I’ve seen this red Triumph Spitfire around quite a bit this past year, as it’s a daily driver. When I caught it near the Y last icy week, it had a similar-aged companion across the street, although with quite different ambitions. They make for a study in import contrast.
The Spitfire must be a ’74 or later. I had to look up just how long these were sold for in the US: all the way into 1980! Is that really true? We’ll be taking a look at its (and the TR6’s) successor soon with some vintage analysis and reviews. The Spitfire was powered by a 52.5 hp 1493 cc four that managed to get a little bump up to 55 hp in 1977. Kind of defies the definition of ‘sports car’.
This Toyota mini-motorhome is timely, coming on the heels of our vintage review this morning. I’m not sure of the exact age, but its wider B-pillar suggest 1975 or later. It’s a very early Sunrader, which came to be the most desirable (they still are in demand) of the breed due to its oe-piece fiberglass upper half, which eliminated the inevitable leaks of the typical aluminum-siding versions so common back then. It’s the same reason my old Dodge Chinook is still going; water intrusion is the biggest killer of old RVs. It’s not like the tough old Toyota underpinning is going to give out, right?
It’s even got a rear door like my Chinook. There’s no doubt if I’d happened to have stumbled unto this for cheap back in 2003, I might well have bought it instead. And the Spitfire could be towed behind it; as a dinghy. Wouldn’t that make a perfect pairing? Well, as long as one avoided the mountains.
I like how the hard top makes the Spitfire look tidy. Does anyone know how it affected performance?
i have a spit with a hardtop. it makes the performance marginally better by making the chassis a bit tighter. acceleration? seat-of-the-pants tells me it feels the same – slow …. i’m guessing it weighs about 60lbs. i love the look it gives the car too, but i like wind in my hair…. so i’m thinking i might put a britax type fabric top in the hardtop.
i think the spitfire is the last classic car you can buy with truly classic features. ya it’s weak… but you can boost it easily to 85hp without much fuss… and over 100hp if you spend more. nice exhaust note with little work, desinged by an italian designer who did cars for ferrari lancia and maserati, colorful lemans racing history – and an incredible SCCA history, jag xke like tilting bonnet, corvette like independent suspension, wire wheels and overdrive were options on these cars and easily added if one doesn’t have already wood dashboard, elbow room a bit tight, but has tonnes of legroom. sort of rare… in my area i see lots of mgb’s in summer, but very few spits. it’s a lot of fun making the car try to go fast… and it’s cheap to own. costs me $225 a year to insure. i bought mine two years ago and i’m still in love with it. —– funny i just posted on this on the mga article. that too is a remarkably beautiful classic esp for the price.
Sweet! I’ve always had a soft spot for the Spitfire; it aged so much better than the MGB, and as such was the last of the classic Brit roadsters to have genuine appeal.
Spitfire is on my short list of cars to own someday, although I prefer the Mk III variant (raised front bumper, TR3-esque rear end)
Boosting is easy .Euro versions had twin carbs with 75 ponies. We just added
Kenlow fans, performance air filters and a free flow exhaust in the day. i had a 1980 version in the same Vermilion Red as pictured . LHD ex BL car that missed the boat to Europe. Yes by 60K Miles the thing had end float on the crank and it baulked into 3rd gear. Time to call it a day so a For sale sign went up in it. Sold it to an American Airforce GI how had ideas of taking it on his next European tour, good luck, Got £50 more than I paid for it….
They’re both sweet, and they both look fit to go on running forever!
No problem, when you get to a hill (rumored to exist in Oregon) just get Stephanie to go out the back door of the Toyota, walk across the tow bar & hood of the Spitfire, start it up and apply another 55hp to climbing the hill.
That’s a good solution except for just one minor hitch: Stephanie doesn’t drive a stick shift! I’m sure there must be a way to rig up some remote controls to have it kick in as needed. 🙂
Easily solved! Just buy the Prius in the picture as well, slap a push bar on the front bumper, and have her drive it as the third vehicle in the chain. That’ll get you up any hill with no trouble. Curves might be an issue, but you could probably fix that by hooking, say, a Miata to the front of the camper. No worries!
Either than Sunrader has horribly expired registration or the 2018 Cali stickers are Blue. Nice catch with these two vehicles.
the toyota is interesting to me too. a few years ago i was looking for one in the 80’s vintage for our kids 5 and 7. $5k a couple years ago was the entry into a fairly decent one. incredible stroke of genius a neighbor (about a mile away) had a pickup slide-in -unit. we asked if we could rent it from him for a week or two – yes we could – and cheap too…. all we did then was rent a pick up with unlimited mileage. we like not towing a camper – dinghy ok – as we like parking in different cities… as well as the classic forest with river/lake.
Those US bumpers on the Spitfire are a sight to behold.
While the Spitfire had a low horsepower rating it was definitely a proper sports car. It was light and low so felt fast even if it wasn’t. The handling is fantastic. I love the two I had.
The Spits were great little basic sports cars. Until you’re standing next to one, it’s hard to remember how tiny they really are. For example, the curb weight, wet, for the 1976-on car is just around 1850 pounds; earlier cars weighed less. In contrast a new Smart Car weighs about 2050 pounds.
For me, driving a Spit is closer to riding a motorcycle than to driving a car because you really get involved making the car perform, and you also feel just as exposed to your environment as you do on a bike. Life with a Spitfire is more than just driving though. You also get to fully participate in the mechanical life of your car as there’s always something which wants a bit of attention.
Fortunately every part on a Spitfire is readily accessible for maintenance, which is a very good thing, considering the attention they require (for example checking the oil level in the carburetors). That’s not a complaint though, it just sucks you in to a deep level of involvement with your car. Every sound and vibration becomes imbued with significance, and you get to know your car and its moods very well. Because of the size of the parts and their accessibility, working on the car isn’t intimidating. It’s a great experience.
You’ll always remember the Spitfire in your life, often a lot move vividly than the girls you picked up in it.
Never owned one, to my regret, but I can certainly understand the appeal. Maybe one of these days.
The Spitfire certainly looks the part of sports car and can be fun to drive a friend had one back in the day on the highway it was slower than my 61 Humber 80, We got them in full British trim twin sidedrafts etc no pollution equipment, there is one driven around here and no doubt more hidden away but MGBs sold better though they were technically inferior,The later Spitfire shares and engine with the MG Midget but the rest is Herald sourced.
The engine is derived from the Herald unit (and the Standard 8 and 10). The MG Midget 1500 used the Spitfire’s engine and a Morris Marina gearbox – the earlier Midgets used an Austin A-series.
Great find! Two vehicles I have been interested in for a long time. When I got hired at GM in Fremont, there was another young guy in my group, and we hit it off. He had a nice Spitfire. He showed it to me and we went for a little spin. I remember fitting in the passenger seat okay then, don’t know how I would fare now! I know that these cars suffered from the emission equipment that really hurt the performance. All cars suffered at the time, but these little cars never had any power to spare. I still toy with the idea of getting one still.
I always thought that these little Toyota motorhomes would be great for a single person or young couple to travel in. I would imagine that they would have a hard time dealing with upgrades and headwinds, it must have been awful to fight with both at the same time. I imagine that the fuel economy really dropped in those conditions. I did meet an older lady once, who was travelling in one of these. She admitted that they could be slow under some conditions but she said it would do a minimum of 35 mph. up the steepest hills.
Great duo. That Datto shell is something else, almost GMC Motorhomey. Not so much a fan of Triumphs, although that covershot of the rear angle in soft red paint makes for a sweet shape.
I’ve never seen a Toyota RV conversion with those wraparound front windows–it’s a good look. Then again I’ve never seen one from this generation, period, only the next two, and I’ve not seen one *at all* in probably at least 5 years.
I think the wheels on the Spitfire reveal it to be a 1976 model. A buddy had one with those stamped wheels, the only one I’ve seen since about 1980 so-equipped. All the other years had much smaller and more numerous holes punched in their available bolt-on stamped steel rims.
I haven’t seen a Spitfire in a long time (definitely a summer car here in Ontario), and the hardtop was never a common sight. I always liked Triumphs, though, and I’d take a Spitfire or a TR-6 over an MG any time. As for the Toyota motor home – great find. There’s one on Front Street in downtown Toronto that’s been living a second life as a chip truck for quite a while. It still moves under its own power, but it’s kind of a sad sight. I’d rather see it as a motor home again, exploring Ontario back roads.
“Kind of defies the definition of ‘sports car’.”
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Americans always make this mistake : Sports Cars are _NOT_ Race Cars ! .
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They’re slow(ish) cars that are _fun_to_drive_ by design .
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I seem to recall the Toyota Campers having rear axle bearing issues .
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This one looks nice and ready to be cleaned up and run hard .
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BTW: my little BMC FHC here is _NOT_ a ‘ Sports Car ‘ no matter how fast I drive it, it’s just fun =8-) .
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-Nate