1978 Triumph Spitfire

Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

FM90326

Clear

Gasoline

History 1978 Spitfire 1500, California Car. No major rust. It does have some surface rust where the paint has been scrapped. You can see that by the pictures. The first owner had a head gasket blow sometime in the early 90's. He parked the car and let it sit. A gentleman who knew the first owner bought it around 2000. He was going to fix it up but never did. He advertised it on Craig’s List around 2005 and that's when I bought it. I bought it because it had an overdrive transmission and I wanted to put that transmission in my 79 spitfire. Well I did that and that left me with a 78 Spitfire with no transmission and a seized up engine. Engine and Drivetrain I decided to make this car a project so I started with the engine. I disassembled the engine and found it be good condition. The No. 4 cylinder had got water in from the blown head gasket and had rusted. That rust prevented the engine from turning over. There were no ridges on the cylinder walls and no wear. You could still see the cross hatch marks in the cylinder walls. I had the head rebuilt professionally. I installed new piston rings, rod bearings, main bearings, lifters and a new camshaft. I also installed new hoses, clamps, thermostat, gasket sets, and rebuilt the master brake cylinder and master clutch cylinder. I rebuilt the Stromberg Carburetor. I installed a manual choke kit on the carb to replace the water choke. I also installed an electric fuel pump.It has all the smog equipment needed to pass smog. The four speed transmission came out of my 79 spitfire and was installed in this car. The 79 transmission had been rebuilt by a previous owner. It shifts great. The clutch is very strong. The running gear in this car is excellent shape. No rear end problems. No clicking from the half shaft u-joints. The tires are old but have plenty of tread left. This car starts easily and runs real good after it warms up. The new camshaft really makes a difference in power. It revs up real quick. It really has a lot of power for a Spitfire with the stock carb and exhaust manifold. It would be nice to install an exhaust header, a Weber carb set up and an Anza exhaust system. The Interior The interior has an original dash pad that is in excellent condition. No rips or tears. The wood dash that was in this car was in such excellent condition that I took it out and put it in my 79 spitfire. I put the 79 dash in to this car. It's different looking but not all bad. However it could be replaced easy enough. I have marked all the connections behind the dash. The carpet is original and not in the greatest condition. It’s not really worn out. It’s just old. The center arm rest is torn. The seats came from a Mazda Miata. They are in great condition with the exception of a tear on the back of the driver’s seat. There is no radio. The heater blower does not come on. The cowl around the steering wheel is loose as can be seen in the pictures. I’ll fix that before the auction ends. One problem is the driver’s side door will not open from the outside. You have to reach in to open it. The convertible top is original and not in great condition. It doesn’t have any major tears but it's old and the rear window is clouded up. The trunk is fine with a spare tire. The windshield is fine and has no cracks. The Body The body has no rust. This car has always been in California. The paint is good and if someone took the time to buff it out it would shine real nice. I have buffed the trunk and you can see by the pictures it does shine. There are dings and scrapes and I have taken pictures to show these. I have listed almost all known problems with this Spitfire. It’s not perfect but it would make someone a pretty nice car with little effort. The last picture is the original window sticker. It says the car is a '79 but the title list it as a '78. The '79 had rubber bumpers and the '78 has crome bumpers. Read the sticker. The car was $6300 out the door in 1978. Gas cost was estimated to be $500 bases on $.70 a gallon. What a hoot. Call me at 925-683-2260 or email through this listing if you have any questions. Please don’t call me if have something to trade. I am not interested in trades. A deposit of $500 is required within 24 hours after the end of the Auction with the balance paid in full within one week. Thank you. On Aug-18-10 at 20:01:34 PDT, seller added the following information: I repaired the driver’s side door outside latch. It now opens from the outside as it should. The door lock works also. I found a pin had dropped out of the door mechanism and I replaced it. Let me add a few thoughts I have about eBay. I am trying to disclose all of the defects I can on this car so that you the buyer will know exactly what you are bidding on. I have bought two cars on eBay and both times I was disappointed when I showed up and the car was not as described. Some sellers believe the word excellent applies to anything that is not broken. Some try to describe the car for sale in third person, such as "We are offering this car......blah, blah, blah. As if this alleviates them from responsibility. Others are dealers or someone’s friend that doesn’t have the foggiest notion about Spitfires. Not me, I've been driving and working on Spitfires all my adult life. My reason for selling this one is I have three Spitfires and it's time for one to go. My wife has a new car that has to sit out on the driveway because this old 78 Spitfire is in my nice clean garage. My wife doesn’t think that’s right. I know better than to argue. Good luck bidding.