Clicking trunnions notwithstanding, I threw caution to the wind and gave my
Spitfire a rip-roaring workout on three of northern San Diego's twisty,
windy, narrow two lane highways late this afternoon and man, it felt
delicious. I threw away my fear and really dug into the corners,
accelerating hard through them to see how well those Koni's dug in. I was
able to leave several, newer model cars far behind in my rearview mirror and
caused two others to pull off on the turnouts to let me pass. The car seems
to be running and handling better everytime I'm out. I don't know if that's
all psychological on my part, but it's a blast and a half.
As I said, I was pushing the car hard, winding up to about 5,500 RPM in some
cases. That's when I discovered the problem. When downshifting to second,
the transmisson pops out of gear if the RPM's are turning on the higher end.
Bummer! I've always known that the transmissions are the major weak link of
this car, but I was hoping to get another year or two out of it, at least.
So long as I don't downshift into 2nd with revs above 4,000 or so, I'm okay.
So tell me: What's starting to go? This minor quibble aside, I am having
an absolute blast in this thing. If any of you ever find yourself in my
neck of the woods, I've got a great scenic tour for you to take your LBC on!
Best wishes,
Jeff in San Diego
'67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka "Mrs. Jones"
Jeff's Classic '67 Spitfire Mk3 site & Vintage Spitfire Webring
http://www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml
home of the NEW Totally Triumph Auction
"By Triumph enthusiasts, for Triumph enthusiasts"
http://www.ohms.com/cgi-bin/TRauction.cgi
and... The Triumph Autos/Parts Wanted Listings
http://www.ohms.com/cgi-bin/TRwanted.cgi
...plus a few other surprises!
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