New MK3 project - she's home!

With one Spitfire project already in process, might as well add a second one! A local Utah Spitfire owner advertised that he needed to sell his 1969 Spitfire MK3 to make room on his side yard. After looking over the car and taking well over a week to convince my wife that it was a good idea to bring home another project, I transported the car home last night (3/3/2014).  Here are the initial pictures of the new project in the garage.  She is in slightly better shape initially than when I brought home "Lola", my 73 Spitfire 1500 project (http://73Spitfire1500.blogspot.com), but I can already tell there's going to be lots of work to do!

It looks like the paint is original (code 25: Triumph Racing Green).  

Kind of looks like a frog from straight on :)

The body is straight except for a crease in the bonnet nose that shouldn't be too difficult to repair.

I really like the bonnet center design.

The windshield glass is in good shape.

Love the square-tail look.  Some surface rust on the boot lid.

I like the look of the license plate mount area that's in body color.

View from the top of the bonnet. Some surface rust along the centerline creases.

The wire wheels are a classic look.

There were probably knock-offs originally on the wire wheels.

The seats are in OK condition.  They'll need recovering, but at least there's two of them, unlike my 73Spit1500 that only came with a passenger seat!

Aftermarket steering wheel wrap, but it looks like the original steering wheel.

Love the Triumph elements like the gearshift knob.

Here's the cockpit. The far right section of the three piece dashboard is bare wood. The black plastic must have been damaged and removed.

68,843 miles, or is it 168,843 miles?

The soft top frame is in good shape (not attached).

View from the rear.

Trunk area. Inside of the gas tank looks to be in good condition although the outside of the tank will need a coat of paint.

Close up of the license plate mount and light.

She will need the red tail light lenses on both sides. There's some curious tail light wiring inside the trunk.

Close up of the surface rust on the boot lid.

Driver side view.

Driver side view #2.

The boot lid uses exterior hinges. Internal hinges were used in the next model (MKIV).

Top view of the 1296cc engine. Not sure of its condition yet. It supposedly "ran when parked" years ago.

The bulkhead surface under the slave master cylinder and brake master cylinder looks in good shape. Again some surface rust but not much paint peel which it typical when brake fluid leaks from the master cylinder. Also note the ballast resistor for the ignition system.

Another overhead view of the engine.

Inside of the bonnet. The rag was placed on the bonnet support so that it lays on top of the battery. There is probably a better solution.

Some surface rust on the wheel covers which is typical.

 

Top view of the engine from the passenger side.

Passenger side suspension.

Battery tie down was a stretch-cord, and the negative ground from the battery is a red cable, while the positive cable is black going to the solenoid. Need to make sure not to hook those up incorrectly!

Dual SU HS2 carburetors.  Looks like they are 1 1/4" diameter.

The battery box is lined with some sort of foil-backed insulation. Likely a sign that the battery box has significant rust.

The battery was still hooked up.  The manufacture date was July 2009, and it's a 6-year prorated warranty battery. I'll give it a good charge and see if it has any life left.

The rocker cover breather tube is not connected to anything and vents to atmosphere. Also, a port on the intake manifold is plugged with a bolt. The same port on the 73Spit1500 was also plugged in a similar fashion.

View from afar with the bonnet up.

 The infamous 3-fuse Lucas electrical system.

The engine number is  an FK, 8.0:1 compression 1296cc engine. This is not the original engine and is likely from a 1971-72 MKIV.

The commission number (VIN number) has "U" for United States and "L" for left-hand drive.  The US compliance date is April 1, 1968 although it is registered as a 1969.  The Trim "11" is black.

Here is the body number. This plate is located just below the commission plate.