Hi Greg, and welcome (belatedly) to Spitfire-dom!
As Darrell said, if there is air in the lines you would have problems
dis-engaging the clutch, but it would work fine while engaged. If the
clutch is slipping it almost certainly means the friction surface of the
clutch is either worn out or has got contaminated with something. Either
way it means a new clutch is needed, I'm afraid.
It's good news that you have a friend with a Spitfire, who's done some
restoration, because you'll need some help with this! The other good news
is that the gearbox in a Spitfire can be removed without having to pull the
entire engine, and without any heavy lifting gear other than a couple of
jacks and your own arms - under the carpet in the cabin there is a cardboard
cover over the transmission, this can be removed and the gearbox removed
from inside the car.
While the gearbox is out and you can get at the clutch, you'll need to find
out where the contamination is coming from, so it doesn't happen again.
There are 3 options - engine oil from the seal on the rear main bearing,
gearbox oil from that seal, and brake fluid from the clutch slave cylinder.
All of these are possible, although, as Darrell said, the low fluid in your
clutch cylinder makes this marginally more likely. But if you haven't
checked your clutch fluid in a while, it could have been this low for
months, so it is not necessarily the culprit.
Keep us posted with your progress, we're all happy to help at any and every
stage!
Richard
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