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Spitfire MK 3 Spitfire with MK 2 front?

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drooartz

drooartz

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In my Spitfire research, I recently ran across this eBay auction:

eBay # 4552598763

This shows a 1968 Spitfire with obvious Mark 3 badging and rear end (and wood dash) but a Mark 2 front end. The owner responded to my question with this answer:

[ QUOTE ]
I know very little about this car previous to 1990 or so.This was my fathers car.The car had been stored in an old barn for a very long time before my father purchased it.He had it painted and the fuel system cleaned. The car was originally titled in Pa in 1968. The badging states mark 3.The federal minimum bumper heightmade the 'bone in the nose' bumpers necessary. It's possible this was not intended for export. Although the chrome doesn't photograph well, I think they look better with the low bumper.

[/ QUOTE ]

AFAIK, all Mark 3 cars had the higher bumpers. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something, or is this an indication that the front has been replaced? I'm working on my spotting skills, in preparation for a potential Spitfire purchase not to far down the road.

Thanks,
-Drew
 
Honestly to me it looks like a Mk2 with a Mk3 badge. The rear ends on both cars were the same. In fact, the cars were essentially the same asthetically, aside from the hoods. I know from experiance that you can't trust trunk badges, my MkII has a Spitfire 4 badge. I wouldn't sweat it too much.
 
The guy is full of BS. But what difference does that make.
It's an Ebaymobile. If you are seriously looking for a GOOD Spit, deal with someone who knows what they have.
 
By the way I think I set a record on Ebay for high price for a Spit, "my first attempt at selling a car on Ebay" to bad the deal went south.It left me quite sour on Ebay. But then I think I let myself get set up for failure.Never been good at biz.
 
I'm not really looking to buy on eBay, but am using it for research and practice with spotting problems. I've also found a few local cars worth looking at (but not worth buying). I'm hoping to find one through a contact somehow, or at least through someone who knows these cars.

eBay for something this expensive (an potentially disasterous in repair costs) makes me very nervous.

-Drew
 
[ QUOTE ]
In my Spitfire research, I recently ran across this eBay auction:

eBay # 4552598763

This shows a 1968 Spitfire with obvious Mark 3 badging and rear end (and wood dash) but a Mark 2 front end....
AFAIK, all Mark 3 cars had the higher bumpers. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something, or is this an indication that the front has been replaced?...

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you've "nailed" it. Judging from the "FD" commission number and various details on the rest of the car, I'm almost certain that this is a Mk3 that crashed moderately in front many years ago and was repaired using good used Mk2 front end bits. Not difficult at all, except for changing the bonnet hinge pivots on the front crossmember, which likely needed to be replaced anyway. In one picture, you can see some pretty wavy, dented sheet metal on the bulkhead behind the LF wheel, leading me to wonder how severe a crash it might have been.

And, with all due respect to the seller, there's no way this car has only 8500 miles on anything except the (broken?) odoemeter. ;-)
 
[ QUOTE ]
And, with all due respect to the seller, there's no way this car has only 8500 miles on anything except the (broken?) odoemeter. ;-)

[/ QUOTE ]

But they were really hard miles! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I hadn't caught the buckled metal, but that's more good evidence. I'm learning!
 
Most definately a MK3 as evidenced by the dual brake master and the reverse lights to the rear. Some one has added side markers to the MK2 bonnet and it appears that the tach is from a MK2 or earlier because it has the lower redline markings. The convertible top also indicates that it is a MK3. Very serious buckling in the scuttle area. In my mind it is not a driver and only a marginal parts car with body and possible frame damage. Whoever wins the bid on this one is going to be very disappointed and very ripped off.
 
Doh, I didn't even look at the lights on the rear of it. I saw the tach, and figured MkII. As for the top, even the spitfire 4 had a convertible top, even though the spitfire 4s and the MkIIs tops both really suck.
 
Walter, look closely at the top. It is obviously attached to the body in the ceter section. The ealier tops came off completely. MK3 was the 1st to have the attached, folding frame.
 
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