'67 Triumph TR4A Restoration: That Ain't No Bronco

Those who know me, know that I've been in the market for an Early Bronco (1966 - 1977) to restore and have fun with for a while now. I almost had my mind made up when a question of logistics was curiously raised while looking at my garage space. My 1940's-era 1 1/2 car garage was not going to accommodate 36-inch tires and a 5-inch body lift on an already-rather-tall truck. Oh crap.

With the desire to get my hands dirty, I started looking at Camaros, GTOs, Chevy IIs, and other muscle cars. Knowing full well that my budget would not go very far, the results were ominous. With prices for a rusted-out heap sans drivetrain averaging $10k, I was going to need another plan: foreigns.

Porsche? Yeah, right.

Datsun? Not cool.

VW? Not interested.

Sunbeam? More expensive than I thought.

MG? Perhaps.

Triumph? Possibly.

Looking on eBay, my mind was made up. The old Triumph TRs were still relatively inexpensive and, doing more research, replacement parts were available and reasonable. I looked at a few TR6s, but the TR4s really caught my eye. What's more, there was one for sale about an hour away that claimed to be rust-free. All signs were good.

Since I purchased my 1967 TR4A IRS, I have a new-found respect for these old British cars. Being borne from wartime surplus parts and, eventually, finding a niche in sportscar racing, the TR's evolution is an interesting course. But more on that in a later post.

Courtesy of http://www.vtr.org/models.shtml, the TR Line:

TR2 (1952-55)