Triumph Spitfire 1500

PLEASE READ THIS DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY

You are looking at my gorgeous wife's gorgeous Triumph Spitfire 1500 in vermilion red.   She has owned the car since 21st July 1992 when we bought it from the previous lady owner and has enjoyed her time with it.   She even took our son out in it when he was a baby (yes a car baby seat does fit into the passenger seat) and he is 21 now!!  The car was in very good condition when we bought it having had very little if any repairs done to fix corrosion.   By December 1997 the car was corroding around the rear wings. rear sill extensions and one or two other places which is not unusual for a Spitfire which was left outside.   We moved house and the new house had a double garage so I decided to fix the corrosion and get it back on the road.   What with me working all hours and another child coming along it never got done.   As the kids grew up and having more time I decided to restore the car for her birthday in August 2011.   I just got it done in time and she was over the moon with it.   She occasionally used it at the weekends but the car was mainly just a toy and due to the bonnet getting damaged in 2014 it was off the road again for two years.   I have just finished restoring a bonnet for the car and now we have decided to sell it because I need the space to renovate my old Jensen Healey.

I think the car is in excellent condition but as always when buying a car you must come and look for yourself.   This is a classic car so will require a fair amount of love. care and attention from it's new owner to keep it looking and driving as well as it does.   If this sounds like hard work then you shouldn't be thinking of a classic car.   If you know your Spitfires you'll know it doesn't have electric windows. central locking. powered steering. or even a brake servo!! Driving this car after a modern car is an eye opener but after five or ten minutes you'll get used to it and start to really enjoy yourself.   Also worth a mention is that as it's an old car it will corrode quickly if left outside. so would be best stored inside a garage or at least a car port.

So what have I done to the car during it's restoration I hear you ask.   I have cut out the corroded sections of the car body to remove all of the corrosion and welded in replacement repair sections.   The main parts of the car are the original parts and so are as British Leyland intended.   When I was satisfied all of the corrosion was removed I resprayed the car in its original vermilion red using the original cellulose paint which I think came out very well. though I'm not a car sprayer by trade and I didn't have the use of a spray booth.   I re-trimmed the seats with the original hounds-tooth seat covers. fitted new door cards and a new vinyl soft top.   I also replaced the engine mounts. clutch slave cylinder. brake master cylinder. rear brake cylinders and shoes and the front brake pads.   Due to the car being in the garage and not used for a couple of years the battery was dead so I have fitted a brand new one.

I didn't do anything to the engine as it was running well and didn't need any work apart from replacing all of the rubber hoses and fan belt.   This means that as the car was designed to run on 4 star leaded petrol which. as it is not available now. the fuel needs to have an additive put into the tank after every fill up.   I. of course. adjusted the timing to allow the car to run properly on the lower octane fuel.   The fuel additive is quite cheap and available at most garages so this isn't a problem.   I didn't remove the car body from the chassis. I didn't do anything to the gearbox. overdrive. differential or suspension.

There is a slight negative and that is that the front bumper is off of an older car and has some rust blisters so will need to be sent to be re-chromed if it bothers you.   It's a easy job to take off and will only cost £200. 00 or so but it seems it takes a couple of months and I would've got it done but I don't really want to wait that long to sell the car.   It's an ideal job for over the winter when the car is laid up in the garage.

I think this Spitfire is one of the best for sale at the moment and I'd be surprised if the first person to come and see the car doesn't buy it!!

I have just had the car MOT'd and it passed first time with no advisories.   The next MOT is due 11 August 2017.

I have just treated the car to a new stainless steel down pipe so the exhaust system is now stainless from the manifold to the outlet.   I have also taken the cylinder head of and replaced the gasket as I thought it may have been leaking.

This car is in tax band F.

Cash on collection only.

This car will be purchased on a sold as seen and inspected basis and no warrantee is given or implied.
I have tried to give a complete description of the car but you must satisfy yourself of the condition by inspection before you purchase this car as NO REFUNDS will be given after sale has gone through.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

Want to buy this car?