Beschreibung
YES, one of my all time favourites, the Mark 3 Spitfire. The last of the range with that delightful rear end and tiny light clusters before the up-dated Mark IV brought us a scaled down Triumph Stag rear end! I have always thought that the Mark 3 was the prettiest of all Spitfires as well as being the best, high revving driver. Great cars to drive with the proper curves in the right places. In fact made to look even better with the addition of the optional extra, the hard top, which this 1969 model has.
The old girl was restored - so the story goes - more than 30 years ago and apart from being started on a regular basis, she has not been out of dry storage until now. Again, and I can only go on what I have been told, the engine was rebuilt at that time and to this say she starts on the key and sounds really sweet. She needs a battery by the way.
I am selling her as a barn (garage) find/ relatively easy project as she needs clutch and brake masters to get her back on the road. Bodily, she's not that bad. The paint work has suffered over the three decades and she has plenty of micro blistering and so most would probably opt to paint the old girl. Chassis looks decent as do the outriggers. It has the look of a car that had a body off resto all those years ago with the painted tub being out back onto a fresh, black chassis. There's a bit of rot, looks like no more than a couple of inches, on the offside outer sill pretty much beneath the door opening. Could be up and running (remember she already is running, and so I mean on the road!) relatively easily. Interior is not bad and she has the proper spec Mark 3 bucket style seats in black with white piping. The driver's back section has wear to the vinyl.
An especially nice touch is the original Mark 3 steering wheel as most have been replaced with after market examples. I'm pricing her in the bargain basement bracket for a Mark 3 Spit.
This description is based on my opinion of the vehicle, the paperwork that comes with the car and anything I have been told about it. The vehicle is 53-years-old and this cannot be taken as a definitive statement for obvious reasons. As with most classic cars, there may be faults and quirks whilst, almost inevitably, some degree of tinkering and care will always be called for. Such are the joys of owning an antique vehicle and they must be taken within their own context and not compared to modern day cars. They are sold as old, mainly out-dated machines and come without any comeback whatsoever. They are my terms and conditions.
My classic cars are motoring antiques. This car, for example, is 53-years-old and so will have quirks and faults in there somewhere. These are not always apparent when buying and selling classics which is what I do. I do not restore them, nor do I pretend that they are concours cars. The majority of them go out as they came in, and I continue to enjoy finding more - a skill which is becoming increasingly difficult as many of you will be aware. They deserve to be taken on as "family pets" and cared for through thick and then. They don't make them any more and demand now out-strips supply. Please bear all this in mind, and enjoy your classic car. I can also assist with delivery and so please ask for a quote.
I have now been established as a one-man band classic car dealer for 20 years and pride myself on my buying prowess and - due to small margins - my prices which I firmly believe are up there among the very best in the UK classic car marketplace.
Thanks, Martin. the details below.
