1974 Triumph Spitfire 1500 (Part two)

I drove the Spitfire almost exclusively year-round with the top down for about four years. There came a time when my modified engine no longer passed the strict California Emission Control test guidelines and I couldn't legally register it in that configuration. Also the transmission was starting to sound really bad in first gear. I decided to park the car and tarp it. It sat on the side of my brothers house for about a year and a half. I pondered how to overcome the smog check issue and hatched a plan. I decided to buy an earlier model Spitfire "donor car" and "convert" my '74 1500 to a '71 Mk4. At that time a 1971 was exempt from smog laws, but it would be  a few years until the '74 was exempt.

                                           
                                   This car, even faded and tired had good charisma. You can see plenty of                                                     red paint peeking through from where the cheap burgundy paint is flaking away.



I found a donor car complete with clean title and negotiated a price of $300. Score! I towed it home and set to work. Really there is not much at all I needed to convert my '74 except the VIN tags. So that's what I kept and got rid of the rest of that ragged little jalopy of a '71. When I uncovered my dormant '74, I could see that storage had not been kind. The paint was bubbling all across the hood. I fired it up to drive and first gear was almost completely non-compliant. The car was not road worthy anymore.

Because I really had a bond with the car, the only thing to do was to remedy the bubbling paint and repair the ailing transmission, so that's what I took to doing. I stripped the body to bare metal. There were five (5!) coats of paint- the burgundy, under that were two different reds, under that a dark blue, and under that the original and unflattering brown. I shaved the side markers, eliminated the wipers and made a few other little mods along the way.

Then I took a break from the Spitfire that lasted several years. She sat half apart and un restored. By the time I found my way back to finishing her up, the smog laws had changed and the 1974 model year was exempt!! In went a hot cam and I milled the head. I found good used replacement transmission parts (I needed a counter gear, shaft and needle bearings along with all the standard rebuild parts).

I had a beautiful base/clear coat paint applied in a similar burgundy to what I bought the car in and had the stripes recreated. I rebuilt the suspension and brakes and once again had an awesome little car to rip around in for a few more years.

                                           '71 Donor car that ended up being entirely un-used.

Spitfire stripped of 5 layers of paint. It was very rust free, with clean original floors and all other areas.

After some minor body work for mostly door dings.
                                      

Over the years I built several engines for the car. The best one was stock bore, custom grind cam from "Spitbits" in Lincoln, Ca, 32/36 Weber, long tube header, comp cams electronic ignition and about .050 milled from the head to bump compression. I painted them all red.

After rebuilding. 

Note the blacked-out tail section and the early rear bumper with integrated license plate light.

           And yes, I auto crossed this car. It was not too competitive, but was a serious hoot on the track!

 I wasn't aware that the wheels were alternatively tucking and leaving tarmac. No wonder when I laid on the throttle while exiting, my rear tires always seemed to go up in smoke instead of rocketing me forward!