I bought a 1954 long door TR2, used, off the Ford dealer's lot in Danville
Pa. in 1963. The interior was tatty, but leather, the SU carbs poured
gasoline out the bottoms, but it ran nicely, and pulled way better than the
1953 Chevy pillarless coupe I was driving at the time. White with red
interior. I was not familiar with the Triumph name at the time and didn't
really care much. It was a 'sports car'. I was hanging around Bob Grossman's
car lot in Nyack, NY at the time and was enchanted with exotic cars. I bought
it drove the car to NYC where I had escaped the oppressive atmosphere of my
home town. Had the engine completely rebuilt by a Frenchman on Route 303. I
lived in the car for about 3 weeks in 1964. Everything I owned fit behind the
seats or in the trunk. I 'toured' the east coast with several buddies, one
with a new TR3B, one with a Norton Atlas motorcycle, one with a 100-6 Austin
Healey and ther was a very occasional young lady with an MGA. I remember
waking up on the beach on the cape in Mass. with tourists gathered around the
TR2 and me, taking photos and 'home movies'. Those were the days when my
moustaches were long enought to stuff into my ear canals. We hung out in the
town of Woodstock, years before the festival. A nightly trip was to
Armstrongs Bar in Kingston, NY where Bob Dylan would appear with the Band
before they went electric. We danced to the blues and all attended the NAACP
meeting in Kingston on Saturdays. On Sundays we all went to Poppys church on
the mountain behind Woodstock for services. I got stopped by the NY State
Police routinely because of the way I looked and the car I drove. I slid the
TR2 under a truck on a viaduct during a snowstorm, in the coal regions of Pa.
on Christmas eve in 1964. Put the young lady with me on a bus and slept with
the car for two days until I could get it repaired. Fitted a TR3A front clip
and held down the hood with a leather belt. Later, under pressure from the
current love of my life I sold the car for $200 after multiple complaints of
an inefficient heater and the fact the the bottoms of the sidecurtains would
lift at speed, permitting snow and cold wind into the car. We routinely drove
inside two sleeping bags but that did not keep her warm enough. (Try heel and
toe from inside a sleeping bag !) The TR2 was replaced by a 1962 Chevy II
ragtop. An extremely poor substitute. I was Triumphless while I collected 4
university degrees, then found my blue 59 in 87. It all comes back to me
every time I drive it.
Bob Paul
Corrales, NM
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