Dries has this successful creation by Triumph owned for many years. And even better: the beautiful red Triumph Spitfire mk3 from 1968 can still regularly be seen on the road at regional rides and national club days. As a regional coordinator, he and a group of enthusiastic members organize the cup ride 10 times a year, and together with his wife has also been involved in the club's management for more than 10 years. Enthusiasm remains great, in the provinces of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe alone there are still around forty Triumph it's with me.
By: Dirk de Jong
For the history of this Triumph Spitfire mk3 we have to go back to the year 1988. The car originally came from Nevada (United States). Without the necessary official documents, it was for sale in the Netherlands (2000) at a dealer in Goirle. The first assignment – after purchase – was to search for the data. Not an easy task, because the English car was registered in different states. Fortunately, the data was retrieved and the restoration could begin.
incentive
Dries: “For me, the best stimulus was during the restoration of the Triumph Spitfire mk3 the prospect of finally enjoying the result. And for me that is, enjoying the design and of course driving it! The restoration started in 2000 and lasted - with the necessary interruptions - 5 years. It was certainly not a 'refurbishment', but a total restoration. Completely stripped down to the last nut, chassis was perfect, little welding, but new bottom plates and a complete overhaul of the engine. I even did the painting in my own garage. So lovingly restored at the cost of a lot of free time and… euros. Better-than-new was not necessary, for me there is only one way to keep the car in decent condition and that is regular use.”
Striking line
Who took the pictures of this beautiful Triumph Spitfire mk3 looking at it can determine that the body has a striking line, and that was precisely what appealed to Dries at the age of 18 with his first Triumph Spitfire Mark 4. The temptation was already so great that he made a promise to himself to purchase a Spitfire as a hobby car before his 40th birthday (after all, life starts at 40). This article is proof that he kept that promise.
Also read:
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- Triumph TR.
- Bond Equipe GT (2 + 2). Beautiful and rare fastback with Triumph genes
Looks great: congratulations and have fun with it!
I once had an MK-IV; super fine car. Very nice, playful handling.
Slightly small version of the Jaguar E-type.