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50 years after UTU888


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Always said I would get another TR, TR2 1971-73 when I was a member and TR6 1975-1976. Finally done it, trouble is I can get down on the ground ok but getting up again is difficult! Still got a few AF spanners and sockets but confidence low on tackling jobs. Fortunately  the car is wonderful having been rebuilt by Neil Revington about 10 years and 5K miles ago; he very kindly discussed the car over the phone.

I brought the ex-police car back to its birthplace in Essex ( Southend on Sea )it puts a smile on every face!!

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If I remember well this exact car featured in the cover of a small booklet entitled 'Advanced Driving Explained' by an Inspector Jobson.

Tim

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I wonder if the police wore hats like that when they were in action.

Bit embarrassing if you were chasing a getaway Mk2 Jag and your hat blew off at 90 MPH.

I was once told that a policeman could not arrest you if he did not have his hat on, meaning that the copper would have to do a U-turn to retrieve his headgear by which time the robbers would be long gone.

 

Charlie.

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I used to own a Daimler SP250 Dart, which was ex Met-police still had the bell on the front bumper.   Best engine I've ever had in an old British car by a long way.  Didn't have it very long as I had other calls on my finances.  Last time I saw it was in 2015 when it went for £50k at the Brooklands auction. 

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4 hours ago, Colin Symonds said:

I used to own a Daimler SP250 Dart, which was ex Met-police still had the bell on the front bumper.   Best engine I've ever had in an old British car by a long way.  Didn't have it very long as I had other calls on my finances.  Last time I saw it was in 2015 when it went for £50k at the Brooklands auction. 

This was my SP250 before changing to my TR3a that I sprint,  didn’t fancy motorsport in the fibreglass SP would need a boat builder to repair it!!

 

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Is that actually Mountain Blue Hamish? When on holiday in Florida in September 1991 i spotted an SP250 for sale in the 'Custom Antique & Sportscar Trader'. It was a later 'C' spec car and, interestingly an ex UK car in RHD that had been brought over by a US serviceman in 1977 but never registered in the US. It came with its last UK tax disc and MOT cert from August 1977 showing 76579 miles (this reading hadn't changed in 14 years). The original colour had been Mountain Blue but at some stage ot had ben badly refinished in white. The chassis was in bad shape and the exhaust completely shot but the engine was free and hard/soft tops both present. No taxes were due and I bought the car on the spot and shipped it back intending to restore it. I had no problem getting a V5 with the original registration number.  I made intermittent progress but was working and available time was limited.  When I retired and we moved house in 2005 SWMBO put her foot down and insisted either the TR or SP250 had to go, she feared I would spend all  my time in the garage! This was no brainer, I would never part with the TR, a family heirloom, so I sold the Daimler. The buyer offered me a drive after the car was restored but I heard no more. I note that it is currently not taxed for road use but a new V5C was issued in January 2018 so maybe it will eventually put in an appearance.

Tim 

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sorry about the tread drift

 

its  Rover ocean blue code JRN

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I don't think the thread drift is too grave Hamish. After all the SP250 chassis and gearbox derived from the TR3 designs and I believe some suspension components were even shared. Not to mention some felicitous transplants of that wonderful V8 into TRs - remember John Hanna's racer?

Tim

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I once bought an old ambulance that I converted into a camper. It still had the blue light on top, but it had been wrapped in gaffer tape.
When I took it for an MOT the tester said that he was not able to test it because of the light. He went on and on that the only way that he could test it was if I took the light off completely.

I kept asking why he could not test it and he refused to give me a legal reason.
Eventually, after winding me up for several minutes, he told me it was impossible for him to test my vehicle with the light on top because it made the ambulance too high to get through his garage door.

I removed the light and it just fitted.

I did look at the regulations concerning blue lights and it said (fairly obviously) that they were illegal unless used on emergency vehicles. But it also went on to say that it was illegal to have fitted anything which resembles a blue light, whether working or not.
I always wondered what could “resemble” a blue light if it wasn’t actually a blue light.

Charlie

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Hi bought from Classicwise ( Newark ) it was sold at auction in Buxton in 2019 and I think the seller was the extremely high end  Dutch dealer - his showroom is more like a museum. He did a UTUBE video of it; I guess to help the sale.

Forgot how heavy steering is on a TR and need an appointment to brake - pulls like a steam train and sounds great. My wife complains it's smelly when put back in the garage after a run.

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