In my teenage years, my life goal was to own a fleet of small British and Italian cars; because life is whimsical, however, I now have a fleet of American cars instead. Despite the chasm between my young dreams and adult ones, I spent many happy hours studying the vagaries of Triumphs, MGs, Austin-Healeys, and Aston Martins (fat chance, kid), and I learned that the early “long-door” Triumph TR2 was the Triumph to have if you were a serious collector. I don’t know if that’s changed over the last 30 years, but if it hasn’t, this 1954 model on eBay may be your next restoration project.
Our own Adam Clarke recently mentioned that we at Barn Finds can go months without seeing a certain car for sale on our boards, and then several will come up within days of each other; just the other day, I wrote about another Triumph restoration project that needed some assembly. This one will need more work than that, but it’s a complete car that has (to the best of the seller’s knowledge) spent its life in Georgia. It doesn’t run but the tires hold air and the car rolls, so you can winch it right up onto the trailer if you’re the next owner. It has a clean Georgia title.
With its purposeful looks and strong engine, the TR2 was something of a sensation when it was introduced, and Triumph did just about everything right in marketing its new car. Its performance-to-value ratio was the best in Britain; road tests consistently claimed that it could top 100 mph and also average around 30 miles per gallon in normal driving. To prove the former, Triumph’s Ken Richardson drove a slightly modified (aerodynamically) TR2 to nearly 125 mph on Belgium’s Jabbeke motorway (a popular road for record breaking in the late 1940s and early 1950s).
This TR2 will need a lot of help before it sets out to crush any speed records. Clearly labeled a restoration project, it deserves someone who loves Triumphs and knows what it will take to bring it back around. It has all the hallmarks of a fairly solid car that’s been sitting around for far too long.
Crusty but not too rusty might be an apt description for the undercarriage. Sidescreen Triumphs are popular enough that parts availability is good, although early-TR2 specific items may be a little tougher to find: I’m sure the various Triumph clubs around the world would be able to help. Mechanically, it doesn’t get much simpler than a TR2, and that’s a big part of it’s charm. It was fast (for its time), fun, good-looking in a cheery way, and relatively inexpensive. This one is currently up for auction with a high bid of $1,025, but it hasn’t yet met the reserve. Let us know if you’re the one to take on this hallmark sports car.
That’s one rough Triumph.
Looks like a hurricane “survivor” that should be left to die . . . and that’s unfortunate because I love TR series cars but this is just so rough.
I’ve seen any number of far worse early TR2s restored, so….
A friend had a TR3-B and that was an awesome car. I had forgotten about TR2s. I really like the small grille almost Bugeye- look front end.Neat car-
Rough shape but worth restoring due to being an early TR2. Lots of work ahead, though, and costly unless you have the time and experience to do much of the labor. That said, these are pretty simple to work on. I had a 1958 TR3A in number 4 condition that ran very well, but didn’t look well and had spot welds evident on the rocker panels. I sold it before I got married in 1979 for $500. It was fun. This might be condition #5.
Serious rust in both floor pans and the right inner sill. Can’t tell about the left side, but probably the same. these parts are readily available. Not so readily available is the badly rusted scuttle (cowl) as is evidenced near the windscreen mountings and below the windscreen. The battery box has no bottom, but new ones are easily obtained. I believe that the carburettors are not original to this car as they should have “banjo” fittings, and both appear to be rear carbs. No telling what is hiding in the wings as they appear to have been removed at some time and reinstalled without the fender beading normal separating them from the body shell.
A lot of work ahead on this one and it would be a labour of love as the cost will far out distance the value when finished.