Automobile Enthusiasts

It was one of those scorching-hot May afternoons when the air conditioning might as well just give up, where a slight breeze is the only break from molasses-thick humidity. It seemed far-fetched at the time, but tucked away in an unsuspecting backwoods Missouri lake house resided a four-wheeled curiosity: a Triumph Spitfire. It’s about as close to the archetypal British roadster as you can get, and after three hours of traveling, we weren’t going to turn around because of a little discomfort.

The directions we’d been given were cobbled at best, and our recent turn down a winding gravel road marked clearly as “NO OUTLET” gave us pause. But, you know, there’s just something about the thrill of a hunt that makes one take a detour around self-preservation.

The hunt that my dad and I had embarked on was one that neither he nor I had even thought of undertaking only days before. It’s odd how a seemingly astonishing price for an unusual vehicle can light an interest out of nowhere. We found ourselves hot on the scent of a 1981 Triumph Spitfire.

As the gravel road came to its final crest nearly fifteen minutes later, I caught my first glimpse of the car. Hidden under the dense shade of the untamed tree cover sat the Triumph in bright Mediterranean blue. The pictures didn’t lead us astray – this one looked good.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/heres-what-its-actually-like-to-buy-and-own-a-triumph-s-1794326920