Spitfire Need help placing date and point of origin

[Tony P]

Hello everyone, I am restoring a Right hand drive spitfire 1500. With that said I need help placing the correct year of the car, and the country that it was manufactured for. It is registered as a 1976 in California, but I believe it is a 1975. I tried locating it in the UK but was told that it may have been made for the Australian market. The Vin # 104501 FH that is how it appears on the VIN plate on the left side firewall. The frame also has a number on it but it is quite hard to read, I am working on trying to get it shaded in so it can be read.

I would appreciate any help with this or at least a direction in which to start my search.

Thanks
Tony P.

 

[Geo Hahn]

A Heritage Certificate from the BMIHT should give you most of what you seek:

https://www.heritage-motor-centre.c...d-archive-services/heritage-certificates.html

 

[Don_R]

here is a listing from the Spitfire database i found...your car vin # is very close to this...Rimmers list the FH prefix as UK spec cars 1974 to 1979

1977 FH 104508 L Red Porta Westfalica, Germany Withheld by Owner Request

 

[Tony P]

Thanks for the info, the part I do not understand is the FH is not o prefix on my car. The letters are stamped after the numbers 104501 FH does this have any significance on the LHD or LHD?

 

[Don_R]

tony,
look around the windscreen for a metal tag. if it is still there it should have the commish #, also...good way to double check the number

usually an L follows the number for LHD
O follows for overdrive
U for U.S. market

similiar to the older TR cars

 

[Andrew Mace]

Usually seeing something like "FH" as a suffix indicates that it is a BODY number rather than a commission number. Exactly what plates are on the car, where are they and how do they read? Perhaps a photo?

EDIT: In rereading, I see you say it's on the LH side of the firewall. Is that number on a small painted plate by itself?