Gee, I sure hope I spelled that right.
Just thought some of you might enjoy hearing about the '69 Spitfire I bought
on e-Bay. I think I got my moneys' worth, but I was pretty dumbfounded by
all the litle "surprises". I also have a couple of questions for the list.
It's been a few hours, so I'm beginning to laugh about the whole thing a
little bit. The engine seems to be in fine shape -- just as promised by the
seller. The car turned over right away when it came off the truck. So far,
so good.
The first thing I noticed was that there are no seatbelts in the vehicle.
The second thing I noticed was that the included rollbar was not bolted
down -- at all. That actually made me chuckle. I harkened back to a phone
conversation I had with the seller when I mentioned the rollbar, and he said
"Oh, I'd never consider driving one of these around without a roll bar!"
Fat lot of good the roll bar would have done the guy...
The engine runs a bit rought, but good -- but the transmission, however,
pops out of 3rd gear when I decelerate or downshift. Bummer. The brake
lights don't work, nor does the fuel gauge (seller disclosed this to me
prior to posting on e-Bay and said it might be the broken wire at the
sending unit. That doesn't appear to be the case). The turn signal stalk
is snapped in half and doesn't appear to function; the horn doesn't work;
neither do the windshield wipers. The tach works (but bounces), the speedo
doesn't (seller disclosed). The dashboard is all one piece of birch
plywood that someone made. Not a bad job, but there are no heater controls
to be found. I THINK the strange knob sticking out from the bottom of the
dash that I can't fully close (because the dash is in the way) with a fan
printed on the knob is actually the choke (maybe -- too hard to tell); the
steering has about 2" of play in the wheel (the owner had told me it was
"tight").
The brakes are downright scary. I don't know if it's because I've been
spoiled by 20 years of driving with power brakes, but I really had to force
my foot down to get the car to come to a gradual stop when I took her for a
spin around the block. The pedal didn't feel spongy, the brakes just didn't
seem to grab... All the rubber is either rotted, missing (except around the
windshield, where it's painted over) so the car gives a whole new meaning to
the term "rattle trap".
There seems to be some surface rust here and there, but the frame, floorpans
and rockers all appear to be sound. Thank goodness for small favors. I can
see that I'm going to be either REALLY busy with this car for the next
couple of years, or God willing, I'll find someone who will sell me their
'67 or '68 Spitfire that's in better shape and I can either continue a
restoration effort and throw it back into the tank on e-Bay with whatever
improvements I can contribute.
I'm going to start with seatbelts and functional brake lights, for starters!
YIKES! At least I have a name for my new acquisition. It drives and smells
exactly like the autopia cars at Disneyland.
Jeff in San Diego
'68 Mk3 "Autopia"
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