Pretty cool info. . the Mark III's being the model to look for if one were
to buy one of these. . . ?
I have read that they never really got the independent rear end thing worked
out correctly prior to building the cars for public consumption. . but still
a nice feature to have especially with the strapped half shafts then.
Thanks for the info. .
Kirk
On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 5:09 PM, David Booker <tncarnut1@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Kirk said: "Thanks. . I appreciate the warning."
>
> And now for a slightly different take...
>
> Frank - You are the last person in the world I would ever question any LBC
> quote from, and I'm not suggesting that you didn't have a really bad
> Spitfire experience, but wasn't a '73 Spitfire powered by the 1500? and a
> relatively early one at that? That was not a drivetrain exactly known for
> it's excessive robustity or racelyness... (yeah I know, but they kinda got
> the idea across, didn't they?) The MK IV Spitfire was quite a step down from
> the MK III in other ways too - higher suspension to meet minimum bumper
> height, bigger & heavier bumpers, smog-pumps and other emission garbage,
> etc.
>
> I restored a 1970 MK III many years ago that was as reliable as a Midget
> and an absolute blast to drive. I believe this was about the end of MK III
> production and probably the most desirable of all of the 18 or so years of
> production. The '70 was powered by the hot little 1296cc. They also have
> independant rear suspension and a gorgeous curvy body by Michelotti. Mine
> had twin SU's mounted in place of the original single Stromberg. I built the
> engine with a hot cam & valve springs, added a header, had a little bit
> shaved from the head, then smoothed up the rough-looking parts with my
> Dremel and did few other other little trick bits. The place that made the
> cam told me the modifications should have put me somewhere close to 100 HP
> but I never dyno'd it so have no idea. It sure felt fast, though.
>
> The really earlier Spitfires tended to get tail-happy in a hard corner - at
> least till you strapped the half-shafts to make the equivalent of a
> home-made rear sway bar. Anyway - my point is that I personally think some
> Spitfires are better than others. I really got enjoyment from mine and never
> broke too many things in the process. Of course if you don't break something
> at least occassionally on a sports car, you probably aren't having enough
> fun, are you?
>
> - David
> Long Island
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