Triumph Spitfires were fun little convertibles. Great handling, wonderful lines and, well, and Lucas wiring. (In joke: do you know why British bikers drink warm beer? Because Lucas made refrigerators too.)
At the end of the last year of production, 1980, they pretty much just used all the parts that fit instead of the standard parts. So, those of us (un)lucky enough to purchase one quickly learned about that (un)lovable quirk.
Parts manuals were worthless, you had to take the actual part to the store to get the one you needed to replace.
My bf at the time was in the auto repair business, but had only touched my baby once and I almost broke up with him over it*. I still loved him though, and allowed him to take me to the parts shop for a new battery. The clerk looked in the book, went and fetched a battery that I could tell by sight wouldn't fit.
I told them it wouldn't fit and they poo-pooed the cute little blond girl trying to tell 2 professionals they were wrong. I told my bf that if I was right, he would be the one exchanging it, he agreed and I bought it.
As he was exchanging it for the one I had asked for at the store, he and the clerk both agreed that I knew better than anyone what I wanted and they should have listened.
*the bonnet didn't close properly, and the hinges needed adjusting. As a well trained bodyman who knows how to fix these things, he would adjust it for me. I watched as he opened and closed the bonnet several times, put it upright and then body slammed it
At the end of the last year of production, 1980, they pretty much just used all the parts that fit instead of the standard parts. So, those of us (un)lucky enough to purchase one quickly learned about that (un)lovable quirk.
Parts manuals were worthless, you had to take the actual part to the store to get the one you needed to replace.
My bf at the time was in the auto repair business, but had only touched my baby once and I almost broke up with him over it*. I still loved him though, and allowed him to take me to the parts shop for a new battery. The clerk looked in the book, went and fetched a battery that I could tell by sight wouldn't fit.
I told them it wouldn't fit and they poo-pooed the cute little blond girl trying to tell 2 professionals they were wrong. I told my bf that if I was right, he would be the one exchanging it, he agreed and I bought it.
As he was exchanging it for the one I had asked for at the store, he and the clerk both agreed that I knew better than anyone what I wanted and they should have listened.
*the bonnet didn't close properly, and the hinges needed adjusting. As a well trained bodyman who knows how to fix these things, he would adjust it for me. I watched as he opened and closed the bonnet several times, put it upright and then body slammed it
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