Triumph ceased promoting new automobiles in the US after the ultimate TR7s and TR8s have been bought as 1981 fashions, with the operation shutting down fully after the final (Honda Civic-derived) 1984 Triumph Acclaim was constructed. BMW is the present proprietor of the Triumph model and there have been hints of a Triumph revival recently, however the glory days of Triumph in the US have been the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies. One of the vital beloved Triumph fashions right here was the Spitfire, which hit American dealerships in 1963 and remained out there by way of 1980, and as we speak’s Junkyard Gem is a Malaise Period instance present in a Denver self-service automobile graveyard.
The Spitfire was developed from the chassis of the Triumph Herald sedan. We noticed a 1962 Herald in the exact same junkyard final summer season, and I believe that each that automobile and as we speak’s Spitfire got here from the gathering of the identical native Triumph fanatic. Maybe the Herald was a components automobile for a fleet of Spitfires.
There is a receipt from 2018 for fairly a little bit of emissions-related work on this automobile from a close-by British automobile restore store, in addition to paperwork indicating that the automobile handed a Colorado emissions check a number of months later.
The physique is not rusty, however the paint is unhealthy and the inside is on the tough facet. Good Spitfire 1500s are price good however not big cash today, so my guess is that this automobile’s final proprietor wanted to clear driveway house and could not discover a purchaser keen to tackle this challenge. I nonetheless discover discarded Spitfires regularly, although TR7s are extra widespread in junkyards.
The engine is a 1.5-liter Commonplace pushrod straight-four, rated at 52.5 horsepower in U.S.-market type.
The transmission is a four-on-the-floor handbook. An non-obligatory overdrive was out there.
Federal bumper laws that went into impact for the 1974 mannequin 12 months compelled British Leyland so as to add these big bumper extensions to Spitfires (this automobile is lacking the one for the left facet).
The MSRP for this automobile was $4,250, or about $23,447 in 2024 {dollars}. That made it the most cost effective new Triumph automobile mannequin out there in the US (Triumph bikes have been made by an organization that went its personal manner in 1936), with the TR6 priced at $5,995 and the TR7 at $5,595 ($33,075 and $30,868 after inflation).
In the meantime, Fiat listed the 1976 124 Sport Spider at $5,759 ($31,772 in as we speak’s {dollars}). MG competed in opposition to Triumph (each owned by British Leyland and therefore the British authorities) by providing the Midget for $3,895 and the MGB for $4,750 ($21,489 and $26,206 after inflation).
The odometer exhibits 71,388 miles, which has a superb probability of being the real complete.
This white-knuckle run to the emergency room hit speeds nicely above 50 miles per hour, in accordance with the shot of the speedometer.
You not solely get a automobile and a woman, however a chunk of historical past.
Proper, Champ? Champ? Hey, Champ!
Save this endangered species by shopping for one as we speak.