My seventeenth car – Triumph 2500 MK I
The year was, well it depends how you look at it, my Old Man purchased the body shell in 1989, but I inherited it in 2015. The shell was rough, (still is) it was a track car, both rear guards had taken hits, but the Old Man did not care about that. It sat in the back yard at Lane Cove for some time, nothing much happened, the Old Man was slowly buying parts. Then one Christmas holiday, I painted it, and things kicked on from there, by mid 1990 it was registered and back on the road. Its first event was a Super Sprint at Oran Park, it then went on to be the Old Man’s club car, motorsport, navigational rallies, car shows, surveying rally, it was used for everything. I painted it again after we moved to the central coast, a few new (second hand) engines, I think a gear box, I remember it blowing a head gasket at one point, but for the most part it was a bit of an old tank. I hate to think of the hours I have spent working on the poor old MK I over the last 37 years, it would amount to a lot.
Two years ago I rebuilt the motor and gear box and then embarked on a eight day road trip, which included, four days of the Tour of the Sunshine State, a re-enacting of the 1969 Southern Cross Rally. It is looking a bit tired these days, it needs painting again, but that is not going to happen, but the daggy look suits it, and it still attracts plenty of attention at car shows. It is a great car to work on, there are no bolts that you can’t get a spanner on, (unlike the Dolly) but working on cars is a thing of the past for me. So I will have to get someone else to work on it, now this car has had a lot of work done to it by me and everything you do to a car makes it harder to work on. It’s alright for me I know what needs to be done, but it will be a problem for your average mechanic. For example, the water pump has a slow leak, (car not being used enough), now the water pump is a very easy job on a 2500, but this car has electric fans and the bracket that holds the fan on, is in the way of removing the water pump. To get the fan off, you need to remove the sump guard, it’s all doable, just time consuming, and if I’m paying, that means expensive. But the big problem is that I just hate the idea of someone else working on the poor old thing.
I hope it will continue to be used for car club events while ever I am able, and my Old Man comes along with me to every event, his old akubra hat is on the back off the back seat, just coming along for the ride.
For more on this car, click on, break down stories, or links, then old motorsport, or MK I repairs. Tune in same duck time, same duck channel, for more adventures with cars.