Most folks have a love story to tell and Don's has a little twist..... if you owned a Triumph in your youth then you will be able to instantly associate with this article. Don is an original owner, having owned his car since 1958.

The Story of My First Love by Don Elliot - Reprinted from Spring 1993
 

In the November RagTop, the Editors asked for input from members who, during 1993, will have a major mile-stone in their TR ownership, and I have responded with this - the story of how I fell in love with TR’s and eventually bought one.

It must have been in the autumn of 1954 or the spring 1955 that I first remember seeing a TR. I remember the spot. It was on the east side of McGill College Avenue parked a few spaces below the corner of Sherbrooke Street in downtown Montreal. It was red, the top was down and I remember commenting on how long the door was and that it would hit the curb, it was so low. It was top-down sunny weather so I feel quite sure of the time of the year. Only 4001 long door TR’s were built and the new one which had the shorter door was only introduced in October 1954, so the car I saw virtually across from McGill’s Roddick Gates must have been a very early TR. Everyone passing by stopped to look. Total strangers discussed it like experts.

From May 1955 to October 1957 1 worked at Canadian Pratt and Whitney in Longueuil, then at Canadian Ingersoll Rand in their New Product Design Office in Montreal. It was while I was here that I made the decision to buy a car - my first car. With the other fellows in the office, we would spend our lunch-hour watching the girls on St. Catherine Street and peer into the new car showrooms near the Forum where Cooke-Toledo was showing the new MGA. It was April 1958 and young men’s thoughts turn to such things in the spring. I had just about enough cash to buy the MGA. But I had never for-gotten that first TR that I had seen three years earlier. And the TR certainly had more power, a throatier exhaust and a better competition history than the MGA.

After comparing new TR prices at all the Triumph dealers - there were about four - the lowest price I could get was $2350 basic price from Graham Locke at Imported Cars about a block away from the MG dealer. The TR with options would be about $400 more than I had saved up in the three years of working. Graham showed me a used, but very nice maroon 1955 MG TF. But it wasn’t what I longed for, so it was back to the MGA showroom where the price was right. Then I had an idea. Between the age of 10 to 15, I had delivered The Gazette every morning and The Montreal Star in the afternoon. The money I had saved was in an old account that my parents had opened for me in their name when I was born. I checked and $410 had been sit-ting there for the last five years. Just the amount I needed! I wrote out the withdrawal slip, but had to get my mother’s signa-ture on it. Now I was all set.

It was on May 13, 1958 that I placed the order for the TR. I knew exactly what I wanted. Take out the jump seat. Remove the white wall tires. No, I didn’t want the wire wheels. I wanted it in British Racing Green with a red interior and overdrive. It would have to be a special order, which might take as long as two months. What a disappointment. With the overdrive, windscreen washer, undercoating, 2% Quebec sales tax and the license, it would all add up to $2616.

I paid a deposit of $1000 and Graham told me he would keep checking with fac-tory shipments to see if he could find one in the system. A week later, he called that they had found one which was BRG with a tan interior and no overdrive. I didn’t want it. A few days later he called to say they had found just what I wanted but it was black instead of BRG. It was getting really warm that May. I had to make a decision. I’ll take it! I was told that I could pick it up at the end of the week. So with a certified check in hand for the remain-ing $1616, I met my brother, Bob, after work, completed the formalities and drove home the long way over the Mercier Bridge. What a thrill!

That was 35 years ago and as many of you know, I still have it. The build record for T527489 LO shows that it was built between 3:004:30 PM on Friday, February 14, 1958 - Valentine’s Day. That is why I have titled this ‘My First Love -Well Almost’ because I first met Louise, the lady I have been living with for the last 28 years, in 1953, even before I knew what a TR was.

I drove the TR about 7000 miles that first summer. In fact it may have been much more. In the first month alone, I drove close to 2500 miles. With a 3000/3 month guarantee, I didn’t want to exceed the 3000 miles too early, so I disconnect-ed the odometer so the mileage would stay low, at least until the 3 month limit arrived.

I put the car on blocks for the next five winters, driving it about 5000 miles each summer. Then I drove it winters too. It was my only means of transportation.

In 1972, with about 80,000 miles on it, it was still complete and running, but it was unreliable and really unsafe. Some would have considered it a worthless basket case. But, like my father, who was born in Scotland - and we all know about Scots - I wouldn’t even give it away. The house we had bought has a 20 x 26 foot garage and I pushed it over into the far corner where it sat for the next 15 years while I raised Charles and Catherine.

Then, in 1987, I started to undertake what I knew I would do some day when I had more time. The restoration took three years. I have driven about 6000 miles during each of the last two summers and many envious people have told me that they once had a TR just like mine, but they had to get rid of it when they got married and started to raise a family. They all expressed the wish that they had kept theirs.

It’s been 35 years, but I feel 35 years younger every time the month of May comes around - as well as every time I take her out for a spin.
 
 Don Elliot

PS - It's 8 years later and Don is still driving his TR3A everywhere he can with about 49K registered on his speedo at last glance. - July 2001