A few people have asked me how they can support the channel and the work I do on here, I don’t have memberships or a Patreon or any donation buttons etc but I have thought I do drink a lot of coffee during the week researching these videos.. so I’ve decided to create a buy me a coffee page where you can send a small amount to keep me caffeinated during my research! Linked here: www.buymeacoffee.com/tomisdriving
My Triumph memory is Tony Pond on the Manx Rally 78 I think - there was a long flat out stretch on to a kink left over a hump bridge. All my dad's friends were discussing where Tony would lift off before the bridge - Well the TR7 V8 came down the road flat out in 5th - Tony never lifted at all and the TR7 went airborne with the 3.5 screaming for a second - how he managed to go round the kink only he knows ! Every other driver John Taylor Per Eklund and Jimmy McRae all lifted off - I can still hear that V8 and smell the clutch - We were all in awe. RIP Tony, taken too soon
@markc1921 They said it was standard but it wasn't. Special Tuned exhaust with manifold, tuned ECU and totally stripped out for weight saving. Saying that, a very impressive drive indeed. TP's drive in the Vitesse in the fog on the Manx Rally has to be seen to be believed!! It's on here.
@@keithedwards9337 1984 Manx Rally, with Dickie Davies doing the voice over. Classic!! Boiled the PAS fluid then broke the torque tube that controls the rear axle!! The shot at the end when Tony lights up rear on 180 1st hairpin is pure style!! RIP TP, biggest balls or them all.
Many moons ago, first in Tassie then moved to NSW, I had a 1969(?) Mk1 2.5PI MD, only 4spd no overdrive. By time i got the car the fuel injection had been removed and it was running on 1 3/4 SUs, very poorly, so I put a set of rebuilt and properly set up 150CDs, what an improvement, from about 21- 23 mpg to 28- 34 mpg and an absolute joy to drive, had extractors, tubular exhaust to you Englishmen, the exhaust note on twisty, undulating roads, 30- 70 mph taken at full noise still makes my hair stand up when reminiscing. Car went to god too early when I was run off the road by some muppet in Central West NSW. Only had her for 5 years and a out 40 000 miles, 30 years ago and still miss Trumpy. Take care out there everyone.
There are two Ferguson stags and a very interseting artical about driving in the French Alps up an alpine pass. In the day you were only alowed if you had chains on the wheels and the police could not understand how this sports car could clime the mountain ! Their was also a four wheel drive 1300 built for rallycross and a four wheeldrive triumph utility vehicle called a Poney. There was also a 1300 estate that the triumph factory built i have seen it on the road in the south of england several years ago. Keep up the good work plenty more triump specials to find.
Great job! My first car purchased in 1986 was a $1300 '73 GT6 Mk III, not the year of manufacture that a savvy buyer would choose but for me it was great. As I turned 16 here in WA state, USA, I sold my '80 Honda CR 80 and my cow which got me most of the way to the $1300 that started my life long love affair with European cars. That GT6 was a perfect first car for me. I really enjoyed working on weekends and in the summertime to put together my next $50 or $100 that I would spend often times through "Victoria British" to buy a new black vinyl cover for the E-brake, some new door cards or perhaps getting the rear vents chromed. It was so rewarding and fun to watch my little baby getting back in proper condition and eventually with a paint job and some affordable performance modifications it turned into a real head turner. I miss that car but at least in my 50s I know have an Alfa, Maserati, TVR 2500M and a Jaguar daily driver.😊 Thanks for all the super interesting info on rare versions of Triumph models. Does anybody know of any special GT6s?
I really love your enthusiasm for classic brit motors, im pleased a younger guy knows and yet alone loves these cool old cars. I got hooked on Triumphs because our neighbor owned a mustard yellow GT-6. Only got to drive it once before tinworm took its toll. Great vids, keep up the amazing work.
I owned a Herald, paid £10 for it in 1981. A friend had a 2-5 PI with an uprated engine. It was super fast and blew 6 gearboxes in 6 weeks. He couldn't find a new one so we built a new one from the 6 old ones.
Great video Tom, thanks! I had five Triumphs in a row, Vitesse 1600 soft top, Vitesse 2 Litre Mk II with overdrive ( non overdrive Vitesse Mk II cars could over rev. in top gear), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pale blue), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pimento red) and finally a Triumph 2500S estate (in sienna brown). Then emigrated to Australia in 1982. Triumph had a very extensive range of cars with a 1300, 1500, Dolomite 1850, Triumph 2000, Triumph 2500S, Spitfire, GT6, TR6 and Stag. I think the Leyland management saw them as a threat to Austin Morris and Rover and killed them off. I believe a number of Triumph Engineers then left to work for BMW in Germany and a more enlightened management. Years later I bought a BMW E39 Touring and later found that the back end was styled by Michelotti, who also styled the Triumph 2000/2500S and often wondered if that drew me to the E39 Touring.
Triumph cars were mostly my familys choice of transport growing up. My late father had 3 of the big saloons. They made such an impression on me when I was old enough I brought a 2.5pi on an L plate (1973) such a quick car, I remember tailgating a Ford Capri 2.8 injection on the M5 for a good 10 miles. The Capri driver couldn't lose me!
Absolutely agree, a pioneer of modern sports saloons seldom mentioned alongside BMW and Alfa. A push for more triumph content online would be a great thing to work at.
If you’re interested in other video ideas on Triumph I think you would do a top job featuring all of the iterations and editions of the TR7. All of the mechanical upgrades and livery changes made from 1975 through 1982 as well as the motivation behind the various editions are fairly accessible. All of that information made into one comprehensive video would be a lovely addition to the channel. Brilliant work mate.
Hi Tom and Thanks for your hard work putting this video together. I’ve learned some triumph history today. I bought my brown 1972 triumph 2.5PI from a friend back in 1977 for £750.00 reg BOK777K sold it 1981.what a car I believe it had the Lucas injection rebuilt while on warranty and I ended up with a relatively reliable PI I’m now 68
My dad had a petrol blue 1969 triumph 2500 mk1. Truly beautiful car. He sold it and a couple weeks later we got a knock on the door as it was used in an armed robbery (early 80’s) the v5 hadn’t been changed so was still registered at our address
Really very interesting. Triumph really were a great brand with some lovely cars - gradually ground down by BL and not helped by either below-par management and an awkward workforce. Some interesting cars there in your upload that are not widely known. I think I would have dropped in a Grinnall TR8 too, but that's not a criticsm. Great work mate!
My brother had a nice Stag here in Australia. There was a business that swapped in the 4.4L aluminium V8 crate motor that were not used in the cancelled Leyland P76. They put out only 143kw and 380nm but were smooth and responsive.
It was good to hear Wood and Pickett mentioned, my God father worked for W&P until his retirement in the late 70s. The majority of his work was Mini dash conversions as well as modifications to all makes of luxury cars.
Good video, thanks. During the early 70s, I had a 2000 Mk1 estate with overdrive on 3 and 4. I could not afford the Mk2 at the time but drove the 2.5 PI a lot around Essex on Traffic Patrol. It was a brilliant car in its day. Main competition with the public then was the good looking P6 Rover 2000 and 2000TC; later the V8 3500. Over the next few years I had a reliable Dolomite 1500HL and the 1850 Dolomite which had engine problems which are well documented elsewhere. The BMW 5 Series looked similar and was good to drive but I could not afford one although I have had E36 and E46 estate touring models for the last 20years. I have fond memories of the Dolomite and 2.5 PI . I am now aged 77. I am sure the BMW look, with the twin headlamps to this day was partly inspired by Triumph. BMW build quality is better but I loved my Triumphs.
I worked for Triumph in the 70s , I still have my Dolomite as a daily driver, went shopping this morning despite some snow. Very usable classic cars as luckily the prices have not gone stupid like the Fords, meaning they pretty much live as garage queens,.
You really put a lot of work into these videos and it shows. It is riveting stuff for me as another lifelong Triumph fan. My 1st Triumph was a full sized new bicycle for my birthday in 1967. Thanks.
Hi Tom I came across your channel late last year and since your vids on the SD1’s I am hooked!!! Sincerely wish you the best for you and your channel in 2024
Triumph are most commonly known for their 2 seat sports cars but their saloon line up was so on the ball, especially during the 70's. I grew up around a lot of Dolomites, Heralds and 2000's and when I see BMW's model line up today I see a mirror reflection. By that I mean tye saloons ranged from economical base specs to sporty top specs all while functioning as 4 door saloons with spacious boot. At this stage, I've owned a few myself and they are extremely well built and great fun to drive. Great watch and keep em coming 👌
Hello Tom, very interesting video! If I'm not mistaken, there was also a one-off triumph Vitesse coupé, based on the herald coupé body, made for a french nobleman and a few vitesses estates, again based on the herald estate body with the vitesse front hood. Other quite rare triumph are the ones assebled in Italy by Ducati Meccanica (motorbike manufacter) in the early sixsties. I should also mention that the triumph/jaguar/rover italian importer in the seventies, called Bepi Koelliker, asked BL to produce a series of cars in special metallic colours, specifically selected for the italian market: around one hundrer spitfires 1500 were paited directly at BL factory and delivered new in Italy with special paint. Some dolomite sprint were repainted by the importer directly in Italy, before being sold. This was especially important for factory yellow cars: in Italy at the time taxicab were all yellow and no one wanted a yellow saloon that looked like a taxicab! For example I currently own a dolomite sprint painted in dark grey metallic, I have trace of other 3 or 4 dolomites painted in the same colour, all sold new in Italy. I can send you some photos if you are interested. Greetings from Italy, Gabriele
I saw a feature on the Tickford Stag in Sports Car And Classic years ago. From memory the engine had some gas flowing done and larger valves were fitted. The inlet manifold was modified to fit a 4 barrel Holley carb and Edelbrock wire mesh air filter. "Lumpy" cams were fitted but after the owner (who was in fact an extremely well-heeled student) complained that it was almost undriveable in traffic they were replaced by standard cams. Hope that's been of some help and thanks for your very interesting posts!
Really enjoying your content looking forward to more. An early memory sitting on the front wheel with my eldest brother sitting on the opposite, maintaining his Triumph Herald.
New subscriber here, enjoying the videos, very well presented. Over the years, I have owned four Triumphs. A spitfire, a 2.5PI mk 2, a Dolomite 1850HL and a 2L Vitesse. Out of the four cars, I would dearly love two of them back, namely the Vitesse and the 2.5PI. The PI was white, with black vinyl roof, reg no PDB 807H. According to the DVLA, it ran out of tax in 1983. I doubt it has survived all these years. It's refreshing to see a young lad (hope you won't mind me referring to you as such) taking such a keen interest in these older cars. Keep up the good work!
I love the front end Michelotti makeover of these Triumphs. It still looks very modern today. As a youngster (80's) I designed what I considered what an update to the Dolomite would be. I was surprised to see what I drew materialised as the Rover R8 (a decade later) albeit without the four headlamp Dolomite-esque front end that I gave it!
You're right about the platform share of the Herald: not only did it spawn the Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 which you mention, it also underpinned the entire Bond Equipe range and then, later, a whole welter of kit cars built on the Triumph chassis frame. Further to that, so good was the entire Herald front suspension and steering arrangement, that it also found its way into a wide variety of respected low volume and competition cars.
Excellent documentary with so some much rare information. Need to watch it a few times! 🙏. In the family we had a 1966 triumph 2000 estate, a 1966 triumph spitfire, a 68 spitfire and lastly a triumph Dolomite,1850HL. All wonderful cars, especially our new 1966 Estate.
I live in Coventry not far from where the Canley plant was. We had a neighbour who was a triumph tester he showed us many of the cars he tested but nothing like those in the video just standard off the track cars. So thank you for all the research and information you've given us here. Great stuff.
I filmed an interview with a Panther Rio owner at the Lancaster classic car show last year. He was told me that apparently there is an unregistered/unused Rio in Saudi Arabia which was sold to one of the royal families in a package deal with (I think) a six wheeler panther. I believe he’s tried to buy it on the number of occasions , but they won’t sell!
Great that you are so enthusiastic for the brand ie bl/austin/rover etc etc and always interesting to watch your well researched video's. Your quite correct the Rio was based on the Dolomite. Panther Westwind made some lovely cars in particular the de ville. The J72 was their first car i believe and was meant to be based on a Jaguar SS i think. Its such a shame that people see a Panther and don't know what they are and think they are a kit car. The Rio, there was one at the classic car show last November. I didn't see it but i saw a great video about it. it was you tube channel lot 76 cars? i think. If you have not seen it it well worth watching. TrZ i remember it well, don't think i have ever seen it in the flesh but i did own the pen. I remember the Avon acclaim and reading about its release( in Autocar i think). It was the Acclaim to have and very well appointed. The Wood and picket Dolomite as you correctly say it was sold through Mathewsons -bangers and cash .I wasn't aware of this vehicle until it came up for sale the first time. It came up again i believe at Mathewsons about a year later. It was the Tahiti Blue and gold. As you say its a special little car i would have loved to have owned it. i have always loved Stag's and it was only recently that i became aware of the Stag Estate by del lines. Very well done Tom, its not easy bringing it all together and takes a lot of time to do.
Had a 1977 2000TC, lovely car to drive, three speed Borg-Warner gearbox, with a towbar. It would pull anything I put behind it, I got over seventy out of it, pulling a twin axle car trailer with a MK4 Cortina Estate full of parts... happy days..
Memories of Triumphs are my dad buying a stag in around 1989/90, the engine blowing up on the m62 near the farm in the middle of the motorway, my dad rebuilding it in old mill that was used as garages and him starting the engine with a a 12 year old or so me leaning against the wing, indoors with no exhausts fitted and me running from the garage.
In the 2970s, there were a number of cars that got the Ferguson treatment on a limited volume basis, many for police use. The Triumph 2.5 PI and Ford Zephyr Mk4 figuring large.
I drove a Triumph Herald once, it belonged to one of my Dad's friends. The steering felt really weird, almost as though the steering wheel had a one to one connection with the turning of the wheels. I also remember that the Triumph Owners Club's sniffy reaction to the TR7 was to issue advice to members wanting to convert their TR6 into a TR7 that they could weld on a roof and disconnect two spark plugs.
Hi Tom, great video. I worked on a Panther Rio early 80's during my time at Lenham Motors (Kent). It was dark blue metallic, black vinyl and was quite striking. I seem to remember the external body panels were ali. From memory the reg was HRH5, or thereabouts, as we joked it could have belonged to Prince Charles! We also purchased one of the 1st TR7 convertibles into the UK from Belgium (LHD), in order to take moulds and produce hardtops, ready for tte UK launch, of which we sold many! Came across many odd balls during that time, XK 150 estate, MGB dressed in ali as Ferrari 250 looky like, Ogle (Mini), prototype Midget, Tickford Metro, Park Ward Cooper. Happy days! Cheers, Martin.
I had a ten year old 1147 Triumph Herald convertible. I put mag wheels wider,tyres and a Weber 28/36 carb. Loved that little car which never went wrong. Luckily the chassis had been undersealed from new so I reckon together with its nigh on everlasting engine it would still be going today. Really enjoyed all your videos.Good work! Thanks from a Triumph fan with many happy memories😮
Very interesting. I have owned a Trumph Herald estate which I loved until it failed its MOT with wood rot. Apparently the rear part of th frame under the estate bit had rotted and the previous owner had hammered a piece of 2x4 into it and painted over with underseal. Great car though. My wife also owned a Herald saloon before we got married. My favorite Triumph was a Dolomite 1850HL in powder blue. An astonishingly comfortable car with a nice, ribbed nylon interior. It was also an automatic. Performance was quite good. I did have one problem when it would lose power during an overtaking maneuver. After a lot of investigation I discovered that the rubber tube between the two carbs (Strombergs I think) had rotted inside creating a rubber valve that shut under high fuel pressure. Happy days. I deeply regret not driving the stag as well as the Dolly Sprint.
My father purchased one of the first Stags. We wen on holiday to Spain, driving through France and down into Spain. Wherever we went the Stag generated lots of admiration from on lookers. This was a manual gearbox car as I recall. We did have some issues with overheating that sorted out. Later dad bought on of the late automatics. Again it attracted admiration, especially as I was allowed to drive the car, despite being relatively young. Insurance costs were relatively low back then. Mum had a Herald and a Spitfire. I went one better and had two GT6s: both Mk IIIs. Alas my red GT6 caught fire. However, before its charring I did go on many epic drives across France, Italy and Switzerland. It was a fabulous car.
Well done on the research for this. Yes, Triumph had many good ideas and a real chance to go where BMW were going. Sadly, they completely ignored manufacturing quality - warranty costs on the Herald nearly killed the company, and it carried on like that... the Stag was a disaster mainly because of engine flaws, the Dolly Sprint was clever but fragile, and the TR7's build quality was famously awful. It's very sad.
Thanks for your interesting video. Would be good to see you tell us more about the so-called Stag estate, i.e. the conversion of the 2500 estate with the Stag engine.
BMW is scared of Triumph making a come back, and holds the rights under lock and key! Remember Triumph was probably BMW’s biggest competitor in the early 70’s!
Another specialist dealing in Triumps was Grinnall who converted TR7s into TR8s. A guy I worked with offshore in the early 80s had one and claimed it was a 4 seater with extended wheelbase and the V8 up front. Do you know how many were built and how many (if any) survive?
Great job! My first experience of driving a sporty car was in a Triumph Vitesse that was owned by a friend’s dad. It was just fabulous to drive. I’d love to see a video about the Herald and Vitesse. Very best wishes, Adrian
Funny too, my daily driver has Triumph parts a lot as standard, the steering column, front seats, brakes, wheels, interior parts from the Lucas parts bin... its not a Triumph nor is it a Bond but a MK2 Reliant 3 wheel van, when BL stopped making the Herald variants and had sold most of its tooling to the Indians, Reliant bought the tooling for the wheels, steering and a couple other bits to be seen on the brand new Robin whilst other Triumph parts appeared on the Scimitar like the cake wedge light display from the rortier Triumphs.
i knew a guy who worked on stags at a dealership,when he left the job he set up his own garage rebuilding stag engines ,he did alot of mods rebored all the water and oil inlets, filled in the head bolt locations and added 2 more bolt head holes better cam belts ,his builds were a much stronger and good stag v8
I was lucky enough to own a Mk2 estate for a number of years and I'm still looking for something that can replace it..Beautiful to look at and beautiful to drive, and it was a damn-good workhorse to boot. For those unaware, this was the same car as the 4x4 in the video but with the standard Triumph drivetrain and a plain white colour scheme. It had legs as well. This was back in the early days of the hot-hatch craze and the Triumph was 14yrs old when I got it. I remember being passed by a shiny new XR3i on the M27 while I was driving in the high 90s (mph). So I caught him up and passed him. I wonder what the poor guy thought about his shiny hot-hatch felt about being taken by a beat up old estate car. It's only letdown was it's thirstiness, but back then an average of 20mpg wasn't bad for a 2.5ltr automatic estate. I've driven many cars since including the much more modern BMW 325 estate, but even that couldn't match it for feel. I miss my 'BlunderBus' as it was affectionately called.
I loved the time Tony Pond took a,1989 manual red rover vittess 2.7 honda v6 i think ,round the 37 & three quarters mile isle of mann TT Circuit at an average speed of 100.01 mph, i think the superbikes were doing it slightly below 120 mph ,what a driver
So many Triumph prototypes survived because of Triumphs habit (almost unique amongst manufacturers) of selling off these cars to employees rather than scrapping them. Amongst these, the Herald Hatchback prototype from 1965 (which I owned as a pile of parts till it was taken on and restored in circa 2013) the 2000 Hatchback 4941KV which survives (I have pics) the Triumph Fury, a stunning halfway house sports car between a GT6 and a TR, the Triumph Sherpa, not a van, but a hatchback Toledo which sadly appears to have been lost though I have a picture, the dozen or so Vitesse estates built by Triumph's Park Royal service dept in the 60s, the handful of Del Lines Stag powered 2000 saloons and estates, the Dove TR4 shooting brakes, there are also other surviving 4x4 Ferguson cars, at least one of which, a Topaz Yellow saloon is in the UK, the list is endless. Contact me if you want to discuss any of these cars further.
It is shame Triumph was lost because I love every single Triumph ever made even the eighties acclaim great video again absolutely love your channel look forward to following the straight six project.Also try and track down that Woodford and Pickett Dolly because it's my favorite car of all time.Also love Triumph vittesses as well .
The slighty extended wheelbase as used on TR8 works rally cars was perfect - got rid of it's spinning twitchy tendancies. Compare it's side profile to see.
Lovely video - thanks for all the research. I think Ferguson produced a 4 wheel drive Ford Mustang (69 model), so the 2500 might not have been their first time converting a production car. Thanks once again. Always look forward to your videos.
I remember a TR7 in yellow sitting in a garage owned by my fathers mate only came out to get an mot then re parked in his mums garage sadly lost contact with the guy who moved to Rugby from Nottingham hopefully he reads this message an gets in contact Rodger Goldsmith! Lovely cars
Hey Tom I mind seen a dolomite sprint tickford at mathewsons auction it was a blue one with gold stripes along the side it went to a collector in orkney I believe.
My father drove and raced tr-2s and tr-3s. He told me that the "wet sleeved tractor engine" was a marvel of engineering. I believed he used 4" sleeves with 327 chevrolet pistons and connecting rods. I remember him tuning the side draft Weber IDF carburetors and cornering on 2 wheels.
Hi I rescued a 1996 Ford Mondeo estate ghia X 2.5 v6 had been sat for 11 years in a garage and was heading to the scrap yard until I stepped in to rescue it. I get some Stick for rescuing it and showing it at a local classic car club.
Pretty simple really. Type in “kdf swastika” then select “images” in google. Looks just like the logo on the back of that truck the TR7 is driving into at 22:42.
Back in the early 70s my father worked at BLNetherlands and I collected any car brochure I could get hold of. Including one of the Panther Rio. Somehow BLN was interested in the Rio, so my father took the brochure to work with him for a few days. I have no idea if they seriously considered importing the Rio as part of their range but nothing came of it anyway and after a few days I got my Rio brochure back.
dear tom, on your 2600 mods. it is easy to go over the top. i believe you will need a fast road cam. interested in your choice of timing and lift. i believe the three weber carbs would be excessive and difficult to tune correctly. perhaps better to go for a jaguar setup as fitted to the 4.2 xjs. otherwise working on improving flow on intake and exhaust and possible modifications to the ehad should provide a fast and driveable car. philip
Thanks, that was great, but I'm sure I saw a Ferguson 4x4 converted Triumph 2000/2500 at a Triumph World picnic in the UK in the early 2000's I'm looking forward to seeing how your 2600 SD1 project works out. From what I understand they were deliberately detuned to create a better/bigger power gap between the 2.6 and the 3.5, as we know the 3.5 is capable of good BHP and huge torque, so the the factory could have upper the V8's output to widen the gap instead?
Interesting video Tom, just a few points:- All Stags had electric windows as standard not just the Tickford. There also exists a 4WD stag. It was exhibited at the NEC a few years ago. Not sure if it is a recent conversion or was converted in period All Acclaims had the bonnet bulge not just the Avon Turbo.
Apparently 2 were convereted in 1971 by Formula Ferguson. One automatic and one manual. At least the the Manual one survives. It was covered in some detail in the Stag Owners Club Manual in November 1990. At that point it was resident in West Wales. The information is available on the SOC website, but unfortunately you need to be a member to access. It was featured on the SOC stand at the NEC Classic Car Show in 2019 I think and again last year (2023).
I was living in Australia working for an Volvo dealership that took on Leyland dealership also and remember problems with TR7 s overheating I can’t remember what the cause was??? any ideas. Thanks for this vid.....Rob
There was and i think still is a panther rio floating about here in northern ireland, i remember it used to sit in the square of the local village on a Saturday i have pictures of it here on the computer, it also has attended a few classic car shows.
As a young man, I went to see the TR7 estate at Page Motors in Epsom. I wanted one to replace my Ford Capri, but the price was crazy. Sad it never went into full production, as that shold have brought the price down.
You may want to investigate the Jensen Interceptor FF (1966-71) - a mass-produced 4wd production car,not an estate but a well known car nonetheless! Love your enthusiasm for Rover/Triumph and BL stuff. My dad worked at a dealership in the early 70s so Rover 2000TC, Triumph Stag, and Spitfire brochures were always available! Sadly not kept...
We done a nut and bolt rebuild on a stag. I dislike it but it looks good and gets all the attention at the car shows. People literally walk passed the 944 (nut and bolt rebuild to) to look at the stag
First “new car” I ever bought was a Triumph 1300 in 1970, cost less than £1,000, was a small luxury car I kept for 3 years. Always reliable and comfortable, regretted trading in for Citroen 1220 GS, load of rubbish and got rid of within the year! Didn’t go for the 1300’s replacement Toledo/Dolomite as Triumph dropped the front wheel drive/in line engine setup I was told, as it couldn’t accommodate an auto box.
I've wanted a Triumph Stag for 50 years and when a "good one" came along, the horror stories always stopped me from writing the check.Even by 1980 most had been converted to a Chevy small block 350.
That's a crying shame. The Triumph V8 wasn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe but early stuff could be hit and miss. Badly maintained examples were definitely going to test your patience and your wallet though!
Seems to me the Stag V8 was OK provided you got a good 'un, and did a few mods. I ran one as a daily driver for two years no problems. The cooling had to be sorted, mostly by not using tap water to top up. The timing chain was a pain, the dizzy needed to be converted. Trouble was if you ran them in cold climate they rusted, and the cooling was probably too close to the edge for a hot climate. I always felt Triumph just ran out of time and money and sent them out the door to early, a few months testing and developing they could have built a world beater, they were a lovely drive, not sporty, more classy and refined by the standards of the day. I always felt had they built a later version, with a wider lower stance, put electronic ignition and fuel injection on it, bigger rad, electric fan and moved the header tank, and changed the timing chain to a two belt system or just a better chain it would have been really good.
A few people have asked me how they can support the channel and the work I do on here, I don’t have memberships or a Patreon or any donation buttons etc but I have thought I do drink a lot of coffee during the week researching these videos.. so I’ve decided to create a buy me a coffee page where you can send a small amount to keep me caffeinated during my research!
Linked here: www.buymeacoffee.com/tomisdriving
My Triumph memory is Tony Pond on the Manx Rally 78 I think - there was a long flat out stretch on to a kink left over a hump bridge. All my dad's friends were discussing where Tony would lift off before the bridge - Well the TR7 V8 came down the road flat out in 5th - Tony never lifted at all and the TR7 went airborne with the 3.5 screaming for a second - how he managed to go round the kink only he knows ! Every other driver John Taylor Per Eklund and Jimmy McRae all lifted off - I can still hear that V8 and smell the clutch - We were all in awe. RIP Tony, taken too soon
His lap record round the Isle of Man TT circuit in a standard Rover 800 is pretty amazing too.
Tony Pond…the legend
@markc1921 They said it was standard but it wasn't. Special Tuned exhaust with manifold, tuned ECU and totally stripped out for weight saving. Saying that, a very impressive drive indeed. TP's drive in the Vitesse in the fog on the Manx Rally has to be seen to be believed!! It's on here.
@@paulmartinwoods Flat out in top gear in the fog…..truly amazing.
@@keithedwards9337 1984 Manx Rally, with Dickie Davies doing the voice over. Classic!! Boiled the PAS fluid then broke the torque tube that controls the rear axle!! The shot at the end when Tony lights up rear on 180 1st hairpin is pure style!! RIP TP, biggest balls or them all.
Many moons ago, first in Tassie then moved to NSW, I had a 1969(?) Mk1 2.5PI MD, only 4spd no overdrive. By time i got the car the fuel injection had been removed and it was running on 1 3/4 SUs, very poorly, so I put a set of rebuilt and properly set up 150CDs, what an improvement, from about 21- 23 mpg to 28- 34 mpg and an absolute joy to drive, had extractors, tubular exhaust to you Englishmen, the exhaust note on twisty, undulating roads, 30- 70 mph taken at full noise still makes my hair stand up when reminiscing. Car went to god too early when I was run off the road by some muppet in Central West NSW. Only had her for 5 years and a out 40 000 miles, 30 years ago and still miss Trumpy. Take care out there everyone.
There are two Ferguson stags and a very interseting artical about driving in the French Alps up an alpine pass. In the day you were only alowed if you had chains on the wheels and the police could not understand how this sports car could clime the mountain !
Their was also a four wheel drive 1300 built for rallycross and a four wheeldrive triumph utility vehicle called a Poney.
There was also a 1300 estate that the triumph factory built i have seen it on the road in the south of england several years ago.
Keep up the good work plenty more triump specials to find.
Great job! My first car purchased in 1986 was a $1300 '73 GT6 Mk III, not the year of manufacture that a savvy buyer would choose but for me it was great. As I turned 16 here in WA state, USA, I sold my '80 Honda CR 80 and my cow which got me most of the way to the $1300 that started my life long love affair with European cars. That GT6 was a perfect first car for me. I really enjoyed working on weekends and in the summertime to put together my next $50 or $100 that I would spend often times through "Victoria British" to buy a new black vinyl cover for the E-brake, some new door cards or perhaps getting the rear vents chromed. It was so rewarding and fun to watch my little baby getting back in proper condition and eventually with a paint job and some affordable performance modifications it turned into a real head turner. I miss that car but at least in my 50s I know have an Alfa, Maserati, TVR 2500M and a Jaguar daily driver.😊 Thanks for all the super interesting info on rare versions of Triumph models. Does anybody know of any special GT6s?
I really love your enthusiasm for classic brit motors, im pleased a younger guy knows and yet alone loves these cool old cars.
I got hooked on Triumphs because our neighbor owned a mustard yellow GT-6. Only got to drive it once before tinworm took its toll.
Great vids, keep up the amazing work.
I owned a Herald, paid £10 for it in 1981. A friend had a 2-5 PI with an uprated engine. It was super fast and blew 6 gearboxes in 6 weeks. He couldn't find a new one so we built a new one from the 6 old ones.
Great video Tom, thanks!
I had five Triumphs in a row, Vitesse 1600 soft top, Vitesse 2 Litre Mk II with overdrive ( non overdrive Vitesse Mk II cars could over rev. in top gear), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pale blue), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pimento red) and finally a Triumph 2500S estate (in sienna brown). Then emigrated to Australia in 1982.
Triumph had a very extensive range of cars with a 1300, 1500, Dolomite 1850, Triumph 2000, Triumph 2500S, Spitfire, GT6, TR6 and Stag. I think the Leyland management saw them as a threat to Austin Morris and Rover and killed them off. I believe a number of Triumph Engineers then left to work for BMW in Germany and a more enlightened management.
Years later I bought a BMW E39 Touring and later found that the back end was styled by Michelotti, who also styled the Triumph 2000/2500S and often wondered if that drew me to the E39 Touring.
Triumph cars were mostly my familys choice of transport growing up. My late father had 3 of the big saloons. They made such an impression on me when I was old enough I brought a 2.5pi on an L plate (1973) such a quick car, I remember tailgating a Ford Capri 2.8 injection on the M5 for a good 10 miles. The Capri driver couldn't lose me!
Great video, again. Your research is second to none. So cool too hear about all these concepts and versions I have never ever heard of.
Thank you! Really appreciate it.
Absolutely agree, a pioneer of modern sports saloons seldom mentioned alongside BMW and Alfa.
A push for more triumph content online would be a great thing to work at.
I believe triumph is one of the brands still owned by BMW
@@matgreen8605 I think you are right, very telling they keep hold of it.
If you’re interested in other video ideas on Triumph I think you would do a top job featuring all of the iterations and editions of the TR7. All of the mechanical upgrades and livery changes made from 1975 through 1982 as well as the motivation behind the various editions are fairly accessible. All of that information made into one comprehensive video would be a lovely addition to the channel. Brilliant work mate.
Hi Tom and Thanks for your hard work putting this video together. I’ve learned some triumph history today. I bought my brown 1972 triumph 2.5PI from a friend back in 1977 for £750.00 reg BOK777K sold it 1981.what a car I believe it had the Lucas injection rebuilt while on warranty and I ended up with a relatively reliable PI I’m now 68
My dad had a petrol blue 1969 triumph 2500 mk1. Truly beautiful car. He sold it and a couple weeks later we got a knock on the door as it was used in an armed robbery (early 80’s) the v5 hadn’t been changed so was still registered at our address
Definitely need more triumph videos. Well said young man. Great video.
Another on the way today at 6:30pm
Really very interesting. Triumph really were a great brand with some lovely cars - gradually ground down by BL and not helped by either below-par management and an awkward workforce. Some interesting cars there in your upload that are not widely known. I think I would have dropped in a Grinnall TR8 too, but that's not a criticsm. Great work mate!
My brother had a nice Stag here in Australia. There was a business that swapped in the 4.4L aluminium V8 crate motor that were not used in the cancelled Leyland P76. They put out only 143kw and 380nm but were smooth and responsive.
That was about as much bhp as a stock TR8 wasn’t it? Fairly decent for the time.
It was good to hear Wood and Pickett mentioned, my God father worked for W&P until his retirement in the late 70s.
The majority of his work was Mini dash conversions as well as modifications to all makes of luxury cars.
Good video, thanks. During the early 70s, I had a 2000 Mk1 estate with overdrive on 3 and 4. I could not afford the Mk2 at the time but drove the 2.5 PI a lot around Essex on Traffic Patrol. It was a brilliant car in its day. Main competition with the public then was the good looking P6 Rover 2000 and 2000TC; later the V8 3500. Over the next few years I had a reliable Dolomite 1500HL and the 1850 Dolomite which had engine problems which are well documented elsewhere. The BMW 5 Series looked similar and was good to drive but I could not afford one although I have had E36 and E46 estate touring models for the last 20years. I have fond memories of the Dolomite and 2.5 PI . I am now aged 77. I am sure the BMW look, with the twin headlamps to this day was partly inspired by Triumph. BMW build quality is better but I loved my Triumphs.
I was born in 79 so sadly I don’t really remember much of these,but I found it very very interesting indeed,cheers fella 👍😉💪
I worked for Triumph in the 70s , I still have my Dolomite as a daily driver, went shopping this morning despite some snow. Very usable classic cars as luckily the prices have not gone stupid like the Fords, meaning they pretty much live as garage queens,.
You really put a lot of work into these videos and it shows. It is riveting stuff for me as another lifelong Triumph fan. My 1st Triumph was a full sized new bicycle for my birthday in 1967. Thanks.
Hi Tom
I came across your channel late last year and since your vids on the SD1’s I am hooked!!!
Sincerely wish you the best for you and your channel in 2024
Triumph are most commonly known for their 2 seat sports cars but their saloon line up was so on the ball, especially during the 70's. I grew up around a lot of Dolomites, Heralds and 2000's and when I see BMW's model line up today I see a mirror reflection. By that I mean tye saloons ranged from economical base specs to sporty top specs all while functioning as 4 door saloons with spacious boot. At this stage, I've owned a few myself and they are extremely well built and great fun to drive. Great watch and keep em coming 👌
I always think of BMWs as German Triumphs...
Hello Tom, very interesting video! If I'm not mistaken, there was also a one-off triumph Vitesse coupé, based on the herald coupé body, made for a french nobleman and a few vitesses estates, again based on the herald estate body with the vitesse front hood. Other quite rare triumph are the ones assebled in Italy by Ducati Meccanica (motorbike manufacter) in the early sixsties. I should also mention that the triumph/jaguar/rover italian importer in the seventies, called Bepi Koelliker, asked BL to produce a series of cars in special metallic colours, specifically selected for the italian market: around one hundrer spitfires 1500 were paited directly at BL factory and delivered new in Italy with special paint. Some dolomite sprint were repainted by the importer directly in Italy, before being sold. This was especially important for factory yellow cars: in Italy at the time taxicab were all yellow and no one wanted a yellow saloon that looked like a taxicab! For example I currently own a dolomite sprint painted in dark grey metallic, I have trace of other 3 or 4 dolomites painted in the same colour, all sold new in Italy. I can send you some photos if you are interested. Greetings from Italy, Gabriele
Triumph Vitesse original was a beautiful looking car, four oblique headlights.
I saw a feature on the Tickford Stag in Sports Car And Classic years ago. From memory the engine had some gas flowing done and larger valves were fitted. The inlet manifold was modified to fit a 4 barrel Holley carb and Edelbrock wire mesh air filter. "Lumpy" cams were fitted but after the owner (who was in fact an extremely well-heeled student) complained that it was almost undriveable in traffic they were replaced by standard cams. Hope that's been of some help and thanks for your very interesting posts!
Great channel. Really interesting about Triumph cars too.
Really enjoying your content looking forward to more. An early memory sitting on the front wheel with my eldest brother sitting on the opposite, maintaining his Triumph Herald.
New subscriber here, enjoying the videos, very well presented.
Over the years, I have owned four Triumphs.
A spitfire, a 2.5PI mk 2, a Dolomite 1850HL and a 2L Vitesse.
Out of the four cars, I would dearly love two of them back, namely the Vitesse and the 2.5PI.
The PI was white, with black vinyl roof, reg no PDB 807H. According to the DVLA, it ran out of tax in 1983.
I doubt it has survived all these years.
It's refreshing to see a young lad (hope you won't mind me referring to you as such) taking such a keen interest in these older cars.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Gary, you’ve owned some brilliant cars. I wouldn’t mind a Spitfire myself.
I love the front end Michelotti makeover of these Triumphs. It still looks very modern today. As a youngster (80's) I designed what I considered what an update to the Dolomite would be. I was surprised to see what I drew materialised as the Rover R8 (a decade later) albeit without the four headlamp Dolomite-esque front end that I gave it!
You're right about the platform share of the Herald: not only did it spawn the Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 which you mention, it also underpinned the entire Bond Equipe range and then, later, a whole welter of kit cars built on the Triumph chassis frame. Further to that, so good was the entire Herald front suspension and steering arrangement, that it also found its way into a wide variety of respected low volume and competition cars.
The Panther Lima wasn’t their first car, the J72 was, followed by the De Ville in 74. The Lima didn’t come along until ‘76
Excellent documentary with so some much rare information. Need to watch it a few times! 🙏. In the family we had a 1966 triumph 2000 estate, a 1966 triumph spitfire, a 68 spitfire and lastly a triumph Dolomite,1850HL. All wonderful cars, especially our new 1966 Estate.
I live in Coventry not far from where the Canley plant was. We had a neighbour who was a triumph tester he showed us many of the cars he tested but nothing like those in the video just standard off the track cars. So thank you for all the research and information you've given us here. Great stuff.
I filmed an interview with a Panther Rio owner at the Lancaster classic car show last year. He was told me that apparently there is an unregistered/unused Rio in Saudi Arabia which was sold to one of the royal families in a package deal with (I think) a six wheeler panther. I believe he’s tried to buy it on the number of occasions , but they won’t sell!
Great that you are so enthusiastic for the brand ie bl/austin/rover etc etc and always interesting to watch your well researched video's.
Your quite correct the Rio was based on the Dolomite. Panther Westwind made some lovely cars in particular the de ville. The J72 was their first car i believe and was meant to be based on a Jaguar SS i think. Its such a shame that people see a Panther and don't know what they are and think they are a kit car. The Rio, there was one at the classic car show last November. I didn't see it but i saw a great video about it. it was you tube channel lot 76 cars? i think. If you have not seen it it well worth watching.
TrZ i remember it well, don't think i have ever seen it in the flesh but i did own the pen.
I remember the Avon acclaim and reading about its release( in Autocar i think). It was the Acclaim to have and very well appointed.
The Wood and picket Dolomite as you correctly say it was sold through Mathewsons -bangers and cash .I wasn't aware of this vehicle until it came up for sale the first time. It came up again i believe at Mathewsons about a year later. It was the Tahiti Blue and gold. As you say its a special little car i would have loved to have owned it.
i have always loved Stag's and it was only recently that i became aware of the Stag Estate by del lines.
Very well done Tom, its not easy bringing it all together and takes a lot of time to do.
Very good mate loved it
another awesome vid tom
Had a 1977 2000TC, lovely car to drive, three speed Borg-Warner gearbox, with a towbar. It would pull anything I put behind it, I got over seventy out of it, pulling a twin axle car trailer with a MK4 Cortina Estate full of parts... happy days..
Memories of Triumphs are my dad buying a stag in around 1989/90, the engine blowing up on the m62 near the farm in the middle of the motorway, my dad rebuilding it in old mill that was used as garages and him starting the engine with a a 12 year old or so me leaning against the wing, indoors with no exhausts fitted and me running from the garage.
A real wholesome one, stuff like that ain’t that common anymore…
i had a triumph 2000 mk 2 in 1978 best car i ever had.
In the 2970s, there were a number of cars that got the Ferguson treatment on a limited volume basis, many for police use. The Triumph 2.5 PI and Ford Zephyr Mk4 figuring large.
The AWD Triumph 2500 estate is classy.
I drove a Triumph Herald once, it belonged to one of my Dad's friends. The steering felt really weird, almost as though the steering wheel had a one to one connection with the turning of the wheels. I also remember that the Triumph Owners Club's sniffy reaction to the TR7 was to issue advice to members wanting to convert their TR6 into a TR7 that they could weld on a roof and disconnect two spark plugs.
Hi Tom, great video. I worked on a Panther Rio early 80's during my time at Lenham Motors (Kent).
It was dark blue metallic, black vinyl and was quite striking. I seem to remember the external body panels were ali. From memory the reg was HRH5, or thereabouts, as we joked it could have belonged to Prince Charles! We also purchased one of the 1st TR7 convertibles into the UK from Belgium (LHD), in order to take moulds and produce hardtops, ready for tte UK launch, of which we sold many!
Came across many odd balls during that time, XK 150 estate, MGB dressed in ali as Ferrari 250 looky like, Ogle (Mini), prototype Midget, Tickford Metro, Park Ward Cooper.
Happy days!
Cheers, Martin.
I had a ten year old 1147 Triumph Herald convertible. I put mag wheels wider,tyres and a Weber 28/36 carb. Loved that little car which never went wrong. Luckily the chassis had been undersealed from new so I reckon together with its nigh on everlasting engine it would still be going today. Really enjoyed all your videos.Good work! Thanks from a Triumph fan with many happy memories😮
Very interesting. I have owned a Trumph Herald estate which I loved until it failed its MOT with wood rot. Apparently the rear part of th frame under the estate bit had rotted and the previous owner had hammered a piece of 2x4 into it and painted over with underseal. Great car though. My wife also owned a Herald saloon before we got married. My favorite Triumph was a Dolomite 1850HL in powder blue. An astonishingly comfortable car with a nice, ribbed nylon interior. It was also an automatic. Performance was quite good. I did have one problem when it would lose power during an overtaking maneuver. After a lot of investigation I discovered that the rubber tube between the two carbs (Strombergs I think) had rotted inside creating a rubber valve that shut under high fuel pressure. Happy days. I deeply regret not driving the stag as well as the Dolly Sprint.
Very interesting content 👍. Subscribed 🙂
Thank you!
My father purchased one of the first Stags. We wen on holiday to Spain, driving through France and down into Spain. Wherever we went the Stag generated lots of admiration from on lookers. This was a manual gearbox car as I recall. We did have some issues with overheating that sorted out. Later dad bought on of the late automatics. Again it attracted admiration, especially as I was allowed to drive the car, despite being relatively young. Insurance costs were relatively low back then. Mum had a Herald and a Spitfire. I went one better and had two GT6s: both Mk IIIs. Alas my red GT6 caught fire. However, before its charring I did go on many epic drives across France, Italy and Switzerland. It was a fabulous car.
Well done on the research for this. Yes, Triumph had many good ideas and a real chance to go where BMW were going. Sadly, they completely ignored manufacturing quality - warranty costs on the Herald nearly killed the company, and it carried on like that... the Stag was a disaster mainly because of engine flaws, the Dolly Sprint was clever but fragile, and the TR7's build quality was famously awful. It's very sad.
Really great series of vids these mate 👍
Thanks for your interesting video. Would be good to see you tell us more about the so-called Stag estate, i.e. the conversion of the 2500 estate with the Stag engine.
BMW own triumph didn't know that, v good vid tom
They do…. Sadly. Not the motorcycles though, that’s a separate entity.
BMW is scared of Triumph making a come back, and holds the rights under lock and key!
Remember Triumph was probably BMW’s biggest competitor in the early 70’s!
Another specialist dealing in Triumps was Grinnall who converted TR7s into TR8s. A guy I worked with offshore in the early 80s had one and claimed it was a 4 seater with extended wheelbase and the V8 up front. Do you know how many were built and how many (if any) survive?
Great job!
My first experience of driving a sporty car was in a Triumph Vitesse that was owned by a friend’s dad. It was just fabulous to drive. I’d love to see a video about the Herald and Vitesse. Very best wishes, Adrian
Perfect example of a big Triumph 2.5pi in Saffron Yellow. I hope the stainless steel sill trims eventually corrected and put on the right way round!
Funny too, my daily driver has Triumph parts a lot as standard, the steering column, front seats, brakes, wheels, interior parts from the Lucas parts bin... its not a Triumph nor is it a Bond but a MK2 Reliant 3 wheel van, when BL stopped making the Herald variants and had sold most of its tooling to the Indians, Reliant bought the tooling for the wheels, steering and a couple other bits to be seen on the brand new Robin whilst other Triumph parts appeared on the Scimitar like the cake wedge light display from the rortier Triumphs.
i knew a guy who worked on stags at a dealership,when he left the job he set up his own garage rebuilding stag engines ,he did alot of mods rebored all the water and oil inlets, filled in the head bolt locations and added 2 more bolt head holes better cam belts ,his builds were a much stronger and good stag v8
I was lucky enough to own a Mk2 estate for a number of years and I'm still looking for something that can replace it..Beautiful to look at and beautiful to drive, and it was a damn-good workhorse to boot.
For those unaware, this was the same car as the 4x4 in the video but with the standard Triumph drivetrain and a plain white colour scheme.
It had legs as well. This was back in the early days of the hot-hatch craze and the Triumph was 14yrs old when I got it. I remember being passed by a shiny new XR3i on the M27 while I was driving in the high 90s (mph). So I caught him up and passed him. I wonder what the poor guy thought about his shiny hot-hatch felt about being taken by a beat up old estate car.
It's only letdown was it's thirstiness, but back then an average of 20mpg wasn't bad for a 2.5ltr automatic estate.
I've driven many cars since including the much more modern BMW 325 estate, but even that couldn't match it for feel. I miss my 'BlunderBus' as it was affectionately called.
I loved the time Tony Pond took a,1989 manual red rover vittess 2.7 honda v6 i think ,round the 37 & three quarters mile isle of mann TT Circuit at an average speed of 100.01 mph, i think the superbikes were doing it slightly below 120 mph ,what a driver
Great video 👍🏼
So many Triumph prototypes survived because of Triumphs habit (almost unique amongst manufacturers) of selling off these cars to employees rather than scrapping them. Amongst these, the Herald Hatchback prototype from 1965 (which I owned as a pile of parts till it was taken on and restored in circa 2013) the 2000 Hatchback 4941KV which survives (I have pics) the Triumph Fury, a stunning halfway house sports car between a GT6 and a TR, the Triumph Sherpa, not a van, but a hatchback Toledo which sadly appears to have been lost though I have a picture, the dozen or so Vitesse estates built by Triumph's Park Royal service dept in the 60s, the handful of Del Lines Stag powered 2000 saloons and estates, the Dove TR4 shooting brakes, there are also other surviving 4x4 Ferguson cars, at least one of which, a Topaz Yellow saloon is in the UK, the list is endless. Contact me if you want to discuss any of these cars further.
Both 4WD Stags still exist and are on the road as is the 2nd 4WD 2.5 estate which is right hand drive and in the UK.
Saw a Panther Rio parked up on Topping Street in Blackpool about ten years ago , an older couple drove of in it after shopping
It is shame Triumph was lost because I love every single Triumph ever made even the eighties acclaim great video again absolutely love your channel look forward to following the straight six project.Also try and track down that Woodford and Pickett Dolly because it's my favorite car of all time.Also love Triumph vittesses as well .
That Dolomite was on Bangers and Cash but I personally thought it was gash !
I had an 1850 HL 4-speed in Russet Brown….
Probably BL’s biggest mistake axing the Triumph marque!
Interesting how BMW owns the name today, and keep’s the name under lock and key!
@@mervynstent1578 You mean Austin Rover ?
The slighty extended wheelbase as used on TR8 works rally cars was perfect - got rid of it's spinning twitchy tendancies. Compare it's side profile to see.
The black Stag looks good
The TR7 estate thing 😱
Lovely video - thanks for all the research. I think Ferguson produced a 4 wheel drive Ford Mustang (69 model), so the 2500 might not have been their first time converting a production car. Thanks once again. Always look forward to your videos.
I remember a TR7 in yellow sitting in a garage owned by my fathers mate only came out to get an mot then re parked in his mums garage sadly lost contact with the guy who moved to Rugby from Nottingham hopefully he reads this message an gets in contact Rodger Goldsmith! Lovely cars
That black Tickford Stag is gorgeous.
Good video, really enjoyed it.
Great video, keep up the good work.
Fascinating...........thank you Tom
My step Auntie has a Triumph TR5
She has good taste!
Along with her mk2 Toyota MR2 !!🙈 @@tomdrives
+ my uncles cars !!!!!!
Petrol pair heads !!!!
@@matthewc.419 legends!
Great job
Hey Tom I mind seen a dolomite sprint tickford at mathewsons auction it was a blue one with gold stripes along the side it went to a collector in orkney I believe.
My father drove and raced tr-2s and tr-3s. He told me that the "wet sleeved tractor engine" was a marvel of engineering. I believed he used 4" sleeves with 327 chevrolet pistons and connecting rods. I remember him tuning the side draft Weber IDF carburetors and cornering on 2 wheels.
Hi I rescued a 1996 Ford Mondeo estate ghia X 2.5 v6 had been sat for 11 years in a garage and was heading to the scrap yard until I stepped in to rescue it. I get some Stick for rescuing it and showing it at a local classic car club.
The Triumph going into the KDF Swastika truck is quite amusing.
I’ve never seen that, I’ve searched it but nothing has come up? Any tips to find it?
Pretty simple really. Type in “kdf swastika” then select “images” in google. Looks just like the logo on the back of that truck the TR7 is driving into at 22:42.
Back in the early 70s my father worked at BLNetherlands and I collected any car brochure I could get hold of. Including one of the Panther Rio. Somehow BLN was interested in the Rio, so my father took the brochure to work with him for a few days. I have no idea if they seriously considered importing the Rio as part of their range but nothing came of it anyway and after a few days I got my Rio brochure back.
dear tom, on your 2600 mods. it is easy to go over the top. i believe you will need a fast road cam. interested in your choice of timing and lift. i believe the three weber carbs would be excessive and difficult to tune correctly. perhaps better to go for a jaguar setup as fitted to the 4.2 xjs. otherwise working on improving flow on intake and exhaust and possible modifications to the ehad should provide a fast and driveable car. philip
Interesting I depth video about the Triumph car brand , l took my driving test in a Triumph Acclaim , they were good cars on the whole 👍
Thanks, that was great, but I'm sure I saw a Ferguson 4x4 converted Triumph 2000/2500 at a Triumph World picnic in the UK in the early 2000's
I'm looking forward to seeing how your 2600 SD1 project works out. From what I understand they were deliberately detuned to create a better/bigger power gap between the 2.6 and the 3.5, as we know the 3.5 is capable of good BHP and huge torque, so the the factory could have upper the V8's output to widen the gap instead?
Interesting video Tom, just a few points:-
All Stags had electric windows as standard not just the Tickford.
There also exists a 4WD stag. It was exhibited at the NEC a few years ago. Not sure if it is a recent conversion or was converted in period
All Acclaims had the bonnet bulge not just the Avon Turbo.
Thanks for the input Carl, I couldn’t find enough on the 4WD Stag sadly
Apparently 2 were convereted in 1971 by Formula Ferguson. One automatic and one manual. At least the the Manual one survives. It was covered in some detail in the Stag Owners Club Manual in November 1990. At that point it was resident in West Wales. The information is available on the SOC website, but unfortunately you need to be a member to access.
It was featured on the SOC stand at the NEC Classic Car Show in 2019 I think and again last year (2023).
I was living in Australia working for an Volvo dealership that took on Leyland dealership also and remember problems with TR7 s overheating I can’t remember what the cause was??? any ideas. Thanks for this vid.....Rob
Great video, really enjoyed it, what about TR8?
There was and i think still is a panther rio floating about here in northern ireland, i remember it used to sit in the square of the local village on a Saturday i have pictures of it here on the computer, it also has attended a few classic car shows.
@6.55 Panther Rio , never knew it was a Triumph!!!! I seen one at the Manchester Classic car show ......years ago
It’s a real oddity isn’t it, it’s like a tiny Silver Spur
@@tomdrivesyeah the guy there explained about it .........maybe I forgot bout the Triumph bit 🙈
Am stoked how the 'Rolls inspired' Panther Rio from the front at least looks uncannily like a Rolls that was launched 5 years later...
The Rio looks like a Hillman Hunter Vanden Plas.
As a young man, I went to see the TR7 estate at Page Motors in Epsom. I wanted one to replace my Ford Capri, but the price was crazy. Sad it never went into full production, as that shold have brought the price down.
You may want to investigate the Jensen Interceptor FF (1966-71) - a mass-produced 4wd production car,not an estate but a well known car nonetheless! Love your enthusiasm for Rover/Triumph and BL stuff. My dad worked at a dealership in the early 70s so Rover 2000TC, Triumph Stag, and Spitfire brochures were always available! Sadly not kept...
i was gonna comment this :D.
No mention of the Del Lines cars then? Or even the 22 production right hand drive TR8’s?
I’ve got another video in the works to cover those, this isn’t the final video by a long shot
We done a nut and bolt rebuild on a stag. I dislike it but it looks good and gets all the attention at the car shows.
People literally walk passed the 944 (nut and bolt rebuild to) to look at the stag
I saw a few other FF car conversions. Best example was the BRIXMIS Opel Senator. Interesting history.
My 1972 Triumph 2000 auto (underpowered) that I fitted a 4.4l P76 motor & auto in and made it fun. I also had a 1968 Triumph 2.5 PI 4 speed
Very gud vid 💯💥
I remember Tickfort in the 80’s doing Aston Martin’s and Ford Capri’s , who back then were also oldfashioned cars..
First “new car” I ever bought was a Triumph 1300 in 1970, cost less than £1,000, was a small luxury car I kept for 3 years. Always reliable and comfortable, regretted trading in for Citroen 1220 GS, load of rubbish and got rid of within the year! Didn’t go for the 1300’s replacement Toledo/Dolomite as Triumph dropped the front wheel drive/in line engine setup I was told, as it couldn’t accommodate an auto box.
thank you,very interesting
I had a mk2 2000 and bloody loved it
I've wanted a Triumph Stag for 50 years and when a "good one" came along, the horror stories always stopped me from writing the check.Even by 1980 most had been converted to a Chevy small block 350.
That's a crying shame. The Triumph V8 wasn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe but early stuff could be hit and miss. Badly maintained examples were definitely going to test your patience and your wallet though!
Seems to me the Stag V8 was OK provided you got a good 'un, and did a few mods.
I ran one as a daily driver for two years no problems.
The cooling had to be sorted, mostly by not using tap water to top up.
The timing chain was a pain, the dizzy needed to be converted.
Trouble was if you ran them in cold climate they rusted, and the cooling was probably too close to the edge for a hot climate.
I always felt Triumph just ran out of time and money and sent them out the door to early, a few months testing and developing they could have built a world beater, they were a lovely drive, not sporty, more classy and refined by the standards of the day.
I always felt had they built a later version, with a wider lower stance, put electronic ignition and fuel injection on it, bigger rad, electric fan and moved the header tank, and changed the timing chain to a two belt system or just a better chain it would have been really good.