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AboutMore about the car and its builder... The car: The subject of this site - a MKIV (Mark 4, it's believed Roman numerals were used to try and avoid confusion with the Spitfire 4, which was the Mark 1/MK 1) Triumph Spitfire. I acquired it from a chap who lived only a few miles away from me, after finding it for sale in a local "“free adverts"” paper called Trade-It. He had stripped it of most of its interior, paint (only a coat of WD-40 has stopped the rest of it from rotting away over the years without paint on the outer body shell), engine and gearbox without actually doing any real work to it. I think that he may have given up after realising how bad the car was – it stayed in this condition for around 5 years until I bought it in February 2003. I wanted a "“challenge"” and that is what I’ve got – it needs a ground up, nut and bolt, restoration – I went into this project knowing the car was in bad shape and that it was not going to be a quick and easy (or cheap!) job. The Spitfire is mostly complete – the only major item that was missing was the gearbox, but I’ve since managed to pick up a used J-Type – it is in an unknown condition, but it was only £80, which is not bad considering they can fetch up to approximately £200 for working used items. The previous owner had scrapped a 1500 for parts, so there are some duplicated items as well as the 1500cc engine, but I will keep the original 1300cc that was fitted to the MKIV as standard. Despite being an "N" registered car (the N suffix was issued around 1974/75), the car was built at the end of August 1971 and shipped to Saint Helier Garage, Jersey, two weeks later. It was then imported back to Bournemouth, in the UK, where it was re-registered with a British registration number in 1974, hence the "incorrect" registration suffix for the age of the car. Despite the 1974/75 registration, it’s still classed as "tax" (now known as "road fund license" – probably to make it sound a little more acceptable to the general public…) exempt as its build date was before the January 1973 cut-off. It was originally shipped with Sapphire Blue paint, Shadow Blue interior and black hood. Factory fitted equipment included wire wheels, static seatbelts and a tonneau cover – Jersey has a climate similar to Southern France, so a "hard top" cover would not have been required. Somewhere along the line though, this Spitfire lost its wire wheels and gained a set of steel wheels. To me, this is not a great loss as, in my opinion, wire wheels don’t suit the later Spitfires. I am currently its 17th owner, which means each owner had it for around 2 years each before passing it on (obviously, that’s not an exact figure, but an assumption). Somewhere in its 33 year history, it was re-sprayed in what I believe to be Triumph’s signal red. Sadly, I have no other history for the car, but I will try and trace the car’s history when I get chance. The builder: I currently am not working due to ill health (though I'm not well enough to work full-time, I am able to do a few hours here and there on hobbies and stuff). I'm also taking this chance to retrain into IT/computers, being a mechanic was starting to disagree with me... My motor vehicle qualifications include City & Guilds 381 (I think! - could be 361, or even something else ;) parts 1-3 and another that I cannot remember without digging through loads of rubbish, 4 years worth of college training. I have also have had gas and arc welding teaching as well as been on VW's auto-electrical and 4 wheel alignment courses (as well as several "in house;" courses at the dealership). |
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All original images and content Copyright © 2001-2008 Andrew Mills |