This Triumph TR250 – a one-year-only car – is misidentified on eBay, where it is listed with a buy-it-now price of $5750 or best offer. The seller has it categorized as the less-glamorous TR6. The car is a derelict, no question about it – but fewer than 8500 TR250s were made, and at the very least, this example is worth a look for its parts, and it might actually be restorable. Tow it home from North Ridgeville, Ohio, if you are able to strike a deal.
Like so many solutions advanced by financially insecure auto manufacturers, the TR250 was a compromise designed to hang on to market share while a new model was rushed to market. Yet, this model has turned into one of the most collectible of the breed, outpacing the TR4, edging out the TR3, and trouncing the TR6 in value. This value stack makes sense: the TR250 utilizes the charming TR4 body – a worthy update over the TR3’s rakish looks – yet, it motors with Triumph’s then-new 2498 cc six-cylinder. Cars with this engine were delivered to the US fitted with two Zenith-Stromberg carbs, but over in England, it was fuel-injected. The injected six generated 150 hp – a lot of ponies for a 2300 lb British car. The carburetted version still managed 111 hp, but the very existence of a better-performing variant was enough to animate a quest for hotter cams, different intakes and carbs, and improved exhaust. Consequently, the aftermarket parts array is abundant. The gearbox is an all-synchro four-speed, with overdrive a frequently-selected option. This engine turns by hand, and all ancillaries are present.
Condition is one thing – and we expect a ratty interior given this car’s exterior condition – but replacing the TR250’s graceful original steering wheel with this fat-rimmed mixed media thing is another. Where’s my steering-wheel puller! Ok, yes, there’s plenty else to worry about in here, with the dash padding damaged, its wood veneer peeling itself back to its native state, and a fogged rear window. The entire interior needs a makeover.
Most of the panels have dents, some have rust; I think this bumper is dented too. But the listing includes a high quotient of underside photos, and things look pretty good down there! The seller does mention a few patches on the frame, so a personal inspection would be wise. A few of the views reveal the car’s original color, which was Valencia Blue. I’d love to see this TR250 put right, but it’s going to take a variety of skills and/or plenty of money to complete the job. What do you think of this Triumph – is it restorable, or better used for parts?
Well this one brings back some memories. My very first car back in the early 80’s was one of these. The brother of a good friend owned it and it was not running at the time. Paid $100 for it. Got it back on the road pretty quickly. Mine was pretty rough itself, but ran great. This one is a long ways away from me or I’d have a hard time not going to check it out. Frame looks pretty good, obviously some bad rust on the right quarter panel and some of the floor. Seems like it is worth bringing back to life. But it won’t be easy. I didn’t remember there were so few of these made. Michelle, thanks for the great write up as I’ve come to expect from you and the trip down memory lane.
Thanks Brian. I have flirted with the TR250 for years but never owned one. For a few months I owned a TR4 with a buddy. It was a rattly thing, but I did love its looks.
My old school buddy put his TR-250 away back in the 80’s and I’m still trying to get it away from him.
The 250 is my favorite of the TR’s and the last of the real classics. This one looks to be restorable but needs much closer inspection. $5700+ is too much unless you desperately want this! For me in this condition a number of $3K or under could be a possibility.
” Where’s my steering wheel puller?”
You will find it attatching your femur to your tibia. Plant your feet solidly, use your patellas to put pressure up on the steering wheel and whack the end of the column with a hammer.
Check for rust on the IRS mounting points.
Relax, I believe it’s just a cover on the steering wheel,( see Triumph horn button and spokes) and nothing said about the IRS, which I’m told is incredibly expensive to repair, and judging by the overall condition of the car, it will need work. I read the TR250 parts won’t fit a TR4 to use this as a parts car for, nobody wants it anyway. Shame, such neat cars, a TR6 in TR4 clothing. Sweet!
Other than the engine, many TR 4 parts are interchangeable with the 250. The body panels are the same, but there are extra holes in the TR4 bonnet and trunk lid to spell out “TRIUMPH” in individual letters. You can also bolt a TR4 bumper to a 250, but the bumperettes are in the wrong place.
I’ve had a TR4A since 1980. Thin 250 looks like a bargain to me, having also restored a couple of TR6s.
As a teen I found myself choosing between two cars for my high school commuter, a purple-ish TR250 and a brown-ish 70 Camaro. I chose the Camaro, even though I preferred the Triumph, because my dad convinced me the TR250 would be unreliable and impossible to get parts for.
I think you may have inadvertently transposed the figures on the production numbers. The factory records state 5858, not 8500, 250s were built.
Great article Mrs. Michelle Rand! I agree with Dan Blackwood! This looks like a good deal! I have owned a TR2 (long door), TR3, TR4, TR250, and TR6. If you are going to restore, I believe the TR2 and TR250 to be the better investment! I remember talking to someone from England, and he was telling me how rust repair work was done so well in England. I would buy parts from Moss Motors. There are many other companies also selling parts for these Triumphs.
This car is too far gone. My first car was a TR250 in 1977. Still have it and drive it after a total rebuild in early 2000. The rear trailing arm frame member looks to have been fish plated, so the original under is likely Swiss cheese. Lot’s of tell tale rust that tells me not much of the body or frame is usable. Never say never though!
the seller is an obvious lover of all things sports car/British related…. just check out his garage.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and really, just how many of the 5800 built can really remain in the world ? As the owner of a ’70- TR6 I find the comment interesting about how much lesser one of those is than a TR-250. I find them both remarkably quirky little cars and though similar, still different. I love them both as lovely little stepchildren of a bygone era and a now VERY distant memory. Definitely well worth restoring but it will be costly and a real labor of Love
Greenjeans: I have read more than once in different articles that the Triumph clubs agree that there are barely 600 left in the entire world–that includes BOTH TR-250 and TR-5s COMBINED. In the Irish Republic, for example, only ONE American import 250 exists…with not a single TR-5. They are now RARE…which suggests that restoring this one may not be totally foolish.
Well… it would make a better parts car than a restoration candidate, but I’ve seen much worse… and given its rarity, restoration is not out of the question. That said, this one will need all the work. Good luck to both the seller and happy new owner…
I had one of these in 1975 I believe. The sheet metal was paper thin on them, the structual components not much thicker. Rust is a real problem with these. Mine ran fine, fun to drive. Brutal to drive in New Orleans summers. Not much insulation if any between the engine and passenger compartment. It got really hot. Looking at the rust on the front fenders, I’m surprised they are still on the car. As someone mentioned, the TR4’s use the same body components. If you could find one if decent shape you could swap everything over. It was fun in high school, but I’d never own another one.
I had one back n the early 80’s. Gal I worked with in Dallas was moving to MI and while she wanted to take it with her, it needed clutch work and couldn’t be driven and she couldn’t afford to have it done. I gave her $600 for it and drove it home without the clutch. Turns out, all it was was the spring in the slave. Replaced it and drove the dickens out of it for a couple of months.
Had a friend that had a shop nearby who called me about parts for a car that had come in for brake work. I had had a batch of seals made for the calipers for an XK150 my Dad and I were working on at the time. And since the rears were the same for the XK and the Mk1 he asked if I had any available. So I drove the TR down to his shop with a stack of them. Owner of the Mk1 was there and fell in love with the TR. I wanted his Mk1 (it was a factory competition options prepped car). So we traded…right there in the friends shop. I went home and got the title, as did he. He drove the TR away and I spent the next two hours rebuilding the calipers on the Mk then drove it home. Had to take the friend and his wife out to dinner as a “finders’ fee”. Drove that 59 Mk1 3.4 4spd OD radio delete/heater delete bucket seat (don’t remember every option o it but was there and wasn’t there for a comp car) for years but always missed the TR. Neck-deep in Spitfires these days….
Yeah… I’ll add… this needs restored…or heck, just loved up to the point of a scruffy fun car driver.
Nice swap.
I should mention there is one in a salvage yard of over 12,000 cars near an airbase not far from me where I write this. Same yard that had several Jaguar sedans, Porsche 356 and 911 cars in (which are now gone). Mpls. MN enthusiasts have been hauling for several years now out of it and when I last saw the TR250, the Webers were still on it and I closed the cover back down over them. Car is very rusty as it came from the east coast and died here in the upper midwest. If any one wants that contact number, send me a message and I will give it out. The owner is great to work with ……
I was riding my bike ( a Triumph Rocket III with sidecar) up in Maine last year to some kind of event. Just about a mile from my destination there sat on the side of the road a TR-250. Seeing how it was a Triumph, I had to stop. Nice couple sitting in it trying to get a signal on their cell phone to call for a tow. I can’t remember what I did, but I didn’t fix it but diagnosed what was wrong. And all he needed was something simple from an auto parts store. Might have been the coil or condenser, just can’t remember. Anyway, he also said the number of these cars left in the US was really quite small, I think less than 1,000. And his car was in exceptionally nice condition.
Hey all… I thought the difference between a TR4 and a TR250 was the rear suspension. The 4 was a straight axal and the 250 had a live axal. I didn’t know about the engine differences. I’m a P-car guy with an empty garage these days.