Ferrari Mailing List: Triumph

[Richard Lindsay (richardolindsay]

   Okay, my first post in 3-4 years, but while skimming through the most recent digest (Yes, I was awake and mildly avoiding 'spoilers', knowing full well there would be no F1 words here.) I saw Deep's comments about Triumph build quality.

   I own three Triumphs. A '62 TR3b, a '72 GT6 project car (soon to be discarded), and a '75 TR6. With any of these cars there are three things that Triumph owners know: Build quality, parts, and maintenance.

   Build quality: By the time my TR6 was built, Triumph was owned by British Leland - basically a nationalized conglomerate. And like most government run entities, no one gave a wet flip about product quality. Rather, union dues, beer and football jumpers were all that really mattered. 'Quality' should probably be written in quotes to avoid confusion with the meaning of the word quality.

   Parts: Triumphs from that era, like MGs, etc., could almost be called 'kit cars', if assembled professionally. Parts were sourced from vendor bins or in some cases, made to order. One might say that the cars were designed to fit the parts, not parts designed to fit the cars.

   Maintenance: British car owners today often recognize the difference between 'maintenance' and 'repairs'. Granted, Triumphs need an ample dose of both. In America, automobile owners seem to equate maintenance and repairs, sometimes lumping them together under the term 'service'.

   Maintenance is the process done to minimize repairs. Anyone who has read the Owner's Manual for a Triumph car will immediately recognize that 99 % of American car owners would NEVER spend their time maintaining a car according to that schedule. Rather, they would default to the American plan: Add oil and complain of poor quality, when the oil light comes on.

   My wife, bless her heart, typifies this model. To her, automobiles are arguably necessary, major appliances. As such, they should perform perfectly when needed then be out of sight when not - and discarded when they fail.

   Now back to whatever it was that The List is discussing. Oh, and I did check the Formula 1 app this morning. Results posted and stories told, all without sitting through two hours of TV.

Rick - with three crappy old Triumphs, an MG, a Lotus, and the least loved E-Type of all time