On Mon, 17 Aug 1998, Chris Kantarjiev wrote:
> 67 1965 Triumph Spitfire *FC54953 1298cc Bill Shanahan New York, NY
>
> So he's closer to you than me. I don't know what the asterisk
> by the Chassis # means. (Hmm, I would have expected that car to
> have an 1147, but maybe I'm wrong...)
Well, it might be interesting to try to track him down and ask him what he
knows of the car's true history. I'd have to say now that I'm rather
skeptical about the car's authenticity. According to Robson's _Triumph
Spitfire & GT6_ (haven't yet bought the works Triumph book; someday...),
ADU 4B would have carried an "experimental" commission number, namely X731
(1B, 2B and 3B were X727, X728 and X730, respectively).
Also, while built in 1964 with the other three, ADU 4B was an unused spare
car at LeMans that year and wasn't first used until Sebring in 1965, along
with the other three cars (actually ADU 2B and "new" ADU 1B and ADU 3B, as
those both crashed heavily at LeMans). There, ADU 4B finished 13th overall
and won its "capacity" class. ADU 4B (along with 2B and 3B) then ran a
6-hour relay at Silverstone. After that, ADU 4B's career was pretty much
over as a factory entry.
Perhaps more research has come to light since, but Robson noted in the
Spitfire/GT6 book that EITHER ADU 3B or ADU 4B was converted to a
strut-type suspension and GT6 motor. Supposedly, though, that car was
dismantled in 1966 or sometime thereafter. I'd be interested to know if
GR's Works Triumph book has any additional information on the chronology
of the LeMans cars. Anyone?
Meanwhile, is the ADU 4B you saw at Monterey a semi-authentic replica,
based on the commission number given (for a "normal" or non-eXperimental
early Mk.2 Spitfire)? Is it rebodied, the original commission number
somehow having been lost during that process? Is it genuine (a bit hard
to believe based on what little info I've been able to glean from this one
source, compared to the commission number given in the Monterey entry list)?
At any rate, the car originally would not have had a 1298cc (sic) engine.
Thirty-four years after its original build, though, obviously many
changes could have been made by the factory and any number of successive
private owners. Genuine "70X" 1147cc engines aren't exactly plentiful. :-)
All very intersting, at least to me.
--Andy
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