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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 19, 2022 21:06:29 GMT 1
Been after one for about 30 years and it dawned on me that I'd better get one now before they become too expensive. Got spiked with 1 second to go on a Spit in Portsmouth and was gutted. Then this pops up... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185387589799The description is a bit vague and after some checking it hasn't been taxed since 1983!! However it is nearby so I went to have a butchers today, expecting the worse. I wasn't disappointed. Bought a magnet with me but didn't need to use it. Plod showing through the rust on every panel of the wonderful £200 (maybe) paintwork. Stickers only an areshole could like. He claims to have upgraded the front brakes with discs. All Spits have front discs. Proudly showed me the new calipers. They were the originals with silver paint on them and rusty banjo bolts. Passenger window stuck in with mastik. Seats not on runners but bolted to the floor. The overdrive was 2 red wires not connected to anything. No wiper blades. No interior door cards or handles. Front and rear valances off a MK2 for fecks sake. The hood was awful but he said there's a better one in the boot. It was worse. The engine refused to fire up at first but finally he got it going. Sounded like a box of spanners and fuel pissing out of the pump. Laughingly someone had offered him £2K for it. It's worth maybe 1. Then budget 7-8 grand to get it all good. The hunt continues. Alex
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Post by JonW on Apr 19, 2022 23:26:34 GMT 1
Ahh... The joys of buying old cars :/
I had a Mk3 for years and loved it, sold it in 2000 and still miss its cheekyness. Lovely cars.
I deliberately didnt read what you said about your visit and looked at the ad first. I was perplexed by the front disk comment as, like you, knew they had them from new. The paint looked too fresh, as did the carpets and seats/roof. I was wondering how the overdrive worked as there was no gear lever switch. The window was obviously needing more than an 'adjustment' from the pic. sigh. Those decals were woeful and would need to come off, the 80's called and Halfords wanted them back for their catalogue shoot.
Keen to see how you go finding one Alex, The Mk3 is the best of these I reckon; The original 1.3 engine is the nicer as its good an revvy and they look so much better with that early rear end.
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Post by lcmarky on Apr 20, 2022 11:22:34 GMT 1
Nice - I do like the Triumphs. Owned this for >10 years and did heaps to it - great car & now owned by a good friend who was my codriver so still get to use it.. Been to Classic Le Mans (x4), Scotland, Wales, Up North etc on tour over thousands of miles & showed a few modern cars up.. TR4a by KTM Marky, on Flickr
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 20, 2022 21:01:02 GMT 1
TR4A? TR5? I can never tell lol but she's a beauty.
Yes Jon the hunt continues. Ideally I want an original MK3 and that includes the engine...there are a couple on eBay but the asking prices are way too high, and these are for 'restored' examples. I've even joined the TSSC (Triumph Sports Six Club) but nothing up for grabs there. Yet!
Alex
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Post by JonW on Apr 21, 2022 1:03:27 GMT 1
To help spur you on, here is a pic of my old white one along with a red one. I met the owner of that one on a car rally and we headed off towards home together since he lived my way and I knew of this place to take a pic just off the main road. I'd filled my (very recently rebuilt) engine with water in a ford that day, stopping it dead. After sputtering to a halt just out of the water (like most of the cars do at Rufford ford lol), I whipped the plugs out and pumped the water out on the starter and carried on as the car felt fine. Oil changed it when i got home and all was good. Superb and strong old engines. I always loved that pic and had it blown up on my wall at home for years, I called it simply, 'Summer'. A perfect UK day IMHO. The TSSC was good when i was a member in the early/mid 90s. They did stainless exhausts and manifolds and all sorts of other parts. I had the exhaust and manifold on my car, make the lil 1.3 sound like something far larger, more of a rumble and roar than a mk2 escort etc. Ahh the Mk3... I would love another one... but there are very few here it seems and most are MKV/1500s which is not what im after, the '3' is the only one for me! Love that TR Marky, proper lovely cars when sorted. I had a guy drive past me in a TR6 at the weekend with his wife, both the far side of 65 lol. The car looked lovely and is worth a fortune now and it was great to see these retirees out and about in it. Weve had so few summery days this year due to El Nina/Nino etc storms that on the summer days you see all sorts out an about. I was parked for about 20mins and saw no less than 4 MX5s drive past... and this was in a small quiet street in a very quiet burb lol
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Post by lcmarky on Apr 21, 2022 11:23:33 GMT 1
TR4A? TR5? I can never tell lol but she's a beauty. Alex TR4a - IRS (Independent Rear Suspension). Same Michelotti body as the TR5 but with a torquey 4 pot tractor motor - mine went well. 89mm pistons, stage 2 cam, lightweight rods, 45mm Webbers & fuel pump, electronic ignition, big bore manifold & exhaust, lightweight flywheel, uprated gearbox/diff, drive shafts, brakes etc etc etc - endless list of mods. TR5 is a 6 pot motor so more potential to tune really.
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Post by lcmarky on Apr 21, 2022 11:31:12 GMT 1
I hope this works.. This is us in the TR4a blatting across France from Le Mans classic a few years back. The car I'm overtaking is a 1953 (I think) Bailey - super, super rare! Bailey & TR4a (1) by KTM Marky, on Flickr
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Post by lcmarky on Apr 21, 2022 11:31:45 GMT 1
..you can just hear it slur into the overdrive.
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 21, 2022 21:42:17 GMT 1
What a cool video! Thanks for that mate.
Love your Spit Jon, wire wheels too! That brings back memories...my first ever MK3 was similar but in BRG. One evening I got side swiped by a drunk driver with no licence, MOT, Tax or insurance. I was insured 3rd party only. Car was a write off.
Alex
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Post by JonW on Apr 22, 2022 1:00:44 GMT 1
Thanks. I took a while to make the decision about what wheels to put on it as it came with later wheels which i didnt like at the time, but were wider... I felt they gave too much grip lol... not really, not something you can level at a Spit haha. Its light and that rear suspension was the car that Im sure created the skid marks for the slippery road sign LOL! I'll try and find a pic of it when i got it, It did sort of look more '80s Sporty' if thats a thing. I gave the wheels with good tyres to a bloke up the road who I never met when I split with my ex, I had no storage and i knew he had a 1500 so I dropped them on his doorstep one day. I bet he was super confused at why someone gifted him a set of wheels. Sorry to hear of the demise of your BRG MK3 Cos if this thread I looked at TRs and Spits here for sale yest, ouch... exy. The most 'affordable' (well sensible looking buys, nothing was 'cheap') was a couple of TR4, but none were the A models. One decent looking reasonable TR6... er, this was all in the £20k range. So way out of my league, everything else was bigger money, some was over £50k! Interestingly, we had lots of Stags here... seems bizarre considering how they overheated but it was still the time of 'export or die' i guess. Ive never been a fan of them, bit 'lazy sportscar', more open top GT. I like my sports cars to be more darty and manic lol
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Post by JonW on Apr 22, 2022 1:02:54 GMT 1
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Post by JonW on Apr 22, 2022 4:52:42 GMT 1
I should say that I bought that car in Basingstoke 1993 and paid the top of the market for it after it had just had a chassis off bare metal respray... Guy wanted just over £2 'n a half k but i think i got it for £2200 or 2300 or so. At the time there was quite a busy market for em back then and he needed the cash for a house deposit. Nice lad, had spent a fortune on the respray and upholstery etc. It was rust free and very pretty but it wasnt all good tho. It needed an engine rebuild (drank oil - valve guides and rings shot) but g'box was obviously done as was perfect and very super slick (very 'snickety snick') with new linkage bushes. Softop was ok, small cut in rear window was all it had and the chrome was pretty decent for 1969 OEM stuff. I did the engine with my Grandad (in the trade all his life, RIP m8!) and over time sorted out the brakes and suspension with rebuilds (the parts were really good value). I added the TSSC noisy exhaust and some other bits and bobs to tune it up a bit and it really flew for an old school 1.3 when the rebuild (rebore etc) was done. It really was lovely to drive and I wish i had kept it. Over the years I spent quite and bit and it was reliable and great to drive. Sold it in 1998 to get some cash to buy the Alfa JZ (pics shown on here before) as I didnt need 3 old cars and only had minimal garaging. Other car was a TR7V8 DHC. Lots of BS talked about the 7/8s by TR owners (and others) who havent ever owned one, just like there is about 350Rs in fact haha. My 8 was a rough gold coloured thing and i paid less than the conversion kit would have cost let alone the car with engine in it etc. Drove it home at 140+ (non working speedo but my ex followed me in her GTi and ran out of puff at that lol). later i found the whole drivetrain was done up finger tight by the DPO and when i touched the big gearbox mount it spun with only a few threads left on it. Sobering. Anyway... not polluting a 60's car thread with cars built for the 80s. back to spits... I looked at a few when i bought mine and looked at one near Newbury (it was red with wires and a single noisy pipe). The lad asked me if i wanted him to take me for a spin, I said 'sure'. We set off at a hell of a rate down the nearby lanes. At one point we found a quiet bit of gravelly ground and he proceeds to do multiple donuts to show me how much fun it is... er... I left there feeling queasy with dust all over me and wanting to find a more sane owner to buy from lol What you looking at this weekend Alex?
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Post by lcmarky on Apr 22, 2022 13:45:23 GMT 1
My mate owns TRGB if you want to speak to a man that knows everything about TR's/Stags/Spits etc. Give Gary a call and tell him Mark with then now sold to Steve 4a sent you.. www.trgb.co.uk/
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 22, 2022 21:14:45 GMT 1
This weekend I am mainly looking at...decorating lol. No cars up for grabs that I want to look at Jon. Plenty of overpriced MK4's and 1500's. Not interested. One Spitfire 4 and a MK2. Nope. Me want a 3!
And thanks Mark. If I need some advice I'll contact him.
Alex
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Post by JonW on Apr 23, 2022 0:42:55 GMT 1
Tho Id quite like to try one with a Mk3 with an correct for the era GT6 conversion, but expect it would be too much power for the Spit, hmm. Many years ago I met a bloke who was selling off a lot of Triumph parts as he'd closed his business. I cant even remember who he was or how i found him, but he quoted me: "£100 for a GT6 bonnet, £150 for a GT6 engine, £150 for a chassis and £200 for a tub and about £200 for the 'rest of the bits' to make a car with." I said I would think about it... I look like a right idiot now, but then it was 1, the market rate and 2, a lot of money for a project lol.
Anyway... Im with you Alex, the Mk3 is the only one I'd have eyes for as well...
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Post by veg on Apr 23, 2022 8:40:18 GMT 1
Missed this Alex. So classic Brit cars, lc’s and tamiyas finest? Sure we aren’t related? 👍. I had the pleasure last weekend of driving a friends DB6. They say don’t meet your heroes and I have to say having driven it it’s kind of true. Not quick in any way sounded gorgeous but it’s very very very much of its time.
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 23, 2022 21:24:41 GMT 1
You are my long lost brother that I never knew existed Tim!
A DB6 eh? You jammy git. I have driven some exotica in the past but never an Aston Martin. One of the most memorable was an early E Type convertible. So much low down grunt it was unreal but when you really floored it...woah! 80mph felt like 150, probably as I was sitting about 4 inches from the tarmac! Same as a Spitfire really, a very low driving position and centre of gravity. Sadly the E didn't handle any where as good as a Spit but what a car!
Alex
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Post by Gitram on Apr 23, 2022 21:34:24 GMT 1
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 23, 2022 22:54:19 GMT 1
Thanks Marti.
Miles away from me though and not what I'm looking for. However you might mention to him that it's way too cheap. Those models fetch silly money. He might want to stick it on eBay.
Alex
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Post by JonW on Apr 23, 2022 23:55:13 GMT 1
Damn, If only i still lived in the UK, Id love that!
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 26, 2022 20:57:59 GMT 1
This popped up today. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403624957467I can't see any particular problems with it but I do wonder what the reserve is and why does he want payment before collection? That's an odd one. Another issue is the distance. 300 miles from me so I'd have to get it delivered...and unseen and undriven. Not ideal. Anyone from here in Newcastle that could go and have a butchers for me? Alex
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Post by pedheadfred on Apr 26, 2022 22:05:18 GMT 1
I used to own a mk3 spit too OHW 42F was it's reg , Ioved it's look especially dash and back end
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Post by JonW on Apr 27, 2022 0:05:57 GMT 1
This popped up today. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403624957467I can't see any particular problems with it but I do wonder what the reserve is and why does he want payment before collection? That's an odd one. Another issue is the distance. 300 miles from me so I'd have to get it delivered...and unseen and undriven. Not ideal. Anyone from here in Newcastle that could go and have a butchers for me? Alex Thats really nice Alex. Probably as nice as a Mk3 is going to be really these days unless its just been restored. The pic of the underside of the sills shows a little rust but it looks surface and the guy sounds like he knows what hes talking about. I think the money up front thing is just normal now, Ive said the same thing on my most recent car sale advert. Its about having cleared funds before someone takes the car away so you dont get scammed. if you turn up with cash then its all good, but for me I didnt want £20k in used fifties that could be fake etc. Defo put up a post looking for a Newcastle based forumer who knows a bit about cars in the main section, more chance of someone seeing it then. But probably worth a trip up there if you could talk him into making a price he actually wants to sell at and go with cash?
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 27, 2022 20:54:53 GMT 1
I've emailed him with the usual questions and can he suggest a transportation company. If/when I get a reply I may well have a bid. It is very very good indeed and the electronic ignition is a bonus. No idea what the reserve price is though. I'm not exactly dripping with cash but I promised myself another Spitfire a long time ago and it's about time I made good!
Alex
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 27, 2022 21:13:08 GMT 1
Just had a reply. He wants £11,500 for it. That rules me out then.
Alex
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Post by dusty350 on Apr 27, 2022 21:13:41 GMT 1
The AA used to do a service where they would inspect a vehicle for you. I had them look at a 260Z Nissan for me years ago, and they saved me making a big mistake !! Don't know if that service is still available or what it costs ? Might be worth looking into if no forumers come forward. Dusty
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Post by steve h on Apr 27, 2022 21:17:16 GMT 1
If you cant find a decent one....you can have this for a fiver OIP by Ernest Stoppage, on Flickr
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 27, 2022 22:04:00 GMT 1
Thanks Steve, helpful as always! Just had a message from a TSSC member who has one for sale. There is one other for sale on eBay but it's too cheap. In Glasgow with a Lenham hard top but it has all the wrong bits on it. 1500 lump and a MK2 front end. Jon would love it (sorta)! www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115362238920?hash=item1adc2011c8:g:O2AAAOSwjQtiZ7oXAlex
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Post by markrd250lc on Apr 27, 2022 22:11:53 GMT 1
Shame you didnt post a this a couple of years ago, i knew of one that had sat in a garage for years, i first saw in 1986 and it had been their years before, i know it went a couple of years ago as i went there to collect my Yamaha RS100 that had sat there since 1986 and the car was gone, and it was in Shepperton !! Mark
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Post by donkeychomp on Apr 27, 2022 22:31:33 GMT 1
OH NO!!!
f**k it f**k it f**k it.
(gathers composure). All may not be lost. The lad on the TSSC forum is in Hove (50 miles away) and has a minter. With a breathed on engine with 110bhp. I am VERY interested.
Alex
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