We wanted a little British car, but did not want to spend a fortune in a restoration. So we began searching for a restored car in which someone else had already sunk in a large chunk of change during a frame off restoration - and had to sell at a loss. Fortunately, we only searched for a few months to find our TR4. It had matching numbers a frame of restoration, and a few period extras such as a wooden steering wheel and headlight stone guards. Best of all the price was right.

The car was orignally imported to NY, but eventually sold around 1983 to a person in Ohio. He did the restoration. Afterward, he was transferred to Califonia and then to Denver. At that time the car was given to his sister in NJ since it wasn't being used in the Colorado weather. The story has it that she wanted a daily driver, and ended up selling the car to a younger couple also living in NJ. They had it only a year (actually less) and put it up for sale.

We couldn't figure out why, and their reasons did not seem "logical." I called the mechanics who had worked on it, and they infromed me it was a steal at the price. Needless to say we bought it. I later discovered the owner heard a noise and the fan was loose. He was supposedly informed by a club member that the engine was "shot." Little did he know it was only the bolt holding the fan in place that had loosened up over the years.

So we ended up with our litte red Triumph. We only added a white top and boot (rather than the black that came with the car) to have it correctly match the British Motor Heritage Trust Certificate specifications. A luggage rack was also ordered. In the years we have owned it, the only work done on it was to replace a leaky radiator hose, have a couple tiny paint defects flawlessly repaired, update the brakes, and finally fix a leaky master cylinder. The car now is appraised at double its purchase price. It was featured in an article in the Vintage Triumph magazine and has been a joy to drive. Of course, we hibernate it during the NJ winters, but it loves to speed along from spring through the fall. Some pics are included to show the before and after restoration of the car.