British Classic Sports Cars - Triumph TR 2 / 3

The Triumph TR 2 and 3 were the models which established the TR line and proved that the company could make high-performance cars.

Some cars are lucky, some are not. Some succeed after a rocky start and other just fail miserably. The Triumph TR3 series undoubtedly fell into the first category that of simply being a laggard, for its auto product launch could of not of been less favorable. Yet for nine years, the same well-known range of sports cars sold strongly to become a sales leader. Overall more than 80,000 were built and sold ? and this automobile put the Triumph auto brand name firmly back on the motoring and motorists map.

It all started in the early 1950?s when Standard-Triumph?s chairman, Sir John Black was inspired to produce a sports car for export.

?Standard ? had bought the corporate remains of the bankrupt and indeed bombed out Triumph company in 1944, and in the few post-war years had offered several , or more than a few, indistinguishable Triumph auto products onto the market ? such as the 1800 / 2000 Roadster, the Renown Saloon and quaint little ?Mayflower?.

In the meantime and meanwhile MG produced the TC and the TD sports cars, and Jaguar produced the famed and classic XK120. Both took the United States foreign auto import sales market by storm , and consequently Sir John Black took the attitude that if indeed his competitors in the automotive field could succeed ? if not indeed prosper in the export North American markets of the USA & Canada so could he ? and that is how it appeared to his colleagues and compatriots.

It could not be done overnight however with the current auto design and production technology and technologies on hand. Computer assisted design (CAD) was a long time coming and in post war Britain resources were solely limited ? both financial, materials and even trained staff. First Sir John encouraged his chief styling engineer, Walter Belgrove to produce a new Roadster (it was known as the TRX) on a Standard Vanguard chassis, but it had a bulbous shape, too many complicated and complex electro-hydraulic controls and really never got past the prototype stages. Next Sir John tried to take over the Morgan Company, but after being rebuffed at the end of 1951, he decided to have more attempt ?in house?.

Thus the real TR story began early on in 1952 on a minimum-cost / minimum tooling basis. The engineers and chief designer Harry Webster were encouraged to use as many pre-existing Standard components as humanely possible , while Walter Belgrove was offered a mere 16,000 British Pound Sterling budget for body tooling, a ridiculously low figure off the scale even in 1952 and post war Britain. The end result was that the design used an obsolete 1936- 39 type of Standard Flying Nine chassis frame (of which were more than 500 examples were still lingering as old stock in the spares department), to which a Triumph Mayflower coil-spring independent front suspension and live rear axle were grafted. The wet-liner Standard Vanguard engine was reduced in size from 2088 cc to 1961 cc by utilizing smaller bore pistons, and was slightly tuned by the addition of twin SU carburetors. Lastly the Vanguard?s three-speed gearbox was converted to a full four-speed with a central gear change.

Yet in the end this auspicious product somehow soldiered on to become a premier and much respected product bringing Triumph and the Triumph Motor Company in its day back as a respected producer of automotive motor products. Interestingly enough the Triumph auto trademark is now property and is held by BMW the respected and prestigious German based auto company.

Tom I. Stables
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Tom I. Stables
In the Winnipeg Manitoba area - Winnipeg Car Traders trade both new & used trucks and cars
http://winnipegcartraders.com/
In the Fort St John BC region
http://fortstjohnautodealers.com/

Source: http://www.articlesbd.com/articles/264249/1/British-Classic-Sports-Cars---Triumph-TR-2--3/Page1.html

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