1976 Triumph Spitfire

1500 Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

Gasoline

I've had this car for 4 summers & used it as a daily driver (May to November). The frame is solid. This is not a rust bucket. It's been quite reliable. It runs well. Perfect for restoration. If you want to show this car it would definitely need to have new interior installed and be re-painted/restored. Make no mistake, this is an old British car, it is not a Miata. I'm sure it will need some mechanical updates sometime in the future as well.. I believe it has 36,600 miles on the engine but no way to confirm. The 1'st summer I replaced all the fluids, the clutch master cylinder, new heater control valve, battery, the water pump and most of the hoses (it sat in a friends garage for many years before). 2nd summer replaced a wheel bearing. 3rd summer replaced brake master cylinder and rear wheel cylinders. 4th summer added pacesetter headers and Monza exhaust system. Car comes with floor mats, tan boot and black tonneau. Boot, tonneau and roof in good but far from perfect condition. Tires are new with very little wear. The spare looks like the original tire that came with the car. I do not have a jack. Current color is burgundy, but original color was BRG! When the car taken out of storage last week it started right up! The horn just stopped working. I think it's the actual horn as I hooked it up to power & it did not sound. I already ordered replacement horns. I set a very fair reserve price because:There is some bondo behind the front wheel wells Floorboards have been patched. See the picturesIt looks like there are some patches on the bottom of the trunk as well. See the pictureIt needs a paint job and replacement seats. See the pictures The interior of the car is original and well worn. See the picturesThe floor board carpet is missing The windshield has a chip Gas gauge has not worked since I purchased the car (I've yet to own a Triumph with a working gas gauge). Dash lights work but are wired around the rheostat (the dimmer switch). I have a used replacement rheostat that I purchased on eBay. This is an EASY installation that I have yet to do. the carburetor just started leaking gas (very slow drips) from the O-RING-PLUG. Looks like a very simple repair. I ordered a replacement & a PLUG-FLOAT CHAMBER from Victoria British today. I do not think the carb needs to be rebuilt. The carb has been problem free the years I've owned it. It ran well before I put it in storage. I did have it tuned when I put on the headers. Strombergs are confusing to me so I am not going to attempt to fix the leak. It looks like the rubber o-ring plug (a 75 cent part) dry rotted over the winter. I hate to sell this fun car, but I need a car I can drive in the winter ( because my daughters are now also driving). Car located in West Suburbs of Chicago. LOCAL PICK UP ONLY. No Warranties express or implied. I've owned a few Triumphs before this one (TR6s) and although the Spitfire is not as fast, I find it to be a lot more fun to drive. It's also very easy to work on the engine. I purchased this car to drive in the summers to and from work. I purchased this one because I knew the owner & felt it would be more reliable than other ones ones that looked a lot nicer but seemed to have a lot of frame rust and mechanical issues. I do not want to over sell this TR. It has a lot of original parts that will give out someday, the rubber o-ring on the carburetor being a prime example. It would need some restoration before you can be comfortable driving it a long distance on the highway (unless you have no fear). As the carburetor is leaking gas, driving it now would eventuallt result in an engine fire. You can stop by and look at it before bidding if you want. Call 773-249-7750. I will take PayPal or a cashiers/certified bank check. You will need to wait until the check clears before taking the car.