Learn me Triumph Spitfires

Not for me this time. A buddy emailed last night that he wants me to go with him to look at a late 70s Spitfire. I know nothing - help me be useful.

Rust is the biggest issue. Most have been restored once or twice by now and many owners have "improved" them.  Check the floors, rockers, fender edges, rear valance and front corner valances for hidden rust. They are not very fast by modern standards but are fun to drive, with quick steering and fun handling. They have a small 1.5 four cylinder that made less power each year as emissions took their toll. Fortunately they are old enough now that the engines can be built to restore some of of the lost power. They are simple to work on, with amazing access to the engine with the tilt up bonnet. 

We have a 1979 that we bought last year that will be for sale very soon. Restored in the early 2000's, it had all the rust cut out, beautiful red paint and body is perfect, perfect interior and rebuilt drivetrain including overdrive. It also comes with a factory hard top to match the car. We purchased it from the original restorer and had to go through all the suspension, brakes, hydraulics and carbs to get it back to excellent condition and installed new tires. We also converted the bumpers from the ugly rubber bumpers back to chrome with the early 70's little overriders as it looks so much better as originally designed.  Runs nice with dual HS2 carbs and a header. Have many pictures and the receipts from the original restoration and recent work. PM me if your friend is interested in a really good one.

IMHO one of the cheapest to buy/restore cars on the market.  Parts are pretty affordable, abandoned projects are all over.  Rust is an issue, but they are crude and easy to work on.  Some of the "technology" in the design cracks me up.  Felt front wheel bearing seals, a wiring system with 3 fuses for the whole car, cardboard transmission tunnel.

But after almost 50 years of mucking with cars and avoiding brit stuff I atoned for my sins this year.  Bought an abandoned project for 300 and to date spent about the same to replace most of the hydraulic systems.  Should be able to drive around the block in a week or so and decide if I want to continue.  But regardless it was a fun toy to keep me busy this winter in the garage.  Good luck to your buddy.

I have a feeling - based on the photos he sent me - that this one is very much a project. I will check all the noted spots for rust. Am I correct to assume this is a double A-arm front/live axle rear setup? Are there any parts that are unobtanium?

Not live axle, IIRC they have some sort of swing axle contraption out back that occasionally leads to interesting handling.

Parts are supposedly easier to find nowadays than they were in 1980. The drivetrain is pretty simple. The biggest threat is that previous owner wiring is often even worse than Lucas wiring, and the stock wiring was rather crude. Only three fuses, none on the headlights. I had one that needed a complete wiring harness replacement after the tilt hood scraped the insulation off the headlight wires and created a short.

And it sold before we could get there to look at it. Must not have been too bad.

Don't forget that we write about Spitfires over at Classic Motorsports.

This link should help get you started.