Greetings:
There is no substitute for experience. Specific experience. I echo Andy's
advice to make sure a competent (not necessarily a professional) Triumph
aficionado take a look at any prospective purchase.
Most experienced Triumph devotees can spot poor maintenance and the
difference between major and minor repair complications. Most important,
they know the key spots to check for serious difficulties.
In addition, remember this, any experienced car restorer will always (unless
they want a lot of your business) tell you to buy the best possible car
available, especially with a Spitfire. A $2000 car would easily cost you
$5-6000 or more to bring up to the condition of a car sold for $5,000.
If you want to drive a fun car, buy a really good Spitfire for $5,000 and
have at it. If you are looking for true pride of ownership and individual
satisfaction, buy a Mk1 for $500 and collect parts for a year or two and
restore it .
Bill Brockschmidt
working on my $500 Mk1
3 other Mk1-2 parts cars (or possible restoration projects)
2 73 Spitfires former daily driver and parts car
65 S-Type Jaguar (totally restored-3 year project finished)
73 Buick Centurion 455ci convertible (bought in restored condition)
94 Plymouth Grand Voyager (only 45,000 miles) vacation vehicle
98 Buick Park Avenue (wife's car)
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