Timothy Blythe’s Triumph Re-Defines the LS Swap
One of the craziest cars to attend Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2002 is the 1964 Triumph Spitfire of Timothy Blythe.
The Spitfire carries its share of patina and character, but the “pretty standard engine combination 5.3 liter with a single turbo” is what Timothy said to 1320 Video’s Fred during their tech line walk at last year’s event.
“I grew up driving garbage vehicles that would routinely break down on the side of the road,” according to Timothy, and he always had tools and parts at the ready to fix things. “I feel I may have been practicing for this type of event since I first started tinkering with cars,” he continued. “It presents a challenge and a sense of self-reliance while also providing opportunity to help others and meet new people.”
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The 2500-pound Triumph completed Sick Week, his first drag-and-drive event, with an average of 11.19 in the Dial Your Own (DYO) class.
Timothy decided to up his game for the 2023 season, completely rebuilding the car with a new tube chassis, while retaining the stock front frame rails and suspension.
The LS swap has also been upgraded, now displacing 383 cubic inches and a pair of Borg Warner 66-millimeter turbochargers.
Power will funnel through a 4L80E overdrive transmission and a Ford 9-inch rear end, to a pair of tiny 235 drag radials.
“Sick Week was the first drag-and-drive my wife Kaitlyn and I have ever attended,” said Timothy. “I built a ragged little car with an extremely tight budget. Somehow, we finished the week with everything still attached to the car. That’s all it took for me to get the bug, I am now in debt up to my eyeballs after rebuilding the car with some lofty goals for 2023.”
He hopes to finish with an 8 second average, but “my dream is to crack off a 7-second pass in competition.” Can the unique Spitfire make a splash in the Unlimited class next month?
Check out the 2023 updates below:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photo courtesy of KWS Images.