On Sun, 18 Oct 1998, Irwin Armstrong wrote:
> I am interested in why you all drive Triumphs or other classic cars,
> given that they all break down, are draughty, cost lots of money to keep
> on the road, give an endless supply of skinned knuckles and all those
> problems to solve.
Except possibly for the "draughty" bit, you've described my 1991 Ford
Explorer. :-)
As for why I drive Triumphs (ok, everybody, currently that should read
COLLECT -- but I'll be driving one again soon): very simple, really. One,
I grew up with them from age 5, when dad bought a new Triumph 10. Mom
always had a station wagon and dad always had a Triumph from that point
(fall 1958) forward. And dad probably put at least 150-200 miles per week
on the car, commuting and such.
Broke down? Sure, about as often as the Plymouth, then Dodge, then Ford,
then Volvo wagons. Cost lots to fix? Not really, except that the dealer
was about 22 miles away, and the local service station guys usually
griped about working on "them darn little furrin' things" (although they
usually did just fine).
We only had two Triumphs from new: the 10 and dad's 1964 Herald. The rest
of the many I've had over the years were used, sometimes VERY MUCH SO.
Usually, though, sorting out a PO's ignorance and his/her mechanic's
would-be fix-it jobs would bring the cars back to respectable
reliability, which they did (and still do) have. My own personal
experience is that Triumphs simply weren't and still aren't any worse in
terms of reliability, etc., than anything else OF THE PERIOD. In some
cases, they might even have been a bit better.
Why do I still like them and drive them? One, just being on one makes me
feel like I'm a kid again. Either you like "wind-in-the-hair" and the
feeling of pretty much being "at one with your car" -- or you don't. And
I like being able to fix just about anything that goes wrong without
plugging into a $10,000 piece of computer diagnostic equipment or robbing
the pension fund. (Compare fuel pump prices and accessibility between a
Herald/Spitfire and a Ford Explorer. On the former, it's probably well
under $60 and it's right there on the side of the motor. On the latter,
it's more like $150+ and it's inside the gas tank, which must be dropped
to change the fuel pump.)
Oh, and the maintenance is really that much more on a Triumph. Not when
AC oil filters for a Spitfire, and all the oils and other fluids, are
regularly put on sale at Kmart!
Two, for the same reason I prefer to tune in an AM radio station at home
on my grandfather's old Philco 39-30 wooden table radio, toast my bread on
a 50-year-old McGraw Electric toaster, and live in a 75-year-old
Craftsman-style bungalow. I like the sound, the smell, the feel, the
memories and history. And I'm extremely "nonplussed" by the 1990s
equivalents of all of the aforementioned items.
Three, I'm eccentric, I guess, but I'm proud of it. I prefer to think of
it as being a(n) historian and preservationist, though.
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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