On Fri, 26 Sep 1997, lewis mckillop wrote:
> I have a 63 spit in the middle of a restoration (daily
> driver/weekend toy type of restoration). Before i start changing engines
> out and trimming a few things for clearance i thought i should find out
> just how rare/valuable a 63 spit is (restored back to original). I
> haven't heard many mentioned here yet. I would hate to ruin an expensive
> resto project just because i like alot of power under the hood.
******************************
Andrew M. adds;
>This is not to say that these swaps should not be done, ever. Barry
>Schwartz's V-6 Spitfire is probably a fine example of a well-done job.
>But I doubt Barry would argue that it's a very different car than a
>"normal" Spitfire -- even one with dual Webers, headers, cam, etc.
*******************************
YES I agree, It's a very different car. I have seen the V8 swap talked
about also, although it's really a Corvette drive train fitted to a
Spitfire. I've even seen a Spitfire body tub grafted to a shortened Bronco
4X4 frame. Given enough money and enough time/effort (lack of brains?
[This applies to me also]) you can fit practically any engine to any car,
but the end result is always quite different than the original. This may
be what you want, and I wouldn’t trade my car for anything! Well maybe a.
. .
When I did my swap many years ago these cars (Spitfires)were (GASP)
practically worthless. As with most conversions of this type I never
thought the car would be 'collectable' and I wasn't into the Triumph thing
then, I just got tired of getting passed by 72 and 73 Datsun pickups up
this long hill I had to climb on my way home, but really liked the Spitfire
body style. (really, that’s what sent me over the top and I was MUCH
younger and more impatient (stupid) than I am now [debatable]) A truly
original or mostly original 63 would be much more desirable than a swap, no
matter how good it is. And with any swap, using say the original
manufactures engines (Triumph in this case) would be more desirable than
what I did using a Ford. At least they are in the same family. (I
couldn’t find a Triumph engine that was as big, cubic inches/weight/size,
as I wanted that would fit my criteria, It’s really small in there). A
really good swap (in my opinion) is one that can be converted back to the
original condition if it was desired to do so, as well as looking like it
was made from the factory that way. I have had many comments like "I
didn’t know Triumph made a V6"? I actually could restore the car back to
original if I wanted, and you wouldn't be able to tell it was ever anything
else, unless you were to look at the upper frame rail flanges around the
tranny. Even then, unless you knew what to look for you probably wouldn’t
think anything was changed/modified. If I was given the choice today, I
probably wouldn't perform a swap on a very early Spitfire. In fact the 70
project will get the 1300 engine even though it would be fairly easy for me
at this point to drop something else in. Don’t get me wrong, my V6 is more
fun than you can possibly imagine, but there is some thing, dare I say
magic, about that little four that, well, you just have to experience.
Early Spitfires are becoming very rare, And you DO lose the charm and
character of what a Spitfire is, but, it's your car - and remember, just
bolting in more horsepower isn’t the only thing to consider. Reliability
of the other components is of concern as well as stopping the beast. It
can[will] become a really time and labor intensive job to do correctly. . .
Barry Schwartz in San Diego, CA
Bschwartz@encad.com
72-V6/5sp Spitfire ( daily driver )
70 GT6+ ( when I don't drive the Spitfire )
70 (sorta) Spitfire ( project )
73 Ford Courier ( parts hauler )
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