Junkyard Find: 1975 Triumph Spitfire
November 18th, 2011 1:55 AM
Share
A less-than-perfect Spitfire, like the MGB, typically spends a decade or three as a get-around-to-it-someday project car under a tarp in the driveway… and then it’s off to the junkyard when reality finally sinks in. I haven’t seen a beater Spitfire for at least a decade now, so this is one of many smoked out of its hiding place by high scrap-steel prices.
53 horses. Do we really need to talk about that?
This one has been picked over pretty well, which indicates that some other Spitfires— ideally, pre-huge-crash-bumper examples— will benefit from this car’s sacrifice.
Comments
Join the conversation
......the Spitfire doesn't get a lot of respect these days.....a 1st and 2nd place class win at Le Mans in 1965 guarantees it's place in the history books, however (a young David Hobbs placed well in one the previous year). The Bob Tullius GROUP 44 Triumphs dominated SCCA racing for years. It was also deadly at autocrosses, where it's incredibly tight turning circle gave it an unfair advantage in the section where you take 4 pylons in every direction. And today's DIY guys would love to have the ease of access that forward tilting clamshell hood provided. Always wondered why British Leyland didn't fit the six cylinder in the Spit, as the engineering was already done for the GT6+.....but I guess it would have competed too closely with their own TR6 and MGB,C, etc.
I am now on my 14th Spitfire restoration and I can tell you these cars are a blast to drive!!!! With only slight modern modifications they can easily keep up with modern traffic and be quite dependable. In the 17 years I have owned Spitfires I never got stranded on the side of the road, yes they do require regular maintenance but the design is from the late 50s-tech with only added safety and pollution stuff over the years. These were made from 1962 to 1980, with most be imported here in the States. My current car is a 14k all original 1975 model, like the one shown here, only in much better shape! I love cars, I also drive a 2010 SRT8 Challenger but I prefer driving my Spitfire!