[Spits] General questions/comparisons: 1962 Mk 1 - 1975 1500

[Joe Curry]

Sources:

SpitBits
British Parts Northwest
Moss Motors
The Roadster Factory
But Victoria British only as a Last Resort!

I think you are going to like the Mk1.  I doubt it is a 62.  Probably a 63
since very few 62's were shipped to the states.  If you let me know the
commission number, I can say for sure.  You will avoid any emissions laws
because of its age and I personally like the body style much better than the
later square tail models.

There is much less add-on junk on the early cars to complicate the tuning.

Don't forget to register the car in the Spitfire database:

http://members.cox.net/spitlist/

Regards,
Joe Curry  

-----Original Message-----
From: spitfires-bounces+spitlist=cox.net at autox.team.net
[mailto:spitfires-bounces+spitlist=cox.net at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Mike
Vasquez
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 9:10 PM
To: spitfires at autox.team.net
Subject: [Spits] General questions/comparisons: 1962 Mk 1 - 1975 1500

I've done a lot of work in the past (1990/91) on a 1975 1500, that I
took apart and put back together as my first "learn about cars"
experiment.  (Sadly, it's now sitting unloved in Prattsville,
Arkansas....)

Now that I'm older (but not wiser) -- I'm looking at a 1962 Mk1 as a
project with my 11 year old son.  We've got 5 years to make it his
car!

So, back then: I ordered everything from either Victoria British or
McLeod's British Cars in Arkansas (plug for Ron McLeod -- great guy).
I'm mainly wondering/requesting...

Tips: Great resources? Where you've found it best to order parts from?
 Good resources?  I'm not sure what's changed in last 18 years since I
had my first Spit.  Except the Internet.  Any good sites?  This list
seems to be the best thing I've found, btw.  Just want to know if I'm
missing anything.

And between the 2 models: what am I in for?  I'm no car expert.  I
learned a lot by doing, all self taught, made mistakes along the way.
I got frustrated with the electrical issues at one point on the '75,
and ended up venting by taking it all apart, body off chassis, so on,
etc.  Then, i cleaned it up and put it back together.  Ron  guided me
by allowing me to bring a part in and giving it a once over, advising
me how the engine looked, what needed rebuilding (lower engine), what
was ok (trans/diff), etc, and I took it from there.  I put it back
together, did some bodywork painted it, and it even ran!

So, I'm not afraid, but for instance, terminology isn't my strong point.

So: between the 2, are there any gotchas, words of wisdom, pitfalls,
big mechanical differences (beyond engine size), etc, that I should
know about?

Haven't gotten it yet, but expect to go pick it up in a week if all
the details get worked.  Getting excited!
Spitfires at autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/spitfires

http://www.team.net/archive