1972 Triumph Spitfire Mk IV

First registered on the 1st February 1972 and sold through William Ellis Garages of Oswestry, this Triumph Spitfire MkIV with the 1296cc engine has clocked up just 83,000 miles in nearly five decades of use.

Having had a Triumph as a younger man, the current owner bought the Spitfire in October 2017 from a man in Bristol who is a serial Triumph restorer. He himself bought it early the same year before carrying out a number of improvements which are detailed in the History Highlights section. On selling, he reported that the car had been rebodied in 1980 but still has the original engine, chassis and four-speed manual gearbox (without overdrive).

The car has been kept garaged and covered when not in use and the owner has driven fewer than 500 miles over three years, only going to local shows on fair-weather days. He’s selling now as a recent knee injury makes it harder for him to get out from such a low-down position.

Originally finished in Pure White, this Spitfire has been repainted in an eye-catching colour called Pimento Red - and being named after a chilli pepper adds to the ‘hot and spicy’ look. The paint and bodywork is almost flawless - not perfect, no car ever is - but in an amazing condition and difficult to find fault with. The folding vinyl hood and its plastic windows look to be in fabulous condition with the mechanism raising and folding away under a hood cover without issue. (Note that our photographer was almost convinced that the bonnet/clamshell was a completely new item, such is its condition)

The brightwork - bumpers, tail pipe, bonnet catches, windscreen top etc - are also pretty good, with just a little pitting here and there such as on the filler cap and in the door handle scoops as you might expect. The rear finisher trims are blackened rather than stainless which to some may appear at first a little incongruous but this look is not uncommon and they present well. Around the car, the panel gaps and shut lines are probably better than you’d have got from the Canley factory in 1970.

The Spitfire sits on recent 13-inch Minilite wheels - although the original pattern chrome-trimmed steelies have been retained and are included in the sale. The Minilites are all fitted with matching Falken Sincera tyres.

Regular readers will know that matching tyres are an infallible sign of a car that has been owned by a mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the money to keep the car in the very best condition; as such, we use them as something of a ‘shortcut’ when assessing a car’s likely overall mechanical condition.

The interior of the Spit continues the story of a very well presented car. The black vinyl dash and door cards all look in good order with no cracks or tears. The very period teak dash inlay is plain but in good condition, complementing the Smiths and Jaeger instruments and what looks like an original three-spoke sports steering wheel.

The seats appear like new with very little sign of being lived in, carpeting throughout is also free of wear or damage and both footwells have custom rubber floor mats for additional protection. The seatbelts are of a modern inertia-reel type and keep you firmly attached to the car. The sun visors look fresh, as does the gaiter on the gear stick although there is a small split in the rubber on the handbrake gaiter.

A late ‘70s Sharp radio cassette player has been neatly retro-fitted in front of the gear stick and connected to discreet speakers in the rear. Just be advised that you need to be in 2nd or 4th gear to change tapes!

Aside from a slightly temperamental rev counter which needs a small tap to wake it up, the stereo, heater and all other equipment and instrumentation are reported to be in full working order. There is very little to find fault with or be critical of inside this Spitfire.

Tipping the clamshell forward - essentially the entire front body of the car - reveals the rather skeletal engine bay and front suspension, which like the rest of the car is in a good, clean condition. The rocker cover and air filter housings on each of the SU carbs add a bit of bling to what is otherwise a largely original power plant. All hoses, cables and ducting appear in good, renewed order and there is very little sign of any rust or corrosion around the metalwork. The underside of the bonnet has a little splatter but nothing of any significance.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (or a buffering livestream for any Millennials reading this) the underneath also appears in amazing condition. Whilst understandably not as clean and blemish free as the more visible bodywork, the undersides are in better order than most cars approaching the end of their fifth decade. Structural members and suspension parts are painted and/or clean with little or no rust in sight, and the floor pans all show a good covering of underseal. A Klarius exhaust system has been fitted, which uses aluminised steel with stainless welds to give both strength and longer corrosion protection.

In the boot, the load space is clean and tidy and contains a full size spare wheel with the cover and other boot linings present and intact. The boot lid appears in great condition and there are no signs of rust or corrosion anywhere around hinges, catches or the walls and floor of the boot.

You don’t have to take our word for the impressive condition of this Spitfire, we always encourage an inspection in person if possible, although we understand that some potential bidders may be limiting travel and social exposure. Be sure to scrutinise the abundance of detailed photos in the gallery first but why not use the ‘Contact Seller’ option to arrange a viewing or set up a video call with the vendor to discuss the car and you can zoom in on any areas you’d like a closer look at.

The online MOT history for this Spitfire is surprisingly successful, given the age of the car and the build quality of many of its contemporaries from the British Leyland Motor Company. There are only two recent failures for lamps or washers not working and a ball joint dust cover but other than those, it’s an annual first time PASS all the way back to the start of online records in 2006. Paper records also show that the car has only done around 3,000 miles in the last 30 years but has been tested annually throughout – extremely rare to find a paper trail like this.

The car’s latest MOT expired back in March and although exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it tested at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner and any subsequent purchasers but is also invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies.

Between January and September 2017, the previous owner/restorer carried out a significant amount of work on the Spitfire to maintain it into the condition it presents today. This work included:

- New exhaust

- Reconditioned radiator, new hoses and an additional electric cooling fan

- Electronic ignition with new leads and plugs

- Rocker cover and air filter bodies

- New hub bearings and brakes all round

- New springs and shocks all round

- New hood and cover with a new windscreen top plate

- Minilite wheels and tyres

To supplement the Minilites, the Spitfire’s original steel wheels (with tyres) and hubcaps come with the car, along with a centre-zipped tonneau cover for those days when you want to go roofless but still don’t trust the British weather!

The car also comes with two sets of keys, a fleece-lined car cover, a substantial history file of period photos, invoices and MOT reports, various owners workshop manuals, handbooks, a pile of Triumph World magazines and its original “Passport to Service” booklet charmingly containing a number of garage stamps, mostly from its time in Shropshire.

This glorious Pimento Red MkIV Spitfire is not just a pretty face, we understand that it performs beautifully too, pulling well and feeling nice and tight with very little roll in the corners and a pleasingly fruity rasp on the exhaust when pressing on. We imagine the new owner will be hoping for a long, dry autumn to take it out for some spirited B-road driving with the top down before winter sets in and the roads get salted.

Given its superb, road-ready condition - one of the best we’ve seen - and substantial history file we expect this MkIV to sell for between £7,000 and £9,000.

It has been so well looked after over the years that there’ll be nothing more than a splash of fuel required before the new owner jumps straight in and enjoys it for many years to come - what a Triumph (sorry, couldn’t resist)!

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located in Great Bentley, near Colchester in Essex; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.