Reader Howard A. writes: Ever hear of a Turner? I haven’t. Looks pretty cool. Thanks for the find, Howard! Turners were the creation of a small British company started by Jack Turner, and were produced between 1951 and 1966, when this one was produced. This one is currently in Waupaca, Wisconsin and is up for sale here on craigslist for $19,000.
Turners had fiberglass bodies, and used off the shelf components to deliver sports car handling and good acceleration due to their light weight. The first cars were based on Austin components similar to the Austin-Healey Sprite. Later cars, like this one, had Ford powerplants and had front suspension based on the Triumph Herald/Spitfire line.
This particular Turner spent 30 years off the road stored in a warehouse after being taken off for a repaint and minor repairs. 30 years and two owners later, it’s up for sale after having been debugged. While the owner describes some of the process in the ad, there are more details a little way down the page on the owner’s website. I can’t tell whether the front wheel on the driver’s side has been pushed backwards or if the steering’s just a little turned in this shot.
Parts of the interior doesn’t look quite right, and if you look at the shots of the one Jesse wrote up a number of years ago there are certainly some differences. That being said, in the world of very low production British cars, it’s not that unusual for things to be different only a few serial numbers apart.
We have no under hood shots to view, but as the owner just finished a 200 mile round trip drive, things must be pretty good mechanically. I personally would lose the vinyl numbers, although if you google Turner cars, almost every one you find is being used for racing of one sort or another, either SCCA, vintage, or autocrossing. Performance levels are quite brisk for just 1500cc with a Turner–would you like to have this unusual sportster in your garage? There are currently only 338 Turners known worldwide to the Turner Register out of approximately 670 made, so this certainly isn’t something you’re going to see every day. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Great cars very popular with racers and auto cross people. The Ford powered versions benifited from all the aftermarket performance upgrades. Very well known in vintage race circles.
When I came across this, I thought, yet another British roadster I haven’t seen. ( being a British roadster enthusiast, I though I’d seen them all) I suppose, like anything, in the ’60’s, everybody was jumping on the roadster bandwagon. Neat car, but nothing really all that different from any other British roadster of the time. Another British based car I hadn’t heard of until recently, was the Sabra from Israel. There was rumor of one in Milwaukee many years ago. Another cool car. http://carsenglobe.com/uploads/sabra/sabra-sport/sabra-sport-01.jpg
Why yes I have heard of them…..nice to see one that’s not a vintage racer.
I remember seeing a number of Turners race at the Thompson track and elsewhere back in the last century. They always ran near the front if the drivers were good, but I never saw one on the road anywhere. I knew they had ‘glas bodies but I’ve never seen one up close to examine. I guess the bodies on these are well made and fairly thin, so lightweight. The snout isn’t the best looking one I’ve ever seen, but the rest of the body looks good.
I guess for something rare and successful in racing like these were a good one might be worth $19K, but that would take the exact right buyer who knew what he wanted. Might take a long while to sell at that price, tho. I wish the seller the best. It looks like a good car, nicely taken care of. Plus those wires add a lot to a rare car like this.