A tale of two Triumph Spitfires…

Every classic car we purchase has its own story to tell, because of its journey through life, and often through an interesting narrative of renovations, ownership or even moving across continents. Recently, however, we purchased two cars with a really interesting back story which we’d love to share with you here.

We were contacted for a valuation for two, almost identical Triumph Spitfire 1500s, bought by two brothers who had owned them from new. After we had purchased them, I spoke to Phil, the younger of the brothers, to find out all the details of their fascinating story.

The first was a 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500 in Pageant Blue. With 51,200 miles on the clock, and totally original features, this was an absolute stunner of a car. Owned by Anthony, the older brother, it had been lovingly cared for and not used in bad weather since 1983. It came with the sales documents and handbook, and the paintwork was 95% original, with just a repair of 5% throughout its life.

Phil’s car was a 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 in Vermillion Red. With a mileage of only 38,700, this beauty even had the original Uniroyal spare wheel in situ! Always kept in a garage, and not used in bad weather, this car also had 95% original paintwork, and the sales documents and handbook too.

When the cars came in to us, we realised just how immaculate they truly were. They had obviously been very looked after well, and even the tool bags in each respective car had been folded neatly in exactly the same way! To add to the similarity, the cars had also had halogen headlight conversions at the same time, in 2019.

Both cars had been serviced and maintained by their owners since the day they had purchased them, overseen by their father in the first instance, a man who ultimately went on to work at British Leyland.

I wondered where this obvious passion for the Spitfires had come from. Phil told me that he first knew he wanted to own a Triumph Spitfire when he went to a motor show in 1976 and saw one, falling in love with it on the spot. As the older brother, Anthony could drive sooner, however, and he bought his Spitfire first, with Phil following suit just a few years later, scooping one of the last (roughly 3000) in production.

Phil attributes a lot of the longevity and great condition of the Triumphs to having had the underbody of the cars Ziebart sealed, which he feels definitely helped to preserve them. He drove to get that carried out on the very first day he owned the car, and it sounds like that was a great plan.

He also told me that both he and Anthony felt the wrath of their mother after pumping the inside panels of their cars with Finnegans Waxoyl. It may have helped prevent the car from getting damp and subsequent rust, but their mum wasn’t very pleased when the fluid dripped onto her driveway, staining it over time! I’m assured that a new driveway was provided by the sons…

Many years of enjoyment ensued, with both brothers working on their cars, and doing their upkeep along with some guidance from their father who loved to give a hand. He didn’t own a Triumph himself, however (I did ask).

So why were the cars put up for sale? It seems that upon coming across one of our adverts, the brothers decided that now was the right time to sell, after all this time. Phil told me that the work had become just a little too much, what with needing to go underneath the car to maintain it. Both brothers decided that as they had bought them as soon as they could together, they would then sell them at the same time together as well. 

I asked Phil what he would miss the most having sold his beloved Triumph. He said he’d miss not seeing it in the garage every time he went in there, as it’s been there since he was around twenty years old! The space, he told me, is a little disconcerting. But he did assure me that one day it might be filled with another, albeit more modern car…

What a lovely story, I’m sure you’ll agree - and thank you to the owners Phil and Anthony for sharing it!