1966 Triumph Spitfire Mk2

This Spitfire comes to us from the family of an owner who has been forced to give up driving through ill health. The car was in use until a few years ago and has lived in a dry garage throughout its long stay with the vendors, last changing hands some 28 years back.

The key point to note is that the owner carried out a restoration in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and from what we can gather, he had the car both re-trimmed and repainted professionally. Since then, use has been sparing, leaving the restoration nicely mellowed but still extremely smart.

Because of the circumstances of the sale, full details of the work that was carried out are unavailable so it’s a car to assess and buy on condition. When it arrived with us, it wore a layer of garage dust that disguised just how well the Wedgwood Blue paint has stood up.

Mechanically we believe the car to be unmodified and sound - with a new battery, it started and reversed out of the garage when first extracted, with both brakes and clutch free and operational. However, it spluttered a little and an occasional reluctance to start since then suggests that some attention to the ignition system would cheer it up.

Indeed, because of the car’s years in storage we recommend a thorough inspection and recommissioning process before use on the road. That said, we’ve found nothing to suggest any significant faults - the lighting and electrics all function well, for instance - and believe a change of fluids and some basic maintenance would see the car roadworthy once more.

The MoT test is no longer required for classics of this age, of course, but it remains a valuable safety check.

The Spitfire’s pronounced panel seams are clean and free of rust stains or bubbles in the paint. Indeed, the finish across the whole body is very nice and while it’s not a 10/10 concours paint job, it’s well up to winning rosettes at a local car show.

The car was clearly stripped to a considerable extent for the respray, leaving fresh new seals in the door apertures, the boot, at the base of the windscreen and around the screen glass itself. The bootlid is just as shiny and blue on the inside as it is outside.

In the left-hand rear corner of the bootshut, there’s evidence of a small crack in the paint and minor rust staining. A small fire extinguisher is fitted next to the scissor jack. The hardboard panel that hides the fuel tank is in good condition.

The brightwork looks almost new; there’s barely any pitting or denting and it seems likely a good proportion of it was replaced when the car was restored. The number plates and lamp lenses are also in fine shape.

The car has smart steel wheels painted white and wearing a good set of ‘dog dish’ hubcaps. The tyres, a set of 145 r13 Debica radials, have plenty of tread but if you’re being strict about tyre life they should probably be replaced. That said, having spent most of their life in a dark garage, they’re unlikely to have degraded very much and don’t show any serious cracking.

The re-trimmed seats look as though they’ve barely been sat in, the door cards are very good and the carpets are unmarked too. Underneath the carpets, the floors are sound but could do with brushing down and repainting to protect them from the inevitable damp days that every British sports car owner eventually experiences. The belts are fixed - correct for a Mk 2 Spit but something some owners might want to upgrade - and are a darker blue than the seats.

The handbrake is wearing an ill-fitting rubber gaiter from a later model and would be smarter in original form. The dashboard, always a handsome layout with the large rev counter and speedo and the keyhole over to the left, is in good shape but sports a 1990s Blaupunkt radio cassette – maybe swap it for a period-correct radio and sell it to grateful fans of ‘youngtimer’ Audis and VWs!

The hood and tonneau cover (a nice thing to have, and by no means present on every 1960s Spitfire) look new, like so much else. Free from rips or missing poppers and with un-clouded plastic windows, the blue hood over its white-painted frame sets the car off very nicely when raised.

The sills are smart and solid - and yes, they’re regarded as a structural item on a Spitfire, even with the separate chassis. The chassis outriggers, like the rest of the frame and floors underneath, are sound and safe under a coat of black rustproofing.

The door bottoms and A-posts are immaculate. The wheel arches reveal spot-weld marks, not smoothed-over lips of filler. There are some areas of surface rust, but out of sight - in the engine bay, the bulkhead is scruffy here and there and the wishbones could do with a scrub and re-paint if you’re feeling thorough.

The engine is fairly clean and the twin inch-and-a-quarter SU carbs are breathing through the correct Spitfire filter box. The top hose of the radiator has perished and has a bubbling leak, but there are spare hoses in the boot! A modern battery was fitted to revive the car after storage and may need replacing with one of a more appropriate size to fit the tray and restraining bar.

The huge, lifting front end is painted black inside and hinges forward smoothly, resting against the folding restraint bar as it should. The nicely chromed Michelotti bonnet locks operate securely. The exhaust is sound - it doesn’t leak and it has a smart chrome tip.

When it has been running, we have driven it up our private lane, and can confirm that the gearbox changes gear, the clutch disengages the engine, the brakes slow the car down, the engine makes it faster. Pleasingly nothing significant to report, but requiring recommissioning and checking.

UPDATE: We are very pleased to report that some more documents and invoices have surfaced (and are now included n the Gallery). These include some more MOTs from the post-restoration period, a smattering of invoices and, most wonderfully, the original service book with 6 stamps from 1966 to 1971 along with an equally good original handbook. Of course the registration document correctly shows the Spitfire’s ‘Historic Vehicle’ status.

Unfortunately, the sad circumstances of the sale prevent any of us being able to answer many of the questions you may wish to ask; such as, if the engine has had a full rebuild or similar restoration quandaries. Once again, we’d urge anyone interested in a really good early Spitfire to assess this car on condition rather than on paper. Further research via a BMIHT Heritage Certificate or through the Triumph Sports Six Club could also reveal more to the new owner.

The Spitfire is forever being suggested by classic car magazines as an ideal first classic, but everything that makes it suitable for a first-time classic owner is also a huge advantage to someone who’s had dozens of old cars: the support for spare parts is immense, the club scene for the marque and model is thriving, they’re cheap to run and easy to fix for either a DIY mechanic or any local garage. All you’ve got to do is avoid buying a bad one.

This car is not only an excellent example, it’s the prettiest shape in one of the most desirable colours. Even with really nice Spitfires you often find tatty roofs or missing tonneaus, but the weather equipment on this car is effectively new.

It is for sale No Reserve, with an estimate of £6,000 - £9,000.

Returning it to regular use should be less than a weekend’s work for an experienced spanner-wielder. After that, the new owner has a choice: sort out any imperfections in the paint, replace the 1990s stereo and handbrake gaiter and start winning prizes at car shows…or just jump in and use it. If not every day, then every weekend.

It would mean a lot to the vendors to see the car once again out and about, being enjoyed. With such a thorough restoration behind it and so little use since, we think a happy ending for this classic roadster is guaranteed.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us in Abingdon. 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.