• Hi Guest!
    If you enjoy and benefit from your participation at British Car Forum, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.

    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this banner)
Tips
Tips

After long three years, she's running again!

jdubois

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
I just had to tell somebody who would appreciate it. I finally got my '80 spit running and moving under her own power!!

I'd parked her shortly after I got married, and never got back to her. Well one unseasonably warm day this January I did something impulsive and took off the old Monza exhaust system and header (had to literally cut it away with a Sawzall). I never liked the way the Monza exhaust sounded on the car, and it was all butchered up with a universal style cat welded into it anyway.

It's taken me three months to find an uncracked OEM exhaust manifold, get it and the new exhaust and cat in place, and rebuild and install the original carb (there was a weber DGV on it that I couldn't get to fit any longer with the larger post-cat exhaust manifold. Anybody want a gently used weber downdraft setup?). But as of this evening I finally got all the plumbing run, filled her up with coolant, said a prayer, and turned the key. After three years of sitting and all my recent messing about, she started right up!

There are still plenty of loose ends to button up (like the lack of a working accelerator cable) but I don't care at this point, I'm just happy to have my baby running again, gently purring rather than the horrible rumbling of the Monza, and to have her take herself into the garage instead of being pushed back as usual.

spitfront.jpg
 
I know how you feel. I just got my TR3 running about 2 weeks ago after trailering it home last fall. The Spit looks great. Remember, summers coming soon. Enjoy
 
Magnifico!!!!!
 
Congratulations and welcome to the greatest Triumph Forum on the planet! Man, I hate that phrase, but in this case it's true.

Where are you in MA? I'm in RI and there are several others from RI, MA, ME and NH hanging around here on a regular basis. If you ever need help and we're with reach, maybe we can save you some time and labor.

Good luck and visit us often.

Paul
 
"I just had to tell somebody who would appreciate it"

Your intro reminds me of a phone call to the guy in the next cube. His dad called one afternoon to tell him about a huge catfish he caught that morning. He said "I wanted to tell someone who cared". I guess his wife doesn't fish.

Take that puppy out for a drive this weekend. Seeing another LBC on the road is an inspiration for all of us.
BOBH
 
Congratulations! She's a sweet looking Spit. I hope you get to drive her soon.
 
I'm hoping to get my 80 Spitfire running this summer. I had hoped by spring, but it was too cold to work outside. THe engine is apart and needs to go to a machine shop.

I bought a European exhaust manifold. I hope it lasts longer than the US version. I need to get the down pipe though. Also got the twin carb intake.
 
As a fellow 1980 Spitfire owner, VERY NICE! Would like to see some additional pictures. I too like the sound of the original exhaust system.....very comforting while cruising down a back country road. I also have the original single ZS carb set-up. Very simply and maybe not the best for racing, but I enjoy simply cruising her. I did however modify my original carb to accept a manual starter assembly. I bought an old carb with the manual choke off Ebay and installed it on my original carb. You have to perform some modifications to the throttle linkage horns, and the carb body, but it works flawlessly!



Now, let's see some additional pictures of your car!

Don
 
Hey, thanks for the encouraging words everybody! I'm glad to be back in action, both with the car and on the British Car Forums. I've been active lately on the Ferrari forums (yes, I'm selling out and buying an Italian car), but it feels good to come home again. My first car was a brown '76 Spit, and so Triumphs will always be first in my heart!

Don: If the rest of your car is as clean as your carb is, it must be a real beauty! I'll post some additional pics when I get a chance. Still gotta do a bit of work on the car before I can clean her up and get some new pictures of her (Now is when I admit the photo above is from about four years ago :smile:.

Paul: I'm in Hudson, MA so I'm pretty centrally located. I'll keep your offer for help in mind, it may come in handy!
 
Congratulations. It is a great feeling when you get a car back on the road. Your Spitfire looks really lovely. I can't believe the size of the USA bumpers!
 
Congratulations are certainly in order for both the car and your membership with BCF.

I'm also a new memeber and can't begin to tell you how helpful the people in this forum are. Great advice and links to other web sites for materials. I find myself reading the threads all the time and continually learning.

PS: Still waiting for the Koyo T/O Bearing. TRF has been cooperative and they said it's in the mail (uh, oh??)
 
Congrats! I'm on the North Shore of MA and am the proud owner of a '78 Spit and a '73 TR6 -Hope to see you out enjoying your LBC!
 
swift6 said:
I DO! But I'll also keep my Triumphs! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Exactly. I've wanted a Ferrari since I was about 8 years old, and I'm finally in a place in my life where I can get one. Doesn't mean I won't still love my Triumphs though.
 
I'm a huge Ferrari fan as well. Which is why I made sure to visit Maranello while I was in Italy. Rewarded with watching Schumi set a lap record at Fiorano. Which he promptly broke again the following month. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif Watching a Formula One race on the big screen in the Maranello town square is second only to watching a Formula One race live. I've done both. I can barely remember the race I watched in Maranello, too much Grappa. The race I watched live was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. No Grappa that day. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] My first car was a brown '76 Spit, and so Triumphs will always be first in my heart! [/QUOTE]

Hehe, always refered to that color as "British Racing Brown." You know,if you have a car that color and it's in good shape it looks pretty decent!(better than white...) My donor doors and trunklid came from a car that color, but it was a '74. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Like I said before, nice looking car. I don't see any visible rust in the picture, can it be that bad?
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
DrEntropy MGB I thought these were gone long ago MG 4
B TR6 Crankshaft long seal surface Triumph 5
jfarris Message too long error FORUM Navigation Questions 8
L My 1951 Triumph long ago British Motorbikes 0
apbos New long term project. Sprite powered rear engined race car. Spridgets 9
KVH General Tech Flywheel Bolts Too Long For Main Seal Triumph 13
W Generator and Starter Long Bolts Spridgets 0
A General MG 2022 Car Display Geelong MG Car Club MG 2
Popeye TR4/4A Slave rod seems too long but is not Triumph 7
A Land Rover V8 3.9L long block core for sale Rover / Land Rover 1
Jayplum For Sale SU HS6 for sale along with a long intake Triumph Classifieds 3
Zitch Engine Oil Leak After Long Drive Austin Healey 19
K TR2/3/3A Clutch "Long Throw" Slave Cylinder? Triumph 4
G TR2/3/3A Finding a long lost TR3 Triumph 4
AngliaGT A Few More along Highway 220 Spotted 3
R The long road home Spridgets 1
Y MGB An odd (and probable long-shot) request... MG 5
roscoe Rear end crown and pinion gear swap. 4.11:1 to 3.54:1 [long read] Austin Healey 12
R TR2/3/3A Restoration of 1954 TR-2 Long Door Triumph 6
T BT7 throttle relay levers short and long Austin Healey 2
S For Sale 3000 BJ8 Laycock 4 speed with 22% OD trans & 2 6 cyln engines / long blocks / BUNDLE Austin Healey Classifieds 1
F TR6 Sputtering along Triumph 14
Michael Oritt Post- Open Roads 2002: Tahoe to MD the long way Austin Healey 19
PC sing along British Motorbikes 0
R TR2/3/3A Restoring a 54 TR-2 Long Door Triumph 10
boxofparts TR2/3/3A My long term 30 yr project Triumph 5
K For Sale Long and short TR3 and 4A Intake manifolds Triumph Classifieds 0
Joe Schlosser Thoughts on a long traffic Light Spridgets 11
R TR2/3/3A Restoration of 1954 TR-2 Long Door Triumph 22
D Long Lost Midget Spridgets 0
E Long lost Sprite Spridgets 10
roscoe Leakdown test [long read] Austin Healey 11
dougie 100-S Ride Along Austin Healey 3
aero3113 Healey Shop on Long Island Austin Healey 9
britlover Wanted TR4 Hood long bubble Triumph Classifieds 0
D MGB Painted rubber bumpers. How long will they hold up? MG 1
T C42 BJ8 generator long screw needed Austin Healey 2
PeterK General TR Time for a long ride Triumph 3
D After a long break.... Spridgets 6
Lotus Club SoCal Ballast Point Long Beach Social Lotus 2
AngliaGT Saw a Few Along the Trip Spotted 4
Popeye TR4/4A Found this odd long bolt in my fuel tank... Does anyone know what it is? Triumph 17
GTP1960 Not the "best car ever made" by a long shot Other Cars 14
L TR6 need help on long dead TR6 Triumph 16
Sarastro Morris Minor in Long Beach, CA Spotted 1
D TR4/4A extra long oil filter attachment stud Triumph 9
D TR4/4A flywheel bolts maybe too long Triumph 15
Sarastro Red TR3 in Long Beach, CA Spotted 0
Jim_Gruber I woke up Bugsy this afternoon after about a month long nap and he was cranky Spridgets 7
TomMull Post-War Other Herald: Holy Moly! [Why it took me so long to make the accelerator bracket] Triumph 2

Similar threads

Back
Top