BEAUT BRIT
CLIFFY GOES BACK TO BOYHOOD
“GROWING OLD is inev itable, growing up is optiona l” or so t he adage goes. But did I rea lly need to go back 40 years to f ind another old, crank y British sports sedan?
In Januar y of 1974 I bought t he f irst car I could t r uly ca ll mine. It was a Mark 1 Triumph 2000 in British Racing Green and ver y f lash wit h reclining bucket seats and slivers of timber decorating t he dash.
A year later I bought a second and far better example. During t wo years of ownership it delivered 80,000 k i lometres of fa irly reliable motoring before being replaced by a Leyland P76 V8.
During t he years since, the Chambers garage has been occupied by a variet y of Brit or European brands including various Jag uars, Ford Escorts, a couple of Minis and even an Audi. But there remained fond memories and a persistent hankering for another Triumph.
Finding Mark 1 2000s t hese days is near impossible and most of the later Mark 2 cars were eit her decrepit or automatic.
Then appeared this sport y example of the late-series 2500S. It’s an Austra lian-assembled car and plated December 1977 so one of t he ver y last 2500s to be delivered. The fourspeed gearbox comes with overdrive on 3rd and 4th gears and enhancing the attraction was a nif t y set of Minilite-inspired a lloy wheels, uprated suspension and front seats from a latemodel Alfa Romeo.
Email chat was followed by a test-drive during which long-term owner Steve Murphy revea led the car had at one point been set up for semi-serious ra lly ing and t hat t he 2.5-litre engine was k ick ing out a fa ir bit more power t han t he factor yspec 79kW. Best of a ll, t he sometimes troublesome overdrive clicked in and out instant ly in response
to a f lick of t he gearlevermounted switch.
With the deal done and step-son’s ute loaded wit h a pile of spare parts t hat came wit h t he car a ll t hat remained was a gentle cruise to the Advanced Custom Worx at Yata la sout h of Brisbane where paint ‘n’ panel guru Troy Beaton would ta ke care of some rust and paint issues.
That too proved traumatic, with a torrentia l downpour dumping 150mm in the space of f ive hours and t he intrepid driver batt ling to keep t he windscreen clear of mist as we surfed our way through t he deluge.
Why the blacked-out bonnet? Rally historians will already know that answer but for t he rest of us it has been painted that way in tenuous homage to the 2500PI that def ied ever y crit ic to f inish second outright in t he rugged 1970 World Cup ra lly. Those cars were black on white but the red prov ides a more strident contrast. Well I t hink so any way.
Despite a purposeful sta nce (slight ly lowered springs and 195-section rubber) and its matte-black nose the Triumph and ancient owner won’t be doing any t hing too serious in t he motor sport arena. Doesn’t mean we’re going to just park and pose at car shows though. Dirt or bitumen sprints, t he odd hill-climb and maybe a track day should satisf y any lingering need for speed. Stay tuned.