All this talk lately about the Triumph bug got to me.
So...tonight I was searching all the "local" newspaper online
classifieds (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, Sacramento, Los Angeles;
OK, so some of those aren't THAT local!) and came across an ad in the
Bakersfield paper for a '78 Spitfire, good condition, runs great,
$950/OBO.
Hmmm, I thought. I have been toying with the idea of a Spit for SCCA
racing. And I hate having two unfinished Triumph projects and nothing
to drive to exorcise that demon bug when it bites (and that's pretty
often.) So, I called to make sure the car was still there, grabbed
some money (the TR3 will have to wait for its new windscreen now) and
my wife and took off on the 90 mile journey to Bakersfield. At 7:30 pm.
We arrived just before 9pm (had that little Nissan pickup of mine just
singing down the 99 freeway!) and there it sat. French blue, biscuit
vinyl. Nice tonneau, shiny paint, good rubber. Decent seats, new
carpet. Not a spot of rust on this solid central California desert
car. My heart skipped.
The lady who owned the car explained that it won't smog because it has
a header and she did not want to spend any more money on it. She said
she has spent over $1800 on the car in the past year and a half on
"fixing the car up" and just ran out of patience and money. I asked
to spin the car around the block and she obliged. As I folded my 6
foot 4 inch, 225 pound self into the little car (and I fit better in
it than I do in my TR250!) I just fell in love. The engine fired
right up and sounded just like the 1500 Midget I drove last summer. I
took off, shifted through all 4 gears, and promptly turned around.
I wanted this car.
We struck a deal for $850. All the while my wife thought we were
buying a race car. We stopped at Denny's to eat on the way home and I
told her I thought the car was too nice to cut up for a racer.
Besides, it would be fun to have for those nights she says that she
wishes the TR3 was ready so we could go out with the top down. So I
have convinced both of us to keep the Spit for a while and enjoy it.
The car drove beautifully the entire 90 mile trip home. Never missed
a beat.
Damn that Triumph bug!
==
Harris Goodkind
Hanford, California
'62 TR3B TSF363L
'68 TR250 CD4914L
'78 Spitfire FM70893UC
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