Seeing as Triumph Spitfires have been my daily transportation for well over 20 years of my adult life, I feel pretty well-qualified to speak on the pros and cons of this one being sold by Barn Finds reader Roger D. from Montgomery, Texas. Roger is asking $7,500 for his Triumph and considering it’s only showing 58,600 miles it might interest more than a few of you! If you’d like to contact Roger about the car, just contact him through the form at the bottom of this post. And kudos to Roger for knowing how to install the boot cover correctly!
I’m guessing the car has been repainted at least once as the British Leyland emblem isn’t correct on the hood and the Spitfire 1500 emblem should be lower down on the hood. However, the paint is shiny, and believe it or not I’ve owned a Spitfire just this color (Russet brown, code 93). Either this is a very, very early 1979 car or a late 1978 — and I’ve found internet information that says both. However, given the chrome bumpers (unless someone has converted it), I’m going to go with what this page says, which places it at 1978-1/2!
Roger sent us quite a list of what’s been replaced on the car, which he characterizes as “in pretty good shape with a few minor marks.” He also tells us that the top has been replaced but he doesn’t know when, and it’s in nice shape.
Here’s some other items:
Previous owner repaired/replaced: Front wheel bearings, rear spring leaf – 05-2009
Axle RH and LH – 02-2009
Cylinder brake wheel, shoe set, antenna – 02-2009
Brake pads 02-2009
Exhaust pipes – 06-1992
Muffler – 06-1989
Current owner repaired/replaced:
Rebuilt carburetor and replaced fuel pump – 07-2010
Replaced water pump and thermostat – 07-2010
Replaced fan clutch – 07-2010
Replaced Ignition switch – 07-2010
Battery 10-2014
Shocks/struts 02-2017
Repaired gas line 02-2017
Contrary to what you might think, Spitfires actually have a fairly practical trunk. I actually carried 13 grocery bags (back when they were big and paper) home one day. That looks like a tonneau cover sitting on the spare tire, which is a tremendously nice add!
The 1500 engine is not wearing its original paint, so it may have possibly been rebuilt? Or maybe it doesn’t need it after less than 60,000 miles. Roger, feel free to speak in the comments to let us all know anything else you want to share!
So, if you’re interested in this beautiful little sports car, contact Roger through the form below!
Location: Montgomery, Texas
Asking Price: $7,500
Mileage: 58,600
Title: Clear
I have one as well- 1976.
This one looks nice and with a few items to clean up could be very nice. A fun car to drive in the twisties and to occasional shows.
The trunk does have some room and also behind the seats. Randy
A buddy of mine owned one back in the 70s, left oil on the garage floor on a regular basis, and needed a lot of tuning, but man, such a fun car on a warm spring day! It was the start of what brought me to buy our 2006 Miata, and that car is truly a dream come true. Man does not live by burn outs alone!
No Overdrive? Sorry, deal breaker. I just don’t get that, it was a lousy $200 option, and very few took advantage of it’s benefits. I think I’ve seen one with, for every 10 without. And replaced fan clutch? I don’t recall these having fan clutches. Looks like a nice car here, you could just get in and enjoy, although, be advised, even with the impressive list of repairs, it isn’t over, these need constant attention. Seems like a lot of Spitfires coming up lately, none with O/D. I know I make a big deal about that, but it truly transforms these cars into a comfortable cruising car. 3300 ( booming) rpms @ 65 compared to 2750 with O/D, for hours, you be the judge.
$200 back then was a reasonable chunk of cash? I recently bought a ($45k when new) 6 year old Volvo the original buyer didnt pay $300 for Bluetooth to be fitted.
Agree better to have it for sure though.
How far have we evolved as a car culture when bluetooth is now as valuable as overdrive once was?
Something lost and something gained…
Rube, all the late 1500s have fan clutches. They and the fan used make a particularly annoying sound to me as well as the fact that the clutches usually seize anyway (in my experience). I usually replace the water pump with an earlier one and early fan.
By the way, yesterday was an exceptionally Triumphant day—spent time driving my wife’s 1963 Herald 1200, my late mom’s 1971 Spitfire and my 1967 Mk. II. with my daughter and her dog. Fun!!! Oh, and while the Herald and my Mk. II don’t have overdrive, there’s one in the shop waiting to be installed in the Mark II.
Thanks, the 1500 I worked on must have been an early one, I don’t recall a fan clutch. Great news on the ride, poor folks by Scotty still dealing with winter, 8″ of snow. Not here in the “High Rockies”, 60’s thru the weekend,,,
See, for me, out here, where everything is a loooong drive, ( Denver over 2 hours, if it’s not snowing on Kenosha Pass) O/D is a must. For short, 2 lane drives, like Wisconsin, I suppose non-O/D is adequate.
You know, I have to correct myself. The very last 1500s with a slanted forward radiator (don’t ask me why they did that) have electric fans. So it’s probably just from around 77 to 78, maybe the early 79’s that have the fan clutch.
These little cars bring back a bunch of memories…
Still has the original carb. That’s good in my opinion. The downdraft Fiat Weber that everyone wants to put on these really aren’t all that great.
As far as O/D goes, I have a 76 with O/D which I barely use. These cars really weren’t made to be highway cruisers. They are much better at twisty back roads. I’d rather dodge squirrels on a back road than texters on a highway any day.
I had a 1979 with the chrome bumpers and the upright radiator as well. Also, the seats have been recovered, as it should have cloth inserts.
My best memory of Triumph Spitfires was one I drove in the early ’70s. I had an after-school job working at a Texaco service station and for whatever reason I was driving a late ’60s Spitfire(customer’s car) along a residential street and slowed down to turn a corner. A cat ran out in front of the car, too late for me to stop, and I ran the poor kitty over; first with the front wheel and then with a rear wheel. I distinctly remember it was like going over a speed bump; thump, thump. I stopped and looked back and saw the cat run off at speed, apparently unhurt. I remember thinking “Boy! These Spitfires are really light!” Lucky cat.
That’s my Spitfire story, though I might add they were fun cars to thrash around the country roads of South Dublin. I’ll post a brief story about a Tinker’s donkey I plowed into when a ’69 Austin 1300( or Austin America here) comes along on Barn Finds. That one ended badly.
Love Spitfires. Prefer them to the TR7.