Description
The original Owner’s Handbook claims that “Success, the aspiration of all human pursuits, has, in the
world of motor sport, become synonymous with the name of Triumph … the TR4A combines new
developments with the well proven rally tested features of its predecessors”.
Maintenance records from the first four owners did not survive, but I know what has happened all
the way back to September 1986. Owner Five spent some £312 on parts + labour for maintenance
before selling it to Owner Six in summer 1987 for £1, 900. He promptly bought a new radiator,
speedo and black canvas Surrey Top and had the trunnions/ shocks and the exhaust done over 1987-
88. However, it obviously needed more work, for the car was laid up from May 1988 onwards.
By July 1991 Owner Six had saved up “about £4, 000 to spend on the car … to get it into good
condition”. Evidently dismayed at the £11. 5k estimate for full refurbishment in July 1991, he
hesitated for nearly 9 months as to whether to sell it but then valiantly proceeded with the work by
Peter Marks of Classic Car Restoration Repairs in Andover, Hampshire.
The full chassis and body restoration, brakes, electrics, the Surrey Top and various parts and
materials consumed nearly £18k in total by 1993, with the main works occurring between May 1992
and October 1993. It may have been repainted from black to (the current) blue during this
restoration. The dashboard was reconditioned for £103 in November 1992 at which point Owner Six
proudly applied for membership of the TR Register and obtained insurance on an £8, 000 “Agreed
Value” basis.
A few remedial repairs were needed in May 1993 to finally get it back into roadworthy
condition and obtain a new MOT. A year later, it still had just 4, 427 miles on the clock but Owner
Six’s motoring enthusiasm had obviously been rekindled, for the mileage slowly climbed to 18, 423
miles over the decade to June 2003. The seats and headrests were replaced in July 1999 for £625
and a replacement windscreen was required after stone damage in June 2000. Coopercraft in
Broadclyst, Exeter handled all servicing subsequent to the Peter Marks restoration.
Owner Seven made his wise purchase for £11, 995 in May 2004 when 19, 800 miles were showing on
the odometer. Apart from having the suspension stripped and updated in Feb 2005 for £2, 585 by
Revington TR in Somerset, and a minor respray of the boot section just behind the Surrey Top in
“Bonny Blue”, Owner Seven had little by way of repairs to do. He filed a SORN from July 2007 to June
2008 but otherwise used it continuously in dry weather only for the next 13 years, managing to
avoid the rain for all bar 20 minutes of that time. He only used the one mechanic for servicing and
MOTs through that whole period and kept it fussily in his air conditioned (!) garage in Devon.
?
I bought it from him in November 2017 by which time it had done 40, 246 miles and had it trucked to
Frinton-on-Sea. I have logged just under 500 miles since purchase, around the back lanes in Essex.
The car has just had its MOT and a full service done, the headlight wiring updated, and I have
replaced the horns (TR Shop, Chiswick) in preparation for its reluctant sale. It remains mechanically
excellent. Bodily, the paintwork has a few scuffs and scratches as shown in the pictures but nothing
significant and there is a little bit of rust inside the bonnet behind the wheel arch. Given the quality
of the car, first to see will buy.
More pictures to follow. This car is being advertised using our 'list with us' service and is available directly with the seller on the details below.
