Triumph Spitfire 1500 Restoration

I must admit to being a tad naive when I handed 500 pounds over for a MOT expired orange 1500 Triumph Spitfire.  All the carpets were completely waterlogged, the battery dead and rust bubbling up through most of the paint work.
 

On getting the car trailered home I removed doors, bonnet and interior to see what I had bought.  As could of been expected the floor and boot bottom had all but disintegrated, front wings were beyond repair. Each of the headlamps must of had a pint of water behind them, but still worked.

First repairs were to the floor and boot with much sheet metal welded in.

The wiring also needed some attention after it caught fire, maybe due to all the extra add on dials and gauges which had been fitted.
 

On the plus side both engine and gearbox seemed fine.  So after refitting doors bonnet seats and new carpet it was time for some new paint.

Rather then make the car a very public display of my prowess with a spray gun I took the car to be resprayed professionally.  The orange look a bit tacky so a classy deeper red was chosen (whisper it quietly; ford burgundy).

I was really happy with the respray and although I can't take the credit for the paint work I did repaint the wheels which also looked good.

Interior wise the seats would of been better recovered in black however forget that for a moment and take a look at the dash.  Triumph used a flat lacquer to cover to wood to prevent reflections.  After this had been striped and lots of coats of yacht varnish applied the wood grain really shows through.

The MOT went ok. with track rod ends and tyres required.  The carbs also need some fiddling with to pass the emissions test.  These were soon undone to reintroduce it  crisp crackle back into the engine.

The car went on to prove mainly trouble free.  Lack of an overdrive limited it usefulness on main roads but made it ideal for driving round the north Norfolk coast.