TRIUMPHANT TONY
Having enjoyed reading your article on Tony Lee in the July issue, I must write to say how much pleasure I had spending a year working with Tony as an apprentice at Triumph, in the test rig department.
I worked on the TR2 mock-up, which was basically the pre-war Standard Eight chassis with a Vanguard engine, Mayflower front suspension, and rear axle. John Black made one of his rare visits to the experimental department, looked at it, said ‘build it’, and then turned around and left! This mock-up was not to be the Jabbeke car but the white stumpy tail car, which was the 1952 Earls Court car that was modified at the boot like the Jabbeke car. I later moved on to the prototype Standard Eight, which was run night and day in the Cotswolds. We spent a lot of time changing front shock absorbers, which because of the nearside battery box, meant partially lowering the front suspension until I suggested the oval hole in the base of the battery box – simple! These were happy days with many fond memories.