Pandemic Project: South Hill resident John O’Brien restores 1965 Triumph Spitfire to former glory
John O’Brien spent his time during the pandemic rebuilding and restoring the car that helped him win his wife’s affection – a 1965 Triumph Spitfire.
In 1973, John saw the car advertised for $600 in Spokane Valley. The Triumph Spitfire is a British two-passenger convertible sports car manufactured from 1962-80.
“The ad said the owner had lost her mechanic and needed to sell the car,” he recalled.
He’d previously owned a mint-condition ’66 model.
“It was perfect until a drunk driver ran into me,” John said.
He snapped up the baby blue Spitfire from its seller. Not long afterward he met his wife, Angie, at Washboard Willie’s Tavern in downtown Spokane. He quickly got her number and asked her out to dinner at Pepperdine’s.
“He pulled up in that Spitfire,” Angie recalled. “He looked really cute and so did the car.”
John shrugged.
“It’s a chick magnet.”
Angie chuckled.
“Well, it worked for me.”
The couple married in 1981 and enjoyed taking the car out for drives until the crankshaft thrust washers wore out. John parked the car in a shed, finally moving it to his shop behind their South Hill home where it sat for 10 years. Occasionally, he would go out and start it.
“Every time I went out to the shop, I’d look at it,” he said. “It drove me crazy. Finally, COVID gave me an excuse to get it back on the road.”
A friend told him he’d spotted a rough-looking 1963 Spitfire near his father-in-law’s house, so John went over to check it out.
“The owner told me the car ran, but he couldn’t get it started,” John said. “So, I bought it ‘as-is’ for $500. I towed it home and was able to get it to turn over, so the transplant began.”
Angie was surprised to see him show up with another Spitfire.
“He told me he’d found an engine, but neglected to tell me that the engine was still in the car,” she said.
He pulled the engines from both cars and disassembled them. After cleaning, he reassembled the replacement engine using both old and new parts.
Then came the moment when the 1,147cc twin-carburetor engine roared to life.
“To my amazement, it fired right up,” he said.
Next, he replaced the front and rear brakes, and a host of other parts before tackling the Spitfire’s woebegone exterior.
“I did a lot of bodywork,” John said. “There were lots of dings, scratches and rust holes. The rocker panel on the driver’s side had rusted completely through. The bodywork was the most fun.”
John started the project in July 2020 and finished it this past July . He painted the car himself and even mixed the paint.
“The color is slightly lighter than the original,” he said. “All she needs now is a replacement for the eight-track tape deck, and down the road we go.”
Actually, they’ve already taken the Spitfire for a spin and are looking forward to more drive time in the rebuilt beauty.
“We’re going to tool around town,” Angie said.
John laughed.
“Too bad we can’t cruise Riverside anymore.”
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Correspondent Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com.