[TR] 21 years on the list anniversary (and 72 Spitfire for sale)

[Greg Tobin]

 It's been 21 years now since I first joined the list (then the SOL list...)
and though I've always just been a lurker, it seems a bit odd that over half
of my life I've been a member of some sort of email list. Mark, thanks for
keeping this alive for for 1/5 of a century! I seriously never thought that it
would have continued this long.

Over the years, I've owned a variety of GT6's and Spitfires, and my last one
is just that, my last one. Sad, yes, but other things always are more
pressing, and it's just time to let this car be in the sun instead of in the
garage all of the time whilst other things get attended to. I'm going to miss
it, it's been a wonderful car, part of the family, and an end to many things
when I sell it. I hope someone on the list is looking for a spit that is
reliable, has the right parts and looks nice (at least inside...).

I'm in Portland OR, the price is $3850, and the description is below. Let me
know if you have questions, it'll be on the west coast craigslists also.

-greg


--

Ibm listingmy Spitfire for sale:1972 MKIV:Reliable daily driver, lots of new
parts.Ibve owned it for over 15 years, and I am thesecond owner.Pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultimatevanity/sets/72157624560161579/

COMM#FK23819L
ENG#FK27271UE

Herebs thelist of the good things about the car:

Chromebumpers, and not the big mid 70bs ones, but the thin delicate ones
that wereonly available for 2 years.

Black dash,not wood.

Theinterior is all new.It shows, itbs innice shape.
I had theseats redone in the same stitching style as original, but with a
cloth centerinstead of the original black vinyl.Newfoam, the sliders work
smoothly, latch, etc.
New carpet.
Newtrays/trim under the dash.
Newdashboard overlay.The original dash wascracked in the center around the
ashtray, but was otherwise fine.
Newseatbelts- Corbeau 3 point harnesses.
Misc smallstuff inside is new:New turn signalcovers, a few switches, handbrake
cover, etc.
Autopower rollbar, hammerite b painted.Has a cover,but itbs kind of old
school looking, not installed currently.

New rubberseals throughout the car.

Newmuffler.

Alwaysgaraged, never left outside.

New Robbinstop- frame was sanded, Hammerited, and mostly new hardware.

Engine:
Original 1296that I know of, Ibve never had it apart.
Plugs arealways the proper colour, and always gets the same mileage.
Enginemounts and transmission mounts replaced within a reasonable amount of
time ago,theybre not old.
MSD 6ALignition installed (with stock points) , but original ignition setup
worksalso, I just found it to run better with the MSD, gets a bit better
mileage andruns/starts smoother.
Largeradiator installed.Re-cored, pressuretested, etc.Probably only has 500
mileson it.
All newradiator / heater hoses.
New oilcooler with stainless lines, under 500 miles.
Aux faninstalled with custom bracketry (installed when I had the small
radiator, thebig radiator negates the need for it, but itbs there and works
nicely.
ZS150 carb,comes with two air cleaners, the small one in the pics, and a stock
one, notrusty or banged up.

Suspensionand trunnions were fully replaced within 2000 miles ago.New shocks,
bearings, tie rods, ball joints, bolts,boots, etc.Painted the springs,
andsuspension arms when they were off.

Brakes-newish pads all round.

Tires:AVS01 175/60/13.Half tread, nice tires, NLA in this size, carhandles
wonderfully with them.

Electrics:Everything works as it should but thehorn.Never had a working horn
when Ibought it, and I never worried about fixing it.The harness was never
mucked with as withmost Spitfires, and most if not all of the female bullet
connectors werereplaced and die-electric greased (this is where 90% of the
electrical issuesever are anyways).

No rustinside, the floors are solid and nice.No trunk rust.No wing rust.Allthe
running gear pieces have just enough oil/grease on them to keep rust awayand
that you are reminded itbs British.

Herebs whatbad about the car:

Typicaluseless synchros.Likes to bedouble-clutched, especially 2-1.

Speedostopped working last year.Not sure why,no doubt the drive box failed,
but really, I never poked it to see why. Add 1kto whatbs shown on the
odometer and itbs about right.

Tachometerdoesnbt work.The (new) cable is tooshort, so itbs just
disconnected; has been as long as I have owned it.

Distributorvacuum advance is long broken, new ones are NLA.Runs fine with full
advance.

Heatercontrol valve needs to be replaced (as does the cable), I have both new
in abox.

It really doesnbt look sharp.Ok, itbs downright scruffy.It was repainted
sometime in the early 90bsbefore I bought it, and though it was an
acceptable job, the paint itself wasessentially worthless.Faded,
cracked,chipped, etc.Canbt even be buffed out.

It has a hole approx 3bx5b just forward of thefront drivers door, but has
stayed the same size for at least 10 years.Itbs got a number of small dents,
and a largeone on each of the doors.They add up tomake it look way rougher
than what it really is.It could be called patina, and in fact a lotof it is,
since itbs just been driven a long timeand though the car has been well
taken careof, the paint was never a good thing.Itbs not a rust box, and what
you see is it,nothing hidden, the benefit of an older paintjobb&

Repaint thecar, and you actually have a car thatbs over all in far better
shape thanmost.Certainly one that runs quitenicely to be driven anywhere, has
an all new interior properly done and has theright stuff taken care of.

Theimportant bits were always taken care of, and replaced as needed. I donbt
have the list, but itbs a lot of stuffover the years.Bushings, points,
hoses,bearings, brakes, gaskets, all the usual stuff.Itbs never failed me
once in 50k miles, even in 20 below cold, climbingto ~12k feet in the
mountains, or in 105 degree heat.Itbs a reliable little car and a lot
offun.I simply donbt have the time anylonger to enjoy it, and Ibve had it
long enough (over 15 years) that Ibll missit.Comes with afew misc. small
parts; points, plugs, poly steering bushings, roll barcover and a tonneau
cover for the top when itbs down.

Email forany questions, and
see:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultimatevanity/sets/72157624560161579/for
more detailed pictures.


Greg Tobin


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