Well I sure do remember what got me started on TRiumphs!
My childhood chum's mom had a '66 MGB. I wanted to get one to fit in. I
guess what really cinched the bug for the Triumph for me was when I was
working at a gas station in '68 and hitchhiking to work. A TR4 picked me
up and during the course of the conversation I told the owner how I
planned to get an MG. He asked why, and then shot me down in flames. He
explained that the TR4 had a bigger motor which equaled faster. Plus it
had that really neat bulge in the hood for the carbs. Then he opened the
scuttle vent and punched the go pedal. He told me that the vent forced
cold air into the carbs and made it go faster. What did I know? But I
was hooked.
It wasn't until March of '71 that I finally convinced my dad that a TR4
was a good choice for me. I found a '65 TR4A ( with live axle ) on a Jag
dealer lot in Devon, PA. I got it for $700. Drove it about 5-6 miles
and the generator crapped out. I was baptized by fire with TRs...I
couldn't afford to have some one else fix it so I had to learn myself.
It ran ok but about 6 months later it developed a rod knock and over the
course of the winter I rebuilt the motor. After rebuilding the motor, and
learning the hard way about that counter shaft bearing in the trans, I
sold it for something more dependable...a '68 Camaro with the 396. Talk
about fast! Talk about 5-6 miles per gallon!
Then the gas crisis ( my own ) hit and I longed for another TR. I got a
'71 TR6 in '73 and drove it during college. Sold it in '76 to get a pick
up truck and lounge around FL for a couple months. Sold the pickup, came
back to PA and got a '67 TR4a with a really warmed over motor. In April
of '78 it got hit on the Schuylkill expressway and was totaled. I went
for about 9 months driving a Volvo and without a TR. I couldn't stand
it! I got my first TR250 in January '79, and then got the 250 I have now
in '80.
Gotta love these cars!
Hugh R. McAleer
Jonesboro, GA
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