1966 Triumph TR4A

Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

CT54735L

Gasoline

This is a survivor 1966 TR4A straight axle - factory overdrive, with an interesting history. The car was reportedly purchased in 1966 at Capitol Sports Center in Jackson, Mississippi by a T. R. Fulton and financed at the local bank. Capitol Sports Center became a Triumph auto and motorcycle dealership that year and still sells Triumph motorcycles. Mr. Fulton drove the car for five years amassing 56,000 miles on the car. Unfortunately, he drove the car hard and bent a rod in the engine. In May of 1971, he sold the car to M. Roarke, the brother of a girl Mr. Fulton had dated. Mr. Roarke paid $350 for the car and spent $250 to rebuild the engine, head and transmission. Mr. Roarke was a meticulous record keeper and has supplied transfer records, receipts, years of registrations and even Mr. Fulton’s pay-off record at the local bank. In 1971, Mr. Roarke also purchased a set of Sears’ tires for $96 and a new driver’s door side-view mirror from Central Pontiac. Mr. Roarke drove the car off and on for about 30 years and then put the car into dry storage when the generator failed. I purchased the car from Mr. Roarke about nine months ago as a project. It was still wearing its Sears tires and the Pontiac mirror still adorned the driver’s door. Mr. Roarke confirmed that the 83,000 miles showing on the odometer was actual miles. He provided the above history with documentation to prove most of the story. Unfortunately, he had removed the overdrive unit during the transmission rebuild but supplied the unit and related hardware. The beauty of the car is that it still retains its original factory black paint, except the hood/bonnet and is generally rust free. The floors are all original and amazingly solid and the frame is completely rust-free. The only rust on the car is a few small holes on the passenger fender around the taillight, an odd 8 inch long line of rust on the passenger side rocker and a few pin holes on driver side rocker. However, even though the paint is original and shiny the car will need paint since it shows 45 years of odd scratches, dings and dents. Included with the car is a replacement hood and driver’s side rear fender, these are the two panels showing the most damage. While in my care I have completed the following work: Five new tires Sandblasted and painted the five original rims New Bullet side mirror New front shocks, topped up the rear shocks New rubber brake lines and front pads New brake master cylinder New clutch master cylinder New fuel pump New water pump Carbs professionally rebuilt and polished General maintenance, hoses, plugs, wires, filters, oil, etc. New seat and wheel arch covers New carpet New transmission tunnel covers New windscreen body seal and chrome trim New dash, plinth and crash pads New horns, solenoid and ground wire New starter switch, coil, distributer cap Lots of little things Spares/uninstalled parts that come with the car include (combined these items are worth around $1,500:) Replacement hood/bonnet in fair condition Replacement driver’s rear fender in good condition Original overdrive unit and related parts Extra fuel tank Top frame and older top Windshield wiper motor and related parts Tonneau cover in good condition New window trim, pads, weather-strip and pulls for the doors New stainless door thresholds Lots of other small stuff Now about the car; the car starts right up, idles, runs and drives well. It has excellent throttle response and acceleration. The oil pressure is 60-70 pounds at start-up and 30 pounds when warm, the compression is 158/140/150/158, all within spec. However, the car does need some sorting out. The new brakes need to be properly bled, the clutch works well but engages too low to the floor for my taste, and the carbs need to be professionally tuned. Also, Mr. Roarke installed a “custom dual exhaust” that is a little loud to my ear and I would replace with stock. I have driven the car around the neighborhood but I wouldn’t take it on the highway until the above items were done.I’m selling the car because I have too many projects and this one seems to be at a good stopping place. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me.