Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Spitfire 1500

Well, about to go over and look at a 1980 Spitfire 1500....candy apple red and has a hard top as well as the " rag "......Why ? I've always liked the idea of owning a little red sports car and someone told me these were easier to work on than an MG.....the DIVCO is wrapped/painted and the two (2) trumps {Bonnie-A and the Sprint-S) have a secure parking spot in the garage..so maybe it is time to add that little red Spitfire 1500.......

You must have an awful large man-cave, Dan!

Go for it, Dan. These cars are a blast to drive, and with the occasional tinkering, they are fairly reliable. I've owned the cousin to the spit, a GT6, for 20 years and I would never think of selling her. I know some on here would have it other wise, but antique Triumph cars and bikes are lovable.

I had an old Brit and I can tell you the reason for the hard top vs the soft. The soft top is great in summer to keep you dry in the ran and still be easy to put down when it's nice. You can even leave in the rain and put it down later and not have to run home so you have some place to leave the hard top.

The hard top is great in winter since , as long as the weather stripping is good, keeps the cold out much much better than the rag top. The rag top also tends to be drafty and the hard top isn't.

Ok, so the Spit is fun,,,just found an MGB though.....is that a better choice ( I'm new to this sports car thing ) ........

As a former MG Midget owner, it's better to admire from afar than have one in your garage. A blast to drive, but you need to ask yourself two things: 1. Am I a wrench?, 2. Do I have plenty of disposable income. The money spent on the motor and tranny can far exceed the value of the car. The tranny is tempormental.

I love those little cars...especially Maxwell Smart's Sunbeam. But truth be told, any one of these old sports cars will be one endless cash-pit. If you still want it, check for rust all over the bottom of everything, doors, rocker, windshield frame. You are bound to find some..in ANY older car. If this helps, think about an older (1970 or earlier Triumph Bonnie or TR6R. They take up much less space, and parts are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. I actually had fun partially restoring a '70 TR6R (Tiger 650). The bike was a total blast to ride too. Not sure about 1980, but most all British motor vehicles prior to the mid-seventies require a few new sets of spanners and sockets to wrench on (Whitworth)

Once I get my finances in order again, I am going to seek out another old-school triumph (or maybe a Norton or BSA)and bring it back to healthy life.

It's been my experience, and talking to both owners, that the spit is a better car. Better mechanically, and this is why the MGB are usually cheaper to buy. Stay with the spit.

I'm with you on the TR-6. A little bit beefier too. And bigger (6 cyl) motor. It also is quite common to retrofit a TR-6 to a run on a small block chevy / tranny too...if you're in to that sort of thing, of course

Too right!! Remember Left is Right ....and Right is wrong

Now ya SEE, Paul...THAT'S exactly why you dudes over there don't have an empire anymore!...'cuz THAT doesn't make ANY sense AT ALL!!!

I guess it's a GOOD THING that Triumph MOTORCYCLES can be ridden with equal ease on EITHER side of the road then, huh?!

(...and so I suppose there's at least A LITTLE "vestige of past glories" you guys can all still hang your hats on with pride anyway, right...err...CORRECT?!)

I was thinking about getting one a while back and threw out the call for suggestions here. I wasn't looking specifically for a 'sports' car, but something more economical on gas than my Suburban that I could use as a daily driver (the kids have all moved out, so we don't need the 'bus' any more). Anyway, you might want to check out this thread I started about the spitfire to see what some of those who have been down that road have to say

Needless to say, after reading some of the comments/suggestions and talking to others who have had the pleasure of owning one, I wound up getting a '73 VW which has so far been a blast to drive, super easy to work on, and very light on the wallet (even if it's not quite as 'sporty' as some of the other vehicles I was looking at)!

Cheers,
Brad

Well, the wife hated the MG ..... said it felt too RAW ! Called it a 4-wheel motorcycle... ...So,, I'm going for a Spitfire...can get one for less than $4K where as the MGB was $10K but in perfect condition...might end up getting a wild hair and pulling the V-10 from the Dodge and ....... ...any how , the MGB was to be for her to drive , the kicker was no A/C

There was nothing quite like the British sports cars in the 60s and early 70s. At least until all the U.S. "Nader" changes screwed them up. I owned a '67 Sunbeam Tiger, '71 MG Midget, and '74 MGB-GT. Loved all of them.

I always admired the lines of the spitfire. I owned however, a 1964 Lotus Elan. It was a tempermental, beautiful, lightweight, overhead cammed, 4 wheel disc'd go cart with a fiberglass body. My hands literally shook after driving it the way it was meant to be driven. It would bust loose in the rear anytime I goosed it in a turn. A four wheel slide was my end-of-ride trademark for anyone that hadn't ridden in it prior. Ah, memories.
Oops sorry for the flashback.