Okay folks, here's a nice lengthy used car advert. Feel free to skip it
if you aren't in the market.
I've just about convinced myself that the time has come to sell the Trailer
Queen, a '77 Triumph Spitfire 1150. Yes, you read that right, an 1150, not
a 1500. Well, it *was* a 1500 last month at the VTR meet up in Seattle,
where it was one of the faster cars in the autocross, finishing just a
gnat's, uh, whisker out of FTD, beaten only by those two worthless, no good,
slimeball netters Bob Bownes and John Lye in Chris' GT6.
But the reason it was referred to as the Trailer Queen at that event is that
due to motor troubles, the car only traveled about 5 miles all weekend under
its own power. The previous owner had let the thrust washers fall out, and
when I pressed this car into service after Junior wore out the motor at the
Utah region divisional, I didn't do much about it. Suffice it to say that
the 1500 motor is now undergoing surgery at The Fat Chance, and last year's
race motor was plopped into TQ so I could enjoy this lovely top down weather.
At any rate, here's some of the good points:
- Most solid Spitfire I've ever driven - better than Junior, so I won't
be heartbroken if this one doesn't sell. I'm only selling it because
I have other projects that I want to get started on before Salt Lake
City freezes over this winter. Like this 250, the '74 Spit, all the
roundtails I've been gathering, the Rust Rocket's return to life, and
so on.
- Mark 2 1147 motor. Was fresh last year, had new 40 over pistons,
new thrust washers, slightly shaved head. Strong motor for only
1.1 liters - propelled Junior to Utah region DSP championship last
year.
- Tight suspension. Uprated rubber bushings, new trunnions in front,
rear is just fine, too.
- Spax adjustable dampers, all four corners, about 1 year old.
- clean, mostly rust free body. You should see the passenger footwell!
- Single SK carb, Mark 2 header
- 7/16" TR6 wheel studs, not the stock 3/8"
- good top & tires
Bad points:
- Mark 2 1147 motor. Was fresh last year, had new 40 over pistons,
new thrust washers, slightly shaved head. Strong motor for only
1.1 liters - propelled Junior to Utah region DSP championship last
year.
- some rust starting in usual spots around wheel arches, corners of bonnet.
- large crack in windshield on passanger side.
- top of bonnet was resprayed once, poorly. I'll throw in a quart of
almost matching paint if I don't get around to fixing it myself. The
paint is the original Carmine Red color, but hasn't been "corrected"
to compensate for the fading over time of the original paint.
- The 6" alloys and race tires don't come with it. The wheels aren't
mine, and the owner may actually get around to using them on his GT6
soon.
- I put the old stock exhaust system back on it when I put the 1150 motor
in the car. A LOT different sound than the 2" pipe and the Supertrapp!
Sigh.
That should be enough to give you some idea of the shape it is in. I'll try
to get some scans of the car on hoosier.cs.utah.edu for perusal. I'm looking
to get around $1600 out of the thing, and can arrange delivery within reason.
I mean, I could be convinced to drive it to Denver or Phoenix or Seattle if
the delivery expenses are covered, but NOT Albany or Chicago. I'll probably
advertise it locally this weekend for $1795, see what happens.
Let me know if you are interested. If someone, with fewer cars than I,
could put in the the time to put together a fresh 1500 motor, and deal with
the things like the torn seats, worn and missing carpets, lack of a center
fascia support, etc. and a bit of body work, this could be a real nice car.
mjb.
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