fiat 850 or a Spriget. They were usually a fling, found their mate. Remember the Farah Fawcett UltraBrite commercial with the MGB? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQLJvVPF3E
Hey, it worked for me. Then they found that mate, one thing led to another, and goodbye Spitfire. These were a dime a dozen in the 80’s, nobody wanted them. It’s great to see these come up from time to time. The British roadster was a huge part of my 20’s. Had a ball with it.
As far as miracles and machines? Not bloody likely. More like demons than anything.
The other nice thing about Spitfires (apart from the clamshell hood) is you can remove the trans without getting under the car! Remove the passenger seat, remove the pressed board trans tunnel and there it is!!
I didn’t even take the seat out in my GT6, just reclined it. It may be a fish tale but I did a clutch change solo in about a 1/2 hour door to door if I recall.
I’ve owned a few British cars and motorcycles over the decades, and my advice is ” If it’s not leaking oil, don’t try to start it, because there probably isn’t any oil in it ! ” That said, they can be a LOT of fun as long as you can avoid the
“Prince of Darkness” and his gang of gremlins…. It’s a lot easier now to carry
spare oil in the boot than it was when it only came in cans….
Doug, as with most British cars and motorbikes you don’t put oil in the engine you pour it OVER the engine and it’ll find it’s own way in, same as early Harleys.
In reality, the asking price was high. The seat foams will be dust, and are pricey to replace with quality ones. Every rubber bit will need to be replaced. Bushings and steering coupler especially. Engine and transmission mounts as well. Lots of work to make it safe. I bought a straight, rust free 78 and took two years to get it up and running. Then a guy backed into me. But, it runs great, has covered 102,000 miles since March 2010, and has won a number of VTR autocrosses.
The rear corners of the trunk lid were prone to rust through. I had to replace the lid on my ’72 for that very reason. The rest of the car was relatively rust free.
One two many zeros on that ask regardless of how nice it is.