Potential Vintage Racer: 1966 Triumph TR4A

If you are looking for a vintage race candidate with the right patina, you couldn’t do much better than this 1966 Triumph TR4A that’s currently listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace and is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The price is listed as $5,000, but I suspect that’s somewhat negotiable, as the car has been for sale for a while. Let’s dive a little deeper; as a Triumph TR6 racer myself, I’m always interested in how someone else built a racing TR.

1966 was the second of three years of Triumph TR4A production. The TR4A was a follow-on model to the successful TR4, but most of the improvements were under the skin, including a completely new frame. The TR4A also offered one of the strangest options ever available; you could purchase one with or without independent rear suspension. As it turns out, the North American dealers were not thrilled with the complexity of the new semi-trailing-arm rear suspension and demanded a solid axle alternative. In total, there were 28,465 TR4As produced over the three years. All featured a 2138 cc wet-liner four-cylinder engine that was good for about 105 horsepower in stock form.

This car seems to be incredibly straight for a race car. All the shut lines appear great, and the only visible body damage is the common TR crease on the driver’s front door. This happens when the door strap breaks and the door swings out too far and contacts the edge of the front fender. Been there, done that! Those beautiful aluminum wheels were produced by American Racing Products and were called the Libre style. You can get a modern version called the Retro 4 from VTO wheels here. The roll bar looks pretty substantial for the time, although it would have to have SFI-type padding for current use. We’re told Larry Bassett raced this car in Midwest SCCA regional races in the 1980s. I happen to have an acquaintance who was successfully racing a TR4 in that region at the same time, and I’ve asked him if he remembers the car or Larry-I’ll update the post if I hear anything.

Dang, those floors look solid! I had to do some welding on my race car floorboards due to rust; I would have loved floors in this condition! I do wonder about all the gauges being gone except the tachometer, though-I’d like to know my oil pressure and temperature at least! And you’ll need a seat, of course. Perhaps a low windscreen as on this Group 44 TR4A?

Aside from velocity stacks on the SU carburetors, a relocated coil (for better cooling), and an aluminum valve cover, this car looks remarkably stock under the hood. I’ve done some detective work on this find, but have been unsuccessful so far; I’ll update the post if I find out anything more about the car’s history. Have you got room for a vintage racer in your garage? Any former or current SCCA racers out there?

UPDATE:  I did find a reference to Larry Bennett, D-Production SCCA racer! He scored 2 points in the 1973 final SCCA Midwest standings here, so the car’s racing history may be older than originally thought.