The Answer to a Crisis

How did I end up with a Triumph Spitfire? I would like to tell you a story about how I carefully researched classic cars, drove many of them, and finally concluded that she was the one. That story would be a lie. The truth is, I was going through a mid life crisis and needed something completely different to distract me. I started looking at convertibles for sale. The first car I looked at was this one in the foothills of California and drove home with her the next day. I was her third owner. The first was a woman who grew too old to drive the car so the Spitfire sat languishing in her garage being visited regularly by her pet cats. The second owner thought he would restore her and so he prepped her for paint and then had a friend do the paint work. Then he lost interest. When I bought her she ran, but like all older cars anything that was rubber had deteriorated so I started the slow but satisfying restoration. While restoration can be satisfying, my favorite part of ownership is driving. My Spitfire was a work commute car, once I used it as a kayak shuttle vehicle, and she was the car that helped my wife and I to become a couple. You might ask why I am offering the "how to" guides. I am paying it forward. Other enthusiasts websites as well as specific web communities have helped me immeasurably with my projects and I wish to extend that kind of help to others. Within this website you will get to follow along with some of the adventures of restoration and driving this 1971 Triumph Spitfire.

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