Rusty But Trusty

The concept of a British roadster as a daily driver has more or less disappeared from our roads. And while the remaining cars are often restored, collector-quality examples, there are still driver-quality ones out there that more closely resemble what you might have chosen as your fun driver before the Miata showed up. And aside from pleasing the patina fiends, and people who say it’s only original once, there’s something fun in seeing a car that’s not perfect, and there’s almost a more nostalgic sense from seeing a car in the state it would have been as a 15-year-old used car instead of one that’s showroom new. A great example of this is this 1972 Triumph Spitfire for sale with bidding at $2550, no reserve, and only 2 hours left to go in Cicero, NY.

A fresh, shiny coat of red paint on a sports car can be kind of vulgar, but this classic orangey shade that is not perfectly shiny works very well. While the Michelotti-facelifted MkIV is not the most popular bodystyle, you have to admit that out of the context of the older cars, he did a good job bringing an early 1960s design a decade ahead. In addition, 1972 was the last year of the 1300, which was more free-revving and powerful (who knew?) than its 1500 replacement. Unfortunately, the seller has not chosen to share an engine shot.

The interior looks quite tidy and the Grant GT wheel, normally associated with chain car parts stores, actually works quite well in this context. The tachometer has been replaced with an aftermarket unit, and the radio cutout is rather big for the unit currently in place, but at the price, you were planning on overlooking some details, right? There is a small rip in the soft top, and the smart-looking hard top comes with the car, though the rear glass is out.

The car is said to have no rust on the frame or body, which is impressive for a New York car. Perhaps this was a summer driver, or spent most of its life in California. Either way, this looks to be shaping up to be a nice little toy with a fairly small financial commitment to get in the door. Grab it while it’s still available!

Tags: british, convertible, Feature, spitfire, triumph

This entry was posted on August 20, 2014 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.