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Spitfire Found a spit that needs a home... experts?

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I'm getting photos of the engine, trunk, usual-rust-spots and more this weekend.

If the photos look good, I'm thinking of offering the seller $1K. What do you guys think?
 
Have you actually seen it yet? I think you (or someone you trust) should look at it before you plunk down money for it.

I'm paranoid - wouldn't want to commit $1000 plus transport for something which may cost $5-10K to make a solid driver.

Just my two cents ...

Tom
 
I've found that things always look so much better when you want them then they do after you buy them. Be careful.
 
I am a real sucker for old Triumphs and when I see one like this I immediately fall in love! Californian cars generally have the great advantage of being rust-free. Coming from Scotland that is the most important aspect for anyone buying a car here. I bought a rust-free TR3 from California several years ago. The problem was that everything that wasn't metal needed to be replaced. When you add up the cost of the rubber windscreen seals, suspension bushes, interior trim, dashboard top, steering wheel, tyres, etc it comes to a lot of money. On top of that there will be the labour/time. Then if you want to repaint it you would want to eradicate the rust and dents first. My TR3 ended up costing me ÂŁ15,000 to rebuild with me doing everything apart from the welding and paint work.
The alarm bells start ringing for me when I see the rust on the seams between the wings and bonnet and along the top of the rear wings.
Add up the cost of all of the interior trim, a re-spray, soft-top, tyres, seals and bushes and compare that to the price of a good car. Of course, you may be looking for something to rebuild yourself, in which case this could be a really good starting point.
Good luck whatever you decide.
 
To give you some idea, I paid a bit more than $3000 for mine a couple of months ago. Solid, low mileage (51K) California Spit. It's all there, runs and drives, but the interior and paint could use a bit of freshening. I'd say this is $1000-1500 car max. You're going to have that much into it in no time.

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