This COAL is the first about a car I still own today. As a result it has more than the usual number of pictures.
The company I started working for in 1990 offered company share stock options for the employees. Now I am not much into finances, and never looked into the world of shares and such. But this looked interesting. You are given a fixed price for a share. Then you have to say what number of shares you would like to buy in the future. For this number tax is calculated and has to be paid in advance. After a period of time you are allowed to buy shares for the price which was agreed earlier. This is a gamble, it may be that the share prices are lower than agreed before – then you do not buy shares but still you have lost the tax you paid earlier. But on the other hand, if the share price is higher than agreed you can buy the agreed amount of shares for the lower agreed price – and sell them for the higher market value if you want.
So I took part and paid the tax. I forgot all about this when 5 years later it was announced we could buy our shares if we wanted. The shares price had gone up quite considerably so yes of course! If I would buy my amount and immediately sell them, I would gain a very nice profit.
This unexpected profit all went to buying a car I lusted after for years. A proper British two seater open sports car. These were always too expensive for me but now I had the chance.
But what make / type?
Some cars were out of the question, too expensive – the “big” Austin Healey, MGC, Jaguar E-type, Lotus Elan, MG TC, TR5. Other cars were maybe too slow – Austin Healey Sprite, MG Midget, Triumph Spitfire. The Jensen Healey I felt was too modern. A Sunbeam Alpine, hmmm. Too high on the wheels? Wheels too small? The earlier examples with the higher rear fins were pretty but overall it just did not do it for me.
The MGB, good styling, fast enough but there were too many around. MGA, lovely as were the Triumph TR2/3. But these did not have wind up door windows, and I thought that would be too tiring when making long distances on the motorway. Also these tended to be a touch too expensive. A TR6 was very nice. I owned a Triumph 2000 with more or less the same drive line (six cylinder engine, gearbox and rear suspension). But I hated the under-developed rear suspension with wearable spline shafts and universal joints. Where the TR4 still had an old fashioned rear axle with leaf springs, the TR6, TR250, TR4A all had this IRS system. Also they did not look as nice as a TR4…. So I went for a TR4. In my view then and now, one of the best. Great styling, lovely steel dash, capable 4 cylinder 2 litre engine with just the right amount of “rawness”. And no plastics to be seen.
Finding a suitable TR4 proved difficult. The perfect examples were far beyond my price range, so I had to aim for a car which, ideally, was in a good mechanical condition but maybe had cosmetic issues. Since the early 90s, there had been a whole influx of British sports cars imported from the US. The most attractive aspect of these cars was that they did not have the rust problems we were used to in Europe.
At Tom’s showroom (he was a Volvo specialist where I used to help / work on Saturdays), there were always two or three cars on display from a classic car dealer nearby. This was good thing for both Tom and the classic car dealer. One Saturday when that dealer was around for a coffee I asked him if he knew of a decent TR4 for sale. It turned out a transport from California would come in the next week which included a white TR4! He agreed to get this to the showroom at the Volvo specialist, and I would have the first chance.
This was a car made for me, 1963 – same birth year! On the front half (fenders and hood) paint was not too good, clearly had a half respray long ago in the past. There was some evidence that the front right wing was replaced or repaired at one time. But the rest of the car was as original as they come. Some wear and tear but not too bad. Flawless bumpers and the engine ran very well. Because the paint was not perfect and the carpets were quite bad, it was sold at a lower price than usual. The fact I was a friend of Tom did help too! A deal was made.
Putting the car through the registration test was easy. I replaced the flexi brake lines, put grease in all the suspension joints, replaced wiper blades and got the windscreen washer system working. Replaced the headlamps with euro spec lamps and bought new tires.
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At first my son did not like it!
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A couple of years ago
It was kind of weird to buy a two seater car just a year after our family was extended to three persons! But then again this was never going to be a family car. It gets used when the outside temp is above 12 degrees, below that the heater cannot cope and you get too cold. Also I do not like to drive it when it rains – it is made for better weather.
Driving the TR4 is wonderful. Back then it was quite fast (100 BHP), nowadays almost every modern car can run rings around it. That does not matter. The TR feels fast. It makes a very nice sound, the engine provides ample torque in every gear even on the hills and mountains. Shifting a gear really is that: you need to work the gear lever in every gear. It is very unlike a modern car where you only have to touch the gear lever with your small finger and it goes. The steering wheel is huge, the rack and pinion is precise and light (unassisted). The brakes needs a good push but do their work well. Sitting so low makes you believe you go much faster as you imagined. It is a good motorway car, easy to do 70 mph all day and faster if needed (taking over slower cars).
There is quite a large luggage compartment at the rear. I usually leave the tonneau cover in place for the last half (behind the seats) which means behind the seats and under the tonneau there is plenty space to put jackets, maps (anyone else other than me still use these?) etc out of sight. Enough room to pack a small tent and camping gear for a few days.
Around 2006, after ten years ownership, that old first half respray paint got worse: it lifted at places. Action was needed. This worried me for a long time. I did and do not like completely restored cars, I like to see originality in a car. Other people would probably take it all apart and do a full restoration. I did not want that, the car did not really need it and I would have no more pleasure in an as new car. The car was in a good driveable condition, if I would take the car apart I was afraid I had to make decisions which would prolong the weeks/months off the road. For example, when do you stop replacing parts? As a precaution? Are new parts as good as the originals? Or would it be better to find as new second hand parts? Etc. Ideally I would want to paint the front half only, matching the rest of the car which still had the original paint. But knowing I would never get a perfect match, there would always be a visible divider between the two.
In the mean time the car stood there, waiting for my decision.
So I chose for a complete repaint. Well not complete, just the outside. This means under the bonnet and in the interior the old paint is still there.
A big disadvantage of the TR4 is the original soft top. It works well, taut and looking good, but is very clumsy to put up. The top is separate from the frame. First put up and unfold the frame, then throw the top over it. Needs to slide in a slit at the top of the windscreen frame, then top needs to be fixed to the frame and rear deck with many push buttons and lift-a-dots. Doing this properly means a couple of minutes at least. Triumph probably also realized they should do better and came up with a slightly different top to the TR4’s successor, the TR4A. This uses a car mounted folding frame to which the top is already fixed. On top of the windscreen frame just two levers are needed, and two push buttons at the B posts. I hated the top on my TR4 so much I converted my car to the TR4A type top. Before converting I was hesitant to take the car out if the weather forecasted a possibility of rain, now I do not care.
Some things have been done to the car. Pointless ignition is installed. Then the cooling problems. I had problems with the engine getting almost too hot. A recore of the radiator did not help enough. I fitted an extra electric fan in front of the radiator. That did not help much either. I fitted an upgraded water pump. Not a significant difference. Fitted an old bellow type of thermostat so more flow would go into the rad. Still the car would go near the red, for example when in traffic or on long hills. Then I took the plunge. Removed the old mechanical driven fan, fitted a new, modern high performance electric fan behind the radiator. This meant more electric power was needed so I fitted an alternator instead of the dynamo. This all did the trick. Before, I always had an eye on the temp gauge. Now I never worry, the temp needle never goes to the too hot zone.
A stainless steel exhaust was fitted the second year I had the car. After 24 years, I got tired of the increasing noise the car made. Checked the exhaust but there was no leak. I removed the silencer and made a cut over the complete upper side so I could fold, “open” it up. As expected, it was empty. I got glass wool from the home DIY shop and crammed the silencer full of it. Then welded the top shut again. This made a marked difference. But during the summer the noise increased gradually and after a few months it was too much again. I suspected the glass wool was not up to the job. So I removed the silencer again and for the second time cut it open. Most of the glass wool was gone. I bought wire steel wool and again crammed as much as possible in the silencer, once again welded it shut. Now 6 years later it still holds up, the noise has not increased much – at least not to unacceptable levels.
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at home
There have been some repairs. A front suspension spring broke, a new one has been fitted. The speedo stopped working, I had it repaired at a specialist. A rear lever arm damper was exchanged for a better one. I have refurbished the SU carburettors years ago. The rear leaf springs were not of the original type, the car sat too high at the rear so I exchanged these to the original type.
The car is my summer car. If the sun is out and no rain predicted, I take the TR4. Still makes me smile each time I drive it.
Four years ago, when we were on a Triumph club trip in the UK, the car left us standing. It just stopped. I checked all the obvious things but could not see anything amiss. Called the AA, the car was transported to our hotel where we stayed along with many more Triumph owners. Of course arriving on the back of a truck got the interest of all others. By thorough checking it was found the rotor had a tiny hair crack, almost invisible to the eye. We were lucky someone had a spare!
We try to do a longer trip every summer, often to the UK. Also did a few trips to the Alps with friends. Some pictures:
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Pretty cold up these mountains!
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Walking duties with Els, our dachshund. She died last year (nearly 14 years old). Loved driving in de TR4!
Will not be sold, ever. I would not exchange it to another 2 seater convertible, am happy that I made a good choice 28 years ago.
A car a dog can approve of, clearly.
Does your car have the overdrive? A useful way to get the most out of the engine in different conditions while still keeping it relatively relaxed on the motorway. (Buzzy final drive is something that I think would get old in a hurry with a Spridget, even if you didn’t mind the lack of grunt.)
In my ‘74 B (early, chrome bumpers) the overdrive took it from 4,000 to 3,000 rpm @ 70, much more pleasant.
Dave
No, no overdrive. I do have a spare gearbox with overdrive but am not sure I want to fit it to the TR4. It is off a 2500 Saloon so some small adaption would have to be made. Pretty easy to do. But I like the car the way it is now. Fast motorway driving is possible but not comfortable. Around 100 – 120 km/u (60-70 mph) is the best speed, anything above the wind blows too hard. Engine RPM is still acceptable at those speeds.
Datsun 180B rear half shafts are the cure for Triumph rear ends, Nice TR.
A common upgrade. Problem is where would you find a Datsun 180B nowadays?
Aftermarket manufacturers have stepped in and half shafts with CV joints are available now.
I think the Datsun 180B was the Datsun 610 in the United States.
It’s so nice to see a classic British roadster well cared for and used for pure fun driving. Bravo! I do miss my MGB.
Fun driving – yes! I once read a letter from an Autocar reader from the late sixties where he stated that he used his TR4 as a family car all year round. Two children on the (optional) back bench (they must have been very small as there is very little room), he has the Surrey hardtop fitted and claimed it was a perfect car. Different times…
Oh, so much here! First, I had a metal friction-powered toy TR-4 when I was a kid. I really liked the lines on it, even then. As I got older, I found myself in a world where both TR-3s and TR-6s were relatively common (for what they were and given their age) yet the TR-4 seemed to vanish. I love seeing this one now, especially in its well-loved “life-partner” kind of state.
Second, this is a genuinely lovely car. I have shared in my COAL series how fatigued I have become with white cars, but this one pulls it off. It wouldn’t have been my choice in 1963 (I have always been a sucker for British Racing Green) but I would not change the color if the car was my own. I also understand the agony of whether to respray the whole car. The front was too bad to leave alone, and if going to that much effort, ending up with a 2-tone white car would be intolerable.
Finally, I love reading stories when someone finds an automotive soul mate. A few of my cars came close, but I cannot match this level of compatibility between car and owner. I also love the family pictures and that you and the Mrs. have enjoyed the car (and each other) so much.
I love to see some personal content into COALs. In fact some examples of COALs here on Curbside Classic are a favorite because of that. Usually technical content can be found elsewhere on the internet, and with more detail.
As for white: I ended up with this car. It was also not a choice I would have made when buying it in 1963. It is not a pure white, there is some slight yellow in it. I have learned to appreciate the color.
Another car I have owned now for 24 years is also a white car! More on that in a future COAL.
What a great story and collection of photos. My favorite photo is the last one; I’d call it “The Good Life”.
You have had the TR4 three years longer than I have had the Miata, but I feel the same way. It will never be sold by me, maybe by my estate, but not by me.
“Still makes me smile each time I drive it. .
Ditto!
I’m sorry for the loss of Els; 14 years is a good full life for a Dachshund.
Dachshunds make every day a happy day, one way or the other. Here are Debbie’s two Dachshunds doing front door guard duty with friends.
Love that picture!
Good for you owning the Miata for such a long time. I always appreciate owners who have owned their car for a long time. It is something special. A friend has owned his car from when he was 19 – he is the same age as me.
While our tastes are very different, there are so many cars from my past that I wish I had kept. Too many to list. But most of all, I miss the companionship of my pets. After losing the last one several years ago, I decided that age and health issues made it unfair to adopt another pet. Still fortunate enough to get around in my Lincoln, but sure do miss having the love and companionship of a faithful four footed friend! 🐕 or 🐈. Much as we love our cars, we can’t turn to them for loving support on a cold,lonely night! Old dog encourages you to enjoy 😉 every day and make memories to see you through!
Rick W, Only other pet lovers can understand the grief and sense of loss a person can feel when a beloved companion dies.
There are few real ceremonies for the loss of a pet; the survivor of such a relationship largely deals with the loss quietly and alone. The sadness of entering an empty and now quiet home can be unbearable.
I am sorry for your loss.
I’ve had two Maine Coon cats: Ashbury (1976-1994), a gray tabby male, and Sasha (1998-2015), a brown tabby male. I got them both when they were kittens. After Sasha’s passing I decided against getting another pet for the same reasons as you.
A few days after Ashbury was euthanized, I got a note from my vet:
“There have been a couple of times in my life when I have wondered if I could survive the sadness of the moment. I expect you are feeling that way these last few days. Yes, we survive, but we are never the same. In some ways that is good. We should be changed by the wonderful experience of having had such a loving companion for so long.
“I am happy for Ashbury’s sake that you were able to find the courage to let him go. I could not have encouraged you to do surgery on him. He needed to get on and needed your help and love to do it. You took wonderful care of him all his life. You two were a fine pair. We will miss you both.”
About a year later they had a reception at the clinic for my vet. She and her husband had bought a plant nursery in rural Washington state, and she was leaving the clinic (and veterinary medicine). I said I’d been under the impression that the first paragraph of her note was boilerplate and the second was customized for me, and I was OK with that. She said, “I write those notes from scratch every time, no boilerplate. I don’t write them to everyone, only to people who were really bonded with the cat.”
A week before Ashbury’s passing my vet gave me two books for Mary and Herb Montgomery. Goodbye My Friend (ISBN 1879779005) is about the decision to euthanize a pet. A Final Act of Caring (ISBN 1879779021) is about the grieving process. Both are (sadly) out of print, but available from used-book dealers.
A portrait of Ashbury sketched by an artist friend from a photo taken around his first birthday. The frame is 6 inches square. The original image of his face was about the size of a nickel–my friend did a great job.
We just lost our ginger cat, Puss Cat, after 13 years, he was the best cat and loved to sleep all day in my Mini Moke. Who’s going to tell him no?
We still mis Els. We are lucky though to be allowed to go-after, babysit a dog from a friend whenever she is away for a day (or more days). Same for another dog, we will have him for a couple of days next week when his owners are taking a short holiday.
Wonderful overview. The Triumph is staying young while Dion is getting older.
I recently took the Miata to Bob, my [good and expensive] mechanic, to address water pump and valve cover leaks. When I picked up the car with a new timing belt/water pump kit and valve cover gasket, I bemoaned to Bob his inability to do the same for a troubling medical condition.
Bob’s reply was touching: “I really wish we could fix that”.
Bob deals with facts, new parts, and fixes; the medical industry largely deals with theories, trials, tests, scary medicine side effects, and [somewhat] educated guesses.
Cars have it better than people.
Cars deteriorate with time aside from how much or how little they’re driven, but they don’t age the way people do.
I think a considerable part of our interest in preserving/restoring old cars comes from the ability to bestow them the kind of immortality that we can’t have.
I hope to still own and drive the car when I get really old. My father got to 89 so there is 30 years to go!
Nice, VERY NICE! Plus after all these years, still a very eye pleasing design; far better than about anything built today. 🙂 DFO
Could not put it better 🙂
I love it, and I’m about the same as you, regarding doing only what’s really necessary on an older car. It’s the principle I’ve applied to my ’66 F100 for 36 years now. The tendency to get an old cars and completely redo/restore it is lost on me, as it loses much of its authentic originality. I feel the same way about cosmetic surgery too. Perfection is not a goal for me, and that pretty much explains CC. I prefer the old cars out on the street to the perfect ones at car shows.
I’ve always had a thing for the TR4 since my older sister had a crush on an older guy with one, in about 1964 or 1965. He did stop by the house once or twice, and I got to check it out. I fell in love with that dash and steering wheel, among other things.
Our dog Lil’ Man turns 12 this year; he’s still going pretty strong, but I’m preparing myself. It’s going to be hard.
Yes it is hard to lose a dog. So much that Sylvia does not want another one, too painful having to lose him/her again when they go.
The problem in keeping old cars is to try to keep them in the same condition. There will always be wear and tear, and things get worse. It is the challenge to improve them not too much.
Fantastic installment of your COAL series – I love all of the travel photos, especially the camping shots. And to think… I’ve grumbled in the past about struggling to get all of our camping gear into a minivan!
I’ll always have an affinity for TR4s because my parents owned one shortly after they were married (bought it new). I recall my father explaining how he ended up choosing the TR4, and his thought process went similarly to yours – that the TR4 was “just right,” that the MG was too common, and many of the other competitors were either too expensive or too slow. They enjoyed their car, but sold it shortly before my older sister was born.
The photo below is my parents’ TR4 outside of their Philadelphia apartment.
Thanks Eric.
I have learnt to make use of every free space when we went camping with the Imp or Mini. It helps a lot not to use suitcases but put things separately everywhere. That left shoe in that little space and that right shoe there, in the corner below the gas tank 🙂
Great picture of the TR4 of your parents. Black was a rare color back then (unlike today). Looks like a new or almost new house at the back ground?
The building in the background was their apartment building. It was new back then – they may have been the first tenants, but if not, it was no more than a few years old.
Ironically, I just looked up the Google StreetView image of that building, and it looks exactly the same – six decades stood still here, apparently.
What a great car Dion, and a wonderful story with lots of time using the car as it’s meant to be used. I like that yours has the original white metal dash too. So enjoyable, so classic without being hugely expensive and the parts support is great too.
That’s a bit of salt in the old wound for me though, I wish I’d bought a better TR4 when I did.
Thanks Doug! Parts supply is excellent indeed. However aftermarket parts are often inferior to original parts, but still it makes owning a TR4 quite easy nowadays.
What keeps you from buying a better TR4? It is much easier now to restore / maintain a TR4. Information is everywhere, there are active Facebook groups to help out.
I’m still working on the 63 VW beetle that replaced the Triumph, I have much more desire to get it back on the road than start again with another old car.
A nice TR3 or TR4 in Canada runs about $30,000 or more, and I have two kids in university. That level of expenditure isn’t happening for a while.
That’s the short explanation, the long one is best explained over a beer…
If you made a Venn diagram for cars that were built the year I was born (1949), appealed to me, had parts support in the USA, and were affordable, you’d get a null set. Even extending it to newer cars that were originally introduced in or before 1949 wouldn’t change matters. Definitely none of them would be American.
Roadsters aren’t my jam, but if they were, it would be a Mazda Miata. I know why the Miata didn’t make your shortlist—too modern, from the wrong country!
When you see a classic car advertised for sale in the United States, “California car, no rust,” often comes up as a selling point. When I was briefly in London in 1991, I saw a Fiat 124 Spider, imported from the USA, being raffled off. Aside from being LHD, it unfortunately had the massive bumpers required for American type approval.
Correct about why the Miata was not included!
The hot-climate USA imports in the 90s changed a lot for us Europeans. Now there were old cars available which were NOT rotten to the bone!
Dion.
This is one of the most fun Curbside reads yet! Thanks for the great photos and time you invested.
I grew up around a Bug Eye Sprite, TR 6, TR 4, MGB and MGB GT. Fun times!
Thanks John 🙂
1963 is a wonderful birth year. I share it with you 🙂 I’m a big fan of long term ownership. My Willy’s Jeep (Chap 7) reentered my life in 2007 (and will reappear as Chap 16) and I still own it (19 of the last 38 years). Next weeks COAL (Chap 12) was 17 years old when it got totaled (I’d still own it if that hadn’t happened)
No Albert, you cannot join the club. 19 is not enough – should be 25 years or more 🙂
An hour ago I asked a friend (63 years old) how long he had its car. 40 years plus two months he said!
Sorry to hear about the totaled car. I had a similar experience with a car I had wanted to keep forever. Will be told in a future COAL.
Technically I’ve owned the Jeep since 1985. From roughly Aug 1990 until the spring of 2007 it was on display in at a museum in Los Angles. I gave it to them but they never transferred the title into their name which is why they ended up giving it back to me.
I have had TR4s, 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s, 8s, Spitfires and GT6s. I do love a well sorted 4. But my heart belongs to my GT6. My late Bassett Bleu de Gascogne loved my Spitfire and GT6. She never got a ride in the TR4 I redid for my dad sadly. Awesome tale of life with a Triumph.
I do not think I will ever get to know intimately the TR2/3/6/7/8 and Spitfire. Interesting to hear your heart is more to the GT6. A GT6+ is another project stashed away for the near future.
What’s the blue car in the ‘love this dash’ photograph? It reminds me of a FIAT 124 Sport Coupe.
No, not a Fiat 124 Sport Coupé. Beautiful car though and I agree its front has similar lines. But there are marked differences.
Top is a Fiat, I have a car similar to the bottom one 🙂
Nice! I’ve never seen a blue Jensen Interceptor.
Thanks for checking – that was my guess given Dion’s Anglomotorphilia.
A great article about a simply lovely car .
I too love me some L.B.C.’s .
My self I like red interiors with white exteriors .
RE : pets I never much cared for dogs until my then young son brought one home, of course I wound up taking care of it and all the rest since, my Doxie “Bumper” lived 17 years he was a great and fearless dog .
My current wiener dog id a Chi mix, she’s long in the tooth but still gets around and loves to play .
-Nate
I too like red interiors…. but there is not always a possibility to choose.
Buying guides in magazines say simply to buy the best you can afford, and go see multiple cars before you buy, etc.
However that is not the case in real life. Sure, if there were ten cars to be chosen from I would probably have bought a car with different colors.
*Very* correct Sir .
The flip side is how many worthless old junkers I bought just because they were white with red upholstery…….
My criteria when buying it’s the mechanicals at all ~ I ass-U-me I’m going to run through everything bumper to bumper and I rarely pay over scrap value so I look for unrusted and un crashed bodies with paintworks I can polish and wax to a decent shine again…..
I’m especially fond of 1960’s Generous Motors products in this color combination .
“If you don’t buy it Nate I’ll sell it for scrap and I know you can fix it up…..” .
-Nate
Great story and I completely buy into the idea of not doing lavish restoration but in keeping car safe, legal, roadworthy, usable and with a history that could be told by presentation, not a photo album.
Good to see that you enjoy it on longer trips and into the UK.
My Alfa Spider came with a pack of paperwork 20mm thick, running from the original PDI checklist in 1997 through to receipts for a battery and new tyres from a regular exhaust shop. It’s not going away anytime soon either.
Thanks Roger. I also try to keep the bills for parts etc but have to admit I am not keeping everything. Probably because I know in my lifetime I do not have to use this as extra for selling the car.
63 tr4 was my first car when I was 16. Bought it for $90.00 CND. Painted it yellow, my mom sewed a new vinyl top for it and I drove it for 2 years till one night I tried to go through a pile of snow at an intersection and the floor colapsed under the pedals , totally rotted out floor. loved that little car and cried the day it was scrapped. Wish I still had it
I think most of us on this site had a car in the past they regret selling!
Yellow TR4s are pretty rare 🙂
Why not a Datsun 1600 or 2000 roadster? Surely not lacking in performance or too modern?
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/vintage-views-datsun-2000-roadster/
Not British? Too thin on the ground in the Netherlands?
NB: “Datsun’s SU carbs are much less finicky than the British SUs. They don’t need adjusting very often. The same goes for the ignition system.”
A Datsun roadster is one of the very few Japanese cars I actually like (I also have a soft spot for the first gen Mazda RX7, Subaru SVX, Honda S2000 plus some more).
But these Datsuns were non-existent in the Netherlands in the mid nineties. I had never heard of them, and they were not imported much in the 80s or 90s or I would have known. That fact, being so rare, would not help in my choice. I have to admit being in a British car bubble back then, and had my goal to get specific British roadster. Spare parts for that Datsun would be much harder to get, remember this was pre-internet age. Now with all the help you can get (Facebook groups, internet forums, just a simple search for parts would provide options) I would not be so afraid anymore and see that Datsun Roadster is undervalued and probably a good car to have.
As would be a nice 70s Alfa Romeo Spider or a Fiat 124 cabriolet! Still, I chose and ended up with a TR4 which is not a bad car at all.
By the way, the SU carburetors on the TR4 also do not need much adjustment. I think I last got to them 3 or 4 years ago. British cars have a bad name regarding reliability but in my experience, once you have a car in a good running condition they will be pretty reliable.
Ha Dion, Wat een verleden, is mooi verteld. Het zorgt er wel voor dat ik overdenk, terug denk. En jammer dat ik van die rare domme dingen heb gedaan. Maar ik lees jouw verhalen graag.
Hoi Guus, niet teveel blijven hangen in dat verleden. Wat schiet je ermee op. Ik heb mezelf verboden om te denken: dat had ik veel eerder moeten doen. Leuk wel dat mijn verhaaltjes waardeert!
Friesland voor de deur
Prachtige MGA. Helaas met zo’n rottig op te zetten kap en (opsteek?)zijruitjes.
En te klein voor mij.
I have the impression that the Sunbeam Alpine was a bit more refined than other contemporary British roadsters. Is that correct?