Andrew Mace writes:
> A short time back I inadvertently started a mini-thread on the
> color of valve covers on the late Spitfire 1500 engines, which I
> thought were a red, based on cars I've seen over the years. Some
> folks mentioned blue valve covers they were sure were original.
> Well, yesterday I went to "informally" appraise a late 1979 Spitfire
> 1500 -- "rubber" bumpers, 5.0" wheels, etc. Original owner, supposedly
> all original [....]
> 1. The engine had a red valve cover; definitely original paint on it.
> I'm wondering if perhaps the blue valve cover might have appeared on
> California-spec. engines only? Any thoughts on that?
My 1980 Spitfire, which I bought new from the dealer in Tucson, was
not California spec, but it did have a blue valve cover. On the other
hand, Dan Parslow's 1979 Spit, which closely matches the description
of the one you looked at, *is* California spec, and also has a blue
valve cover (although I don't know the car's provenance with certainty).
Perhaps at some indeterminate point the factory switched to blue
late in the production run, or some were blue and some red, for
whatever reason, or Dan's cover has been replaced by one from a
1980 engine. With any luck we'll get some more data points on which
to base a conclusion.
> 2. The car had a VIN in the 97000 range; the engine number was
> 120,xxxUE. I was surprised to see the engine number so much higher than
> the VIN. Does that, in fact, jive with other late Spitfire 1500s?
I'm out of town on a trip, and away from that info for my car, but
when I get back home, I'll look and let you know the numbers.
There's nothing like a good mystery.
--John Hazelton
Los Angeles, CA, USA
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