Mike's Triumph Spitfire:
Thirty Five Years of Fun!

Spitfire 1500 Fun & Repairs during 2001



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PBCA at Panama City show My wife and I drove the Spitfire from Pensacola, FL to Panama City, FL on March 10, 2001. It was about 230 miles round trip. We had a fun time at the Panama City Scottish Festival and British Car show.Picture taken by Ann Fell.[March 2001]
picture taken by New Orleans British Motoring Club Two weeks later we drove 436 miles round trip to Metairie, LA for the British Motoring Club New Orleans' British Car Day 2001 at a large park called Lafrenaire Park. We stopped in Slidell to pick up my nephew Christopher and then on to the show.  They host a great show there and had about 120 British cars and bikes of all types and makes. Even a Singer Nine and a TVR Griffith was there. Pictures of my club members at this show are on the PBCA site. [March 2001]
"Triumph Spitfire & GT6 Magazine" has chosen me as their first Owner of the Month!  The magazine is 'reader supported' meaning that they need readers to submit stories about their cars and repair tips for publication.  As I was nearing my 20 year mark with the Spitfire, I realized that a story covering that time period might be interesting to others, so I wrote a story and sent it in.  A few days later they replied that not only would they include my story but that they had decided to create a new part of their magazine's website for owner of the month and that they had chosen me as the first one!  I was quite surprised, flattered, and happy at the same time.  So my article was in the next printed issue and it was also on their website until they chose another.[April 2001]
Getting ready for my club's annual show, I removed the damaged paint on the firewall shelf under and around the clutch master cylinder. It sprang a leak and destroyed the new paint there last year. I did not do this before the New Orleans show in March and since it looked bad, it probably cost me some votes. But since the clutch is going to leak again someday, I deceided not to give it any more paint to damage. Agree or disagree? In the second picture, I painted the springs black because the paint/body shop had painted them yellow with the rest of the engine compartment. Three people viewing earlier pictures on this page wrote asking me why the springs were yellow like the car. So I took care of that and it looked better at the PBCA show. The glossy black paint is getting a reflection from the hood in this picture, but the struts are all black. [April 2001]
Picture from TriumphSpitfire.com My horn has not worked for about two years due to when I took the car apart.  The horn relay for a center-wheel-button Spitfire is kinda confusing and the Haynes manual is not much help here.  While on the Triumph Spitfire & GT6 Magazine website (picture), I saw they had a page on relays with a link to Tom O'Malley's page on Spitfire wiring diagrams.  So I printed his diagram and went out to the car with it.  Now, the horn works, thanks to Tom O'Malley.  Links to those diagrams are on the front Spitfire page. [April 2001]
country spitfire After returning from the Pensacola British Car Beach Bash 2001, I took this picture in my back yard. I call it, "Country Spitfire". I received third place in the Spitfire/GT6 class at the show. Pictures of all cars at the show are on the PBCA website. We finally broke that 100-car threshold by having 107 registered cars! Our most successful year yet![April 2001]
finally a clean trunk Here is a shot of the trunk showing my well-worn Haynes manual at the ready. I had improved the trunk for the PBCA 2001 show by ordering a new mat, painting the back panel, and installing inside tail lens covers that a friend gave me. I found an original Spitfire jack and wrench at a junkyard. And, yes, that gray cylinder to the left is an electric fuel pump that I was forced into getting after three mechanical ones failed for various reasons. Long story! [April 2001]
Mike and Cherie at Wakulla Springs, FL The trips are getting longer. This time we drove 580 miles round-trip from Pensacola to Wakulla Springs, FL (south of Tallahassee) for the Big Bend MG's 2nd Annual All British Car & Bike Show. About 40 cars showed up for this club's 2nd show. Spitfire & GT6 Magazine readers: I met the builder of the SpitCat here, Andy Prevelig! He drove his 1970 Spitfire and his wife drove her 1976 Spitfire. Another Spitfire and a GT6 Mk3 (for sale) were also there. My wife overheard comments from others that my Spitfire was the best-looking one. [May 2001]
Spitfire at Goatfeather's On the way back from Wakulla, we drove to Grayton Beach (near Seaside) to meet our PBCA club members who drove together from Pensacola to Grayton Beach for a club outing. We met them at this restaurant, Goatfeather's, for lunch and after followed them to Seaside for walking and shopping. Then it was back home along US331 north and US90 West to northwest Pensacola. [May 2001]
Happy Anniversary! My wife and I travelled to St.Thomas USVI for our 2nd honeymoon one year after our wedding. We had our 1-year Anniversary dinner at the Blue Moon Café in the South Side area of the island. The only British cars I saw there were one Jaguar XJ6 and two MGB's.[June 2001]
After returning from our 2nd honeymoon, we drove with my Mom and my niece to my cousin's wedding in Nebraska. Nine of our cousins came from Nebraska for our wedding in 2000 so we decided to return the honor. While on the way back, I could not resist stoping in on Victoria British in Kansas to buy a windshield for my GT6 and asking Mom to take this picture. Unfortunately for my niece, the wind blew her hair in her face exactly when Mom snapped the picture. :-) [June 2001]
Inside the Victoria British building, they have three cars in a little showroom next to the parts pick-up counter. This topaz 79/80 model is one of them. It has been there quite a while because I saw it in person in April of 1997 also. This car probably appears in some of their catalogs.[June 2001]
My shop is full! My shop is full! With the 1960's Triumphs parked parallel and the Spit1500 parked perpendicular, this kinda fills up the 25x28 shop that I have. I have to drive the Spit1500 into the shop by using the parallel-parking method, but at least I am able to park all three inside. Before, the Spit1500 and the GT6 were parallel and trailer was parked in front. Now the trailer is outside.[December 2001]
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