At 17 I bought a 1965 Spitfire right after I graduated from high school in 1969. At 69 years old it is still probably one of the most fun to drive cars I have owned. When I took it in for service at the local dealership that was selling all of the British cars at that time they actually offered me a job there. That allowed me the opportunity to drive Jaguar XKE’s, Austin Healey 3000’s, Jensen Interceptor‘s, Rolls Royce, all manner of MG’s and original Austin Mini’s.
Wow.....awsome! My first car in 1980 was a Spitfire Mk III. It was a fun car but came with quite a few problems. As a student I didn't have enough money to maintain it. 😢
Thanks for posting this. My parents bought me a used 1977 spitfire in the mid 90’s as my first car. It was super fun to drive. Eventually I bought a new car and I moved away for college. My mother had it towed away to the junk yard for no warning. Man, I wish I still had that car. Why mom, why???
They are pretty cheap on the used market and its a great project car since its so damn simple. I dunno just food for thought if you wanted to dive back into one
I hear ya, its like baseball hockey cards, and Superman comic Books, lol, I bought the 71 in 73, first car, left home , and my 60 year old parents but it back on the road lol, the novelty wore off for them, to hard to get in and out, .. I got one more use out of it, from Montreal to Northern Alberta. in Winter
A mate of mine had a white spitfire with Triumph dolomite sprint wheels and spacers put in the rear suspension to lift the rear a tad. It was the most beautiful car I have ever driven. You could open or close the soft top roof in the time it took for the lights to change. Brilliant for a jump start. I even carried a wardrobe in it. Brilliant motoring. Stood solid on the road. With Weber carburetors it had a brilliant power to weight ratio. Good solid unpretentious car that is inspiring to drive.
I had a 1968 MKIII Spitfire in the early 1970s. It was much better looking than these newer ones in this video. The Spitfire was one of the least reliable cars I have ever owned. On the upside, my Spitfire taught me to become a very good auto mechanic. I could rarely go more than a week or 100 miles before something would give me trouble. Over three years that I owned the Spitfire, I needed to rebuild almost every system at least once and maybe twice or more. The timing chain is more like a bicycle chain and they last less than 3,000 miles. I replaced mine at least five times in the three years that I owned it. It was a blast to drive and my girlfriend really loved it. She became my wife in 1974 and remains my beautiful wife today after 46 years! I loved my Spitfire despite its trouble.
@@klauscapeotway Yes. I did not mention overheating, but I live in a hot Summer climate and my Spitfire always had overheating problems in the summer. One really bad thing is that I used to go up into the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Spitfire would overheat when climbing a hill. Then when I started going downhill, the engine would cool too rapidly and cause cracks to develop in the aluminum head. After doing several years mountain driving, I had to remove the head and have the machine shop drill out all the cracks and weld in alloy pins to fill holes drilled for the cracks. If I had the car now, I think I would replace the radiator with one of those aluminum double row units and install an electric fan. That would help with keeping the engine heat at a much more stable temperature year round. I really wish I could have that car back and I could install many modern replacement parts (e.g. HEI ignition and others) that would make the car more reliable. Cheers!
@@dojmike I have a 1963 Spitfire 4 and I did exactly that, installed an ignition, electric fan, an alternator and an electric gas pump. I have the car for the past four years and never had a problem with these enhancements. It is a weekend car and I only put about 3,000 miles on it in the past four years, but nevertheless I had zero mechanical issues with it.
@@marcoantoniogarcia38 Very cool that you have had a good experience with your Spitfire. I really wish that I could have mine back and see if I could alter it like you have done and have a much more reliable car. Another troubling issue was with the transmission. My synchro-rings wore out and I had to replace them twice in three years. Also, there are no ball bearings with the counter-shaft and cluster gear; only a brass insert Babbit bearing. This Babbit bearing wore out causing the transmission to make a loud grinding noise while in first gear. I missed driving a two-seater convertible with a 4-speed manual transmission so much that about a year ago I bought another one - only this time, I wanted to spend more time IN the car rather than UNDER it so I bought a 1970 Corvette convertible with a Muncie 4-speed. It is in like-new condition and has only 18,500 original miles on it. So far, it is a dream to drive but the only work I need to do on it is to modernize things like installing an HEI ignition and distributor, and I am adding Wilwood disc brakes for safety. Whenever I drive it, I cannot help but to smile. It takes me back 50 years ago when I loved driving my Spitfire with the top down. Enjoy the drive. Cheers!
Great old video! I bought my first car back in 1979, it was a '72 Spitfire MKIV. The Spitfire in this video featured the same graphic treatment as the one I had - seemingly very rarely seen on Spitfires. Mine was Sienna Brown with a tan interior. Living in a very small Midwestern town back then, there wasn't another Spitfire (or any British sports cars for that matter) to be found for miles and miles. It wasn't the most reliable car, but it made for lots of good memories.
MGBs are way better classic sports cars than the Spitfires. Besides them being better looking, more interior room, way more power, better handling, parts availability and reliability the MGB has a superior build quality and safer stronger uni-body design. I have had a 69 and 74 Spitfire, they were fun cars to restore but were not keepers. I presently own fully restored 68, 71, 79 & 80 Limited Edition MGBs. I have recently started working on my 68 MGC GT. This looks like it will be a bit of a parts challenge being only a 2 year production car.
My older brother’s now wife had a purple 1976 Spitfire they would let me drive when they wanted some “alone” time. This video brought back some of those great memories. See also: the garage attendant scene from Ferris Bueler’s day off, or and Gymkhana video with Ken Block. ❤️
I purchased a 72 Spitfire (British Green) with a blown reverse gear. I paid $1800 and another $600 to fix reverse for a total of $2400 in mint condition in 1974. Unfortunately I had a bad accident of my own fault and it was totaled 1 week before it was to go into winter storage. I loss I will alway remember. I did however have a few 2500+ miles adventures with a good friend. I do have photos to relived those days.
Not my experience bought my 72 spitfire in 1997,still own it been on many adventures throughout the years, changed out engine once, but never been left high and dry,much fun
I was 19 and I bought my first brand new car . A 1975 French Blue Triumph Spitfire . I paid $3220 plus tax and registration. God I loved that car. I still wish I had it . I did a few years later buy a Triumph Rocket Ship 'AKA' a1970 GT-6 . I sold that and restored an original year 1970 DATSUN 240Z and raced a 1971 240Z for a few years in SCCA at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park .
Wow, this is fantastic thank you so much! I love my Spitfire so much and have never seen this content before. Also planning on heading over to your museum again next week, this time for the Magnus Walker exhibit
my neighbour bought one brand new in 73, his wife wanted a 4 door, he got l think the Triumph 2000, so after only 9 months l had it of him, was a great car, unfortunately it was stolen after I'd had it around 15 mths, they wrote it of on a roundabout, loved that car, the Styling of them are great
yah, I noticed he was more interested in her,than in what the instructor was saying. I could never have concentrated enough after seeing her. screw the driving lessons, how bout a drink?
I drove mine 71, from Montreal to to fort McMurray. In Alberta, year round, charcoal biscuits, under the oil pan, and a match, were needed once lol minus 42
I owned a 1974 1500 for several years and you really haven't driven one until you have mastered the three wheel turn. The Spitfire exhibited typical understeer right up until the inside rear tire would lift off the pavement, when it would switch into hard oversteer. If you did know when this was going to happen it was easy to lose control and spin out.
@@iangeorge6409It doesn't matter what axle or suspension design you have, any car can be provoked in to oversteer once the right conditions are met. The inside tyres will always have less grip during a turn, and weight transfer front to rear is a major component in under/oversteer... something that many drivers fail to understand. It's testament to modern technology and safety systems that cars stay facing the right way most of the time, DESPITE how some drivers throw their cars around. 😂
For track driving, that's not so much of a problem. But as fun as it may be, getting to that point on a public road generally means you're driving way too close to the limits. Public roads tend to be far more unpredictable and far less forgiving than driving on a track or closed circuit. As many find out to their cost... even if you're experienced, there's no guarantee you'll anticipate it in time, or have the time and room to correct it. Driving a 500Kg Caterham 7 in snow and ice gives you a whole new perspective on such things. 😁
I owned a 1979 Spitfire Mk4 that the previous owner had dumped a 1500 engine into it (Not much better performance, but a nightmare as far as the insurance company was concerned). So much fun to drive, but in many ways, it was the worst car I've ever owned. Absolutely loved it! IF I'd crashed it, even at moderate speed I would have been dead. The headlights and windscreen wipers were both useless. Terribly unreliable. No roll cage, no seatbelts, total deathtrap...But so much fun! :D
My first car was a 73 spitfire 1500. Spent two weeks getting it drivable and then spent two weeks driving and then got t boned:( I put less than 400 miles on it and had to replace about 3 different systems on it-easily the least reliable car I’ve ever seen lol, bit different from the big 65 Chevy c10 I have now (in every way possible) but I still have the spitfire and she’ll be restored:)
Drove from Detroit to North of Philadelphia every single Friday at five o'clock in the evening to see and be with the most beautiful wonderful loveliest girl in the world and blessed and lucky enough that she married me and we're still married more than fifty years and we loved our Spitfire
The Spitfire went through several iterations during it's life, including rear axle and suspension changes. The early cars handled differently to the later ones, and tucking under or "dodgy handling" weren't fairy tales, they were quite real.
How to drive a spitfire. With a big grin on your face. Its how I drove and drive mine. 1970 Spitfire bought new at Fulton Motors Sacramento California.
Not really. These cars were a lot more fun than today's. I had a 72 Spitfire that I drove from Montreal to San Diego and back. Mine was very reliable. I learned to drive in a 1960 Chevy Impala with the 3 speed manual on the steering column. Not even synchromesh. No power anything. It's all in what you're used to.
Why would it be harsher than today? Different? Yes, but in 20 years time, you won't experience the same driving tests and road conditions as today. Just like those who learned 20 years ago or more. In the '60s there was generally less traffic to deal with.
At 17 I bought a 1965 Spitfire right after I graduated from high school in 1969. At 69 years old it is still probably one of the most fun to drive cars I have owned. When I took it in for service at the local dealership that was selling all of the British cars at that time they actually offered me a job there. That allowed me the opportunity to drive Jaguar XKE’s, Austin Healey 3000’s, Jensen Interceptor‘s, Rolls Royce, all manner of MG’s and original Austin Mini’s.
Wow.....awsome! My first car in 1980 was a Spitfire Mk III. It was a fun car but came with quite a few problems. As a student I didn't have enough money to maintain it. 😢
I am 16 years old right now and just bought a 1967 spitfire to work on can’t wait to drive it
I have a 1500 spitfire I have restored, one of my classic retirement cars, so simple and cheap to fix a wonderful hobby.
Thanks for posting this. My parents bought me a used 1977 spitfire in the mid 90’s as my first car. It was super fun to drive. Eventually I bought a new car and I moved away for college. My mother had it towed away to the junk yard for no warning. Man, I wish I still had that car. Why mom, why???
They are pretty cheap on the used market and its a great project car since its so damn simple. I dunno just food for thought if you wanted to dive back into one
I hear ya, its like baseball hockey cards, and Superman comic Books, lol, I bought the 71 in 73, first car, left home , and my 60 year old parents but it back on the road lol, the novelty wore off for them, to hard to get in and out, .. I got one more use out of it, from Montreal to Northern Alberta. in Winter
Jason Downs:
How sad, 😭
A mate of mine had a white spitfire with Triumph dolomite sprint wheels and spacers put in the rear suspension to lift the rear a tad. It was the most beautiful car I have ever driven. You could open or close the soft top roof in the time it took for the lights to change. Brilliant for a jump start. I even carried a wardrobe in it. Brilliant motoring. Stood solid on the road. With Weber carburetors it had a brilliant power to weight ratio. Good solid unpretentious car that is inspiring to drive.
I had a 1968 MKIII Spitfire in the early 1970s. It was much better looking than these newer ones in this video. The Spitfire was one of the least reliable cars I have ever owned. On the upside, my Spitfire taught me to become a very good auto mechanic. I could rarely go more than a week or 100 miles before something would give me trouble. Over three years that I owned the Spitfire, I needed to rebuild almost every system at least once and maybe twice or more. The timing chain is more like a bicycle chain and they last less than 3,000 miles. I replaced mine at least five times in the three years that I owned it. It was a blast to drive and my girlfriend really loved it. She became my wife in 1974 and remains my beautiful wife today after 46 years! I loved my Spitfire despite its trouble.
Mechanic, just not a good one! Hahaha!
Couldn’t have written that better myself.. same model same issues.. would always overheat as well..
@@klauscapeotway Yes. I did not mention overheating, but I live in a hot Summer climate and my Spitfire always had overheating problems in the summer. One really bad thing is that I used to go up into the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Spitfire would overheat when climbing a hill. Then when I started going downhill, the engine would cool too rapidly and cause cracks to develop in the aluminum head. After doing several years mountain driving, I had to remove the head and have the machine shop drill out all the cracks and weld in alloy pins to fill holes drilled for the cracks. If I had the car now, I think I would replace the radiator with one of those aluminum double row units and install an electric fan. That would help with keeping the engine heat at a much more stable temperature year round. I really wish I could have that car back and I could install many modern replacement parts (e.g. HEI ignition and others) that would make the car more reliable. Cheers!
@@dojmike I have a 1963 Spitfire 4 and I did exactly that, installed an ignition, electric fan, an alternator and an electric gas pump. I have the car for the past four years and never had a problem with these enhancements. It is a weekend car and I only put about 3,000 miles on it in the past four years, but nevertheless I had zero mechanical issues with it.
@@marcoantoniogarcia38 Very cool that you have had a good experience with your Spitfire. I really wish that I could have mine back and see if I could alter it like you have done and have a much more reliable car. Another troubling issue was with the transmission. My synchro-rings wore out and I had to replace them twice in three years. Also, there are no ball bearings with the counter-shaft and cluster gear; only a brass insert Babbit bearing. This Babbit bearing wore out causing the transmission to make a loud grinding noise while in first gear. I missed driving a two-seater convertible with a 4-speed manual transmission so much that about a year ago I bought another one - only this time, I wanted to spend more time IN the car rather than UNDER it so I bought a 1970 Corvette convertible with a Muncie 4-speed. It is in like-new condition and has only 18,500 original miles on it. So far, it is a dream to drive but the only work I need to do on it is to modernize things like installing an HEI ignition and distributor, and I am adding Wilwood disc brakes for safety. Whenever I drive it, I cannot help but to smile. It takes me back 50 years ago when I loved driving my Spitfire with the top down. Enjoy the drive. Cheers!
Great old video! I bought my first car back in 1979, it was a '72 Spitfire MKIV. The Spitfire in this video featured the same graphic treatment as the one I had - seemingly very rarely seen on Spitfires. Mine was Sienna Brown with a tan interior. Living in a very small Midwestern town back then, there wasn't another Spitfire (or any British sports cars for that matter) to be found for miles and miles. It wasn't the most reliable car, but it made for lots of good memories.
This was cool. I love these old videos.
These archival videos are gold!
I have a 1973 MGB that is my daily driver. It is a similar car to this. Love it!!
MGBs are way better classic sports cars than the Spitfires. Besides them being better looking, more interior room, way more power, better handling, parts availability and reliability the MGB has a superior build quality and safer stronger uni-body design. I have had a 69 and 74 Spitfire, they were fun cars to restore but were not keepers. I presently own fully restored 68, 71, 79 & 80 Limited Edition MGBs. I have recently started working on my 68 MGC GT. This looks like it will be a bit of a parts challenge being only a 2 year production car.
@@MGB-learning wow!! That’s quite a collection!! I’m getting a 69 MGA soon too.
@@RandallChase1 Wow 69 MGA is very nice MG to add to your collection. My Wife insists that I have a MGB Hoarder problem. LOL!
I enjoyed watching this video and I hope once I restore my ‘79 spitfire it will perform like new. I don’t think I’ll ever drive it this hard tho lmao
Love old videos! Good find.
I had no idea archival footage like this existed. Such a cool video. What it would have been like to experience that.
I bought a Spitfire in 72 Brand New and I enjoyed every Minute of my 4 years with it.
I now have 72 Tr6 and it's blast..
These old videos give me a good laugh. I like them because they remind me of old Survival Insurance commercials from the 90s.
My older brother’s now wife had a purple 1976 Spitfire they would let me drive when they wanted some “alone” time. This video brought back some of those great memories. See also: the garage attendant scene from Ferris Bueler’s day off, or and Gymkhana video with Ken Block. ❤️
I've just turned 14- my current plan for cars is to flip some to save up for a nice little Spitfire one day. Would be lovely :)
I purchased a 72 Spitfire (British Green) with a blown reverse gear. I paid $1800 and another $600 to fix reverse for a total of $2400 in mint condition in 1974. Unfortunately I had a bad accident of my own fault and it was totaled 1 week before it was to go into winter storage. I loss I will alway remember. I did however have a few 2500+ miles adventures with a good friend. I do have photos to relived those days.
Awesome archive video!
Not my experience bought my 72 spitfire in 1997,still own it been on many adventures throughout the years, changed out engine once, but never been left high and dry,much fun
I was 19 and I bought my first brand new car . A 1975 French Blue Triumph Spitfire . I paid $3220 plus tax and registration. God I loved that car. I still wish I had it . I did a few years later buy a Triumph Rocket Ship 'AKA'
a1970 GT-6 . I sold that and restored an original year 1970 DATSUN 240Z and raced a 1971 240Z for a few years in SCCA at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park .
Wow, this is fantastic thank you so much! I love my Spitfire so much and have never seen this content before. Also planning on heading over to your museum again next week, this time for the Magnus Walker exhibit
my neighbour bought one brand new in 73, his wife wanted a 4 door, he got l think the Triumph 2000, so after only 9 months l had it of him, was a great car, unfortunately it was stolen after I'd had it around 15 mths, they wrote it of on a roundabout, loved that car, the Styling of them are great
This was really fun to watch!
Jjkk hi JJ kk opp
Cool old video.
Ontario Motor Speedway. Site of California Jam II in 1978. I was there
I must confess the blonde was what caught my interest in this video.
yah, I noticed he was more interested in her,than in what the instructor was saying. I could never have concentrated enough after seeing her. screw the driving lessons, how bout a drink?
Like the old 70s footage Im 63 n have 71 spit with 78 1500 mill thanks was thinking of selling her probly otta keep had her 20yrs excellant cond.
I drove mine 71, from Montreal to to fort McMurray. In Alberta, year round, charcoal biscuits, under the oil pan, and a match, were needed once lol minus 42
Where can I sign up? Great archival footage.
I owned a 1974 1500 for several years and you really haven't driven one until you have mastered the three wheel turn. The Spitfire exhibited typical understeer right up until the inside rear tire would lift off the pavement, when it would switch into hard oversteer. If you did know when this was going to happen it was easy to lose control and spin out.
Yes, those dreaded swing axles.
@@iangeorge6409It doesn't matter what axle or suspension design you have, any car can be provoked in to oversteer once the right conditions are met. The inside tyres will always have less grip during a turn, and weight transfer front to rear is a major component in under/oversteer... something that many drivers fail to understand. It's testament to modern technology and safety systems that cars stay facing the right way most of the time, DESPITE how some drivers throw their cars around. 😂
For track driving, that's not so much of a problem. But as fun as it may be, getting to that point on a public road generally means you're driving way too close to the limits. Public roads tend to be far more unpredictable and far less forgiving than driving on a track or closed circuit. As many find out to their cost... even if you're experienced, there's no guarantee you'll anticipate it in time, or have the time and room to correct it. Driving a 500Kg Caterham 7 in snow and ice gives you a whole new perspective on such things. 😁
I owned a 1979 Spitfire Mk4 that the previous owner had dumped a 1500 engine into it (Not much better performance, but a nightmare as far as the insurance company was concerned). So much fun to drive, but in many ways, it was the worst car I've ever owned. Absolutely loved it! IF I'd crashed it, even at moderate speed I would have been dead. The headlights and windscreen wipers were both useless. Terribly unreliable. No roll cage, no seatbelts, total deathtrap...But so much fun! :D
Mine was one of the early ones 1964 and I do remember one thing I didn't like; 1st gear wasn't synchronized.
Only one way to drive a spitfire...as fast as you fucking can!
Which isn't that fast, considering how slow it is..😂
My first car was a 73 spitfire 1500. Spent two weeks getting it drivable and then spent two weeks driving and then got t boned:( I put less than 400 miles on it and had to replace about 3 different systems on it-easily the least reliable car I’ve ever seen lol, bit different from the big 65 Chevy c10 I have now (in every way possible) but I still have the spitfire and she’ll be restored:)
Drove from Detroit to North of Philadelphia every single Friday at five o'clock in the evening to see and be with the most beautiful wonderful loveliest girl in the world and blessed and lucky enough that she married me and we're still married more than fifty years and we loved our Spitfire
wow @9:39
Vintage Car Ads are fascinating!
❤
picked some real charismatic guys for this!! No tucking under, belies the old dodgy handling stories.
The Spitfire went through several iterations during it's life, including rear axle and suspension changes. The early cars handled differently to the later ones, and tucking under or "dodgy handling" weren't fairy tales, they were quite real.
@@another3997 this isn’t an early car. People still whine about tuck in on the mkiv and 1500 but it really isn’t an issue, as this video shows.
How to drive a spitfire. With a big grin on your face. Its how I drove and drive mine. 1970 Spitfire bought new at Fulton Motors Sacramento California.
WHY CANT IT FLY?
Learning to drive must have been harsh in the 60s and 70s compared to todays cars
Not really. These cars were a lot more fun than today's. I had a 72 Spitfire that I drove from Montreal to San Diego and back. Mine was very reliable. I learned to drive in a 1960 Chevy Impala with the 3 speed manual on the steering column. Not even synchromesh. No power anything. It's all in what you're used to.
Why would it be harsher than today? Different? Yes, but in 20 years time, you won't experience the same driving tests and road conditions as today. Just like those who learned 20 years ago or more. In the '60s there was generally less traffic to deal with.