Minneapolis Street Sighting: Triumph Spitfire

Those of you who monitor my content closely will notice that I have a thing for British cars, and more importantly, a thing for Triumphs; I've loved the TR6 since I was little, and I gradually started expanding my interest in the longtime automakers' other offerings. Among the more "forgotten" Triumphs, especially in the US is the Spitfire.

Introduced in 1962, the Spitfire was a bigger car than the TR3/TR250/etc, but in typical British fashion, it featured a small engine, and as a result, it was not very fast; while it didn't quite excel in the speed part, the idea of open-air motoring for folks who wanted a bigger Triumph was very real. But, the car wasn't all roses; early rusting plagued many examples, and sagging doors also plagued this bigger Triumph.

This one is a last generation, also known as the Spitfire 1500 overseas; on its trip across the ocean, the Spitfire for the US lost the 1500 part of its designation later in life, and was simply known as the Spitfire.  I can identify this one as a post-1973 example due to the old style bumpers coupled with the wooden dash trim. I don't particularly like how the year "1973" rolls off the tongue; it just sounds weird to say. That said, this is a fine example, and definitely deserved a photoshoot.

I first got notice of this guy when I rode past it on Lyndale, so I decided to follow it; lo-and-behold it stopped at my favorite destination of all things foreign. Yes, this is another Quality Coaches spotting, and you know what? I don't care.

 I am a sucker for British cars, even more-so when said car is green.  Even though green might be played out, it still works, especially on this Spitfire. I don't really see too many of them, and the ones I do see are often in terrible shape, thanks to our awful climate from October to April.

The paint on this guy isn't immaculate, but it definitely qualifies as very good; not a spec of rust to be found, but it also looks like a fairly recent respray; why you ask? The shade changes slightly from front to back; that being said, this example is still very nice. Rolling stock is very nice, though the blacked out wheels remind me of a cheapie Wheeler Dealer fix; not a bad thing by any means, but painting the stock wheels black looks dumb for the most part. 

The interior, too, is very nice, and in "daily driver" condition.  Obviously, since this is not my vehicle I didn't open the doors, but I did nose inside; seat texture is good on both the driver and passenger side, and steering wheel looks very nice and not worn to shit. I would rate the interior in a little bit better condition than the body.

I have fun shooting classics, and I like to learn by car-spotting. I've never seen a clean Spitfire like this, and I am glad its still around to cruise Minnesota. The Spitfire is far from my favorite Triumph (I like the TR-6 more, and the GT-6 as well), but a nice car is a nice car. I am glad I could shoot this, because this very example is the one that got me excited to learn about Triumphs as a whole.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: MGA 1600 hardtop

As I can attest, each day brings new surprises, and new cars. Every day, there are places I head off to in hopes of finding that day's "prized" find. Be it a rubber bumper MG, or an Austin Healey 100-6, British cars are now more appealing to me than ever. Growing up, I was never all that interested in British roadsters, but as I matured, so did my taste in cars.
The car that did it for me was the Triumph TR-6. From there, I began delving myself further and further into reading material that focused on England's best; I started watching more and more "Wheeler Dealers" too, and found myself liking the British car scene more than its American counterpart.
Over the last few years, I have gained great appreciation of roadsters of all walks of British life, and I have to say that MG is now one of my favorite makers, and the MGA eclipses the MGB in terms of my favorite vehicle from that group.











Parked outside of Quality Coaches, I've seen this red one before; this is the first time I've had the opportunity to shoot it in depth, and man, am I glad I took the opportunity. This little guy is awesome! I normally detest red cars but not in this case! A rare time when red does indeed work, this is. All the chrome is intact, too, and it helps set off the red-- I strongly feel that a black MGA wouldn't have the same effect on me. It helps that the chrome is in great shape, as are the factory wire wheels. The luggage rack is in astonishing shape as well, ensuring that this classic MGA is owned by a careful enthusiast.
If I had an MGA, this is exactly how mine would look-- well, minus the luggage rack. To me, having a luggage rack--while useful-- brings down the joy of this car. This is not a camping or vacation car; this is a car you buy to drive. If you desire a camper, get one, but don't try to turn an MGA into one. It won't work.
I'm glad I spotted this little MGA when I did, because I haven't seen it since; well spotted, and well shot, this little British roadster certainly my day!

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Nissan 240SX

To be honest, I never really liked the hatchback 240s; I always thought they somehow looked worse than their notchback cousins. It's like--I don't know, exactly. I equated the notches with the Mustang notchback in terms of proportions, and the hatchbacks resemble a very bad interpretation of.. I'm not sure what to be honest. I won't completely chastise the 240SX hatch though. I give it credit for starting the whole tuner revolution that took the country by storm (and has since almost all but died off) with its cheap price of entry, wide range of aftermarket goodies, and countless engine swaps. While I do respect most properly tuned cars, this matte-white (really, just a hand-painted white paint job) example really doesn't do the 240SX series any good. It's like choosing a rusty, faded brown Mustang II Ghia to serve as an example for all Mustangs.
I usually don't feature ricer cars on here, but this duo is simply too terrible to pass up. Will I be featured bodykitted, hood-pinned Civics, probably not; I don't see enough 240SX' as it is, and these two just happened to be the first two of this generation I've seen in quite a while. While the 240SX line was introduced in 1989, and carried itself through the 1998 model year with three successful styling themes, the first generation cars don't quite get me excited. The coupes do, the hatchbacks don't.
Normally, I don't get all excited when a ratty vehicle with both body damage and ricer mods shows up in my range of vision, but this thing was to wretched to simply ignore. And so, I decided to take the chance that the owner was in the store, and scrutinize this monstrosity more.








With all the useless and a faddish decals cluttered up the rear window, my favorite has to be the "Stay Classy" simply plastered onto the uncleaned window with the factory still attached. I mean, seriously. The point of decaling a car is to remove the factory pieces first, not simply slap some crap over them. I also like the 'Elements of Creativity' decal. I realize its for a tattoo parlor, but there is nothing on this car that even comes close to oozing any kind of creativity. Green wheels? Seen it before on tons of VWs. White paint? That's common too. Cracked bodykit with ill-fitting license plate mount? I see it all the time on various modified cars. Nothing new. And the "Fuck You" says a lot about the owner. Maybe he's proud his car looks like this.. for all I know it's a mad tyte drift beast on weekends, but I highly doubt it.
Aside from the generic ricer mods, this looks like it probably was a clean example. Despite the ass-backwards paintjob, it appears that this car never had any rust, but since the sideskirts were shittily installed, it will in the near future. Having exposed screws and zipties definitely can't be good for the car, much less the roads. I usually don't rag on cars unless they're either stupid, or potentially dangerous for other road users, but this is an accident waiting to happen. I would like to see the bodykit break off and go tumbling down the street, being hit by other cars. Maybe only then will the owner realize what a shitty mistake he made.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Nissan 240SX

If there's any one car trend that possibly annoys me the most its the new trend of modifying import cars to "be cool". It started as the hellaflush trend, in which the tires are stretched, and the vehicle is sitting low enough that it needs to clear speed bumps and road imperfections at angles to avoid bottoming out. As the hellaflush trend has hit Minnesota, once decent-looking examples of sporty cars are being plastered with stickers, and finished in an odd mix of matte and bright colors. Not very pleasing to the eye, is it? Sadly, this Nissan 240SX is reminiscent of almost all the surviving specimen here in Minnesota. And this car deserves the term. "shitbox". While it probably is a "drift car" on the weekends, it has no excuse for looking like this.







This particular saddens me; I usually don't blog car I have a personal connection with, but this one is owned by a classmate. Every time I see him, I tease him relentlessly about his "sweet ride." I know he loves his little "driftmonster" as he calls it to death, but damn. The missing grille, cheap-ass aftermarket headlights (actually they're likely JDM Silvia units) , and iffy quality of matte paint are no excuse for modifications. The carbon hood was probably double what he paid for the car initially, and I hope the rest of the car gets the bodywork it desperately needs. Inside, the quality of his craftsmanship astounds me to say the least. No pictures of the interior, but.. stickerbombing everywhere, and the trim is all but gone. Oh, but there's a wood steering wheel. Gotta keep it classy somehow, right?
Usually, I don't openly frown on a friend's car, but honestly.. I know this car has seen better hands, and at this stage, it's probably only destiny is to be wheeled around an empty Home Depot parking lot at a 45* angle whilst churning up a mixture of tire smoke and broken exterior parts. From what I understand, the exhaust has been replaced twice in the last seven months, and the front clip has been replaced as well. Aside from my snide comments about the workmanship, the owner is a nice guy, and does accept that most Nissan fans detest his car. Not the car, really, but the modifications done to it. I can only hope he does actually spruce up the SR20 so it can outrun the massive ugliness. As it is, it's just another half-assed "stance" car on a budget that's just waiting to get eaten up by the rough, pothole-filled streets of Minneapolis. And that's how it should be when you stance something and don't do it right.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Lincoln Continental Town Coupe

Yesterday, I brought readers the ride of choice for Malaise-era car buyers conscious about fuel economy. Today, I'll bring readers a slice of pie from the immediate opposite end of the motoring world. The Malaise era was a threat to luxury cars, even more-so than today's fuel standards, and rise of luxury crossovers. Instead of a huge array of cars to choose from, luxury sedans were far and few between, compared to today. Cadillac and Lincoln were the main players, and the full-size car market was in full swing. But like today's hybrids and V6 cars, the Malaise-era cars weren't all about power; in the dawn of the 1980s, catalytic converters were made standard, and all the emissions equipment tacked on to big-cube engines made horsepower levels sink drastically. With a 460 V8 on tap, a huge horsepower is expected, right? Wrong. Just two hundred ponies galloped this big beast around town. Still, that's better than Cadillac's 180 horse 425-cuber. But power is not what these barges were about; they were about caressing their owners and drivers in extreme comfort, a fact that still renders this thirty year old cars as desirable. Possibly more-so today than when rolled directly off the show floor.

















I have always loved Lincolns and Cadillacs-- though my enthusiasm is on a car-to-car basis instead of strictly down to brand loyalty. I never quite cared for the 1977-1980ish Cadillacs, especially in two-door. The Lincolns, on the other hand, I absolutely love. The Continental Town Car and Town Coupe are probably my favorite coupe/sedan duo to ever come out of Detroit. Unlike the Cadillacs of the period, Ford didn't experiment with different materials, and Lincolns never really had much of a problem concerning pieces flaking, breaking, or just warping. Instead, Ford had to worry about paint quality, and rust issues, whereas GM had to worry about structural competence, and how well its cars would hold up over time.
I've seen this particular car around quite a bit, and I quite like it. The paint has a few spots where it's fading, but aside from the trunk, it's a rather nice example. I usually don't like brown, but it seems to suit this big sedan well; its a color that can play off the formal role quite well, without looking snobbish. The wheels are a bit..odd. Usually, these would have spokes--and I'm not sure what the case is here. Maybe the spokes are off getting polished for summer? Who's to say, but the disc-style wheels don't quite suit it. I do really like the fact that this one appears to be untouched--by bling or otherwise. Hell, all the appropriate dealer plaques are still on the trunk, suggesting that this big coupe is all original, outside, as well as in.
All in all, this Lincoln represents a breed that has died out, and needs to be preserved in the best way possible; I love personal luxury coupes, and this Town Coupe is one of the best of both breeds. It's a classy coupe, and a classy Lincoln.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Austin Healey 3000 MK III

Here's another one from the archives; this time, it's another Austin Healey. Can you tell I absolutely adore these things? There's just something bout a truck.. scratch that.. I hate that song.. anyway.. There's something about a little British sports car that automatically captures my attention, and quickly draws me away from whatever I'm presently doing, and beckons me to take a closer look. And these blue and white two-tone 3000 MK III is no different; sure I've shot a gold one, a green and white two-tone, and a red one among others, but these cars never cease to amaze me. I put them in the same category of the Triumph TR250/3/4/5/6 as far as timeless British designs go.
Certainly, the Austin Healey might be cliche among car fans for being a typical "British classic", but I quite like them; I certainly don't see enough, so I can't go wrong there. Unfortunately, most of the ones I do see are near Quality Coaches, which specializes in repair and restoration of predominantly British cars, and this example is no different. When I shot this, it was a daily fixture of Quality Coaches in the summer of 2009 and 2010; as the years progressed, I began to see this example less and less, and I haven't seen it for at least a year or more. I hope nothing bad happened to it.
Like most Quality Coach vehicles, this little Brit looked amazing from a distance-- shiny paint, excellent chrome, and above-average trim. The paint color combination is on point, too. Really, it's hard to screw up a two-tone paint scheme something as much of a staple as an Healey. Up close, this thing still was a treat to the eyes-- no unexpected wear or tear. Just my kind of car!
I will always love these little British cars, and this blue and white Austin Healey 3000 is a stunning example of why I do so love these little guys. Keep driving, and happy motoring!