Ed,
>Hello all! I just bought a 1965 Triumph Spitfire4 (Whats the 4 for? >The
>cylinders?) for $400.
Couldn't resist hunh? I thought enough of us had told you to keep looking, but
as my wife says, "he's got the bug, don't you remember?"
>Its in reall bad shape. Its not that much better than a parts car! >Well,
>heres whats wrong with it and a few questions I
>have. If anyone could offer suggestions that'd be cool.
Okay, for starters, get all the manuals you can. Read as much as you can. Ask
questions and LISTEN as much as you can.
>The Frame was welded on wrong. Its right now in the body shop >getting that
>fixed. My father and I wer going
>to do this, but he knows the guy who owns the body shop so it'll be >real
>cheap.
No comment....(if you can't say something nice, don't say anything)
>The body panel under the trunk is smashed in. So bad the trunk >wont close.
>Could I just hammer this out or
>do I need to invest in a new body panel?
You need to ask yourself what kind of restoration you eventually want - will
this be a daily driver/beater? If so, take your high school bodyshop classes
and use this as a project car. If this is to be a show car....well, IMHO,
you're starting with the wrong car! You should replace the panel.
>The engine doesn't run. Right now, it has no battery, but when it >did the
>engine would turn but never start.
>Its been sitting for 10+ years, so that could explain something. >How would
>you guys begin to attack this?
Start with the basics: Plugs, points, condensor, ca, rotor, wires. Run a
length of fuel line from a source of fresh gas to the fuel pump.
>The paint on it is a cheesy blue color. And to make it worse, a >homedone
>spraypaint job. What were the
>origional colors so I can change this?
This information is on the identification plaque on the door jam. The paint
code can be cross referenced on the French Spitfire page or in most of the
better repair manuals.
>Where can I get cheap parts? This is going to be done as cheaply >as
>possible, so of anyone knows of some
>cheap parts suppliers or any of them that are local to New
>>Jersey/Philadelphia, I'd appreciate it!
Actually, The Roadster Factory is in Armagh, PA. Don't think it's all that
close to you but it is a major supplier for the marque. You should get parts
catalogs from them as well as Moss Motors, Victoria British, John Kipping (UK),
Rimmer Bros. (UK). Those will give you a start on sourcing and price
comparisons. Go slowly, you've got a lot of work and parts to go....Don't get
caught up in quick fixes....they aren't worth it.
Chris Prugh
72 Spitfar
Ed
'65 Spitfire4
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