Spitfire A Question of Rust

[CarrotcItis]

I’m buying my first Triumph Spitfire. The leading buying advice was ‘don’t buy rust’. Very sound advice obviously.

With that in mind my next question is, assuming no rust is the ideal, how much rust is acceptable and where? These cars are mostly over 40 years old. I live in the midwest where the climate isn’t as kind to cars as the south. I’m assuming it’s inevitable that most of the cars I look at will have some rust. I’m looking at one tomorrow that looks to be in great shape but shows light rust on the front coil springs in the pictures for example. Is this a warning sign or to be expected?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sarastro]

The real concern is for heavy pitting or rust-through of the body metal or, if the car has one, the frame. There will almost always be light rust somewhere on the suspension components or other bits on the underside. Heavy rust may not be a structural concern, but it is still ugly and a sign of long-term exposure to a corrosive environment.

It's a good idea to do some research and find out which parts of the model are rust prone. Then, when you examine a car, you can home in on those places immediately. I know them for the TR4/4A, which I have, but not the Spitfire.

Conversely, demanding that a car have no rust at all is unrealistic. The only such cars will be recent full restorations and, if you can find one, will be pretty expensive. If the only rust you can find is some light surface rust on a spring, I'd say that the rust situation, with that car, is insignificant.

 

[NutmegCT]

remember: "Rust Free!" = "No extra charge for the rust!"

 

[sp53]

I had a 1971 spitfire back in 1970ites and the whole front end opened as one big piece, so you should be able to see the back side of that easy and the main tub firewall. Look for blistered paint on the body and pin holes or larger on the frame. I would try and find West coast car body. There was one a while back in Washington States cragslist that had been in storage for years probaly 1980, so try the big cities Cragelists on the West coast.

 

[mctriumph]

Take a magnet and check rockers,wheel arches,ect ,for signs of heavy filler commonly smeared
over rust by hacks. Pull back the carpet and look for pavement. The last nice Spitfire I saw for sale
fetched less than the cost of the paintjob some one had given it. Tread carefully !!
Mad dog

 

[Sarastro]

BTW, here is a good article I found that covers the things to look out for in Spitfires. Not much on rust, but the things it covers are equally important:

Triumph Spitfire: Buying guide and review (1962-1980) | Auto Express

A full buyer's guide for the Triumph Spitfire (1962-1980) including specs, common problems and model history...

www.autoexpress.co.uk

 

[CJD]

Now days you can easily by a southwestern car...so no need to restrict yourself to rust buckets from the north.

When buying, the frame would be the most important part to be low or no rust, as when the frame goes, you have no car. After that is the body. If you see any bubbling of the paint, that is usually a sure sign that someone covered up a lot of rust, and it will come back through! As for how much body rust...that's up to what you feel comfortable driving around with, as the body is rarely a safety problem like the frame is. If rust bothers you, then "none" would be my answer.