Spitfires

Enlighten me, oh wise ones (or at least those out there that has some experience with them). I had a GT6 back a few years ago, so understand the basic car in it's coupe form, but anything you can tell me about the Spit would be appreciated. Would it make a decent, fun DD?

thanks, Stan

(old board- "StansMR2", but might become "StansSpit"....:omg:)

Uh, no. Not unless your definition of "daily driver" is "I push it out of the way each morning so I can take the MR2 to work."

OK, it has to be said...

You might want to consider a name change to "StansMiata"

...there, I said it.

Decent driver, yes. :nice:

Fun, yes. :nice:

Daily? Hmmm... might wanna rethink that. :whatthe:

Much as I lubs my LBC's I keep something Japanese in the driveway so I can feed my fambly.

+5

I love my LBC's but not as daily drivers. I can be done and it won't be that painful, but why drive an old car every day where it will grind on you. Save it for nice days when you will appreciate it's graces, not stew over it's short comings.

jack TR's 3 & 8

In contemplating between a Shitfire and a Spridget, I discussed it with a good friend of mine who did a few years in a British car shop. He said hands down the Spridget is the better car.

All I know is I sold a never ending stream of U-joints for the stupid things back when they were still on the road. Too bad, as I think they are one of the best looking LBC's made.

As a DD, a Spitfire is going to have you going into work too hot (or too cold), frequently wet, and often smelling of oil and exhaust fumes. It will do bad things to your back and break frequently. If all that's OK with you, go for it. They're a lot of fun.

Dwight Varnes wrote: [Spitfire] ... I think they are one of the best looking LBC's made.

I think they are one of the best looking CARS made, ever.

I had a '68 that I drove every day as my only car. Yes, I broke down, yes I smelled like oil, yes I got wet.

The bad news is that was in 1980 - the car was only 12 years old.

Now that same car would be 40, and I would no longer be in my early 20's.

I would love to have another one (and there's one sitting under a tarp down the street that is calling to me every day) but I wouldn't consider it as a daily driver.

I've toyed with driving mine daily while I take my Ranger apart for some over due maintanance and repairs. 200k miles (Clutch is the biggie, I dont have big blocks of time.) But when I drive it to work I look up at the hub caps on semis and the soccer moms in suvs on cell phones scare the shit out of me.

Its alot of fun and it gets some fun looks but its no daily driver. Used to be most people thought it was an MG, now they ask what kind of Miata it is.:omg:

Ok, maybe not a DD. My GT6 was my DD years ago and it wasn't fun sometimes (sticking throttle cable combined with 5" of clearance and 8" of snow for example), but it was so easy to work on. I thought it might be time to get back into some sort of LBC, but maybe StansMiata doesn't sound bad at all.....

bludroptop wrote: I had a '68 that I drove every day as my only car. Yes, I broke down, yes I smelled like oil, yes I got wet. The bad news is that was in 1980 - the car was only 12 years old. Now that same car would be 40, and I would no longer be in my early 20's. I would love to have another one (and there's one sitting under a tarp down the street that is calling to me every day) but I wouldn't consider it as a daily driver.

My first was a '68 as well, this would have been '78-'79. I have lots of stinky wet fun memories (like the night the PCV hose blew off on acceleration and my date was sitting in a blue cloud).

The only LBC I would still recommend for a DD would be an MGB. And for a DD, I'd go with a later, rubber-bumper one. Yeah they're heavier than an earlier B and the looks are iffy, but the ergonomics are a little better and those big-ass bumpers work.

Comparing it to a Spit (or Spridget), the B is sized more like a real car, offers more comfort, even if it's not a lot by today's standards, and is built pretty tough. Avoid rust and overheating, and they'll go a long time.

I'd also consider a TR6 (maybe) and a TR7/8 to be pretty suitable to a DD.

Back in the day, I had a succession of LBCs that I used every day. Two GT6s, A Spit, and three MGBs. The youngest of the MGs and Triumphs is now pushing 30 years old, and DD duty is asking a lot of any 30 year-old car.

"...a Spitfire is going to have you going into work too hot (or too cold), frequently wet, and often smelling of oil and exhaust fumes"

Yea, what he said.

A lot would depend on where you are and what your drive is like. I just drove mine to work today around the Baltimore beltway, reminding myself as to why I don't want to do this very often.

My J-H does DD duty when the weather is nice. Of course, picking the rugrat up at school and grabbing groceries at the same time can get a little cramped. From a reliability standpoint, it's been good so far but I don't delude myself.

If you buy a Spit, GT-6 or TR-6, setup a dial indicator on the crankpully and pull the crank fore-and-aft. If it has more than about 0.014" of play (really, "thrust"), drop the pan and replace the thrust washers. DON'T drive it with excess thrust.

If you look at one and it seems to have 1/8" or so of thrust, walk away or prepare to do the entire bottom end. When you find one of these engines with essesive thrust, you will often find the thrust washers have fallen out and are sitting in the oil pan. It's a very common problem with the 1147, 1300, 1500 fours along with the 2.0 and 2.5 sixes (these fours and sixes are based on the same engine family design).

Spits are bigger than Spridgets, but I'm willing to "suffer" the more cramped confines of driving a Spridget because I like the handling and driving better. I own an MGB (street car) and honestly, a Spit feels just about as roomy as the B.

Newer Spridgets (like my vintage racer) have the crappy 1500 Spitfire engine (I replace thrust washers and rod bearings about every 25 hours of operation and I always see pretty good wear). The older Spridgets have the "A" series engine. The 1275 "A" series is really the best Spridget engine, but these cars are getting pretty old now and rust is a factor in all these cars as they age. A newer 1500 Midget is not really that bad, but if you're over 5'9", you may want to swap the super thick seat for older Bugeye-style seats.

A nice thing about Spits (and GT6s and TR6s) is that they have an actual frame, so you can do a "frame off" resto if so desired. Spridgets (and MBGs) are unibody.

As far as other stuff, I have never liked driving the Mark 1 GT6....the rear suspension is spooky in my opinion. The Mark 2 GT6 is the much-better "roto-flex" design. The Mark 3 is like a cheaper version of the Mark 2, but still OK. With TR6s, watch rear trailing arms mounts for rust.

And I agree, speaking personally, the MGB might be the best choice for a daily driver...and the rubber bumper cars aren't too bad

Disclaimer: My daily driver is an '00 Miata :grin: