Customer Reviews

Triumph Spitfire '62'81 (Haynes Manuals)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A must have. The book provides all the typical Haynes information and is an invaluable assest in repair and service. It provides full and detailed descriptions on inspecting, tune-ups, and rebuilding all parts of the car from the electrical system to the carberators. The book good has many details about emissions controls, but could use more.

When I was a teenager I watched the movie 'Ferris Bueller's Day off'; it was then I wished to own a vintage convertible. I ended up with not the Ferrari as in the movie but with a very stylish sports convertible Triumph Spitfire (1969). One sunny summer afternoon I was zipping through the windy roads of Big Basin California and it was there I experienced a disaster. Regrettably I was warned about this from a few mature friends and colleagues but I just failed to acknowledge it; the warning was breakdown do happen. With smoke blowing from the engine it was a sign for a bad news. My most capitalistic mechanic quoted me a maximum price for which I could have almost gotten another one of these mobile. I had a hard choice to either cut my losses and walk away or somehow get it fixed. My many memories spent in the car along with my childhood dream prevented the former action. My only choice was to get my hands greasy. Well that was the easy part; my minor limitation was that my
knowledge about working of the car was limited to three steps 1.Put keys in ignition and start the engine. 2. Something happens 3. Wheels rotate and car moves. Very simplistic I agree; but I needed more understanding in step 2. Something happens. So I searched around and I came across this bible for dummies in car repair. Over the last 8 months I have spent much of my free time under the hood and getting my hands dirty; my guide is this 300 pages manual. I have learnt immensely from it and am more aware of the mechanics of the car; I (surprised myself) was able to dismantle the engine diagnose the cause correct it and put it back together.
If you interested I found that I was running low on radiator fluid due to a hose leak; the car was overheating which caused the pistons to blow up. The machinist did a fine job in replacing the pistons and I had them oversized which adds more firepower to the engine. I have the car running but it needs minor adjustments on timing. My goal is to make this a high performance car and race with it. In my to-do list I intend to have high performance exhaust system; Side-Draft Carburetor; and an Electrical distributor, all this will add to the horsepower. I highly recommend this book to anyone still afraid of working on cars. The illustrations along with the text will guide you very comfortably and answer all the questions that may arise

I've never been a fan of reverse engineered automotive manuals. That being said it does make a nice companion to a factory manual, because of the actual photographs. Although Haynes manuals are geared to weekend hobby "mechanics" they can still get you in over your head if you do not have a bit of experience with the car you are working on to begin with.
My recommendation? Skip this one and go for a Factory Manual, then perhaps reconsider the Haynes Manuals later for the pictures.

it has all I was looking for in a repair manual. I can really use the on the repair of the spitfire

This and every Haynes Manual is great at putting back together those basket cases that some of us are drawn to purchase. The lay out of the manual and the diagrams of individual items are indespencable. I give this publisher, and authors two greasy thumbs up and a hearty God bless you!

Very intellegible guide to overhaul and maintenance of that small car,very
clear instructions and images,only drawback (for me!)the finish of the paper (recycled)used is very sensitive to my greasy fingers!

Your choices are pretty limited if you need info on your Spitfire so you probably should buy this but don't count on it to be a one stop solution. The electrical diagrams are wrong for my MKII they copied the diagrams from a later model. There is the typical data that you will need to get your Triumph running howver.

Explains almost all things quite well. Lacks a bit of depth on interior and trim stuff. Very reasonable price.

One warning - the wiring diagrams for the 1500 models are wrong in this book. Correct ones can be obtained at: http://www.triumphspitfire.com/wiring.html

I have two copies of this manual, one to take with me in my car, and one to read at night. Great reference, great photos.