Triumph Repair: triumph spitfire, oil leaks, moss motors

Question
hi i am currently in the middle of restoring a 1973 mk4 spitfire could u tell me what was the original colour of the engine i am thinking of painting it a light colour to see oil leaks but my father has told me to paint it the original colour also if anyone can help im looking for a mk4 body shell seen as mine had been stood for 10yrs with nout done to it and had completely rotted also another question are the carbs of a 1300cc unsesible because mine are stook with aluminum oxide around them

Answer
Hi James,
As I remember the engines were black. To paint an engine a different color just to look for oil leaks is not a good idea. All British cars leak oil, although you can get the leaks down to couple of spots about the size of a silver dollar on concrete.
Most of the body panels and floor panels are available through companies like Moss Motors etc.
Your carburetor is a Stromberg and the 1300 has a pair of SU carbs. If you get the manifold, you may be able to switch. You will just have to do a little work on control.
Howard