...and I'll throw in MY two cents' worth!
I suppose I'd describe myself mostly as a: a purist, and b: a bit of an
anachronism in my own time. :-) I love seeing those wide whitewalls on the
early TRs and early Heralds (up to about 1963 or so, when the whitewalls
started to get narrower, that is). I love the simplicity of the older cars in
particular inasmuch as a bit of bailing wire, duct tape and a Swiss Army Knife
can get you past most roadside emergencies. I like the quirks. With the notable
exception of TotalSeal piston rings and modern "race" rubber, I like the idea
that my now-autocross Spitfire 4 is still pretty much as it was first built
(following very closely the Comp. Prep. Manual) in the late 1960s for SCCA
racing. I like living in the past. :-)
But that's who I am.
My own counterpoint: My poor Mayflower is a perfect example of a car that
somehow was kept alive for 50 years now by a succession of owners who did what
they had to do to keep it running. It still has lots of extra wiring and
switches and gauges to replace or bypass nonfunctional originals. I got rid of
the Fiat-Weber carburetor and replaced it with a Solex, albeit from a Herald
and not an original Solex. And I did straighten out the braking system with
correct, original-style parts; it actually works now. But the Facet electric
fuel pump lives happily under the bonnet along with a remote cannister oil
filter from a Studebaker, horns from a Godknowswhat and a Ford starter solenoid
-- and the original starter, generator and distributor! But it all works, the
car still drives and looks cute as all getout, and there probably aren't 10
people in VTR, let alone elsewhere, who would know about -- or CARE about --
the modifications of those long-ago owners who just wanted to keep driving the
car.
With a few exceptions (such the TRX prototypes, TS1LO and TS2 and some prewar
models), there are still more than enough Triumphs of all shapes and sizes to
go around and to be enjoyed by whomever in whatever manner suits them best.
Completely as delivered ex-Works? Cool. Alternator, AC and big old sound system
stuffed in? Cool. Frenched headlamps and tailfins from a '60 Plymouth Fury
grafted on to the body, which is then mounted atop a Suzuki Sidekick chassis
and running gear? Uh...cool, too. (We'll assume that a pristine, complete car
was not sacrified for such, er, personal touches.)
What's truly sad? I have, in the past, heard comments from some who felt that
it was some sort of capital crime to add an automatic gearbox and possibly hand
controls to an older Triumph so that its pyhsically challenged owner could
continue to enjoy the car. (Reality check: Triumph had considered an automatic
transmission option as early as the TR3A and had even built one such car. I'm
sure that if a significant market had been perceived, an automatic TR would
have appeared for sale far earlier than the TR7. And "clutchless shifting"
options were around as early as the mid-1950s Standard 8 and 10, nee Triumph 10
-- but strangely NOT with the Herald!)
Oh, and while we're all thanking everyone for our continued ability to enjoy
Triumphs (or Humbers or split-window VW Beetles, or...), let's not forget to
thank the clubs. Without some demonstration of organized interest beginning
25-30 years ago or more, it's likely many of the suppliers we now value so much
would instead be doing something else, leaving all of us with absolutely no one
to complain about!
--Andy Mace (still saving that last containers of Bluecol antifreeze and
Girling Crimson Brake Fluid, just in case....)
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