1948 Triumph Other Roadster

1948 Triumph 1800  Roadster  A SIMPLE PHONE CALL CAN END THIS AUCTION 904-692-4626 Fully restored rare model! Mechanically sound and runs. drives and stops well. Previous owner rebuilt engine and transmission. This vehicle has the standard 4-speed transmission on the column and is fun to drive. Look at the trunk lid that opens to provide a windscreen for the rear passengers!  Paint is nearly new. Convertible top and upholstery are like new. Horns and trafficators (turn indicators) work well. All lights are operational Wood dash is in excellent condition Roll up windows and all glass are good Tires are as new. Very low miles on them Factory jack Recent brake work including wheel cylinders. rebuild of master cylinder etc Excellent oil pressure and the car runs at normal temperature.  The 1800 Roadster. model number 18TR. 1] was designed in the closing days of World War II. [5] Triumph had been bought by the Standard Motor Company in 1944. 5] and the managing director of Standard. Sir John Black. wanted a sports car to take on Jaguar. who had used Standard engines in the pre-war period. [5][6] Frank Callaby was selected to style the new car. After getting Black's approval for the general shape. Callaby worked with Arthur Ballard to design the details of the body. [7] Design of the rolling chassis was by Ray Turner. Walter Belgrove. who had styled the pre-war Triumphs and was employed as Chief Body Engineer. had no part in the design. [4] Early post-war steel shortages meant that the body was built from aluminium. using rubber press tools that had been used making panels[7] for the largely wooden bodied Mosquito bomber that had been built by Standard during the war. [citation needed] The frame was hand welded up from steel tube. [4] The engine was a version of Standard's 1. 5-litre. four-cylinder side-valve design that had been converted to overhead valves by Harry Weslake and built by Standard exclusively for SS-Jaguar before World War II. [8] The Triumph version differed from the Jaguar version in having a 6. 7:1 compression ratio instead of the Jaguar's 7. 6:1 and a downdraught Solex carburettor instead of the Jaguar's side-draught SU. [4] A four-speed gearbox[4] with synchromesh on the top three ratios was used. [9] The tubular steel chassis was a short-wheelbase version of the 1800 saloon. featuring transverse leaf sprung independent suspension at the front and a live axle with semi-elliptic springs at the rear. [4] The rear track was wider than the front by some 4 inches. Brakes were hydraulic. The body design was anachronistic. A journalist old enough to remember the pre-war Dolomite Roadster that had inspired the car felt that the elegant proportions of the earlier model had been abandoned in favour of a committee-based compromise. "a plump Christmas turkey to set against that dainty peacock . [more] Toadster [than Roadster]". [3] The front had large separate headlamps and the radiator was well back from the front between large "coal scuttle" wings. Passenger accommodation was on a bench seat that was claimed to seat three: the car's 64 inch width helped make a reality of the three-abreast seating. and the approach meant a column gear change was required. The car's unusual width also made it necessary to fit three screen wipers in a row. an example followed by early shallow windscreen Jaguar E Types. [3] Additional room for two was provided at the rear in a dickey seat with its own folding windscreen: this was outside the hood that could be erected to cover the front seat. [7] Entry and exit to the dickey seat was never easy and a step was provided on the rear bumper. [10] The Roadster was the last production car with a dickey seat. [1][7][10]   The only significant update in the Roadster's production came in September 1948 for the 1949 models. when the 2088 cc Vanguard engine. transmission. and rear axle were fitted. [2][11] A retrograde step was the fitting of a three-speed gearbox even though it now had synchromesh on bottom gear. [12] Apart from minor modifications to the mounting points. the chassis. suspension and steering were unaltered. [citation needed] This later version of the Roadster was given the model designation TRA. [1] On test the changes resulted in the top speed increasing marginally to 77 mph (124 km/h) but the 0-60 mph time was much better at 27. 9 seconds. [citation needed] The car was never made in large numbers and was mainly hand built. 2501 examples of the 1800[1] and 2000 of the larger-engined version were made. [1][2] Production ended in October 1949. [2] Today. surviving examples are keenly sought and change hands for high prices.

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