For The Love Of A TR

Rob Bradford made some crucial decisions when carrying out a lengthy home restoration of his TR3, and they ensured that his love affair with the sporting Triumph endured rather than faded away.

- Rob Bradford

I sometimes wonder where or when the embers are ignited which flare into a full blown affair with Triumphs. In my case I recall exactly the event which would lead to said embers flaring up some 20 years later. I was schooling as a 12 year old in the UK from our home in Africa, so an invitation taking me out of boarding school for a Sunday lunch was too good to pass up. An older brother of my host turned up in a bright yellow TR2 or 3 – I am not sure which, but for me it must have been impressive as I spent most of the day washing and polishing it. As a reward I was given an old, small transistor radio with a big round dial in a leather case.

Fast forward 20 years, through resettlement in Australia and the restoration of an MGA for my wife as her daily driver, and one day she announced that she had bought a Triumph in need of restoration for me from a work mate for $1000. There was no turning back, so I hired a trailer and, with the help of a couple of mates, brought it home. The term ‘in need of restoration’ means many things to many people, but dreamers are made of stern stuff and rarely daunted by the prospect of projects that would have more hard-headed people running a mile. This particular dream lasted for 20 years as priorities like kids and mortgages left the car languishing, waiting for me to find the inspiration, time and money to get serious.

Having been a member of the local TR Register all along, I was persuaded to host a nog and natter afternoon, so hauled the TR out and spread all the bits around. The encouragement and enthusiasm at that event launched me/us into the beginning of the five years it took to get on the road, that despite the previous owner selling a car that had ‘received extensive work and just needed finishing off.’ You know, sometimes people make genuine mistakes, sometimes they tell little fibs and sometimes they outright lie!