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Re: Buying a TR6 - or a Herald 1200 Convertible? LONG reply!

To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Buying a TR6 - or a Herald 1200 Convertible? LONG reply!
From: Michael Hargreave Mawson <OC@46thFoot.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 22:11:01 +0100
References: <uY2P0QCRG1r8EwFN@hargreave-mawson.demon.co.uk> <ay8ieeUkRKs8Ewpo@hargreave-mawson.demon.co.uk> <002501c1de74$4e38c340$51170150@u8p1p8>
User-agent: Turnpike/6.00-U (<LxVf5jpHTJ4KxZf4nSFlqLdH9U>)
In article <002501c1de74$4e38c340$51170150@u8p1p8>, William Davies 
<bill@rarebits4classics.co.uk> writes
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Michael Hargreave Mawson <OC@46thFoot.com>
>
>> 'Way back in the mists of time, when I was about three years old, I fell
>> in love with a car that belonged to a neighbour.   It was a white or
>> pale cream-coloured Herald 1200 Convertible, with red-and-cream interior
>> trim.
>
>Hi Mike,
>    Sorry to nit-pick, but with a 2 tone interior it's likely to ahve 
>been a 948 rather than a 1200........

Ah, maybe I am hallucinating.   The year was 1970, and I'm fairly sure 
that the car was brand new (or nearly so).   Perhaps my three-year-old 
mind merely thought it would look nicer with a two-tone interior!   (Or 
perhaps it was a lot older than I thought).

>> Are there any Herald 1200 Convertible owners on the list who could give
>> me pointers to purchasing one of these?
>
>I don't currently have a Convertible, but I own 9 Heralds of various 
>flavours, including a couple of 1200s - I have owned over 35 different 
>Heralds (including plenty of convertibles) so I like to think I've 
>learnt a little about them :-)
>
Well, if you haven't, after owning that many of them, I can't imagine 
what it would take!

>> What to look for (and what to
>> walk away from)?   There seems to be very little on the Web about this
>> particular model, and I want to make sure that I get the best possible
>> car that I can for my money.
>
>Rusy is your biggest worry. For a practical vehicle, avoid cars built 
>before June 1962 (commission number GA80000 and earlier) as they use a 
>considerably weaker chassis.

<snip valuable advice - after saving it!>

>> Prices seem to be very much lower than
>> for the TR range, ranging from GBP1000 to GBP3500 - which is nice <g> -
>> so it could just be that I could afford a car in concourse condition,
>> which would be a nice change from my Spitfire (not to mention that ratty
>> old Saab parked next to it)...
>
>Would you really want to take the family out in a concourse Herald?

Hmm.   I see what you mean.   And you haven't even met my six-year-old 
son.
>
>> On the other hand, I am a little nervous about a large family car with
>> only an 1147cc engine in it.   Can the Herald 1200 reach motorway
>> speeds, or is it forever doomed to pootle along with a little man and a
>> flag in front of it?   I don't need the World's Fastest Quarter Mile
>> time, or a top speed in excess of 75 mph, but crawling along at 35 is
>> not my idea of fun.
>
>The 1147 engine is a reasonable unit - I've used these cars as my only 
>form of transport for much of my driving life - I took an unmodified 
>Courier Van on a 1400 mile tour of Northern Europe without problems. 
>Theoretical maximum speed is about 78mph - later cars claim a higher 
>power output, but in my experience the early cars have a nice wide cam 
>which makes them more pleasant with less gearchanging - sorry I can't 
>remember the change point offhand.

This all sounds very encouraging.

> My old 1964 Saloon was eventually fitted with overdrive and bombed 
>along the M40 at an indicated 95mph, fully laden with 2 (not small) 
>adults, camping gear and lots of autojumble on a roofrack en-route to 
>the TSSC International Weekend. Hills weren't so much fun.......

95 in a Herald?   I'll bet you got a lot of peculiar looks from the 
drivers of those Porsches you passed.   (I certainly got one from the 
driver of an MGF when I shot past him in my Spitfire on the M1 this 
afternoon!   Memories to treasure...)

>> Is there a Heralds list @autox.team.net?
>
>No, but there is a Yahoo group here:
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/triumph_herald/
>We have over 260 members worldwide with a friendly feel - generally a 
>very flame-free environment.

Subscription request on its way.

ATB

-- 
Mike
Michael Hargreave Mawson, author of "Eyewitness in the Crimea"
http://www.greenhillbooks.com/booksheets/eyewitness_in_the_crimea.html

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