Spitfire

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sw20, Sep 8, 3:20pm
Did anyone at BL get fired for naming such a shit car after the most beautiful machine ever crafted!
carclan, Sep 8, 3:33pm
Or making cars full stop
mm12345, Sep 8, 3:39pm
These were fun cars - not.I just about crashed my friend's almost new Mk III within about 60 seconds of getting behind the wheel.Talk about violent oversteer -by the time I got the first hint something was not as it should be, we'd completed a 360 on a suburban street, and bloody lucky I didn't kill someone. I wasn't trying to drive fast, just lost it on a slightly off-camber downhill corner, probably only doing about 40km/h.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 3:40pm
I had one. Just bear in mind they are not worth a lot of money even when all legal and on the road. Having re-vinned one and an MG I would also say don't expect plain sailing. Oh and rust. .check for rust VERY VERY carefully. everywhere!

Personally. I would spend a little bit more and go for an MGB or even better an Alfa or Fiat Spider. (Have owned both the MG and Alfa as well).

I just have a suspicion that its going to owe you almost that sort of money anyway at the end.

As a car, they are fun but no where near as good as they look IMO. Stupid things like mashing your hand into the dash changing into 3rd gear annoyed me.

Tread carefully but good on you for looking at a classic convertible. They are great fun!
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 3:42pm
LOL, you would have loved mine. Aggressive cam and uprated clutch coupled with a driveway that exited out on to a heavily cambered highway bend so the camber was the wrong way.
Mostly you either stalled or spun right around and had to start again. in the wet. don't even think about it.
carstauranga001, Sep 8, 3:47pm
If you want a fun convertable that has low cost ownership you buy an MX5.
mm12345, Sep 8, 4:01pm
The little incident I had happened way back in the '70s.Tyres have improved massively since then, so perhaps with the right setup they'd be safe(r) to drive.If I'd have hit something, then of course it would have been my fault - no excuses.But I wasn't trying.I've been lucky in 40 years driving on the road - that's the only time I've ever lost control like that, and I won't forget it.I've driven cars on the track (not racing - but race mechanic taking cars for a test thrash) and spun out a few times, but that's different - trying to go 150% when your skill level is only 80% (and that might be optimistic), it's bound to happen.
mm12345, Sep 8, 4:05pm
+1
But that's different, still not a classic.Perhaps they have to stop making them before they're truly appreciated.
fordcrzy, Sep 8, 4:13pm
fiat spyders are now going for reasonable money now that mx5's have come down in prive. i remember not that long ago spyders were $20k PLUS. now they have come back to reality
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 4:16pm
Quite right, I think some are actually very under priced for what they are. Certainly a much, much better car than an MGB and Spitfire yet can be had for less than MGB money at times.

A great way to achieve the magic of classic motoring but with many of the comforts of a quite modern vehicle (Decent brakes, nice 5 speed transmission, twin cam engine etc).
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 4:17pm
Different kind of fun though, sort of like telling someone looking at a Harley to go and buy a Japanese sports bike.
mm12345, Sep 8, 4:24pm
I disagree. Japanese sports bike analogy probably applies to something like a Honda S2000 or Porsche Boxster.
MX5s are closer to Lotus elans, MGBs etc. in spirit.In fact the MX5 is more of an MG than an MGF is, unless a leaky roof is the important thing.
gjmman, Sep 8, 4:26pm
Just dreaming really, have an old herald in the shed I have been meaning to get around to fixing up, it did go when I got it so I did drive it a couple time before parking it. Sometimes think I would like to find something with the work already done.

Drove an MX5 from Auckland to Hamilton once, perfecctly decent car, but japanese robots can't match grumpy englishment for building character.

Actually bought myself a 1990 CBR600 couple months back, thats a different thing again.
mm12345, Sep 8, 4:30pm
If you did that on SH1, then you wasted an opportunity.
bmc460, Sep 8, 4:30pm
biggest mistake ever making cars,should have stuck to trucks but they suffered from no money
gjmman, Sep 8, 4:31pm
It was a few years ago now, there were more corners then
mm12345, Sep 8, 4:36pm
LOL - would have needed to be so long ago you'd have needed a horse.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 4:51pm
The herald is the better car in my opinion. It might be a reincarnation of much the same gear and not look as slick but as a vehicle its better thought out and executed.
carstauranga001, Sep 8, 4:54pm
Good point. I don't ride a two wheeled tractor either. I do have a soft spot for a top spec E30 325i convertible though. That's a classic with the mod cons mate.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 4:54pm
I disagree. The MX5 has no soul (for want of a better term). Its like my electric Piano vs the real thing. My electric has a better action than many grand piano's and its samples are technically unbeatable unless you have a half million dollar piano that is tuned every month.

Yet even a modestly priced half decent acoustic Piano has a real magic that will make me walk to it in preference every time.

I can't tell you in words what it is. there is just something missing.
cuda.340, Sep 8, 4:58pm
i drove from Reading to LeManns in a TR6, even tho it's a small car, them big tyres made it hard to handle. 2 weeks driving all round France, i never had the urge to want to buy a pommy vertable, they're an a$$ to work on.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 8, 4:58pm
Reading that. it wouldn't surprise me if you rode a Buell.
carstauranga001, Sep 8, 5:00pm
No way! only twice have I been on rides with a Buell rider as part of the group. Both Buells broke down and my lack of interest in them lessened further.
desmodave, Sep 8, 5:14pm
What failled on the buells
carstauranga001, Sep 8, 5:18pm
Not people I know, where part of larger group and had frends to stay with them so we didn't. However, I suspect electrical on both. Wouldn't fire.