Watch the video tour of the display: 

This year’s big Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham was well and truly back to full strength and finally unbridled from the hindrances of previous pandemic restrictions. It was busy as well, with the gigantic halls of the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham packed to capacity on the Saturday and the weekend enjoying the presence of 69,324 historic vehicle fans marvelling at the diversity on show.

Lee Masters, Show Director summed it up, “What an incredible weekend! The atmosphere was fantastic with passionate enthusiasts filling the halls. I was excited walking around watching the interactions between people. The community coming together made me feel emotional and proud of the movement. Also, the quality of the exhibits and displays were off the chart, people went above and beyond. Huge thanks to all the clubs and our partners, exhibitors, and visitors for their continued support.”

The weekend for the TR Register started on Wednesday, when our heroic stand builder, Nigel Cluley and his team of merry men, loaded up the van and headed off for stage one of the build (no doubt cursing all those silly ideas for themes, graphics and car layouts that the pesky press officer had lumbered them with again this year)!

Thursday saw the display cars assemble throughout the day, last minute adjustments made to vehicle positioning and the stand build completed. All set for the show to open for the press preview at 9 am the next morning.

This year on the display, we had an incredible selection of cars and huge thanks goes out to their owners who not only spruced their TRs up and drove them to the NEC to leave with us for the weekend, but also spent hours over the weekend volunteering on the stand and chatting to attendees about their cars. They really do make the TR Register stand the friendly and welcoming display that we are all so proud of.

The entrance to the halls was guarded by last year’s Meguiars’ Club Concours Showcase winner, the stunning early model TR6 of Gary McVeigh. This year though, we had another fantastic TR in the running, Mark Rainer’s TR3 which won the Master’s Class at the International Meet held at the Great British Car Journey Museum, Ambergate in August.

Mark and wife Sarah, who are based in Shrivenham, bought the car in 1994 from the previous owner who had owned it for 30 years. The car had undergone a colour change to blue metallic and Mark always planned to return it to its original black. He stored the car in a rented barn and began to slowly start its restoration. It was in a poor condition with many parts missing or partly dismantled. Mark worked on the car on and off over several years with many challenges along the way, including the barn roof collapsing in on the car! Mark faced the challenge alone, remarkably undertaking all the sourcing of parts, painting, rebuilding himself and exhaustively studying every detail to ensure that it was correct and original. 28 years on and the NEC Classic Motor Show was his crowning glory, as Mike Brewer announced Mark Rainer and his stunningly beautiful TR3 as the 2022 winners of the Meguiar’s Club Showcase and duly handed over the stunning crystal trophy. A fantastic result to have two TR Register wins, over two consecutive years.

Friday evening at the NEC Classic Motor Show is traditionally the night where the classic car clubs come together to celebrate accolades earned over the previous twelve months. Independent from the show and hosted by Classic and Sportscar Magazine, just across the road from the NEC in the Hilton Doubletree Hotel, the awards recognise excellence in the car club community under several very competitive headings.

This year, the TR Register came away with not one, but two awards.

Firstly, Mick Forey and I headed to the stage to receive the award for Best Use of Digital Media. The category is a prestigious one and so the competition is fierce, but this year it was awarded to the TR Register in recognition of our innovative use of data, technology and media for the creation of the European Breakdown App.

The judges said, “Websites, social media channels, videos, podcasts and more were eligible for this category, the judges were looking for innovation and community engagement, a high-quality offering that has the power to make a real difference to the club it serves.

The TR Register’s pocket-sized offering will empower owners to use their classics and support specialist businesses, too. This free-to-download app, available for both iOS and Android, helps users find their nearest garage if they breakdown in the UK or Europe – each garage has been tried, tested, and rated.”

The awards were not over for the TR Register however, as Club of the Year was awarded to the TR Register’s Youth Group. The judges said, “We’re delighted to say that our Club of the Year 2022 is TR Youth, the division of the TR Register, devoted to younger members. It’s a club about a passion for classics, not the car you own, nurturing the enthusiasm in the next generation. As well as many local meets, it’s held three national events this year, and has established a vibrant and enthusiastic community on Instagram. The nomination said this is the club that proves you don’t need lots of money to have fun, adding that TR Youth is proving that classic cars will remain on the roads for many years to come.”

It's the first time a youth division of a club has one this award, which is viewed by many as the pinnacle of club achievements. You can read all about how the youth celebrated later in this issue!

Silverstone Auctions hammered away £7.3million worth of car sales on Saturday with a 75% sales rate and six new world record price tags. On Sunday, 141 motorcycles were on offer with 85% sold for £750,000, while around £100,000 was secured from 72% of the Automobilia lots. There were a few items of interest, but the GTR4A Dove recreation with a six-cylinder engine sadly failed to find a new home, so remains with its current owner, Paul Hogan.

New for 2022 and one of the highlights of the weekend, was the Motorbike Trial demonstrations by 12-time World Champion Dougie Lampkin and his son Alfie. They both wowed the crowds with their expert skills as well as causing a stir when Dougie jumped his bike over Top Gear legend Richard Hammond, Wheeler Dealers’ Mike Brewer and ‘Auto Alex’ Kersten as well as Show Director Lee Masters.

The live stage featured expert panels, and I took part in two each day, tackling subjects as diverse as the future of fuels, encouraging youth groups in clubs, the future for car clubs and the environmental challenges faced by the historic vehicle sector.

The NEC Classic Motor Show remains the big season ender, bringing together the entire movement in a celebration of the season that was 2022. For the TR Register, we had a considerable amount of attention on us throughout the weekend, in front of the largest audience of any show and healthy levels of new members signing up on the day proves that if you want to get the most out of your TR ownership, then the TR Register Car Club is the place to be.

A huge thanks once again to the huge team that make this event happen. To Nigel Cluley for building another awesome stand and to Phil Horsley for managing the rota, staffing and stock throughout. But also, a very special thank you and well done to all the amazing volunteers we had over the course of the three-days, from all over the UK. There are too many to list for fear of missing someone out, but be assured that thanks to you, we did the club proud!

The next NEC Classic Motor Show will be held from Friday 10th to Sunday 12^th November 2023. Check the website www.necclassicmotorshow.com and keep an eye on TR Action for the discount codes on ticket bookings.

The show stars

Triumph TR2 – PKV 373

Works development car for Le Mans 1955

1955 was a significant year for Standard Triumph as it marked the first full year of its official works competition programme. Triumph entered a team of three TR2s into the Le Mans 24-hour race. All three cars had experimental disc-brake installations.

There was a fourth car, this one – PKV 373 – which was used as the development vehicle for the braking technology to be used on the cars that would head to La Sarthe for the race itself.

At this time, disc-brakes had not yet been adopted for a European production car. So, both Girling and Dunlop saw their equipment tested in public and behind the scenes by companies like Triumph, looking for the edge within their sportscars.

The 1955 Le Mans race was overshadowed by the most horrific crash in motorsport history, killing 80 spectators and Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh. As a result, the entry for Triumph was a bit of a joyless event. Indeed, they would not return to Le Mans as a works team until 1959. But, like the Jabbeke speed record, the campaign contributed to proving the Triumph TR2 as a rugged and reliable sports car.

This wonderful example of Triumph’s racing and development history has been recently painstakingly restored by her owner Geoff and Raceworks Motorsport Ltd. Now returned to her original signal red colour, complete with wheels that hide the brake discs away from any prying eyes of journalists in period. PKV 373 has already been seen in historic motorsport, inspiring crowds just as TRs did during the 1950s.

Triumph TR8 – NWK 988W

Factory development TR8

The Triumph TR8 is one of the rarest of all the Triumphs with only around 2,750 ever being made globally, with (discounting various prototypes) only around 18 destined for UK roads, with a further 4 development cars such as this one. It is fitted with the Rover 3.5 litre V8 and were mostly sold into the US and Canada.

This TR8 NWK 988W from Solihull was used as a development platform for both engine and suspension modifications at B L Motorsport, Abingdon. The purpose of this was to present alternative engine and chassis specifications for the future UK and European Sports Car Market.

The engineers that worked on the modifications to this car, Richard Hurdwell and Cliff Humphreys part of Tony Pond’s works rally team for 1980. This is the only road going TR8 ever worked on by the works team at Abingdon. Given the further development they made on the car (right up to not long before the car was sold at Measham in September 1981) it’s probably true to say the car is the most advanced for the future TR8 BL ever made.

Living for many years in Ireland, the car now resides back in the country of its birth.

Triumph TR5

A late addition to the line – up but a very welcome one. Jeff is located now in the Leicester Group area and it’s fair to say that he has been through the mill a bit with the restoration of this TR5, having needed to rescue it from a rogue trader part way through and start over again. However, it was worth it in the end, as the finished result is a stunning car in yellow, that was representing the Michelotti era of the Triumph TR story.

Triumph TR6

Throughout 2022, readers of TR Action Magazine, the only magazine dedicated to Triumph TRs, were treated to a serialised account of the restoration of this TR6 entitled “All that Glitters”. Its owner, Brian kept readers captivated by his various struggles and solutions to problems he encountered along the way, plus the many customisations he employed. We are sure you’ll agree that his efforts have created a rather lovely Triumph TR6.

TS2

Our car needs no introduction to readers of TR Action Magazine, after her epic 9,500-mile Round Britain Relay. The NEC Classic Motor Show marked the true end of that adventure, and she was displayed elevated above a mural of all the photos taken during the incredible trip and the names of all the local groups that hosted her. It’s safe to say that TS2 and her incredible story was one of the highlights of the NEC Classic Motor Show for many members of the attending public.