I don't think you really should have flipped the car on its roof to get some of those close up shots. Those convertible tops always needed all the help they could get. #triumphspitfire
Damn... I was going to feign outrage at the relative lack of Rootes Group stuff (actually, both of these ads were made after Rootes had been bought out and turned into Chrysler Europe) but YouTube searches have brought up very little from my favorite British car company. Oh well. Here's a newsreel of the '59 Earls Court Motor Show, with the brand-new Mini and the sleek new 100-mph Sunbeam Alpine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKX5h0QNh1E&feature=channel_page
And here's a newsreel clip of the '63 show, where Rootes introduced Murilee's favorite, the delightful Hillman Imp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdnardvyOQ&feature=channel_page
The audio on the first one reminded me of why everybody wanted one of these--and launches a Sunday of introspective life review. Maybe I will go whittle one and make it smaller than an old shilling.
With all of that Leyland awesomeness, I'm saddened that I've only owned 2 of the cars shown, and the XJ-S only had a brief cameo in the 1977 BL ad. Fortunately, the Spitfire was featured prominently in more than one ad.
It is imperative that I add a Mini, and a TR-6 to my list of previously owned.
The thing I like most about Toyotas of that vintage is the way the automatic transmission shifter looks like an afterthought, as if the designers were saying, WTF are you thinking? Get a stick shift!
These three should be combined into one or two glorious junkyard creations. Maybe the Toyota engine into the Spitfire or maybe an M10 powered RWD conversion on the Toyota or the BMW engine in the Spitfire. The Spitfire engine can stay at the junkyard, the rest needs to combine into a nice PCH for someone.
That spitfire has only a single carb, not the duels it should have. I saw a '76 Spit at the yard down here in Sun Valley, with an overdrive gearbox. Sadly when I returned with the So-Cal Jalop brigade, it was gone. I could use those side marker lights off of it, but they're not worth the 400-mile drive. Sad though that yet another nice little British roadster has gone the way of Elvis.
@Graverobber: You mean it bloated up to twice its size, OD'd on drugs, reportedly died on the can but has been seen ever since in odd places and so may not really be dead?
Wow, Murilee was lucky to get these photos!
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@JoeHardrock: Actually, it's the second-sexiest. Here's the winner:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKX5h0QNh1E&feature=channel_page
And here's a newsreel clip of the '63 show, where Rootes introduced Murilee's favorite, the delightful Hillman Imp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdnardvyOQ&feature=channel_page
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1959:
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It is imperative that I add a Mini, and a TR-6 to my list of previously owned.
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Wow, Murilee was lucky to get these photos!
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http://www.examiner.com/x-11011-LA-New-Classics-Car-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Hatch-Attack-198788-Toyota-Corolla-FX16
(Hey, it ain't self promotion if it answers a question, right?)
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