As soon as I saw this 1967 Triumph Spitfire Mk. II come into our tip box, I knew I wanted to write it up. I own a 1967 Spitfire Mk. II as well, and it’s my favorite Triumph of the six I have. This one is advertised for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for a somewhat optimistic asking price of $5,000. But there’s a lot to like about this little sports car, and I’m sure someone lives close enough to the happy-sounding town of What Cheer, Iowa, to check it out.
The Spitfire Mark II offered some mild refinements over the Mark I (pictured above, as the Mark II brochure was pretty boring). Basically, Triumph added carpet, a different grille, and a few more horsepower to the Mark I.
On the other hand, the USA Triumph ads were pretty interesting. This one featured world women’s surfing champion Joyce Hoffman in her actual Spitfire Mark II, which she did use to drive to events as pictured. Honest!
Back to our subject car. The seller tells us that their grandparents purchased the car in the mid 1980s and that it’s been parked in the barn for 30 years. The car is said to have suffered a differential failure, taking it off the road. The seller shares that the car is parked on concrete (despite the appearance of dirt) and therefore, hopefully, isn’t full of rust. I’d say that’s being optimistic, but you never know. The hardtop probably helped preserve the car, although it is not a factory one (possibly Parrish Plastics?)
It’s rare to see a derelict Mark I-III Spitfire with its taillight lenses intact; they aren’t held on very well and stick out obtrusively when one walks by-I know this for certain! But the car appears largely complete, and reproduction lenses are easy to find through multiple suppliers. Heck, I’ve got a used pair I’ll send free of charge to any Barn Finds reader who purchases the car!
Early Spitfire interiors, even the upgraded Mark II, are plain at best. However, the seats are surprisingly comfortable; I commuted in my Mark II 35 miles each way from 2009 through 2013 with no issues at all. Mark IIs were produced for just a month or two in early 1967 before the transition to the Mark III. In total, 37,409 were made from 1964 to 1967.
Believe it or not, I was encouraged by this picture at first. The engine bay looked complete and largely unmolested. But I’m really puzzled as to the apparent lack of a rear SU carburetor or even the rear manifold chamber. Obviously, this could be a misleading photo, but it certainly warrants checking it out further. But I have you covered again! I will add to the two taillight lenses and will ship, at my expense, an unbroken intake manifold and a used rear SU to any Barn Finds reader who purchases this Spitfire. Seriously. So let me know if you do in the comments! Let’s get another Spitfire back on the road! P.S. I may have a differential, too, but you’ll have to buy that one and pay shipping!
LED taillights are available from Moss if you want to light up your life. Nothing worth looking at through all the dirt, junk and the rat hangout. Lot of good ones out there for reasonable prices. Found this one in Virginia clean, one small rust spot for $1,500. It did need taillights though.
Hey Bob, too many letters in this one. It’s a Sprite, not a Spit. Did share taillight lenses though.
Haven’t got any Spitfire pictures as we lost most of our car collection in ’17 Hurricane. I think every British car made in those days had those taillights from Jags down.
Looks like a bugeye sprite.
Yup.
Maybe push this Spit back into the surf and let the water wash over it. Too many variables at play at this price, whatever the ask becomes.
Leverite…….there.
Hmmmm, I think I’ll leave this one alone. Best to new owner though. Drive carefully and hold on to your hat.
When this car was new one of the major magazine reviewers observed that this Triumph gives you the feeling of sitting on it rather than in it. I never owned a Spitfire but I had several TR3s, a TR4 and a TR250.
Sent info (ignored) on a red Spitfire to the BF tip line that is running and restored asking 7K but they probably will take less because winter is coming.
Between the local car or this pile of problems, I would pick the local car.
I also had a 67 Spitfire, lived near where this one is along with sold it to someone there. I bought it to commute to college and sold it back in 1985 upon graduation. It was a work in progress, every day something else went wrong and needed to be fixed. They were prone to rust, the heaters only worked when it was warm outside, they were small and difficult to get in and out of. They were also fun to drive, so it kind of balanced out.
The 67 had the old school rear end ( which I liked better) before it changed to the squared off rear. While this car may be straight and pretty much complete, ‘it ain’t worth much!’ It was completely abandoned and the owner thinks he has gold…. Take off one zero from the asking price and that may be too much as a parts car (unless you already have one and need the detail parts). If you don’t have skills to do this yourself, It’s a $20k restoration for a car that will be worth around $8k when complete. That’s not a good business model! Spitfires are NOT investment cars!
Another seller who wants a goodly price for something he can’t be bothered to hose off.
Amen!!
just let it sink into the dirt. after 30yrs why bother now unless you’re willing to take 500.00 bucks for it and that generous.
Jamie’s write up makes me want to drive one, but this car is a catastrophe. If you could even get it on a flatbed without the frame falling apart, it would take years to restore it and you’ll be left with a car that’s underpowered and underbraked for modern driving – with a solid steering column to ventilate your chest in an accident. Earlier this year I bought a 2004 Porsche Boxster with 20k miles on a whim. The Boxster is really fun to drive and it stops and goes great. It has airbags and a collapsible steering column. For less money than that, you can pick from a dozen Miatas on Hemmings for around $10k.
Hi, Luigi and others! A few notes:
1) I agree the price is way too high. If the body is solid minus floors (assumption there on the floors), I’ll bet the frame is fine. For some reason, Spit frames tend to hold up well.
2) Underpowered *can* be addressed, but it’s not cheap. That’s why there are a lot of Spit-6s out there (GT6 powerplant and usually frame with Spit shell).
3) Underbraked? Yup. Again, can be addressed with GT6 components, but I’ve found that late Spit calipers are bolt-on with more pad area and EBC GreenStuff pads make a world of difference.
4) I believe Spit columns have a slip joint; I know TRs do. It’s not a true collapsible column, but it’s there for the same reason. Triumph was a pioneer on that front.
5) Miata is ALWAYS the right answer unless you truly love tinkering and British cars. I’ve owned two in addition to all the Triumphs and they do everything well.
And.. if you thought the electronics were shaky when new, wait until you, er, fire this one up!
The asking price is meaningless here. It’s a explorative number to get the conversation started. It sounds like they want/need to get rid of it.
Eventually, someone in the Triumph cult who needs the parts will make the family an informed offer that they can’t refuse, and a sale will happen.
That’s how this all goes in 2026. Nobody is “restoring” hulks like this.
Hey Jamie, that’s very generous of you for the parts. I’m guessing nobody will take you up on your offer mainly bacause this car is way overpriced. Too bad.
Thanks, Jimbo. Personally, I look at this price as a starting price, I suspect the car will eventually sell for between $1000 and $1500. And unlike some folks, I think it would be worth restoring at that price, obviously pending, actually looking at it.