Welcome Mark!
I believe that most of the opinions about which model is best all stem from
personal experiences with the cars. I own a '77 1500 and really love driving
it. I like the older looks of the MKI and MKII, but before I found my '77
Spit I was set on finding and restoring a TR3. Many years ago, while my
brother was in Vietnam, his '61 TR3A was stored at home. I fell in love with
that car and have wanted one ever since. Now that I have my Spitfire, I don't
think that I would enjoy driving a TR3 nearly as much. I have done some minor
modifications (exhaust, carburetor, emission controls) to solve the power
problems, but I live in a state that does not have emission inspections. Our
biggest emission problem is all the pigs and cows &:o)>. As for price, I paid
2K for my '77 with a good body, lousy interior and a freshly (professionally
done) rebuilt 1500.
Best of luck!
Thanks,
Paul Mostrom
'77 Spitfire 1500
'80 Ford F-100 (Triumph Support Vehicle)
'Black holes, where God divided by zero......'
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Gardner [mailto:mrgrdnr@ix.netcom.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 1999 8:03 PM
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Wannabe (kinda long)
Hi all - I just signed on a few days ago. so pardon me if my questions
have been recently covered.
I wanted a spitfire 25 years ago, but settled for a Herald convertible.
It was fun,and I thought my system had been purged. But nooooo. I need
a spitfire. I've read the buyer's guides on the VTR and TSSC web pages
and started looking. I signed on the list and now I'm a little
worried. I see all the posts about engine swaps, and I wonder what I'm
getting myself back into. Is this an aberrent thread, or do many people
lose the stocker and go to something else?
Also, I live in the High Desert of Southern California, where summertime
temperatures regularly reach 110 F. Can a spitfire survive that
environment? I don't want to have to run my heater all summer long (8^(
Anyway, I've got a line on '79 1500 that was supposedly running when
stored, but hasn't run in three years. Aside from the obvious, anything
I need to know about resurrecting the little guy? Assuming body and
interior are in fair shape, what's a reasonable price. The guy is
asking $2K, but the little research I've done so far looks more like $1K
to me. Am I dreaming?
Do people have strong opions about models? I'm leaning towards a 1500.
Am I crazy?
BTW, I don't want to spend my whole life wrenching on the thing, but I
am not totally inept or unfamiliar with Brtish vehicles, having been a
Triumph/BSA/Norton mechanic more years ago then I care to admit.
Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post. Future ones will be
terse.
Regards,
Mark Gardner
|