1955 TRIUMPH TR2 Information

Owner                 Michael, (family name with held pending owners approval for disclosure)

Commission         TS 6354 LO

Body Plates         B6581    772232

Engine                 TS 80950E  (From a "Late" TR3A)

Carburetors         Twin HSU6 (From a "Late" TR3A)

Mileage               64,300 Miles on odometer, however the speedo cable is broken so it is likely higher

Color                    Black Exterior with Red Interior, White weather gear

    

History

After driving the car here in North America between 1955 and 1989, Michael stored this TR2 in a barn at his home by the lake to pursue other interests. Early on in the cars history,  the owner had the car shipped to England and Scotland and toured there.

The car still has a 1989 license plate attached so we can assume that was likely the last year that it was used before being put away in storage

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Although the motor is not original, the car is significant in many respects in that it has not undergone any major restoration, was never winter driven, was only driven by the original owner and that the original owner still has the car in his possession after the elapse of some 51 years. Michael may well be the longest known original owner of a Triumph vehicle!

Objective

Last year following a bout of nostalgia, the owner decided to have the car put back into operating condition so that he might once again experience the thrill of driving his TR. The Club Automobile Triumph CDA (local based TR club of Montreal, Canada) will be aiding Michael in achieving that goal by ensuring that the car is made roadworthy and gets the necessary attention that it deserves to preserve it's original state. We hope to reunite Michael with his car by mid summer 2006.

Inspection of May 19 2006

Following a visit with the owner earlier in the week, Don and myself drove to the country garage where the TR2 had been sent to "get it running again". What we found was a TR2 with a body and interior that was in amazingly good shape considering the age of the car.

By the cars commission number plate, TS6354LO we were able to determine that the car is in fact a 1955 model , probably built around May 1955 and assuming that it took between 4-6 weeks to ship to Canada, the current and sole owner of the car likely took possession of the car at the dealer here in Montreal somewhere close to July of 55.
 
At the time of our visit, The Mechanic had been working on the car over the winter and had accomplished the following::
  • Removed the gas tank from the car, drained old gas and flushed out some debris
  • Removed the differential from the car and was in the process of tearing it down and assess how to rebuild it. One or both of the wheel hubs were worn and the wheel bearings were rusted & damaged.  
  • Mounted and balanced new radial tires on the steel wheel rims
  • Removed and disassembled the twin Master cylinder
  • Removed the hydraulic fluid canister and the front wheel drums.
  • Procured hydraulic bridge pipes, hoses and replacement brake cylinders for the front & rear brakes, Plastic Battery insert along with battery attachment items, rear hub & pinion seals, front bearings and a suspension renewal kit 

General Condition

Body Condition: Paint appears to be original with signs of cracking but overall in good condition. The underside and frame are covered with grease and dirt but have not sustained any significant rusting during the past 51 years. The paint still shines beneath the surface dust.

   

     

Cruciframe: Appears to be solid and in good condition. The frame is painted Black. 

Engine: The engine found is not the original and had been exchanged with a late TR3A model. It has the later H6 type carburetors installed as well. Likely it has the later type starter and distributor but this was not verified. We could not ascertain the engines working order other than "it turns over". The engine has oil in it and the radiator was found filled with coolant. Assuming that it did not suffer any block damage from frost, (The coolant should have protected against this) we have no reason to believe that following some cleanup and renewal of the carburetors that it should not run. the mechanic said that it appeared to have good compression from hand cranking the engine. He reported substantial oil leakage during the months that he has had the car in his garage but this being a TR2, we are all well aware that these type of engines are far from "leak proof" and do tend to leak oil when the vehicle is standing.

Starter, Generator and water pump Condition of these items can only be ascertained once the engine is run.
 
Transmission: We did not check if the Transmission and Overdrive units were the original. the mechanic reported that there appeared to be a problem with the shifting of gears but had not opened the transmission top cover to verify exactly what was the problem. From the description of the problem, we surmise that the problem should not be difficult to fix and likely arises from the shifter lever area rather than from any gear wear.
 

Overdrive unit Condition can only be ascertained once the engine is run and the vehicle is able to move.

 
Differential - The differential was partially disassembled and the wheel hubs were found to be worn.
 

Radiator - Radiator appears to be in good condition and holding coolant. 

 

Suspension - The shock absorbers in the front appear to be functional and the Armstrong lever shocks present in rear

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Steering components - Generally, the steering assembly appeared to be tight so the ball joints are likely adequate for safe operation.

 
Wheels and Tires - The wheel rims appear to be nice and straight and new radial tires have been mounted and balanced
 
Wiring The main harness appears to be in good condition but possibly some of the bullet connectors will need to be renewed. We did not see any wiring coming out of the steering box which normally has 4 wires attaching the control head directional signals to the wiring harness. New wiring would need to be installed to make the control head operational but it's not very difficult to repair assuming that the control head itself is still functional..

 
Brakes & Clutch - the mechanic procured most of the brake parts that need renewal (i.e. brake cylinders pipes and hoses) but none of it has been installed. The pads and drums look adequate for safe operation. The master cylinder is apart and the mechanic said that he could not have it re-sleeved locally. I believe that he mentioned that he was able to procure a replacement in better condition but this needs to be clarified. All wheel and clutch cylinders are being rebuilt or replaced.  All main brake lines appear to be intact. The clutch plate and throw out bearing assembly cannot really be verified without detachment and removal of the transmission, but if the clutch was working prior to storage then it should still function correctly.  

 

 
Fuel tank and Fuel lines - The fuel tank has been removed from the car and emptied. It appears to be solid but had loose debris inside

Carburetors -  Twin HUS6's were found.

 

 
Gages and switches - The gages are all intact as well as all original switches

 

 
Wiper motor - Noted wiper motor mounted on LHS of car

Wiring - Original wiring harness and bullet connectors found

 

Interior and weather items. In General the condition of these items is excellent. The interior carpeting is missing, probably as a result of rodents chewing it up. The mechanic reported that he had to remove a fair bit of mouse droppings from previous "tenants" and thought that the passenger seat side had been chewed through. It appeared to me that this was damage caused due to another reason however.