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“1500 uk”

written by soloandy1989 on 30/06/2009

Good Points
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General Comments
1500 uk

A lot of people seem to put a downer on the Triumph Spitfire. And to be honest I can't see why...

First off corrosion is nowhere near as bad as is made out... if you keep on top of it by renewing the under seal when you get the oil changed and grease lubrication points then all is hunky dory.

Performance wise, if you live in America then your car will be slow. 85ron petrol, horrible emission controls all hinder performance. But home market cars are much more sprightly with the twin 1.5" HS4 carburettors. Also for about £250 on top of the cost of an engine rebuild you can get a stage 1 FULLY dynamically balanced, upped compression ratio, hotter camshaft etc, and with K&N filters at £80 a pair you can get nearing a 100hp, around a 50% increase in power! 0-60 is quoted at around 11.5 seconds standard, my standard engine plus K&N's will do it in about 11, a stage 1 should do that in about 9.5. Thats better than alot of modern saloons. the standard car pulls very well up a 40%+ incline from less than 1.5k revs in 3rd, massively torquey for a light car of only 790kg. Ragged senseless for 50k miles some on track and is only now starting to show signs of needing new bearings.

The gearbox is fine. 2-3rd gear is a bit of a gap, and revs are high at 70 mph but that red line really is a continuous usage red line (although over 5.5k should be avoided). With regular servicing they will easily outlive the engine, although the synchro does wear fairly quickly with overexuberant gear changes. Overdrive is useful for making the car quieter and more comfortable at speed if you have the standard exhaust, if you have sports exhaust like me you can't hear anything over it either with or without it but up to you.

People complain about the back etting go in corners... I'm sorry, what is wrong with letting the back a bit loose? thats the whole point of a rear wheel drive car, and if it scares you then you should by a front wheel drive golf. this is a manly car, and it has to be manhandled. Brakes? More than adaquate to lock a full quartet of warm sticky tires in the dry. Heavy steering is a symptom of under inflated tires, I have a 13" mota lita steering wheel, a good 2" smaller than standard and low speed manouvering is a doddle due to the cars low weight.

Insurance is cheap, handling is engaging enough to remind you of those 60's rally days, 35 mpg on a long run (that is, assuming you can resist the urge to take it on the B roads and boot it hard in second to get the back out!), there are at least 4 major clubs that support it, 5 major parts suppliers and service providers, 99% spares coverage, good looks, and used regularly as reliable as any modern car.

remember, power steering and servo brakes are for babies and take away the connection from the road that makes these small sports cars infinitely better than any MX5

And you can put the triumph 6 cylinder engine in and take on the BMW Z4's!

And before you moan about me being an old man I'm a skinny 20 year old.