For those of you interested, I actually have gotten the Oregon Spitfire
to move up and down the driveway a few times, under its own power. Any
day now it will be all the way around the block. Some of you might
remember that just prior to the trip to pick it up, I made a sales pitch
for some of my cars. Here's the info again. This time, though, I won't
be in such a hurry, and might consider delivering one of these fine
specimens to California, Phoenix, maybe Denver area. Pretty much anything
within about a day's drive of Salt Lake, and sometime in the next month
or two. I'd even consider meeting someone halfway if they live further
east. As long as we didn't have to meet where Larry Snyder has his
collection of early Spit stuff ;-)
I am going to advertise the TR3 and TR4 in the British Motor Club of Utah
newsletter, as a package deal with all the TR3/4 bits I have in the shed,
like an extra gearbox, an engine or two, some wheels I think, and some
odds and ends. Asking price for the pair is $2138.
So, included below is the text of the flyer I took to VTR, and didn't
really promote too much.
mjb.
----
Lately I've been getting more into Spitfires, early roundtail cars to
be more exact. So I have a small collection of big TR parts and
project cars, as well as a later squaretail Spit that I just don't
have any interest in working on. So I am offering the following for
sale, all in "as is" condition. All the cars are in Salt Lake City,
Utah, which is about 500 miles west of Denver, and 700 miles east of
San Francisco. Delivery could be worked into the deal if necessary.
If seriously interested in any, or all of the cars [Got a transporter?]
let's talk!
1977 Spitfire -
Soundest Spit tub I've seen in some time, maroon, needs new paint on
the bonnet, and something to put under the bonnet. This is the car I
drove at the VTR convention last year, and if I hadn't missed that
shift at the 180 could have been the fastest car at the autocross,
instead of just the fastest 4 cylinder Triumph. I know, excuses,
excuses. Of course, the bits that made it that way have been removed
and put on Killer Junior, the car we are racing now until the Killer
Spit gets done. But if you've got a rusty squaretail Spit, or even a
GT6 with a good drivetrain and a few hundred dollars in your pocket...
1969 TR6 -
I started to repaint this in 1987, when I got the TR4 below and didn't
need the 6 for daily transport. I didn't make much progress once the
thing was completely stripped. The tub is still on the frame, and is
Delft Blue from the tail to cowl. The fenders and bonnet are all
Delft, but from the firewall forward the car is still green. Any day
now I'm going to weld on that front valence. Drivetrain, etc. in
boxes. This was a good sound daily driver when I took it off the
road, and would be an excellent basis for either finishing up and
making a decent driver or going ahead with a complete frame off
restoration.
1965 TR4 -
I named this car The Rust Rocket. No longer a rocket, as it too has
no engine or gearbox, I could throw one in if I had to. It is still
quite rusty, though. This was my first successful racer, and I've
been keeping it around with the idea of making it into a vintage racer
any day now. It was a good car then, it could become a good car once
again. Way cheap with no running gear, and only a little bit more
with some random TR gearbox and enough parts to put in one place to
make what looks like a TR motor. I'll even throw in the header and
the ugly 7" steel wheels. I would love to see this car race once
again.
1958 TR3A -
This one I have to think about, it was on my long term list to be a
show car. But I am getting in too deep with these Spitfires. Pretty
much a basket case, yet another car of mine where the drivetrain is
scattered about the shed. But for this one I would throw into the
deal the engine that used to be in it, which needs a rebuild, and the
original overdrive tranny. Gearbox not available separately.
mjb@triumph.cs.utah.edu
Fat Chance Garage
PO Box 58333
Salt Lake City, Utah 84158
801-355-5438
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