On Wed, 11 Mar 1998 Ian Southwell <IanSouthwell@ApexSystems.COM>
wrote:Subject: Triumphs as your only car
I'm curious to find out how many of you own Triumphs/classic cars as
your only car. Is it naive to rely upon a car thats at least 16 years
old or should we coset them due to their increasing rarity? What kind
of mileages are people doing each year? Anyone in the UK on our salty
roads?
Ian Southwell, UK
GT6 Mk3 x 2 (They will run eventually...)
Ian, I bought my '67 Herald Convertible in '81 with 80,000 miles on it, since
then, I have run it as my only car, it now has 220,000 miles on it and in that
period I have made no less than 42 sea crossings with it to
Europe/Ireland/Scandavia etc.
In '81, when I first bought it, I gave it a light restoration and respray,
then a more thorough rolling-restoration in '89, but it is now becoming ripe
for a body-off restoration. (which I intend to start in December '99).
Generally speaking, it has been very reliable, with most problems being of my
own making. I have done as many as 12,000 miles in one year, with two trips to
Finland putting 3,500 miles on it in three week periods! The average has been
around 8,000-10,000 miles/annum.
Nowadays, I tend to cover about 5,000 miles/year with it, as I completed my 2
Litre Vitesse Convertible restoration in May '97, and like to drive that in
fine weather instead, totalling around 3,000 miles each summer.
So there you have it Ian, Don't cosset them, Drive them, enjoy them and
maintain them.
Happy Triumphing
Leon F Guyot
TSSC International
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