The Cars

So, in the introduction, I said we'd owned a number of classic vehicles. Here's a few pictures and description, this post is of the cars in the order that we bought them


1974 TRIUMPH TR6 

When I was about 18, I saw a TR6, brand new in the local Triumph dealer. Obviously, there wasn't a hope of being able to buy it...

But I said to myself "one day". And that day came in January 2002 when I saw this car for sale at a dealer and bought it there and then, on the spot - although subject to a proper assessment by someone who understood classic motors.  Anyway, the assessment was good and a week later the car came home. It looked a little different as we've made a number of running improvements over the years. The picture above shows it in Greece overlooking the island of Hydra. We've driven it to Greece twice, its been to France countless times  and to the far eastern edge of Sweden. So it gets about a bit!

And on the right, you can see her on the day she came home to us. The wire wheels have gone and the interior has been retrimmed. All our cars have names (that's Ann's doing, that is). Everyone else calls our TR "The Stig" because of the registration letters, but we call her "Sapphire"


In May 2011, we did a "trip of a lifetime" to the south of France, following part of the Monte Carlo Rally route. We did this in convoy with a group of friends and the story has been published in a number of magazines. Driving through the Alps in a "proper sports car" is the best therapy known to man! And parking out side the casino in Monte Carlo is a bit of a lark as well

This is on the road up to the Col du Tende and the picture below is outside the casino

1972 TRIUMPH 2000 Automatic


After we had sold our last business I came up with this little wheeze that we no longer needed to run 2 modern cars. We hardly ever went out in different directions at the same time and so one or other of the modern cars would be sat on the drive. So why not sell it and use the money to buy another classic?  Well, quite how Ann fell for it, I'll never know, but I got away with it!!
I'd owned a Triumph 1300 in my youth and have always liked Triumphs.  I looked around for 1300's, but they were pretty much extinct and those that were for sale were either basket case restorations or too good to use for anything except indoor shows.  So, the idea came to get a "4 door TR", or as it is more usually known, a Triumph 2.5PI. Ideally Sapphire Blue, manual overdrive and with a light tan interior. So not being picky, then...
Miraculously, one appeared on eBay.  It was expensive, but perfect. But the vendor withdrew it from sale. It was his father's car (from new), was a verifiable low mileage and had a complete service history from new. It was unknown to any of the clubs and it was perfect. The chap was only selling it because his father had just died. It didn't sell on eBay and I contacted the seller directly. In the end he decided to keep it.
A few weeks later, I saw another car on eBay, same sort of condition, but a 2000 automatic and French Blue. It was worth a look.  In fact it was worth buying - and so we did.  It has had a very sheltered life and other than one small bit of remedial welding (on the stitch in time principle), it is an original car, exactly as it left the factory. Well, not entirely true because we have made a few changes, like later seats to allow headrests to be fitted and the bus type steering wheel replaced with a MotaLita. Because of her registration letters, she is called "OPaL".

Here she is (left), parked on our driveway, ready to go out somewhere.


And below, in France at Easter 2011. She gets about as well, having been to France 3 or 4 times, to Germany and Holland and to the very north of Scotland. On her back window, there's a "Nurburgring" sticker. She did go there, but not round the circuit - but we did take a convoy of 4 other big saloons round.

And along the way, I've got involved with the clubs, editing the magazine for the 2000 / 2500 / 2.5 Register and as an area co-ordinator for the TR Register