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After long three years, she's running again!

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jdubois

jdubois

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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
Click to expand...

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?
 
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