TS1LO restoration complete -- snapshots at Macy's Garage 7 Aug 2015

[Don H.]

TS1LO is going to VTR2015 at Geneva, Wisconsin next week and then on to a private collection in Utah.

 

I had a chance to look at the completed restoration at Macy's Garage in Tipp City, Ohio the other day, and thought some of us here might like a look. Not the best photos in the world, so apologies in advance for not returning the camera to "normal" settings after I'd been using it for artistic work the day before.

 

A slideshow of almost forty photographs HERE, for PC users (won't work on most iDevices):

 

A few of the images:

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Macy and his crew seem to be keeping pretty busy.

[Fireman049]

Magnificent, Don ~

 

Many thanks for the photo's.

I'll have to get a move on with my 3A!!!

 

Cheers ~

Tom.

[foster461]

Thanks for the pictures Don, the old girl looks good and a credit to Mark.

[Bobbie]

Great photos, and interesting under bonnet shot......

My early long door TR2, Ts1067 has the double thermostat housing, but just a plain plate on top, with the radiator cap on the elongated neck of the radiator.

I've not seen another with the cap mounted on the thermostat housing top plate, when did they change?

Does this mean the early radiators had no upper access for filling etc?

 

Bob.

[EdwinTiben]

It looks magnificent!! Havent seen iT before restoration but this is perfection.

 

Absolutely not in the position to have critics, but should there be a hickup in the line of elbow cappind and door capping?

[Guest]

I was not aware that the inside under the bonnet was black! You learn something new every day.

 

Menno

[preston]

Great pictures of a great car, Don thank you. Mark is also an asset to the Triumph community, You can call and talk directly to him about any questions you may have.

[Don H.]

Dave Larnder -- to answer your question posed in another thread, yes, early cars used a push-pull switch for overdrive actuation rather than the drum-style toggle switch used in later production.

Edited August 9, 2015 by Don H.

[Guest]

Dave Larnder -- to answer your question posed in another thread, yes, early cars used a push-pull switch for overdrive actuation rather than the drum-style toggle switch used in later production.

And then there's a bunch of TR2s built in Belgium that have a lever between the seats. The OD is actuated by pulling (or pushing?) the lever. I've only seen this once in a Dutch car. I forgot to take a pic of it... Perhaps someone else can share this with us.

 

Menno

Edited August 9, 2015 by Menno van Rij 2

[vivdownunder]

Attempt to answer some of the questions -

 

Something like the first 6 cars had the radiator cap on the thermostat, then moved when necks were added to the radiators. Double thermostat housings were replaced at TS1201.

 

TS1LO was a hand made pre production car, perhaps explaining why the engine bay differs in black. It also has differently placed commission and body plates. Early cars had those oval door pockets.

 

Some Belgian Imperia assembled TR2s (recognised by N added to commission plate) had overdrives operated manually via a 2nd lever and cable. This allowed O/D on all forward gears instead of just top gear, despite early overdrives being considered inadequate to handle the lower gears. Stronger solenoid operated 2nd, 3rd, top overdrives became available circa TS6266.

 

Viv

[TomMull]

I was not aware that the inside under the bonnet was black! You learn something new every day.

 

Menno

Do we know that it was black originally? If so, were others doe black also? Lots of later cars were made black at restoration, or at least that was my assumption, with some sort of black thickish engine bay paint.

Tom

[hpremote]

Defo black inner wings when I saw it at IWE some years ago (in the company of TS2).

The previous owner knew the history of his car well, having dismantled it and recorded meticulously, the many variations from standard (ie. later) early production 2s. And he was happy to explain everything at length to nerds such as me.

I think his name might be Tom. Anyway he'd produced a fascinating booklet about the car and noted inside, many of the interesting variables. I've got my copy somewhere...

Which leads me to the front valance escutcheon: I believe this was (like MVC 575's) a bodged-up Standard 8 medallion. Looking at the present one, I do hope that the original has not been lost/skipped/nicked &c.

 

Tim.

[Don H.]

...The previous owner knew the history of his car well, having dismantled it and recorded meticulously, the many variations from standard (ie. later) early production 2s. And he was happy to explain everything at length to nerds such as me.

I think his name might be Tom....

 

Joe Richards of Lancaster Ohio (one of the founders of the Triumph Register of America) rescued and completed the first restoration of TS1 and accompanied it to the UK. Don't kid yourself though about what was there to begin -- that car was a basket case before restoration. Massive corrosion of everything below the gunwales. I recall seeing it in his garage circa 1980-1981 and it was literally a pile of rusty parts.

 

He saved the car, and full credit for that.

 

It's now been treated to a first-class restoration. The early cars were different in many respects, and the first few handbuilt cars different in even more ways. There are those who know the very early-early TR2s better than I, and I'll let them comment on what TS1LO was like when built.

[vivdownunder]

When photographed near new in 1953, TS1LO had the same apron badge as other TR2s, although early badges were Standard 8 derived.

 

The very different apron badge on MVC575 is the same as seen on the 20TS prototype. To expedite preparations for the Jabbeke run, it's thought a 20TS apron complete with its unique badge was recycled onto MVC575.

 

This is how that badge looked - (artwork is copyright)

[EdwinTiben]

Very interesting badge!

Was there Some kind of corporate indentity from where this was based upon?

[Don H.]

The head badge from the bobtail TS20 prototype is shown in photographs available from the Revs Digital Library at the Revs Institute for Automotive Research / Stanford University Libraries. It's the same badge as in Viv's artwork (as close as one can tell). Viv's hypothesis that the bobtail badge was recycled onto MVC575 is highly likely.

 

Here's the bobtail TS20 at the 1953 Brussels Motor Show:

https://revslib.stanford.edu/item/rt271cs8427

 

Use the on-screen options for zooming, expanding, and enlarging to get a close look -- if it's the first time one has used Revs images it may take a second or two to figure out the workflow. The copyright and licensing restrictions/costs prevent one from hotlinking or downloading the actual images, but reviewing them this way is perfectly OK.

[hpremote]

Yep - of course, Don - Joe Richards. A friendly, enthusiastic chap. The work he did on TS 1LO was high quality, from what I could gauge, poring over the car and grovelling underneath!

Now, more anorak stuff:

I've got Joe's booklet in front of me. It contains quite a few snaps of parts peculiar to the car (and quite possibly to TS2 as well, perhaps?).

 

Eg. the smaller, squarer rear overriders, the 'wire' battery securing lugs, bigger, wider and more rounded stone guards, shorter fan hub extension - and a few more details besides.

Useful to have the pic of MVC 575's bonnet escutcheon, Viv - and to know that it was probably liberated from, or on, a spare 20TS apron. I'd not seen that detail before - nor the colouring and 'stars & stripes' motif.

 

In the case of TS 1LO, Joe describes the badge as being 'slightly larger and heavier', and he provides three pics and a drawing.

He goes on to explain that to learn a little more of its lineage, you look at the rear of the badge; it is clearly fashioned from a Standard 8 badge pieced together and re-enamelled on the front side with the usual lettering/numbering of the TR2 escutcheon with which we are familiar.

His photos of the rear of the badge show quite clearly a large '8' at the top and 'Standard' (stamped backwards) at bottom.

So, 'Standard' at back, 'Triumph' on the front!

The black and red field colours on the badge front are, however, reversed in the 'open book' area.

Lastly, he says, the area with the word 'Triumph' is not enamelled with a red background. The admittedly slightly grainy photos appear to bear out what he describes, fairly clearly.

 

Hope this is of interest.

Tim.

[vivdownunder]

Unusual thing about the 20TS/MVC575 apron badge - the globe was a different perspective to that used on the hubcaps.

 

Here's Ken Richardson in MVC575 with the badge - said to be on a secret test at M.I.R.A Lindley before the spats were fitted. Later, for the first Jabbeke runs, the front bumper came off, metal cockpit cover and single aeroscreen went on.

 

I've been told the badge is still with the remains of MVC575 in London.

 

Viv

Edited August 14, 2015 by vivdownunder