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Triumph Spitfire Cars

With the Engine and Gearbox safely removed it was time to get on with removing everything else which is bolted, screwed, stuck or attached in some method to the body and chassis.

The brake and clutch master cylinders were carefully disconnected from their copper pipes, I am not sure at the moment whether to buy new master cylinders or buy a seal kit for the old ones, it will probably depend upon what they look like once I strip them down. With the master cylinders out if the way the pipes were removed without too much care and in some places just cut through as I will be replacing them with a new pipe kit.

The wiring loom was removed throughout the car taking great care to photo and label all the connections as the loom looks in quite good order and because finances are limited it will be reused after a good clean and all the connectivity checked through.

I have read 2 different books on Spitfire Restoration Cars and had comments from loads of people, some say never take the body off the chassis before completing the repairs to the body others say you are OK to take it off as long as the body is supported.

I decided the best way for me (only having a single garage) was to support the body and remove it so that the chassis could be repaired and then the chassis could be moved to the side of the house and covered until required.

Related : Triumph Spitfire
Related : Restoration Cars

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Triumph Spitfire Cars

The carpet had already been removed so the only items to be removed were the centre console and the Gearbox Tunnel Cover. These came out easily although the gearbox tunnel cover is a bit damaged being the original cardboard type and I will probably replace it with a fibreglass type.

With these items removed I could get access to the Speedo and rev counter cables and remove them. Next to be disconnected was the prop shaft and the gearbox mounts slackened off.

A lifting crane was brought in and strapped up to the engine. The weight of the engine was taken by the crane and the engine mounts removed. Removing the engine and gearbox was more trouble than I thought as the access was very good but the strapping arrangements we had rigged up was not as good as it could have been and we had to re position the straps a number of times to get the engine/gearbox out with the limited height of the garage.

With the engine and gearbox out I cleaned up the engine bay area of any remaining components such as the brake pipes, wiring loom and master cylinders. The engine and gearbox were stored at the back of the garage to be looked at once the bodywork is done.

Next time I will continue the strip of the components so that the body can be lifted off the chassis.

Related : Triumph Spitfire
Related : Restoration Cars

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Triumph Spitfire MK IV Car

The bonnet had to be removed for repair of both the bonnet and the front of the chassis. To remove the bonnet the main lights have to be removed, so the wires and loom were labeled (I used inkjet avery labels as the stick to themselves well when wrapped around cables and once written on don't smudge).

Once the lights and cowls are removed the only thing to do is to unbolt the four bolts in the bonnet boxes which are under the over-riders. Although the bonnet is quite large, it was light enough for the wife and I to lift clear and move out of the way.

With the bonnet safely stored out of harms way there is plenty of room to get access to everything. The front quarter panels on the Triumph Spitfire were made of steel, but these have a tendency to rot from the inside out, and a lot of owners have replaced these panels with fiberglass equivalents, as had been done on mine.

There are only four bolts securing each quarter panel to the chassis and these came free without any problems except that on the passenger side the front cross member was like lace and the quarter panel was holding the cross member together.

Next to be removed was the front bumper which attaches with just two bolts at the top of the bonnet boxes. the bumper is not in too good a condition so either a good second hand will be found or I will look at getting mine re chromed.

The last job for january was to remove the wiring loom, This is a slow and tedious job, but if you are going to reuse the loom as I plan to, everything must be well labeled and removed carefully.

In next months article I will write about removing all the ancillary components to facilitate the removal of the engine and gearbox.

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Triumph Spitfire MK IV Car

Let's start the renovation. In this series of articles did not try to teach you how to do things or recommend methods, I will document my experiences and how I wanted to do the things they were right or wrong I am sure that you get something from them.

Before the start I have a lot of digital photos of reference, so that when it comes time to get all pieces that I have some idea where they then have to go all back together again. I also wrote a spreadsheet. I use the overview of all components that are removed from the vehicle to hold. In this way the components are known, the number of reported storage box and the field position is recorded and the necessary work has also been observed, so that at the end of the restoration of all components should be complete and ready to assemble the machine again.

I also read many books in the context of the two, I can recommend as they happen in step by step details and photos of the restoration of a Triumph Spitfire.

I raised the Spitfire in the garage ready to go, the first step to avoid the battery was, sparks or the short circuit while working on the car.

The Spitfire was designed with a separate chassis and an engine hood, front-hinged piece that gives unparalleled access to the area of the engine compartment.

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Classic Triumph Spitfire Cars

Over the next few weeks the cars was very reliable and great fun to drive as long as the speed was kept below 55. All the mechanical components were working fine, all the gears could be selected without any crunching, the engine was running smooth (as can be expected from this type of engine) and no oil was being burnt or dropped ( yes there was oil in the sump).

Triumph Spitfire Cars what then that a new plan was formulated, instead of starting on the restoration straight away I would use the car over the summer and start the project when the weather started to turn for the worse.

I decided to do a few jobs to ensure smooth running over the summer, the first of which was the troublesome prop-shaft. I jacked up the Triumph Spitfire Cars, put it on axle stands (safety first) to check for play in the prop but couldn't feel any movement. I decided it was best to change the universal joints anyway, just to be on the safe side, as a disintegrating prop-shaft can be very dangerous.

I had changed the universal joints on my MGBGT a couple of years ago so I was sure of the procedure, the only difference being that on the MGBGT the prop-shaft is removed completely from below, where as on the spitfire the connections to the axle are removed from below and the gearbox end is disconnected from inside the Triumph Spitfire Cars.This does mean having to remove part of the interior trim and the transmission cover. Once the prop-shaft was out it was clear that the universal joints were long past their best, in fact in one of the universal joints most of the needle bearings were missing.

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Triumph Spitfire MK IV Car

The Car was bought from Sports Car Supplies near Newcastle in the North of England, with 12 months MOT and Tax. The intention was always to restore the Triumph Spitfire car, as having an MGBGT in fairly good order which only requires servicing and maintenance, a project Triumph Spitfire MK IV car would give me the chance to explore new avenues of the hobby. The fact the at project car was tax exempt and came with 12 months MOT was a bonus, as I could run the Spitfire car for a while to check the condition of main mechanical components, i.e. Engine, Gearbox, Back axle, Suspension and Steering.

When you buy a Triumph Spitfire MK IV car you should always take it for a test drive, unfortunately it was February and we still had snow on the ground, and as the Triumph Spitfire cars was destined for restoration I felt that it was not too important, anyway it came with 12 months mot, so at least it was road worthy.

The day came to collect the Triumph Spitfire cars, fortunately the snow had gone, although it was still bitterly cold but at least the heater worked well (in fact I was unable to turn it off). We managed the 30 or so miles home without any problems deciding to keep off the motorway and go cross country. One thing that became apparent on the way home was that driving at anything over 55 miles per hour was out of the question, as anything above was accompanied by severe vibrations in the Triumph Spitfire MK IV car (most likely the universal joints on the prop-shaft).

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An all-new hardtop was also available, with rear quarter-lights and a flatter rear screen.

By far the most significant change, however, was to the rear suspension, which was de-cambered and redesigned to eliminate the unfortunate tendencies of the original swing-axle design. The Triumph GT6 and Triumph Vitesse had already been modified, and the result on all these cars was safe and progressive handling even at the limit.


The Mark IV went on sale in the UK at the end of 1970 with a base price of £735.

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The Mark IV brought the most comprehensive changes to the Spitfire. It featured a completely re-designed cut-off rear end, giving a strong family resemblance to the Triumph Stag and Triumph 2000 models, both of which were also Michelotti-designed. The front end was also cleaned up, with a new bonnet pressing losing the weld lines on top of the wings from the older models, and the doors were given recessed handles and squared-off glass in the top rear corner. The interior was much improved: a proper full-width dashboard was provided, putting the instruments ahead of the driver rather than over the centre console. This was initially black plastic however was replaced by a wooden one in 1973. The engine continued at 1296 cc, but in 1973 was modified with larger big-end bearings to rationalize production with the TR6 2.5 litre engines, which somewhat decreased its "revvy" nature; there was some detuning, to meet new emissions laws, which resulted in the new car being a little tamer than the Mark III. The gearbox gained synchromesh on its bottom gear.

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Models Five separate Spitfire models were sold during the production run