Before....

 Welcome to my Spitfire Page! 


After!
Tranny Swap

My friend Mark and I during a tranny install... just before we realized we had to start all over again! You can tell because we're still smiling! I'm the one with the dirty hands. :)

Back to my homepage

If you're like me, you're wondering why there isn't more nitty gritty technical info about Triumphs on the web. We probably do most of our own work on our cars since we can't exactly trot down to the Triumph dealer when we run into trouble. In any case, this is my attempt to create the kind of page I'd like to see more of. Here you'll find some technical info and I'll attempt to share some of my rebuilding efforts. Perhaps this will inspire others to do the same. Remember - I'm pullin' for ya, and we're all in this together. If you think I missed something or have other comments, send me mail.

Stats on my Spitfire:

Model: Spitfire 1500
Year: 1974
Body #: FM 12430 U
Engine #: FM 120930 UE
Gearbox #: FK 47064 (That's no typo - I haven't found any indication anywhere of any "FK" gearboxes! If you have any information, let me know!)
Final Drive #: FH 70415 

Topics of Interest:

Parts and Where to Find Them (updated 5/8/00)
Thoughts on Shop Manuals for the 1974 Spitfire
Some Technical Information (updated 4/20/99)
My First Night With the Spitfire
How I rebuilt my Differential
Bad Ujoints and How I Fixed Mine
Converting to Electric Fan New 10/00
Mark IV Intake Manifold versus 1500 Intake Manifold New 10/00
How I fixed my Clutch Slave Cylinder New 10/00
Miscellaneous Photo Gallery

My First Night and Other Misadventures

            I had a feeling I wasn't going to make it home under my own power the night I brought the Spitfire home...    The first thing I noticed driving the Spit at night was that it was nearly impossible to see the street signs because the car was so low to the ground the headlights could not penetrate the gloom at such a height above the road.  This was exacerbated by the fact that the headlights appeared to be powered by C-cell flashlights.  Nevertheless, after filling the tank at a local petrol station I headed for home with my wife in the chase car.  I decided to stick to the surface streets, so to speak, and avoid all highways along the way, just in case.  I was worried by an off-throttle knocking sound that could be heard coming from the rear of the car.  Funny, I hadn't noticed it when we decided to buy the car, but then again we only drove around the block and that was with the top down.  I had no idea what the sound could be, but I was on the alert.  Well, about halfway home we came to a stop light, glowing red in the night.  When the light turned green I put the car in gear and attempted to drive through the intersection.  About five feet later the car slammed to a halt, stalling the engine.  "Holy cow!" I thought, "What the hell was that?!"  I thought maybe the engine had seized or something.  I started the engine and put the car in gear again.  The fates smiled upon me as I slowly crossed the intersection where I once agian slammed to a halt by the side of the road.  At least I wasn't dead in the middle of the intersection.  Was the transmission locked up?  Had the driveshaft fallen off?  After some fruitless searching under the car for obvious signs of wreckage I determined the car could move, but only six inches forwards or six inches backwards - in neutral!  It didn't take us long to call a tow truck and soon we were on our way home.
        The next day I jacked up the car to take a look.  With the transmission in neutral I noticed the driveshaft only made a quarter turn before locking up.  It didn't take long the find the problem - one of the driveshaft bolts at the differential end had worked loose and was binding against the final drive mounting flange bolts!   A few minutes later the car was road worthy once more.  Later that day I had an appointment with the owner to arrange payment at the local bank.  I told him my story and in the end we agreed to split the cost of towing.  And we all lived happily ever after,  except that knocking noise was still there.....
 

Parts and Where to Find Them

Generally speaking, there are two places to find Spitfire parts: Mail order and parts cars.
I prefer mail order. Actually there are three: Mail order, parts cars, and online mail order parts cars!

Actually, I've found another - Ebay, yes the omnipresent Ebay! I've gotten some great deals on Ebay. I got a single rail tranny for $61 + shipping and a clutch for $15 + shipping! Search for "Triumph Spitfire -ad -ads -brochure" and you'll get mostly parts listings, which the occasional model car. Some people out there delight in selling old ads and things from magazines, hence the -ad -ads...

There are quite a few Triumph parts suppliers out there, if you dig around a little. The ones I use the most are Victoria British, Spitbits, Moss Motors, and The Roadster Factory (TRF). Below is a basic rundown of my thoughts on these three suppliers, as well some links and info on other suppliers I haven't used yet:

Victoria British 1-800-255-0088: (updated 3/17/00)

A good catalog with good prices.  I've always had good experiences with their sales staff and have never received an incorrect order.  I'm your basic satisfied customer!  VB used to be my first choice for parts and supplies, but I've ordered increasingly more from Spitbits because the prices are often less and shipping is less.

Spitbits (updated 3/17/00)

Spitbits website (link above) features online ordering and plenty of parts diagrams, similar to what you find in the print catalogs.  Prices are reasonable and often less than their competitors, but parts descriptions are skimpy. Unfortunately the print catalog is no more descriptive than the online catalog - they're nearly identical in every way.  However, they're a good source of online parts diagrams when you're stuck at work at can't stop thinking about your Spitfire!  I've ordered a number of things from Spitbits, in particular their polyurethane suspension bushings which are priced to move - they seem to be on permanant sale!  I'm a satisified customer!

Moss Motors 1-800-667-7872: (updated 4/20/99)

As far as catalog ease of use goes, Moss Motors is way ahead of TRF. They don't carry as many parts as TRF and Victoria British do, but the catalog has just been updated so the price list is integrated with the parts descriptions - Thanks, Moss!! Ordering has been painless, although I've only ordered twice, and the shipping rates are quite reasonable. Moss recently updated their website to allow order entry online. As a bonus, Moss prints a mini-magazine ("Moss Motoring") with interesting articles on various British Car goings-on - it's nice.

The Roadster Factory (TRF) 1-800-678-8764: (updated 3/17/00)

I find TRF's catalog the most annoying to use because the price list is separate from the parts catalog.  The part numbers aren't always easy to read in the catalog and looking at a huge list of them can easily give you eye strain. If web pages suffer from link rot, then TRF's catalog suffers from part number rot, as many of the part numbers you try to look up are no longer available, even though they're in the pictures. The only thing that eases the pain is that you can download an electronic price list which you can search in your favorite word processor. The electronic list also includes a brief description of the part. Having said all that, the parts catalog makes a handy reference since it includes many detailed drawings and some technical notes. Some of the part numbers are difficult to read in the catalog because they are so small and the images look like copies of copies, if you know what I mean. TRF's parts selection is probably comparable to Victoria British's. The best thing I can say about TRF is that they have a great winter sale. TRF's normal prices are generally higher than Victoria British's, but they make up for it when it comes to the winter sale. I just placed good sized order and saved quite a few dollars. There were two discrepancies with my order: They included someone else's invoice in my package and I was double-shipped/double-billed for a small part I didn't order. Well, it was only $1 extra, so it's not a big deal - probably the order guy accidentally keyed it in twice. This is the only order I that's been in error from any of the suppliers. One service that TRF provides that the others don't is an 800 number for actual technical assistance. It's possible this could come in handy, but the one time I called I stumped the jury in regards to my wacky "FK" gearbox.

Rimmer Bros (UK) +44 1522 526200 (updated 5/4/99)

The Rimmer Bros are located in sunny England and have quite a few Triumph and other British car print catalogues to offer.  Their most recent catalogue was updated in May '99.  Price list is separate from catalogue and prices are in Pounds, so have a calculator and the exchange rate handy when you comparison shop!  The Spitfire Catalogue is very impressive - a thick, heavy, glossy book full of colour photographs, clear parts diagrams and the occasional helpful technical note.  After thumbing through the whole catalogue, I noticed a few things:  They have entire rebuilt engines for sale (as well as partial rebuilds), they have an extensive selection of stainless steel exhaust and performance exhaust systems, the carb and intake manifold section focuses almost exclusively on twin-carb UK setups, they seem to have greater parts availability (specifically I look up some gearbox parts I couldn't find anywhere else), they have aircraft quality flexible brake lines (something I haven't yet seen elsewhere), they have the larger 22" radiator (which I didn't know existed), they have a large range of colours available for softtops and interior fabrics, and they even have touch up paint to match the original colour of your Spitfire!  All in all a very impressive catalogue.  I'm not sure how expensive the shipping and handling is, but on the other hand, if they have the part you need...  I give a big thumbs up for the Rimmer catalogue.

Britbits

Britbits is another source for parts and service. I haven't ordered anything from them and their catalog isn't online (yet). Go and have a look for yourself!

Trispare 248-828-8243

This page gave me some trouble under Netscape Communicator, but worked fine for Internet Explorer, so if the page comes up blank, try a different browser. Trispare (I don't know his real name) has quite a few Triumph and MG parts for sale. Some are new, some are used, and some are old but not used! He happens to be in MI, so if I stop by for a visit I'll let you know.

British Masters 619-945-2226

British Masters features a good array of used Triumph parts at very reasonable prices. This site is similar in flavor to what you find at Trispare's page.


Shop Manuals and the US 1974 Spitfire 1500

1974 was the last year before a fairly substantial model change in 1975. The biggest changes were to the emissions control systems, the transmission and final drive. The official British Leyland "Repair Operation Manual" for the Spitfire 1500 covers the single-rail transmissions and collapsible-spacer final drives. In 1974 the transmission was a triple-rail type and the final drive used shims to control pinion preload. In the end I wound up buying British Leyland's manual for the Spitfire IV, which was the model before the 1500. This manual has the correct information on the transmission and final drive - phew! I guess that's what happens when your car was born on the cusp. From my research it looks like the Spitfire 1500 became available in the US in 1973, but wasn't introduced in the UK until December 1974, which explains why the 1500 shop manual has closer ties to 1975+ models. To make things a little more interesting, some Mark IV Spitfires also had 1500cc engines!

Technical Information

For the thrill seekers in the audience, here is a selection of technical specs you may find interesting. Different model years will vary across countries and oceans - this information is meant to cover the early 1500's in the US, and particularly the 1974 model where model year differences exist. Apologies in advance for any errors or omissions.