The other woman
Mission man’s Triumph Herald has his wife suspicious
Growing up in the Commonwealth nation of Singapore, David Fonseka developed an interest in British automobiles early, after his older brother purchased a Mini, followed by an Austin 1300 and then a Ford Cortina GT.
Judging from the contents of the garage of the Mission resident’s home, his interest may be more of an addiction.
Shortly after getting his licence in 1968, the young enthusiast purchased a green 1963 Triumph Herald saloon. Unfortunately, the love affair was brief, as Fonseka managed to crash it several months later after taking a sharp corner too fast.
He has maintained his passion for British cars despite the fact that he willingly admits that they have their issues.
“Older British cars often leak oil and have a tendency to overheat,” said the 65-year-old as he lovingly stroked the top of his latest Herald’s steering wheel from the driver’s seat. “This was especially true in the tropical climate of Singapore, but for some reason I still get attached to them.”
Fonseka immigrated to Canada in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2011 that the nostalgia bug bit him and he soon found himself looking for a classic British machine again.
“I was originally looking for a Triumph, but couldn’t find one that wasn’t rotted, so I finally settled on an MGB that was for sale in nearby Abbotsford.”
The hobby mechanic painstakingly restored the MGB in the garage, but he still hoped to locate a Triumph Herald as he had a desire to get reacquainted with the spunky little car.
“I actively searched for a Herald for three years. I looked all over Canada and the United States, scouring the Internet and classifieds for a quality car to serve as a project. I could have bought one in England, where I did source most of the parts, but the shipping and importation costs are excessive.”
Fonseka finally located a 1963 Triumph Herald Convertible in Everson, Wash., in October 2014.
“I found the car on Craigslist and it was in fairly decent shape. I think I was initially attracted to this one because it was very similar to one that had been owned by the late John Lennon of the Beatles.”
The Triumph Herald was initially introduced in 1959, and production of the diminutive car continued in a variety of forms until 1971. The Herald was available in the traditional saloon, coupe, and convertible body styles, but the Coventrybased Standard-Triumph Company also manufactured van and estate models of the perky little cars.
Heralds are rather rare in Canada, as North American buyers were more interested in the storied company’s sporty little twoseat roadsters like the TR3 and Spitfire, the latter of which the Herald shares many mechanical components.
Construction of the Herald is very simple, as the car’s body tub is bolted to a universal chassis which would serve as a foundation upon which a wide selection or body panels and components could be bolted with ease. This gave Standard-Triumph the ability to transition the assembly process to one of the other body styles in short order.
Early cars featured a 948-cc in-line four-cylinder engine that was woefully underpowered, so when Standard-Triumph was taken over by Leyland Motors in 1961, the car was revised to include a larger 1147-cc displacement engine. Both variants came equipped with a four-speed manual transmission.
Re-launched as the Herald 1200, the car now delivered 39 horsepower (up from 34.5 hp), which while still meagre by modern standards, vastly improved the overall driving experience. The new car was also more refined than its predecessor and came with a host of new amenities including improved seating, a wooden laminate dashboard, and bold white rubber bumpers. Disc brakes were also available as an option.
“The engine is small, but it is enough to get you around as long as there are no steep hills,” said Fonseka, as we navigated our way up one of Mission’s steepest grades at almost a walking pace. Once we crested the hill, the car became reinvigorated and with a raspy growl we continued our tour of some of the community’s best country roads.
While you will never be challenging for intersection race wins from behind the wheel of a Triumph Herald, the car’s steering proved precise and the handling crisp, a testament to Fonseka’s careful restoration of the car. The professional concierge knows a thing or two about paying attention to detail, and after 500 hours and thousands of dollars, “Heraldine” was ready to take to the road.
“My two sons, Darryl and Daniel, helped me a lot with this project and we had a great deal of fun!”
Fonseka’s wife complained that he has been spending more time with Heraldine than with her as of late, but he says that she should be happy that she knows who he is with.
“Over the years I have owned over 78 cars, mostly from Europe but a few from Japan. I have had everything from Mini Coopers, Alfa Romeos, Fiats and Renaults, but there were even a couple of Russian cars in the mix.”
The admitted car nut is currently hunting for his next project, a Ford Cortina GT Mark 1, a car with which he is very familiar, having owned three of them over the years.