76 Spitfire Project (NEW)

1976 Triumph Spitfire

Restoration

Mechanical

Pics and Awards

British Car Day 2000 Winners

British Car Day 2000 Car Pictures

Spitfire Technical Info

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In April of 1997, I adopted a lovely red sportscar, the 1976 Triumph Spitfire. My wife not only gave me permission but heartily urged me into it. Now we both relive our youth when we were dating as teenagers in my 1962 Austin Healey Sprite.

The Spitfire was bought at the Spring RM Classic Car Auction (Kruze) in good condition and low mileage. I like to keep the car in "like new" condition and the first three years were dedicated to advancing it from good condition to excellent condition. A previous owner had done some amount of restoration and the body was spotless and the mechanicals worked OK. The car came with a hard top but no convertible top so this was one of the first things on the shopping list. The hard top has not been on since I installed the new softtop.

You can read more about the restoration here.

Mechanically, the car has been running very well. It didn't start that way as it barely made it home from the auction place. The choke had to be on all the way home just to keep it running, even on the highway. Upon dismantling the carb, I found it was plugged with varnish and crud. With that fixed, I moved on to the points and spark plugs, both cleaned and gapped. That allowed the car to be driveable but that was just the start. You can read more about the mechanical work here.

My wife and I enjoy going out to classic car events, especially British car and Triumph events. The car shows well enough to capture top three or Best in Class awards for which I am very thankful and proud. The awards are really endorsements for all the efforts to get the car looking good and running well. The shows are fun but the driving to get there is really more of a joy. Here are some of the awards and event plaques collected over the last few years. Spitfire Pics, Awards, Plaques