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Barry's Triumph Spitfire V6 Conversion

Barry · Triumph Spitfire

Triumph Spitfire

britishv8.orgas recorded by Dan Masters, reprinted from a Triumphs/Spitfires mailing list post

Read the full write-up at britishv8.org ↗

Photo: britishv8.org

A Triumph Spitfire converted to a Ford 2.8 EuroV6

Barry converted his Triumph Spitfire to run a Ford Cologne 2.8 V6 from a Mustang, working through engine mounting, bellhousing and transmission tailshaft changes, and a run of rear-end failures that led him to redesign the rear suspension around GT6+ independent geometry with TR6 axles. The write-up is useful for its detail on oil pan clearance, bellhousing surgery for a hydraulic clutch, and the eventual move to a Quaife diff and T5 gearbox.

Parts used

What the owner names in the write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.

Engine 6

Fuel & Ignition 2

Cooling 2

Gearbox & Drivetrain 11

Suspension & Steering 2

Photos

All 7 pictures in the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from britishv8.org. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.

Barry's Spitfire, with a EuroFord 2.8L V6Photo: britishv8.org
Ford Mustang II enginePhoto: britishv8.org
Ford Cologne enginePhoto: britishv8.org
Spitfire rebuildPhoto: britishv8.org
Triumph Spitfire half shaftsPhoto: britishv8.org
Triumph Spitfire rear suspensionPhoto: britishv8.org
Donate Now!Photo: britishv8.org

How it was done

Engine choice and fitment

Barry used an almost stock Ford 2.8 EuroV6 with a mild street cam and tube headers. The oil pan needed notching at the front for the steering rack and at an angle on the right for the suspension mount. He used the Capri rear-sump pan and oil pump, and GT6/TR6 engine mounts on stock frame mounting locations with new brackets.

Cooling and intake

Cooling is handled by a custom four-tube crossflow radiator with dual thermostatically controlled electric fans, which he says keeps the car from overheating even in hot weather. The intake manifold was milled about half an inch for clearance and its internal divider removed to join the two plenums into one, feeding a Weber 40 DFAV carburettor on regular unleaded fuel.

Bellhousing and clutch

To keep a hydraulic clutch instead of the Mustang's cable setup, Barry machined the bellhousing starter area, welded in a new mount for a smaller Capri starter, and redrilled and tapped it. He also moved the throwout bearing arm to the other side of the bellhousing and fitted a Courier/Ford/Mazda clutch slave cylinder on a fabricated bracket.

Transmission and driveshaft

He kept the stock Mustang V6 gear ratios in a Borg-Warner SR-4 four speed, changing the tailshaft extension to a 1978 AMC Spirit unit so the shift lever landed in the stock Triumph location, which also needed a new mainshaft and a custom transmission yoke for Triumph's smaller u-joints. A new cross member was made around the 78 transmission mount, and the driveshaft was shortened to suit.

Rear suspension and axle troubles

The rear end proved the weak link, with Barry destroying three carriers before getting it right. Running the stock swing-spring rear suspension was workable with a 76-or-later carrier, but he instead adapted the fully independent GT6+ rear suspension, fabricating new lower wishbone and upper shock mounting brackets and adding quarter inch spacers to set a 49.5 inch rear track.

Driveline durability upgrades

Tired of replacing rotoflex couplings roughly every three months under the V6's torque, Barry re-manufactured the hubs and differential flanges to run TR6 sliding axle shafts with their stronger u-joints instead. He later fitted a Quaife torque-sensing differential, which required swapping the 3:27 diff gears for 3:63 since the Quaife would not accept the original ratio.

Ongoing evolution

With the lower 3:63 gearing, Barry felt he really needed the overdrive of a five-speed, and a footnote confirms he later installed a Borg-Warner T5, involving frame trimming, tunnel fabrication and further machining, which he considered well worth the effort for this engine and rear-end ratio.

A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is the owner's: read it at britishv8.org ↗

Worth knowing

  • Use the Capri rear-sump oil pan and pump, not the standard Mustang pan, for frame clearance.
  • Expect the swing-spring rear end to be the weak point; a later carrier (76-on) is needed if kept stock.
  • Rotoflex couplings will not survive the V6's torque for long; stronger TR6 sliding axle shafts and u-joints are worth the rework.
  • A Quaife diff will not accept the stock 3:27 gears, so budget for a ratio change to 3:63.
  • Moving to a five-speed like the T5 pays off with the lower diff ratio, but it is a much bigger job than the original four-speed swap.

britishv8.org

Read in full on 5 September 2026. The work, the words and the pictures are Barry (Barry Schwartz)’s; this page is a catalogue of them in our own words, and a signpost.

Read the full write-up at britishv8.org ↗

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