Manche757 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Anyone have experience with one of these? Hard to keep running? Parts hard to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 my father had to give his up when I was born, so it's been a while. he remembers it very fondly though. he says the Lucus ignition is to be avoided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 A car for a great son would make quite a story. Got Speilberg's number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 apparently it was a fight til the bitter end too, as I rode in a basket on the floor for a while before he finally found a 4 seater car. safety was sooooo overrated back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 This gets better and better. No wonder you grew fond of auto mechanics. Got a pic of little Pete in the basket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 nope. cameras weren't quite as ubiquitous in '76. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokinn Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Had a 66 Triumph Spitfire I purchased between postings of Okinawa and Ft. Campbell KY in 1970. Loved the car. My foreign auto repair class in college after, rebuilt the heads and I had many a memorable trip along the Oregon coast among others until my brother-in-law rolled it with me in it. Finicky but I still really enjoyed the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 12 hours ago, rokinn said: I had many a memorable trip along the Oregon coast among others until my brother-in-law rolled it with me in it. A true rolling adventure. Glad you survived to tell about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limeyjeeper Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 A surprisingly robust aftermarket exists for a vehicle that only had about 90,000 built. Places like Victoria British, Rimmer bros, the roadster factory to name a few. All body panels are available along with engine, trans, electrical etc. You can even buy a new chassis. Not much you can't find for these beautiful machines. Strong engines, decent trans, diffs are tricky to fix, weak rear hubs, bearing can go, difficult fix, body and chassis can rot if not looked after. Built between 69 and 76. 69 parts are the most difficult to source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokinn Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 5 hours ago, Manche757 said: A true rolling adventure. More so than you might imagine! We were on our way to Nebraska just after dawn. I woke to the car doing 360's down I 80, we went off the road and through a barb wire fence which took possession of the soft top, we rolled once and landed upright in a dry creek bed. Had it towed to Laramie where I had an army buddy living. We had to bend the windshield frame back up to its original position. My buddy had a back window out of a 55 Chevy which we tied and taped in place for a make shift windshield. It stuck out about a foot on either side of the car. Taped the headlights back in and taped and tied the doors shut. Drove it back to Oregon. We were quite the sight and got a great many stares. Must not have been seen by any cops and I think I insisted on doing the driving from then on. Advertised it as, Only Rolled Once, and sold it for a $100 bucks. I occasionally have dreams at night that I still have the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 On 8/25/2019 at 2:34 PM, Limeyjeeper said: A surprisingly robust aftermarket exists for a vehicle that only had about 90,000 built. Were you in UK Navy? Brits were originally called Limey because limes were used to fight scurvy which was caused by the lack of vitamin C on long times at sea. Thanks for the tips. I get the impression that parts might be easier to find than they are for MJs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 10 minutes ago, rokinn said: More so than you might imagine! We were on our way to Nebraska just after dawn. I woke to the car doing 360's down I 80, we went off the road and through a barb wire fence which took possession of the soft top, we rolled once and landed upright in a dry creek bed. How did you manage to stay alive when rolling a convertible? Roll bar on the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokinn Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 21 hours ago, Manche757 said: How did you manage to stay alive when rolling a convertible? Roll bar on the car? Nope, no roll bar! Who can say? Suit cases on luggage rack, rolled in sand, perfect angle on creek bed, going slow at that point, hand of the Lord??? No injuries though beyond a couple of minor cuts from broken glass. Lessons: have a roll bar in a convertible sports car and don't let anyone drive who's only experience is driving a VW bug. Jerking the wheel while taking off shirt because the car is drifting a bit and then slamming on the brakes = bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manche757 Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 Let me see if I have this correct. A baby boy rides in a box with no top in a car also without a top. Meanwhile a young army man, living on the edge, takes the death seat and turns the driving over to someone without much experience. They roll the convertible down to a creek bed and survive to tell about it. Both the baby and the soldier turn out more or less normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 it's honestly amazing that anyone survived driving around in the the 60s and 70s but then, a lot of people didn't so there's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokinn Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 And this was the pre seatbelt era as well. Don't think I owned or drove one (with one exception) that had seat belts in it until the latter half of the 70's. Babies in boxes...we usually just stuffed a pillow into the top of the box. You know, in case there was a roll over or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 On 8/24/2019 at 12:47 PM, Manche757 said: Anyone have experience with one of these? Hard to keep running? Parts hard to get? One of the better British cars. Parts no issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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