Hey there Guest!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
G
Guest
Guest
Guest
Offline
Hello Folks,
I was a member of this forum a few years back, but I seem to have forgotten my login and password, so I created a new one.
I have come looking for some advice and this forum has a ton of great people posting in it so here is my question..
I have a 1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 that I have owned for 5 years. I bought it for myself as a graduation gift in 2000. I love my car dearly but I must sadly admit it's time for me to sell it. I really do not want too, but I have student loans piled up and would like to get them handled.. and
well I just havent been driving the poor car, and would rather see it goto a new home with an owner who could drive and look after her.
My basic problem is I cant pin down what its worth, I have some rough ideas but there is so much information out there I have no idea what to expect.
I bought the car from a man who buys cars in california
and brings them up to British Columbia, Canada. It sat for about 15 years before he picked it up.I have the plates with the insurance tags on them and all papers for it to clear customs. This car came from San Francisco. The
car has been undercoated and is rust-free. It has lived in my garage for the last 5 years, I have only put 217 miles on it since I bought it, I believe the odometer has only turned over once.
I will try to give as much information as I can..
The good stuff:
It has a factory hard-top, needs new rubber seals and headliner I just never used it so I didnt get around to this yet.
Factory Overdrive, was tested and works.. both the switch on the shift-knob and the overdrive were replaced.
Has a map-light (OH WOW)
The entire interior has been redone in black as close to stock as I could manage. New rear quarter pannels and door pannels. The poly transmission cover is alot nicer then the stock.. thing. New carpets kit installed (moss motors) and the seats have been recovered (vinyl piping type) It
still has the older spoke sterring wheel rather then the newer one that was fitted in 77+ (?) cars. The only thing needed in the interior is the dash could be redone as the varnish is peeling a little bit, I was going to make
a nice cherry dash or mahogany.. I just couldnt decide so I left this part.
A new dash cover is on there, but not glued down (so you can replace the wood dash part easier this way) New sun visors and the seatbelts are all good.
All the seals and rubber on the car has been replaced, with california cars the rubber usually dries out.. so I replaced it all.. all the door seals, trunk seals, seals in the engine and tranny.
The transmission got a full rebuild 2 years ago, it was having issues with the syncro's so I ordered the parts in and got a parts transmission as well for some odds and ends. I had this done by a great british car mechanic and
fully trust his work. I had him test the overdrive at the same time.. and the overdrive works great in 3rd and 4th.
Engine rebuilt. I spent this summer with the engine out of the car... It had a full rebuild starting with the head. The head got a new rockershaft, valves and springs. I sent the head to a machine shop and had it cleaned up
nicely. So then I decided to do the rest of the engine. I had them bore it out to .020 over and fitted in a brand new set of 9.5:1 pistons. I had the rest of the engine cleaned up and anything replaced that was needing it.
The master cluch cylinder was replaced and the clutch seemed in good shape, the flywheel was cleaned up and re-surfaced. Slave cylinder was checked as well.
Replaced the alternator with a refurbished lucas unit, amazing diffrence this made.
The Radiator I had this tested and checked by a rad. shop last summer, they said it was alright but suggested I look at getting it re-cored because it is an older design.
The suspension, it has all been redone, front and rear. The bushings have all been replaced and new shocks installed. It has a set of lowered springs which makes it look alot more sporty in my opinion.
The brakes were done, new calipers, pads and the rotars turned. I replaced the brake lines and the master brake cylinder was rebuilt. I bought a new set of brake cylinders / shoes for the rear drums, but never installed them because they appeared to be in decent shape. (I still have them in a box)
The front-end was cleaned up, new tie-rod ends and all that, the bushings and the front swaybar cleaned up.
The carb was removed and I replaced it with a set of Twin SU-HS4's with the manifold that came on the UK cars. I had the carbs all cleaned up and rebuilt with new jets etc. I also just installed a pair of K&N's for them.
Converted it to a manual choke for reliability
The electrical is alright, all the lights work and the turn signal switch was replaced. The battery isnt the best so I have been meaning to get a new one, because the car rarely get driven it needs replacing.
I have a replacemnt battery box, I just havent gotten the time to have it put in, (mechanic said $75) I have a plastic battery holder in there now because the original battery box is kinda getting old.
Has an aftermarket electronic ignition that it came with, 75' was the first year fitted with the electronic ignition.. but they didnt last long and were
usually replaced by the dealer.
It has the original steel wheels and new tires.
The muffler is brand new and the exaust pipe is nice and solid.
The underside of the car is nice and clean, the footwells and everything have no rust because it was undercoated at some time in its life.
The convertable top is in nice shape, not mint but it does a great job at keeping the water out, so I never bothered replacing it.
The windshield is nice an clean with no scratches or cracks, as well as the glass on the hardtop is nice and original. New chrome wipers and the seal was replaced on the windshield, I even have the chrome plastic trim and
clips. The window seals for the doors was also replaced and the little brush things too.
The only thing I can think of that is missing from the car is the tonnau cover, everything else is there. (I have a brand new OEM convertable top cover for when its down)
I removed the pollution control gear, it's in a box and all complete.
All the chrome is there, trim, bumpers etc...
I have 3 boxes of misc. parts and goodies
New lock barrels and keys, I never lock the doors so I havent replaced these yet.I figure they could just cut the top if they wanted in anyways.
Chrome valve cover /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Stuff needing to be done still:
I havent gotten around to painting the car, I had it all setup for a friend who does amazing body work to paint the car but the deal fell through, and I havent found a place to paint it this winter yet. It has older paint on it
that needs to be redone, scratched in places and faded. It looks at though it might have taken a little bump at one time in the past, as there is a small amount of bondo in the front of the hood. Its hard to find a spitfire
that hasnt been clipped at one time it seems. The car is Delft Blue (Dark Navy Blue)
The trunklid doesnt sit on flat, I have a source for a nice straight trunklid, but he wants my trunklid in exchange for his parts car, so I havent picked it up yet.
I havent replaced the rear-end... no reason to at this point other then its the only thing left it seems /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Mechanic mentioned it might be a good idea to replace the fuel pump, the one in there is working but he suggested a conversion to a newer electrical fuel pump for reliability.
As mentioned earlier might be a good idea to replace the radiator.. not nessisary but a good idea.
That is all I can think off currently, I have all bills and reciepts for the car and adding them up was rather sobering... I have about $11,000 cdn invested in the car and realize I wont be getting that out of it. That doesnt
include my time / effort into the car, I do love the car.. but I also see that I am not using the car.
It only left my garage this summer for about 1/2 an hours drive, the engine hasnt been worked in yet. The carbs also need a bit of an adjustment (hard to get the SU's in sync)
Most of the work ( ex. engine / carbs / transmission ) was handled by a british car mechanic who owns and loves spitfires, anything I figured was beyond my abilities I sent to him so that there would be no issues. The
machining work was sent to the best machine shop in town.
I love my car and really dont want to sell it, but I have come to the realization I will have to sell it soon anyways. I figure it would be better to sell it now and let someone decide on the paint and have the winter to finish
the little nagging things left to do with it and well christmas is comming.
I would post pictures but I don't have any web-space to host them, if anyone is really interested I could email them.
I am unsure what to ask for the car, I looked it up on the net and it says they are worth anything from $3,500 - $8,500 and I am figuring its somewhere in the middle of
those two numbers. Whenever I take the car out I get people wanting to buy it, and have had a few people interested in it lately, it just sits in my heated garage.
I have tried to post everything I can think of to do with the car, questions or any ideas would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks for your time in reading my extremely long-winded post.
Chris
I was a member of this forum a few years back, but I seem to have forgotten my login and password, so I created a new one.
I have come looking for some advice and this forum has a ton of great people posting in it so here is my question..
I have a 1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 that I have owned for 5 years. I bought it for myself as a graduation gift in 2000. I love my car dearly but I must sadly admit it's time for me to sell it. I really do not want too, but I have student loans piled up and would like to get them handled.. and
well I just havent been driving the poor car, and would rather see it goto a new home with an owner who could drive and look after her.
My basic problem is I cant pin down what its worth, I have some rough ideas but there is so much information out there I have no idea what to expect.
I bought the car from a man who buys cars in california
and brings them up to British Columbia, Canada. It sat for about 15 years before he picked it up.I have the plates with the insurance tags on them and all papers for it to clear customs. This car came from San Francisco. The
car has been undercoated and is rust-free. It has lived in my garage for the last 5 years, I have only put 217 miles on it since I bought it, I believe the odometer has only turned over once.
I will try to give as much information as I can..
The good stuff:
It has a factory hard-top, needs new rubber seals and headliner I just never used it so I didnt get around to this yet.
Factory Overdrive, was tested and works.. both the switch on the shift-knob and the overdrive were replaced.
Has a map-light (OH WOW)
The entire interior has been redone in black as close to stock as I could manage. New rear quarter pannels and door pannels. The poly transmission cover is alot nicer then the stock.. thing. New carpets kit installed (moss motors) and the seats have been recovered (vinyl piping type) It
still has the older spoke sterring wheel rather then the newer one that was fitted in 77+ (?) cars. The only thing needed in the interior is the dash could be redone as the varnish is peeling a little bit, I was going to make
a nice cherry dash or mahogany.. I just couldnt decide so I left this part.
A new dash cover is on there, but not glued down (so you can replace the wood dash part easier this way) New sun visors and the seatbelts are all good.
All the seals and rubber on the car has been replaced, with california cars the rubber usually dries out.. so I replaced it all.. all the door seals, trunk seals, seals in the engine and tranny.
The transmission got a full rebuild 2 years ago, it was having issues with the syncro's so I ordered the parts in and got a parts transmission as well for some odds and ends. I had this done by a great british car mechanic and
fully trust his work. I had him test the overdrive at the same time.. and the overdrive works great in 3rd and 4th.
Engine rebuilt. I spent this summer with the engine out of the car... It had a full rebuild starting with the head. The head got a new rockershaft, valves and springs. I sent the head to a machine shop and had it cleaned up
nicely. So then I decided to do the rest of the engine. I had them bore it out to .020 over and fitted in a brand new set of 9.5:1 pistons. I had the rest of the engine cleaned up and anything replaced that was needing it.
The master cluch cylinder was replaced and the clutch seemed in good shape, the flywheel was cleaned up and re-surfaced. Slave cylinder was checked as well.
Replaced the alternator with a refurbished lucas unit, amazing diffrence this made.
The Radiator I had this tested and checked by a rad. shop last summer, they said it was alright but suggested I look at getting it re-cored because it is an older design.
The suspension, it has all been redone, front and rear. The bushings have all been replaced and new shocks installed. It has a set of lowered springs which makes it look alot more sporty in my opinion.
The brakes were done, new calipers, pads and the rotars turned. I replaced the brake lines and the master brake cylinder was rebuilt. I bought a new set of brake cylinders / shoes for the rear drums, but never installed them because they appeared to be in decent shape. (I still have them in a box)
The front-end was cleaned up, new tie-rod ends and all that, the bushings and the front swaybar cleaned up.
The carb was removed and I replaced it with a set of Twin SU-HS4's with the manifold that came on the UK cars. I had the carbs all cleaned up and rebuilt with new jets etc. I also just installed a pair of K&N's for them.
Converted it to a manual choke for reliability
The electrical is alright, all the lights work and the turn signal switch was replaced. The battery isnt the best so I have been meaning to get a new one, because the car rarely get driven it needs replacing.
I have a replacemnt battery box, I just havent gotten the time to have it put in, (mechanic said $75) I have a plastic battery holder in there now because the original battery box is kinda getting old.
Has an aftermarket electronic ignition that it came with, 75' was the first year fitted with the electronic ignition.. but they didnt last long and were
usually replaced by the dealer.
It has the original steel wheels and new tires.
The muffler is brand new and the exaust pipe is nice and solid.
The underside of the car is nice and clean, the footwells and everything have no rust because it was undercoated at some time in its life.
The convertable top is in nice shape, not mint but it does a great job at keeping the water out, so I never bothered replacing it.
The windshield is nice an clean with no scratches or cracks, as well as the glass on the hardtop is nice and original. New chrome wipers and the seal was replaced on the windshield, I even have the chrome plastic trim and
clips. The window seals for the doors was also replaced and the little brush things too.
The only thing I can think of that is missing from the car is the tonnau cover, everything else is there. (I have a brand new OEM convertable top cover for when its down)
I removed the pollution control gear, it's in a box and all complete.
All the chrome is there, trim, bumpers etc...
I have 3 boxes of misc. parts and goodies
New lock barrels and keys, I never lock the doors so I havent replaced these yet.I figure they could just cut the top if they wanted in anyways.
Chrome valve cover /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Stuff needing to be done still:
I havent gotten around to painting the car, I had it all setup for a friend who does amazing body work to paint the car but the deal fell through, and I havent found a place to paint it this winter yet. It has older paint on it
that needs to be redone, scratched in places and faded. It looks at though it might have taken a little bump at one time in the past, as there is a small amount of bondo in the front of the hood. Its hard to find a spitfire
that hasnt been clipped at one time it seems. The car is Delft Blue (Dark Navy Blue)
The trunklid doesnt sit on flat, I have a source for a nice straight trunklid, but he wants my trunklid in exchange for his parts car, so I havent picked it up yet.
I havent replaced the rear-end... no reason to at this point other then its the only thing left it seems /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Mechanic mentioned it might be a good idea to replace the fuel pump, the one in there is working but he suggested a conversion to a newer electrical fuel pump for reliability.
As mentioned earlier might be a good idea to replace the radiator.. not nessisary but a good idea.
That is all I can think off currently, I have all bills and reciepts for the car and adding them up was rather sobering... I have about $11,000 cdn invested in the car and realize I wont be getting that out of it. That doesnt
include my time / effort into the car, I do love the car.. but I also see that I am not using the car.
It only left my garage this summer for about 1/2 an hours drive, the engine hasnt been worked in yet. The carbs also need a bit of an adjustment (hard to get the SU's in sync)
Most of the work ( ex. engine / carbs / transmission ) was handled by a british car mechanic who owns and loves spitfires, anything I figured was beyond my abilities I sent to him so that there would be no issues. The
machining work was sent to the best machine shop in town.
I love my car and really dont want to sell it, but I have come to the realization I will have to sell it soon anyways. I figure it would be better to sell it now and let someone decide on the paint and have the winter to finish
the little nagging things left to do with it and well christmas is comming.
I would post pictures but I don't have any web-space to host them, if anyone is really interested I could email them.
I am unsure what to ask for the car, I looked it up on the net and it says they are worth anything from $3,500 - $8,500 and I am figuring its somewhere in the middle of
those two numbers. Whenever I take the car out I get people wanting to buy it, and have had a few people interested in it lately, it just sits in my heated garage.
I have tried to post everything I can think of to do with the car, questions or any ideas would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks for your time in reading my extremely long-winded post.
Chris
A friendly reminder - be careful what links you click on here. If a link is posted by someone you don't know, or the URL looks fishy, DON'T CLICK. Spammers sometimes post links that lead to sites that can infect your computer, so be mindful what you click.