Esme, as Nikki nicknamed her, is my 1966 American TR4A.
History
Reg No : PYY45D
Colour : Midnight Blue (originally Triumph Racing (conifer) Green)
Engine : 2138cc straight 4
Spec : Cosmic Alloys, Heater, Midnight Blue Leather Interior, and Surrey Top (originally Disc wheels, Heater, Black Leather Seats, Black Hood and Tonneau.)
History:
18 Aug 1966 - built
25 Aug 1966 - dispatched to Standard Motor Co Inc, Los Angeles, USA
Aug 1966 to May 1986 - not known
30 May 1986 - purchased by Sandra J Green, Palermo, California, USA
21 Apr 1988 - purchased by Aaron Chris Updegrove, Sacramento, USA ($1050)
25 Aug 1989 - purchased by Robsport International, and returned to the UK
20 Dec 1989 - converted to RHD
4 Mar 1990 - purchased by Kyriacos Zanti, London
18 Sep 1992 - purchased by Wayne S Bull (£5000). Colour maroon red.
Aug 1993 - goes through a rebuild, and colour changed to midnight blue
Nov 2006 to Sep 2009 - another rebuild completed by Eric Mobley. |
Brought home to the UK in 1989 by Robsport Int, and converted to right hand drive, I brought her from a guy in North London, called Kiri Zanti. She was hand painted burgundy red (you could still see the brush strokes), with a lime green engine bay, soft top and roll bar. With a long MOT, she ran well but needed money spent on the bodywork and interior. I drove her for about 11 months, when in Aug 1993 she was taken off the road for a rebuild.
I was quite happy with the running gear, the straightness of the body, and with no rust, the paintwork was the main issue. The easiest way to do the engine bay was to remove the body, and with the space of a double garage, this was actually quite easy. Out came the interior, off came the bumpers, windscreen, boot lid, bonnet, and roof. With the doors locked, and the assistance of 4 friends, the body is quite easy to remove. Locking the doors adds to the weight, but negates the need to place strengthening supports in the door gap. Unfortunately with little experience, time or money, the respray was limited to about 2 coats of cellulose on top of the previously flattened paint work. It was however one colour, and it actually looked quite good.
On the chassis, and with the running gear remaining in situ, there was no obvious damage or rust. Where possible I wire brushed back to bare metal, and coated in white Hammerite. The joy with white paint on the chassis, is that when you get around to covering it in underseal, you can actually see where you have been. The engine was also degreased, and painted blue.
Pieced back together, that was as far as that rebuild went. It took 18 months, but passed it’s MOT first time.
Over the next 7 years I managed to add a Surrey rear screen and steel centre section, uprated the rear springs and dampers, added a 2 speed wiper motor (not sure why it didn’t have one), halogen headlamps, and a stainless steel exhaust.
In December 2001 (after some very helpful advise from a Mr Steve Redway), we moved to Dursley, Gloucestershire, and I joined the Glavon Group the same month. Esme's wire wheels were reconditioned, flywheel lightened, diaphragm clutch and reconditioned front callipers all fitted. I was also fortunate enough to have a Triumph 2000 saloon A type overdrive gearbox reconditioned to TR spec and fitted by Eric Mobley.
In November 2006 I moved to Bath, and to a house with no garage! As a result of this, Esme moved to Mobley Engineering for a complete rebuild. Upgrades have included a complete engine rebuild with new pistons / liners, cam, unleaded head, new radiator, and thin belt conversion, Cosmic Alloys added, new lMidnight Blue leather interior, bare metal body 2 pack respray, strengthened chassis, upgraded shocks and springs, walnut dash, front anti roll bar to name a few.
Back in Bath, I built a new double wooden garage, although Esme never spend a night in it. In April 2009 I moved back to the Glavon area, and a brand new house in Malmesbury.
Esme's rebuild finished finished in Sep 09, the day before the Goodwood Revival meet. We loaded the tent, put on our fancy dress and set off on the 250 mile round trip to Sussex. She never missed a beat.
The following week, Chris Updegrove was over from California. Chris hadn't seen the car for almost 20 years, and was blown away. He's now on the look out for another - anybody got a TR4A for sale in California?
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