Mark's Place

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  The Rebuild of a Spitfire in Under 10 Years...I hope.

    My restoration project is a 1980 Triumph Spitfire.  The reason I chose a Spitfire is because my brother, Tony, has had a '75 model for over 20 years and in more recent years has been restoring it when he can make the time.  For years I had wanted to build a kit car but decided against it because of the amount of work required to build one.  I now see this as a hysterical case of irony and have confirmed the fact that God does, indeed, have a sense of humor.  However, I am getting ahead of myself.  When I saw a yellow Triumph for sale locally in 2000 I bought it  and thought it was in good shape, needing only minor body and drive train work.  The purchase would also give my brother and I a common hobby and perhaps we would help each other stay motivated in our individual restorations.  

    Let it be known that Tony's car has been the butt of jokes for years.  We would tease him by saying that it had more mileage "in-tow" than under its own power and that it runs great coasting down hill with a tail wind, among several other jokes.  So, I knew going into my own Spitfire ownership that I would have similar experiences with the car but I was not prepared for what my project has evolved into.  As the photos show, "old yeller" is entirely and completely in pieces!

    The car I bought was yellow with a black interior.  The body turned out to be badly rusted in what I now know to be the typical places.  The engine, though running, needed attention.  The interior, due mainly to body rot, was in bad condition.  Lucas, Prince of Darkness, had descended upon the electrical system as he had on so many other Triumphs...and some prior owner armed with a pocket knife and black tape had "fixed" some of these electrical problems.  

    Now to those of you with a strong affection to Triumphs, don't get me wrong.   I do love the car.  I would not have gone as far as I have if I didn't.  However, like many others I have read about, the attachment to my Spit is a love/hate relationship with a fair bit of masochisms thrown in.  I know they are a piece of history and I respect and admire that, but I am also the type of person that calls it as I see it.  They ARE a royal P.O.S. with a reliability problem.   In my case, it is the best of average 1960's technology stretched to a 1980 model car.

 After the initial shock and discouragement wore off in regards to the amount of work that needed to be done, I began taking "old yeller" apart.  I recruited a friend from work that had auto body experience.  Jerry has taught me a great deal about body work and has done an outstanding job on the body of the car!  In most cases the body has been brought to a level better than OEM

 On both sides of the car we replaced the floor pans, inner and middle rockers, rear bulkhead, and front toe kicks.  We also replaced the battery box in the engine compartment and installed the rear fender patch panels on both sides.  I had to learn to weld before jumping into these tasks and it was a fun way to learn.  After reading a few books and practicing on countless pieces of scrap sheet steel, I tackled the car and overall I think it came out pretty good.  It's not perfect, but it's a hobby after all.  I used plug welds to mimic the factory spot welding, and stitch welded the areas where the floor pans mated with the center tunnel and the toe kicks.

    I am doing a complete frame-off restoration/customization at this point, with a color change from yellow to Dodge Viper blue.  The frame will also be Viper blue with the belly of the car and suspension links done in contrasting silver and complimentary black.  The interior will be replaced entirely with a tan and black color scheme.  Silver 5-spoke mags will replace the stock wheels.  At this point I don't think I will do much to the engine other than a basic overhaul and cosmetic changes to suit the new color scheme.  I might upgrade the carburetor but performance modifications are quite expensive for what you get.  Triumphs aren't cheap when it comes to ponies per dollar.  I am not looking for a speed demon after all, just a classy ride in the warm months of the year. 

   Currently, body, doors, and trunk lid are primed and going through final sanding in preparation for paint.  The door sill seams have been glassed to give it a one-piece look (real nice).  The belly of the car is now painted silver, which is a nice contrast to the Viper blue that the body will be painted.  The frame was epoxy sealed and painted with single stage "Concept" paint by PPG.  The inside of the trunk lid and the door jams have been painted with PPG Deltron basecoat/clear coat paint.  

    As of October 24, 2004, the next stage of the restoration is the painting of the interior of the body and the reassembly of the frame.  The hood prep has finally been started and I am changing the stock look just a little.  Also, suspension components are being powder coated and painted and then will be assembled on the frame before remounting the body.  Check out this link to see the powder coating page.  After the body is reinstalled, the body will be painted with base coat/clear coat paint.  Check back with progress or send my an email if you have questions.  I have over 200 photos of the car to date, showing every step taken during the disassembly, repair, and reassembly that I would be willing to share to anyone needing help.  

    Finally, I wanted to add links to the places that I have purchased parts from for my restoration or gotten useful information from.

Spitfire/GT6 magazine website - Some good info and a great magazine for Triumph owners.

Victoria British - Replacement parts.

The Roadster Factory - Replacement parts.