So says a Frenchman who is emphatic his car really is the last one.
You guys in the States may not yet have read Saturday's motoring section of
The Daily Telegraph (in UK) - an an article written by John Davies of the
Triumph Sports Six Club.
The Francophile gentleman is 'adamnant' his car is the last because he
removed a door trim or two and found to his amazement that someone had
written on the back of it "the last Spitfire down the line" or words to that
effect - and signed it. Now it occurs to me that just possibly some garbage
heap rummager in New York, LA or wherever will come across this article, hit
the 'net running - casting gloom and pointless debate. With that in view, I
think I'd better put in my ten pennorth and throw down the gauntlet. What
the Frenchman hasn't yet realised (probably because no-one has told him) is
that his car maybe was the last one down the TRIM line - (AKA Pre-Mount) but
that doesn't mean it was the very last car to be fully completed. If my now
fast depleted brain cells serve me correctly, after the raw but fully
painted bodies left the paint shop, their next port of call was Pre-Mount
where seats, electrics, top systems and all other trim was installed. At
that stage they went upstairs in the Rocket Range to a large body
marshalling area where they waited to be lowered through the floor on to
their mechanical assemblies on the line known as Mount and Final Finish.
When this occurred, they were NOT necessarily lowered in commission number
sequence but as engines, overdrives and what have you were assembled below
from different departments.
Thus while the Gaydon Spitfire is the very last car commission numberwise,
it may not have been the last down Final finish and the French car might not
have been either.
I expect enquiring minds might want to know and so I'm asking my very good
friend at Gaydon tomorrow if he'll delve into his photographic negs to see
if he can find a pic of the very last Spitfire. Frank Callaby must have
photographed it. Who knows, it might be the Inca yellow Gaydon car with its
hardtop, the dark green French car - or maybe, hold your breath, was it a
low compression LKX, heavy duty suspender drum braker bound for lovely
Afghanistan in Gunmetal !
What a truly desirable piece of machinery. I will post my findings as they
may or may not occur in due course.
John Mac
Book 1: http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/triumphbook
Book 2: http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/crocus
Triumph Over Triumph magazine: http://www.cyberware.co.uk/~chips11
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