Car
Foreword
Below is the story of our beloved (and now extinct) 1970 Triumph Herald, as told by Chris R - our resident classic car enthusiast. I’ll get a bit of a bio in on our current car soon! Anyway, on with the story……
The Story:
We found EAN back in November ‘07 with less than a week on the MOT and more than a few repairs needed for the next one. But nevertheless we drove him the 100 miles back from Bristol to Coventry in the darkness and the cold and wet, with the roof leaking in water and the drivers’ window only staying up because of a strategically placed screwdriver. The passenger door didn’t even stay closed on one occasion driving round a corner due to one of the two hinges being more decoration than a hinge. The rear lights only worked if the boot was closed in a certain way and the bonnet catch opened after about a minute of driving anything faster than 40mph, which, by the way was about 65 on the speedo! At one point there was a warning light that seemed to be intermittently flashing which worried us for a minute, until it was pointed out that it was the indicator!
100 miles seems nothing these days in a modern car, and certainly not compared to the 10,000 we someday hoped to get out of him, but with so many little ‘quirks’ (problems) and no real opportunity to fix anything, it seemed like no journey could ever feel as long again! Having said all this, the important parts of the car worked well, he didn’t seem to crab at all when driving down the road, the steering self-centralised almost as if it were on a modern car and the engine started on the button every time. You have to get used to the brakes (which at first feel like there is a brick wedged behind them stopping them from working) and the steering at low speeds. Of course the indicator stick on the right caused some comedy moments turning the lights off so we couldn’t see when trying to turn right, but the more you drive him the nicer he feels.
The last week on the MOT was fun, driving with the top down through university campus when it was raining, finding out just how light the back end is in the rain and generally driving down the wonderful Warwickshire country lanes for another 100 miles in total. On one occasion through Kenilworth, we were driving for the first time with the top down, getting such a good response from people, generating smiles and spreading joy wherever we went. We got honked by another car, which wasn’t the first time, and so we waved and carried on. The car in front slowed down with its hazards on too, and we thought this a little odd but smiled in their direction and thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until the car behind honked us again that we realised the indicator was still flashing and had been for about a mile!
After such an exciting week it was time for EAN to finally be put to rest for a while now that the MOT has expired. Chris R has his other project on the go still and aims to complete that before starting work on EAN, his pride and joy - Dylan, a 1967 Triumph Vitesse, the reason we chose a Herald in the first place. So until after Christmas this is the story so far.
Specs:
1970 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertible
1296cc, 61bhp (45kW)
