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Spitfire Is a 1973 spitfire a 1500 or a mark IV?

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ScottFromNH

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I am trying to figure out if my 1973 spitfire is a 1500 like it says on the car and title or if its actually a mark IV?

I ask this as when I go to buy parts I keep getting told that in 1973 they didnt make a truimph spitfire 1500.

My vin number on the car is FM5345U

Is there a place I can look this up or does any one have any information?
 
Ah, the age-old debate rears its ugly head yet again. Truth is, the 1296 simply didn't have enough oomph left to meet Federal emissions standards AND provide some power for enjoyment. So Triumph introduced the 1493 engine for the 1973 model year in the US and badged it (correctly) as "1500"!

If it has a commission number with FH, FK or FL, regardless of year it's called, it's a MkIV. If the engine number prefix matches any of the above, it's the 1296 engine. If it's an "FM" car, it's a 1500; same with the engine (unless it was pirated out of a later MG Midget, in which case it's FP engine series)!
 
ScottFromNH said:
I ask this as when I go to buy parts I keep getting told that in 1973 they didnt make a truimph spitfire 1500.
Click to expand...
Who is it that is telling you this? Certainly all the major Triumph parts sellers in the US would know about the 1973 1500 models, as should pretty much any major UK vendor...especially considering the fact that a large majority of Triumph sports cars through the years were sold in the US (often around 65-75% of total production)!
 
I actually ran into that problem with Mossmotors and ordering rear brake hoses. The guy on the phone was telling me that my 73 was a mark iv as 1500 didnt start until 74.

sad part was the hoses were wrong and I had to return them and order new hoses that were for according to them a 74
 
yeah I have been buying a lot of my parts from MossMotors and didnt have any trouble. Not sure if it was someone new but after that I realized when you fill out an order form and they ask you what car you are buying for the 1500 only starts at 74 so that is when I asked the question.
 
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