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thinking of buying a 1967 triumph 2000

bikeymikey

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6cyl, 4sp no OD. this will be my first british car, and i've heard many horror stories about them. i've decided to ignore all that and take the plunge.
but, i don't want to go at it blindly, so can someone give me some advice on what to look for? the seller says that the clutch needs to be bled to become a daily driver.
is there a quick and dirty way to confirm that?
are there anything else i should be looking for?

thanks!
 

Mickey Richaud

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Welcome to the Forum!

While I'm not familiar with the 2000, I can tell you that, like all other early cars, rust is always an issue.

Bleeding the clutch is a very simple operation. I would think the owner would take care of that. Possible red flag if not...

Others will no doubt chime in with more particular info, but again, welcome!

:cheers:
Mickey
 

elrey

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I hope you love the car and are getting it for next to nothing. If it has rust forget it. This car could put you off British cars forever. Think about it dying in your tunnel or on the bridge. You need to think this one through. If you must have it, fine, though realize that you could spend plenty on it and still have a weak sedan prone to problems. If you are not a mechanic take it to one or one to it before you buy it. I mean not to offend anyone with these comments. I have seen and driven fine examples of this auto. At least this is not the early fuel injected model that came out the next year. Think long and hard before you buy.
 

Roger

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I'd like to second elrey. The Mark 1s (which this is , as a 67) were not very good cars at all. The later Mark 2s are much better, though not outstanding.
 

GilsTR

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Bikey....For good info on the 2000 connect here with Andy Mace. Andy will chime in soon I am sure. He will give you the straight goods you need to make this decision.
Gil NoCal
 

tomgt6

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It is a neat car I think but if you buy any triumph you buy a hobby. Rust is the worst thing with these cars. Frame, sills, wheel wells and trunk if I remember but than again Andy is the expert on the strange cars that triumph made.

The clutch should be easy to bleed that I am surprised the owner didn't do it. But if you get the car cheap enough who cares. If you like to work on cars then this would be one to look at. The one thing you will learn is to find a car with good metal the motor and other stuff can always be fixed easy but body work is expensive and hard to do. Good luck.
 

billspit

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An owner saying clutch needs bleeding means it probably needs all new hydrualics and maybe a clutch. Beware a man too lazy to bleed the clutch in order to sell a car. Same thing with being too lazy to get a replacement title.
 

elrey

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Is this a light colored w/red interior 2000 that has been for sale in Oakland for a few years? Cal. lic. 3szn331 ? If so, it looks good on the surface, musta been garage kept. If you were going to get a 67 this one is appears to be in the condition one would want to start with.
 

Andrew Mace

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Oh, my turn? :smile:

I'm not convinced that the 2000 is any more "gutless" than its contemporaries, such as a Volvo 122 or early 144, or a Rover 2000. It is what it is: a 90 hp, very smooth six-cylinder engine pushing around a car that weighs 2600 lbs. or so. The interiors are very comfortable, although the dashboard and controls might not be to everyone's taste. (Same with exterior styling.)

Like almost anything else, and especially since it is a unibody car, rust is a critical factor...and most all body and trim bits are not going to be readily available in the US.

Mechanically, the car is a typical blend of bits from other cars: pretty much a TR4A-6 type of rear suspension, TR4 style gearbox with GT6-style input shaft and clutch, and essentially the early GT6 engine. It does not take an awful lot of work to drop a TR6 engine in to cure the "gutlessness"!

The NADA Guide quotes low/average/high retail values as $2,600/$4,275/$6,525, respectively. I'm not sure where they get these numbers; frankly, one would be hard-pressed to find one worth anywhere near the upper range quoted unless it is virtually as-new and nearly perfect. Most of the few I've seen for sale in recent years do NOT fall into the "nearly perfect" category.

Only about 1800 of these were ever sold officially in the US. Frankly, they were a bit too expensive in the US, especially as the average car-buying public didn't see any great advantage to one of these over a decently equipped Falcon, Valiant or Nova that probably sold for a good bit less or a Fairlane, Chevelle, Cutlass, etc. for about the same price. It actually took quite awhile to sell off the last of these in dealer/distributor stock, some of that accomplished by dolling them up with vinyl roofs, wood steering wheels, Air-Flow wheel covers and other parts book decor and offering them as "SEm (Special Edition)" cars:

folderhu307.jpg


Bottom line: Don't pay a lot, but don't worry too much about problems (so much of that being more urban legend than fact). It won't be any worse than any other Triumph or other car if it's properly maintained. You can easily take the whole family to car shows, where you're likely NOT to see many other cars like yours (except up around Portland, OR, where these apparently sold well and are still popular)!
 

BRSLimited

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Just my 2 cents but, I'd be a little worried about the clutch just needing bleeding. It's not a hard job on those cars. I'd be going into it thinking that your going to have to put a clutch and clutch hydraulics in it. Always plan for the most expensive and time consuming repair, that way your not surprised when it needs it but could be surprised when it doesn't.
 

elrey

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I like all these cars, yet want Bikey to think first, especially if he has little "extra dough" or mechanical exp.
 
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bikeymikey

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wow you guys, thank you so much for all the very helpful responses. going above and beyond the call, for sure.

@elrey, yup, that's the one. did you take a look at it in person? it seems pretty nice in the pictures.

@andrew, that's awesome. that kind of info is very helpful.

i was wondering about the clutch needing bleeding, and asked the seller about it. he says that that's all that it needs.

@brslimited and billspit, can you give me an idea as to how much a whole system would set me back, if that's what the car needs? is there a quick and dirty way to diagnose the clutch to confirm that bleeding is all that's needed? i'll be bringing my hydraulic jack and jackstands. (i guess i could try bleeding it before buying it. what kind of fluid do these systems use?)

i'm not looking for a speedster (i passed up on a 1963 studebaker), just something classic looking that's not a gas guzzler to drive the family around.

i'm a professional bicycle mechanic so i know how to spin a wrench, i do it on my truck and i enjoy it. but that also means that i don't have much extra dough.
 

BRSLimited

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A clutch kit is going to run you roughly $150, hydraulics roughly another $120. Hopefully you can do the job yourself and not pay the labor. As far as it only needing bleeding I'm wondering why the seller isn't doing it himself if that is truely all it needs. Sounds to me more like he knows it has other problems and doesn't want to screw with it. Just keep the parts and labor costs in mind when you make an offer on it. If the body isn't very solid I'd walk away. Tap on the rockers and around the wheel wells and see if it sounds like metal or bondo. Look under the car at the inside of the rockers, pull the carpet back and look at the floor and look from under the car as well. I'm sure Andy will chime in if I've missed anything.
 

BRSLimited

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Forgot to mention, a lot of the parts that arn't compatible with other Triumph models will most likely have to come from England. Check out the Rimmer Bros website and get an idea of parts costs and remember there is shipping and import duties involved.
 

bash

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I think that the 2000 has the same basic clutch hydraulics and actuator as the TR6. A common problem with the TR6 clutch is a broken taper pin, which is easy enough to replace if you happen to have the gearbox out of the car... You can test the hydraulics by pushing the pedal and seeing how much movement you see at the push rod coming out of the slave cylinder. Should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch, I think. If that checks out and the clutch still doesn't disengage, then I would guess the pin is broken. I had the same problem with my TR6. Lots of information on fixing it if you search for TR6 clutch pin. There are three holes on the rod for the clutch push rod to connect to - I can't recall which is correct for the 2000, but you could try the top hole to see if you can get the clutch to work enough to drive it.

I always wanted a 2000, but I would go for a Mk2 - every now and then I see nice ones on ebay.co.uk and wonder about importing one...

Cheers
Alistair
 

70herald

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Well I happen to like the styling of these cars. So I can understand why you would be interested in it.

As for the clutch, you just need regular DOT4 brake fluid. Chances are it is going to leak out but hopefully you will be able to drive it far enough to find out if the engine / transmission work.

Now as one warning, if you are worried about cost of clutch hydraulics, this may not be the correct hobby.... I am not trying to put you off I just don't wan't to see you disappointed in a year with a non-functional vehicle, and not able to do anything about it.

Since you are not a CAR mechanic find one (or someone very knowledgeable) to look at the car for you. Engine work =$$$$ transmission = $$$$ more mechanicals + $$$ Guess how I know :thumbsup: I have rebuilt all of these and more on my almost drivable Herald. If you are going to buy the car you should have an accurate idea of what will need to put is safely on the road.
 
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bikeymikey

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i feel pretty confident that i can RTFM, as long as i can find a manual (seems like they are only available from the other side of the pond). $300 is something i can probably handle, if that's all the car needs.

i'll keep my eye out for rust spots, bondo, hopefully he'll let me pull the plugs and maybe even do a compression test.
i'll definitely try to figure out the clutch. i've only owned cars with good clutches, so that will be a foray into the unknown.
my truck has an automatic that would cost $1200 to replace; that's why i'm worried about the possible cost of replacing cylinders and hydraulics. $300 is not bad at all.
 

poolboy

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A car that old may initially need 300 dollars worth of repairs, but you really should count on about a grand a year for the first couple of years,,that is if you are going to be driving it regularly, Other stuff is going to break and wear out and some hidden stuff will eventually make its presence known.
Just start a TR savings account.
 

Andrew Mace

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poolboy said:
A car that old may initially need 300 dollars worth of repairs, but you really should count on about a grand a year for the first couple of years...
True enough. But weigh that against $300-400/month for the next xx years for a new car payment, and it might not seem so bad. :laugh:
 
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