The New Spitfire.
Alright, now that the tool shed is mostly completed
and the kid is in school, it’s time to start some work on the spitfire. I started by placing an add for parts wanted
in the company paper. I was hoping to
find some parts that will allow me to start something on the 72 spitfire.
I received a call from a gentleman who knew where
there was a spitfire at a local garage.
He gave me the name and phone number of the owner of the garage. I called the garage, talked to the owner and
decided that it was worth the 30 mile trip to look at the spitfire. My wife decided to join me because she
wanted to make sure that I didn’t buy another piece of . . . . well you know
what.
I met the owner of the garage who gave me a little
history of the car. The previous owner
brought it to the state emission station for its annual test. The technician who preformed the test put it
on the rolling road and over revved the car until she developed a knock. The previous owner wound up suing the
company who performs the emission tests for the state. After winning his suit, the owner decided to
barter some work done to another car and in return leave the car to the garage
owner.
This garage specializes in foreign car repair, and
the owner claimed that he does no have the time to spend on fixing or want the
hassle of selling cars. He gave me the
key and pointed my wife and I to the direction of the spitfire. As we are
walking in the direction, my wife was giving me a hard time about looking at
the car. When we got to the spitfire, she (my wife) stopped and said wow, this
one is in much better condition.
First
looks
As you can see this car is in MUCH better
shape then the 72 Mk IV. She is white
and looks to be in really nice condition.
Even after sitting in a lot for about a year she is in dirty but
otherwise good condition.
My wife told me “Ed, we have to have
this car.” I thought to myself She’s
hooked, 
now she can’t ever say “I don’t know why you ever
bought that thing” without the response “Dear, you told me to!”
Overall condition was remarkably
well considering that she is 23 years old (born on date March, 1997), and that
she has been parked for the last 2 years in the spot you see here. The
convertible top is in good condition with 2 spots of sap from the trees overhead. I think that can easily be removed with some
cleaner from the local auto supply store.
The luggage rack on the back is showing signs of it’s age, with some
minor pitting starting to form. When
opening the hood, we found that the master brake cylinder leaks and the fluid
attacked the paint on the shelf. Rust has started to form, but it’s not a major
problem YET. No major dents in the
body although it does show signs of a careless repaint. The rubber gasket that surrounds the
windshield has paint on it. The chrome plastic molding that goes around the
windshield is in the trunk.
In the trunk I found some
replacement bulbs and the chrome surrounds for the tire rims. The original tool
bag was there along with the lug wrench, the jack and handle and some other
tools. In the glove compartment (shelf)
were the original books for the car in mint condition. We went back inside the office and after
some negotiations the car was mine for $750.00. He would make all arrangements to have the car delivered to our
home on a flatbed.
Home
The first thing done when she
arrived home was a complete hand washing.
I like doing this to all my vehicles as it lets me “touch” each and
every part of the car. As the picture on the left shows, she came out nice and
shiny with only soap and water. The wax
on her held up pretty well.
While bathing her I noticed that
there are little cracks forming in the top corners of the hood latches are
mounted to the fenders. They are about 1/8 inch and run on a forty-five degree
angle away from the latches. Rust is
starting on the front fenders just behind the wheels. I will have to take care of these things sometime in the near
future.
Some Additional Pictures
REMEMBER, She needs engine work before she can be on the road.
Driver side view of her
How she looks from behind.
Passenger's side view.
Interior view from the passanger side door.
Interior view from the back with the window unzipped.
This is a picture of the dash. Notice that radio is origional.
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