As I'm waiting for the transport company to deliver the RHD '67 Mk3 that I
recently bought, I'm wondering what differences I can expect between this
car and the Federal version that was built for the U.S. market? I've never
owned or even driven a RHD before, but I can't wait. I've got a few
questions for the sage elders on the list:
Are the original headlights different for U.K. models than the U.S. version?
Will Pimmer Bros. be my only source for the RHD parts I may need for the
steering components? Other than the wiring harness and the reversal of the
items on the engine shelf, are there any other differences that I should be
aware of?
Also, the gentleman I bought the car from has owned it for 20 years (picked
it up in England during his stint in the service) and is the second owner, I
believe. The car has been driven less than 5k over the last 12 years and
has been stored indoors. A professional inspection that I paid for seemed
to corroberate this. Everything works, the car has about 75,000 original
miles on it and about ten years ago, the rocker panels were replaced with
galvanized steel panels and the car was re-painted the original signal red.
It has the original steel hardtop in excellent condition, but it's painted
black. Does anyone know if that's the way the top was sold originally? I
seem to recall that it was...
The original HE engine has been fitted with a single weber downdraft carb
and looks very pretty. According to the gent I bought the car from -- a lot
easier to maintain as well. Still, I may revert back to twin SU's. I don't
recall them being a problem when I owned my original '67. This was a real
nice transaction. The seller REALLY wanted this car to go to a Spitfire
enthusiast and is anxious to sell it due to personal circumstances, so he
gave me what I consider to be a very good deal, taking into account my
shipping costs, etc. I've seen several photos of the car and the only
things that don't appear stock is the aforementioned carberator swap, the
steering wheel, door panels and a switch on the dash for the back-up lights
(since the transmission that's in there is from a MkII). I'm going to
restore these items and start a web page for this car as soon as it arrives.
Thanks in advance for any feedback/info/advice!
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