TR2/3/3A A most unusual TR2!

[angelfj1]

These photos are over a week old - long story - sorry

It's a 20 year old tradition that each Labor Day weekend my son and I attend a local car show. The show is known as "Duryea Days", in honor of Charles Duryea, an early auto pioneer, who produced cars near Boyertown, PA. This show is predominantly Detroit "iron" with lots of rods and muscle cars. Model T's and A's are always there as well as many other pre-war marques. Also, there is a small but growing contingent of sports cars, mostly English, that stand out amongst the land yachts. This year we arrived earlier than usual and parked behind a red, long-door, TR2.

<span style="font-weight: bold">DID I SAY TR2? A LONG-DOOR?</span>

The owner was nowhere to be found. Gee. I wish that bonnet had been open. :frown: Not only are TR2’s becoming very rare (let alone a long-door), if you look closely you will notice something very unique about the interior trim of this car. According to what I have read, this car has a very special trim. Known as "metric" or “wicker” , it was available on very early TR2’s (perhaps all long –doors) and again on early TR3’s. This special trim has never been listed in any of the advertising literature nor parts catalogs. I wonder if it was used in other Triumph cars made during that period. Before last weekend I had never seen metric trim other than in some of the TR books and those examples were all RHD cars. <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">I never would have believed that I would have seen this in the US, let alone in my own back yard!</span>
</span>
Unfortunately, the owner never did show up. So we may never know what other treasures lay beneath that bonnet. This old TR2 may not be in concours condition, but we are grateful that we got to see something so unusual.

<span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">You have to love the O/D Switch!</span></span></span>

 

[martx-5]

Is this the photo you wanted to show?? Or were there more??

https://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q159/angelfj/TR2%20MeTrim/DSCN1007-1.jpg I could only extract this one from what you posted. :confuse:

 

[angelfj1]

Art, come on! I'm old and slow! I have made revisions!

 

[Brosky]

It doesn't have to be concours, it is great the way it is.

Thanks for sharing Frank!!

 

[prb51]

Doesn't appear to be the original wicker patern. That wicker pattern was pressed into the vinyl. This appears to be a woven material.
Great car though, I've never seen a long door myself.

 

[angelfj1]

Doesn't appear to be the original wicker patern. That wicker pattern was pressed into the vinyl. This appears to be a woven material.
Great car though, I've never seen a long door myself.

Well, I don't know and perhaps I shouldn't admit to this but I had to. I very carefully examined the edge of the facia covering with a little magnifying glass I keep in the boot. This material is NOT woven. It appears to be embossed vinyl, almost like "wall paper" which agrees to what Bill Piggot has written. I guess there is no way to 100 percent sure but it certainly looked authentic to me.

 

[NickMorgan]

Yes, I think the original wicker material was courser than that, almost like basket weave. I have only once seen it on an old door trim taken off TS13.

 

[Guest]

A beautiful automobile. Re. the OD switch, S-T didn't change to the "egg" switch until TS8637, the first TR3. So, I don't know if this is the exact switch, but it is the correct "style."

Jeez, if that were mine, I would make all necessary efforts to get a pair of original seats! Let's hope that he has them by now.

Epilog: Only we few folks who have read Triumph's history have any idea the impact that little car had on sports cars FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD. The TR-2 cleaned up on racing and rallies (and was CHEAPER than its competition!), and made ALL OTHER MANUFACTURERS take a long hard look at their products. God bless the TR-2!!

 

[Andrew Mace]

Hopefully Lou Metelko will weigh in here at some point. What I see above is more like what I <span style="font-style: italic">think</span> I remember seeing on another early TR2 -- the ex-Harrah's collection long-door TR2 owned by Tom Householder -- than the "wicker" pictured in the Piggott book. But it was only once, in 1986, that I saw Tom's car, and I honestly don't remember for certain.

Regardless, I <span style="font-style: italic">love</span> this car just as it is!

 

[mallard]

Four vent bonnet, I wonder if it was aluminum?

 

[Lou Metelko]

I agree that is a fine example of a TR2 Long Door. It is somewhere between TS1300 and TS4000. Pre TS1300 would have the square type rear lights while post TS4000 would be a short door. Can't say much for the tacky looking OD switch, prior to the barrell switch there was a simple push / pull. Don't believe the printed word that the barrell switch is faster since either one is merely opening or closing an electrical circuit. The four slit bonnet was used for all 2s up to about TS6500. I am at a loss about the "wicker" material. I also have seen Tom Householder's ex-Harrah car but I don't remember the trim.

The Star War era passed me by so what pray tell is a Jedi and what if I don't want to be one. Does that make me a nonhopeful?

Lou Metelko
54 TR2LD TS981L
Auburn, Indiana

 

[bgbassplyr]

Just a stage, Lou. We all went through it. A few more posts and you graduate to the next stage. Kinda like a creepy crawly turning into a buterfly.

 

[TR6BILL]

That's the real deal. My early TR2 had the same interior. The car was cream-on-cream. Dumb me, I took the wires off the 2 and put them on my 3. Literally gave the 2 away (this was in '72). The 2 ended up being towed off to Alexandria, LA, to be restored and the 3 I kept for a number of years (black-on-red) till I sold it to a restorer. My buddy over in Erath, LA, is currently restoring a very early 2. Gonna be a nice job when it is finished.

And yes, I had spats for the 2 which got thrown away. If I only knew then what I know now. But that was almost 40 years ago.

 

[JodyFKerr]

What's the survival rate of the TR2? They only made ~8,600 of them, but I seem to hear of a number of ongoing restorations which tells me they are still being "found".

Jody

 

[TR3driver]

Don't believe the printed word that the barrell switch is faster since either one is merely opening or closing an electrical circuit.

Having tried it both ways myself, I do feel the later version has an advantage. Don't know about "quicker", but it's certainly easier and safer to operate the switch with one finger (leaving the rest of your hand on the steering wheel) rather than having to take your whole hand off to grab the switch with thumb & finger.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] The Star War era passed me by so what pray tell is a Jedi and what if I don't want to be one. Does that make me a nonhopeful? [/QUOTE]Not to worry, Lou, it's just a fanciful way of rating people according to the number of posts they have made to the BCF and how long they have been a member. Not intended as a personal evaluation in any way.

The "Jedi knights" were wise and powerful knights that drew on the mystic powers of the universe to fight against the evil forces of darkness. "Jedi Hopeful" is much better, IMO, than "Yoda" (who was a bald wrinkled gray-green alien thing of indeterminate sex that lived in a swamp and had hair growing out of his/her ears) :laugh:

 

[Andrew Mace]

The Star War era passed me by so what pray tell is a Jedi and what if I don't want to be one. Does that make me a nonhopeful?

Not to worry, Lou, it's just a fanciful way of rating people according to the number of posts they have made to the BCF and how long they have been a member. Not intended as a personal evaluation in any way.

Perhaps if Basil had been older, we could have been ranked as <span style="font-style: italic">Star Trek</span> characters: Spock, Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, Sulu, Uhuru, Tribble, unnamed and nonspeaking character whom you've never seen before and can guarantee will be killed off no more than 25 minutes into the episode.... :wink:

 

[Adrio]

..... and had hair growing out of his/her ears) :laugh:

If only that was all it took!

 

[Don_R]

If Basil went with Star Trek I eventually I would have to lose my red shirt rating. You always knew the red shirt was going to get it when they landed on a planet.
AH, the memories.

 

[1955TR2]

I realize this thread is quite old but as I'm nearing the completion of the restoration of my 1955 TR2 I thought I would add a few pictures of the original wicker/metric dash that I was able to salvage.