Every Car Has a Story2

Every car has a story. My first TR, a 1962 TR4, was purchased over 50 years ago and I still had it until a few years ago when I replaced it with a similar 1962 TR4 as a less expensive means to restoration. When it was first purchased, it was my everyday car and was viewed much the same as most everyday cars. However, as more and more TRs have joined our family, I took to recording their stories. Spitfire Tales was written more than 24 years ago after we had acquired a 1970 Spitfire Mk3. The story was written from the perspective of the car and is brought back to life here to share with you the story of one forgotten but now resurrected car. Hopefully, other British Car owners will continue the Every Car Has a Story concept by sharing the stories of their TRs.

Spitfire Tales

Yes, I know I have some blemishes and even some scars. Some I was born with, others I have acquired over the years. In my early years, I was unable to extract myself from an abusive situation. When my current keeper, Christine, found me, I was near death…unloved…rusting away. I had no cover over my head to keep the water and snow out. My body was bent and broken. My keeper had poked holes in me where they shouldn't be and coated me with tar to hide some of his cruelties. I was immobile, just waiting to die.

Christine and her husband, Keith, came by to look at me like so many had done before. I shuddered with fear and sat quietly. Then they were back, exhorting me to move. At first I thought I was finally being dragged away to be buried. But soon found I was inside a large room where it was warm and dry.

Regularly my keeper and her family came by to visit and look me over. Soon, my keeper's family started finding my loose bits and tightening them up. Then they started taking my bits and cleaning them up then putting them back. I was puzzled as I watched the young children clean my rusted, greasy bits in the brisk fall weather until their hands were too cold to clean any more. I was puzzled because no one had ever cared for me this way in all my life. My life of abuse left me with many unnatural chemicals in my system but soon my keeper disposed of these chemicals in my fluids and replaced them with healthy clean fluids…I began to feel better and, pardon my vanity, even thought I looked better.

TSOA and Roundel Badges

Since then, they have made me healthy and happy. Once I was feeling better and didn't mind going out for short trips around town and then to other towns, they started to dress me up so that I looked a bit classier. First a nice new hood to keep out the elements. Then they bought me some jewelry to hang on a nice shiny bar across my front. Soon I began to smile at my new look.

WICKERED PICNIC BASKET

One time, the whole family (MY familyJ), was on holiday when we met Larry Lederman. He told us all about British wickered picnic hampers, how they were made, how to care for them, and best of all, how to use them for great picnics. Christine and Keith got one of Larry's lovely baskets, made from British wickered willow, and Keith made up a set of sturdy, magnificent leather straps with brass buckles and brass hardware to secure the basket to my back. Now we go off to the country-side and have romantic picnics in peaceful, beautiful settings. Oh my, what fun!

Showtime at TRF's Summer Party

Before I go out for fun drives, Keith likes to make me look shiny and bright and I love it. He gets a large bucket of warm water and then adds some lovely smelling bubble mixture. He has this soft, fluffy, lambswool mitt that he places over his hand and after dipping it in the bubble mixture, he gently caresses me all over with the tingling bubbles. Then, he teases me by spraying fresh water from a hose all over me until the bubbles are all gone. But wait, he doesn't stop there.

Next, he takes another large bucket and fills it with fresh water and soaks this giant, soft leather, chamois in it. He then waves the soft leather out over my sides, front, and back and draws the chamois slowly over my skin. He repeats this over and over again, always rinsing the soft leather in the fresh water, until all the water droplets are gone from my surface.

He then gets out some of the most soothing lotions I have ever felt. The first one, he rubs into me until I am clean all over. Then he wipes it off and gets out the second lotion. Again, he rubs the lotion all over me and then wipes it off until I am shiny all over.

Finally, he gets out a tin of some sweet smelling, yellow compound; collects some of the compound on a round applicator pad and then slowly rubs the compound into my skin with slow, circular, tender motions. When the compound is dry, he wipes it off with soft cloths, then gets out this machine with a lambswool cover. The machine constantly hums and moves in a circular pattern. He places the soft lambswool cover on me and moves this buzzing, moving machine all over me until I am all shiny and sparkling. Ooooh! I just love it. It makes me feel good all over.

Now that I look so good, and feel so good, Keith and Chris decided to dress me up in a wee bit more sporty fashion. They got me the coolest set of lightweight spoked wheels and then went out and bought me ANOTHER set of the neatest tires to put on! Wow, this is the first time in my entire life that I had TWO sets of perfectly good wheels and tires. I guess I REALLY am special! Shortly after I had a chance to wear my new wheels and tires, Keith told me about a friend of his, Joe Curry. Joe made me up some very special Spitfire Bullseyes to adorn the centre caps of my wheels. They are so coooollll. Then Keith and Chris helped me breathe easier by giving me something called a header. Next they attached the coolest looking set of pipes to my header. The pipes must be Italian because I heard someone call them Monza. The pipes sounded great … they actually let me growl….and they looked amazing with four (4) chrome tips poking out under my rear bumper. Everyone said how lovely I looked (blush). All I know, is I sounded awesome!

Spitfire and Distant Cousin

Now I get to go out to all the nicest places…the beach, the park, restaurants…I get to play with other Spitfires just like me…and sometimes I get to sit with my many brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grand parents, and all the rest of our large family while other keepers stroll by and smile at us. Last summer, they even gave me some beautiful ribbons just for hanging out with these relatives. And one time, they gave Keith and a friend, Lucas, ribbons because they made me go so fast around a bunch of pylons and other funny stuff. Keith said it was because our friend Lucas was so good. Everyone thought it was so funny that someone named Lucas would win a prize but I didn't get the joke.

… and an Update

As mentioned earlier, the above text was written over 24 years ago. This Spitfire was intended as a driver while one of our other TRs was off the road for a restoration. However, many upgrades were done over the years and it became part of our family of TRs. Needing a full restoration, it was given to a couple of young boys who live on a farm where two of our TRs were stored. They, their father, and their grandfather are now working together to make the car even better. Now we are looking forward to the day when it makes another appearance at British Car Day – with its new keepers.