Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

Parked For 30 Years: 1955 Triumph TR2

d2

Yes, the pictures are fuzzy (they are actually pictures of pictures). However, there aren’t that many Triumph TR2s around, and this one looks like a solid project to start with. Although the ad lists it in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, I contacted the owner and the car is actually his father’s and is located in Clarksville, Virginia. It’s advertised here on craigslist without a price, which apparently depends on how many Triumph spare parts you want. And no, it doesn’t fit into my plans at the moment, so it’s all yours to pick up!

d6

The seller tells us that it ran when parked 30 years ago in his father’s basement. While the ad states it is a 1956, TR2 production ended in 1955, so I’m sure it was titled in the year of first sale, which was typical at the time. It’s hard to tell if the car is complete or not, but the seller also talks about many Triumph parts to go with it, so hopefully it is.

d5

You can just barely see at the bottom of the door to verify that this is a “short door”, or later TR2. The very earliest cars had doors that went all the way down to the edge of the rocker panel and Triumph discovered that the doors would hit curbs. They added a rocker panel and shortened the door. I’m encouraged by the lack of visible rust and hopeful that the car looks worse than it actually is.

d3

Here’s the trusty wet-liner four cylinder engine. If that really is yellow paint on the head and  block, it’s at least been apart for painting, as these blocks were originally painted gloss black. Generally, these are long-lasting engines that will respond well to a little tuning. It’s good that there hasn’t been a lot of disassembly done. Any of you interested enough to follow up on this early TR?

Comments

  1. Avatar Yellowjax Member

    No price? Had one once small nose I think it was a 1957.. Don’t remember what the doors looked like, maybe a TR 3 will a different nose. Love the sound they make. Kind of a brut compared to my MG.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar rob pearcey

    I contacted the seller who wants $15,000 for everything they have .

    Think this is very ambitious. A restored one is $20,000 to $25000 .

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

      Yeah, I’d say so. We just sold our TR2 for $1,200. It may have been in worse condition, but this one still needs everything.

      Like 0
    • Avatar alan gibbs

      Hello, As the tr-3 sits thru the fall with no offers, it will drop down to 5, and then go for 3,500 in the winter/spring; its a good car, just needs everything the roadster factory has(15,000 in parts and labor)!!

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Andrew S Mace Member

    Going by the valve cover and carburetors, it’s a later engine — maybe early TR4? So much for absolute originality, but that’s not the worst thing. My biggest fear as that those “pictures of pictures” are also 30 + years old, and the poor car doesn’t look quite so good today. And I’m never optimistic when I see something in that state of disassembly. :(

    Like 0
  4. Avatar alan gibbs

    As the car has a scuttle vent it is not a tr-2 and probably even has the front disc brakes. No door handles stopped in aug. ’57 so its sometime before that, which was a nice period of tr-3 as they were making so few of them–pre ts 22000 are the small mouth cars which have not survived in great numbers like the later tr-3s—they are all fantastic cars, to be plain about it.

    Like 0

Leave A Comment

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.