Back in that era, many dealers titled a new car in the year that it was
sold. In other words, your March '78 car could have sat on the lot from
April to January of '79 before being sold. It was then (not uncommon) for
the vehicle to sold and registered as a '79.
----- Original Message -----
From: Bradley D. Richardson <brichard@us.oracle.com>
To: Ali Mohempour <ali@ucla.edu>
Cc: Dean Dashwood <DDashwood@softwright.co.uk>; 'Spitfire List'
<spitfires@autox.team.net>; 'Brian Doll' <brian.doll@usa.hinz.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 5:52 PM
Subject: Re: Newbie questions
>
> Ali,
>
> Welcome aboard.
>
> I also have a spitfire that is titled as a 79, but the door jam plate
> says it was made in March 78, and it has the chrome bumbers. I thought
> I was the only one. My guess has always been that Triumph shipped it to
> the US very late in the year, and it was licenses as a 79.
>
> Perhaps someone else knows if this guess is true or not.
>
> Brad Richardson
> Portland, OR
> 2 79 spitfires, one as above, and one a true 79.
>
> ===================================
>
> Ali Mohempour wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> > I'm new to the list...in fact I'm a proud new owner of a '79 Spitfire
1500
> > (first non-japanese car I owned ever!)
> > The door jam says '78 but the title and paper work says '79. It does
come
> > with those nice chrome bumpers though, which I've been told were
replaced by
> > rubber ones in '79. So could this be an early '79? It has 50K on it,
and
> > has been sitting in a garage for couple of years. Starts, but rough
idle.
> >
> > Anyways, here are my real concerns:
> >
> > 1. The radiator is dead! what should I do replace it with a new one or
> > recore it? There seems to be some clear jelly like stuff stuck to the
lower
> > part of it, kinda like a temporary seal.
> >
> > 2. There is gas in the tank, but after 2 years of sitting what should I
do,
> > take the tank out, and clean it?
> >
> > 3. The battery box (need I say more!) what should I do? where do I get
> > replacement?
> >
> > 4. The body and frame are rust free but there is some in the front
where
> > the washer bottle and stuff sits (I call it the ledge). Also some
surface
> > rust in the driver side food area. Whats the cheapest way to fix it up?
> >
> > I'll have many more questions later. The main thing is that I'm on a
> > student budget and I really want to drive the car, and don't care if my
> > chassis is power coated or my exhause system is fully chromed (who can
see
> > that anyways). Please help me since I know nothing about these cars.
It's
> > kinda sad that I know how to modify the ECU in hondas and mess around
with
> > the ignition system, but look like an idiot in fron of a carbeurator
> > (spell?).
> >
> > Thank you all.
> >
> > Ali
>
> --
>
> ==========================================================
>
> Bradley D. Richardson Phone: 800-862-4563, ext. 2756
> Senior Consultant FAX: 503-220-5150
> Oracle Corporation Pager: 503-948-8956
> 1000 S.W. Broadway
> Suite 1200
> Portland, OR 97205 E-mail: brichard@us.oracle.com
>
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