A few people have asked me how they can support the channel and the work I do on here, I don’t have memberships or a Patreon or any donation buttons etc but I have thought I do drink a lot of coffee during the week researching these videos.. so I’ve decided to create a buy me a coffee page where you can send a small amount to keep me caffeinated during my research! Linked here: www.buymeacoffee.com/tomisdriving

I owned a Herald, paid £10 for it in 1981. A friend had a 2-5 PI with an uprated engine. It was super fast and blew 6 gearboxes in 6 weeks. He couldn't find a new one so we built a new one from the 6 old ones.

My Triumph memory is Tony Pond on the Manx Rally 78 I think - there was a long flat out stretch on to a kink left over a hump bridge. All my dad's friends were discussing where Tony would lift off before the bridge - Well the TR7 V8 came down the road flat out in 5th - Tony never lifted at all and the TR7 went airborne with the 3.5 screaming for a second - how he managed to go round the kink only he knows ! Every other driver John Taylor Per Eklund and Jimmy McRae all lifted off - I can still hear that V8 and smell the clutch - We were all in awe. RIP Tony, taken too soon

There are two Ferguson stags and a very interseting artical about driving in the French Alps up an alpine pass. In the day you were only alowed if you had chains on the wheels and the police could not understand how this sports car could clime the mountain ! Their was also a four wheel drive 1300 built for rallycross and a four wheeldrive triumph utility vehicle called a Poney. There was also a 1300 estate that the triumph factory built i have seen it on the road in the south of england several years ago. Keep up the good work plenty more triump specials to find.

I really love your enthusiasm for classic brit motors, im pleased a younger guy knows and yet alone loves these cool old cars. I got hooked on Triumphs because our neighbor owned a mustard yellow GT-6. Only got to drive it once before tinworm took its toll. Great vids, keep up the amazing work.

Many moons ago, first in Tassie then moved to NSW, I had a 1969(?) Mk1 2.5PI MD, only 4spd no overdrive. By time i got the car the fuel injection had been removed and it was running on 1 3/4 SUs, very poorly, so I put a set of rebuilt and properly set up 150CDs, what an improvement, from about 21- 23 mpg to 28- 34 mpg and an absolute joy to drive, had extractors, tubular exhaust to you Englishmen, the exhaust note on twisty, undulating roads, 30- 70 mph taken at full noise still makes my hair stand up when reminiscing. Car went to god too early when I was run off the road by some muppet in Central West NSW. Only had her for 5 years and a out 40 000 miles, 30 years ago and still miss Trumpy. Take care out there everyone.

The Panther Lima wasn’t their first car, the J72 was, followed by the De Ville in 74. The Lima didn’t come along until ‘76

Great job! My first car purchased in 1986 was a $1300 '73 GT6 Mk III, not the year of manufacture that a savvy buyer would choose but for me it was great. As I turned 16 here in WA state, USA, I sold my '80 Honda CR 80 and my cow which got me most of the way to the $1300 that started my life long love affair with European cars. That GT6 was a perfect first car for me. I really enjoyed working on weekends and in the summertime to put together my next $50 or $100 that I would spend often times through "Victoria British" to buy a new black vinyl cover for the E-brake, some new door cards or perhaps getting the rear vents chromed. It was so rewarding and fun to watch my little baby getting back in proper condition and eventually with a paint job and some affordable performance modifications it turned into a real head turner. I miss that car but at least in my 50s I know have an Alfa, Maserati, TVR 2500M and a Jaguar daily driver.😊 Thanks for all the super interesting info on rare versions of Triumph models. Does anybody know of any special GT6s?

My brother had a nice Stag here in Australia. There was a business that swapped in the 4.4L aluminium V8 crate motor that were not used in the cancelled Leyland P76. They put out only 143kw and 380nm but were smooth and responsive.

My dad had a petrol blue 1969 triumph 2500 mk1. Truly beautiful car. He sold it and a couple weeks later we got a knock on the door as it was used in an armed robbery (early 80’s) the v5 hadn’t been changed so was still registered at our address

Triumph cars were mostly my familys choice of transport growing up. My late father had 3 of the big saloons. They made such an impression on me when I was old enough I brought a 2.5pi on an L plate (1973) such a quick car, I remember tailgating a Ford Capri 2.8 injection on the M5 for a good 10 miles. The Capri driver couldn't lose me!

Great video, again. Your research is second to none. So cool too hear about all these concepts and versions I have never ever heard of.

You're right about the platform share of the Herald: not only did it spawn the Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 which you mention, it also underpinned the entire Bond Equipe range and then, later, a whole welter of kit cars built on the Triumph chassis frame. Further to that, so good was the entire Herald front suspension and steering arrangement, that it also found its way into a wide variety of respected low volume and competition cars.

I worked for Triumph in the 70s , I still have my Dolomite as a daily driver, went shopping this morning despite some snow. Very usable classic cars as luckily the prices have not gone stupid like the Fords, meaning they pretty much live as garage queens,.

It was good to hear Wood and Pickett mentioned, my God father worked for W&P until his retirement in the late 70s. The majority of his work was Mini dash conversions as well as modifications to all makes of luxury cars.

I love the front end Michelotti makeover of these Triumphs. It still looks very modern today. As a youngster (80's) I designed what I considered what an update to the Dolomite would be. I was surprised to see what I drew materialised as the Rover R8 (a decade later) albeit without the four headlamp Dolomite-esque front end that I gave it!

In the 2970s, there were a number of cars that got the Ferguson treatment on a limited volume basis, many for police use. The Triumph 2.5 PI and Ford Zephyr Mk4 figuring large.

I filmed an interview with a Panther Rio owner at the Lancaster classic car show last year. He was told me that apparently there is an unregistered/unused Rio in Saudi Arabia which was sold to one of the royal families in a package deal with (I think) a six wheeler panther. I believe he’s tried to buy it on the number of occasions , but they won’t sell!

Hello Tom, very interesting video! If I'm not mistaken, there was also a one-off triumph Vitesse coupé, based on the herald coupé body, made for a french nobleman and a few vitesses estates, again based on the herald estate body with the vitesse front hood. Other quite rare triumph are the ones assebled in Italy by Ducati Meccanica (motorbike manufacter) in the early sixsties. I should also mention that the triumph/jaguar/rover italian importer in the seventies, called Bepi Koelliker, asked BL to produce a series of cars in special metallic colours, specifically selected for the italian market: around one hundrer spitfires 1500 were paited directly at BL factory and delivered new in Italy with special paint. Some dolomite sprint were repainted by the importer directly in Italy, before being sold. This was especially important for factory yellow cars: in Italy at the time taxicab were all yellow and no one wanted a yellow saloon that looked like a taxicab! For example I currently own a dolomite sprint painted in dark grey metallic, I have trace of other 3 or 4 dolomites painted in the same colour, all sold new in Italy. I can send you some photos if you are interested. Greetings from Italy, Gabriele

Really very interesting. Triumph really were a great brand with some lovely cars - gradually ground down by BL and not helped by either below-par management and an awkward workforce. Some interesting cars there in your upload that are not widely known. I think I would have dropped in a Grinnall TR8 too, but that's not a criticsm. Great work mate!

I drove a Triumph Herald once, it belonged to one of my Dad's friends. The steering felt really weird, almost as though the steering wheel had a one to one connection with the turning of the wheels. I also remember that the Triumph Owners Club's sniffy reaction to the TR7 was to issue advice to members wanting to convert their TR6 into a TR7 that they could weld on a roof and disconnect two spark plugs.

Great that you are so enthusiastic for the brand ie bl/austin/rover etc etc and always interesting to watch your well researched video's. Your quite correct the Rio was based on the Dolomite. Panther Westwind made some lovely cars in particular the de ville. The J72 was their first car i believe and was meant to be based on a Jaguar SS i think. Its such a shame that people see a Panther and don't know what they are and think they are a kit car. The Rio, there was one at the classic car show last November. I didn't see it but i saw a great video about it. it was you tube channel lot 76 cars? i think. If you have not seen it it well worth watching. TrZ i remember it well, don't think i have ever seen it in the flesh but i did own the pen. I remember the Avon acclaim and reading about its release( in Autocar i think). It was the Acclaim to have and very well appointed. The Wood and picket Dolomite as you correctly say it was sold through Mathewsons -bangers and cash .I wasn't aware of this vehicle until it came up for sale the first time. It came up again i believe at Mathewsons about a year later. It was the Tahiti Blue and gold. As you say its a special little car i would have loved to have owned it. i have always loved Stag's and it was only recently that i became aware of the Stag Estate by del lines. Very well done Tom, its not easy bringing it all together and takes a lot of time to do.

I was born in 79 so sadly I don’t really remember much of these,but I found it very very interesting indeed,cheers fella 👍😉💪

Hi Tom I came across your channel late last year and since your vids on the SD1’s I am hooked!!! Sincerely wish you the best for you and your channel in 2024

Hi Tom and Thanks for your hard work putting this video together. I’ve learned some triumph history today. I bought my brown 1972 triumph 2.5PI from a friend back in 1977 for £750.00 reg BOK777K sold it 1981.what a car I believe it had the Lucas injection rebuilt while on warranty and I ended up with a relatively reliable PI I’m now 68

If you’re interested in other video ideas on Triumph I think you would do a top job featuring all of the iterations and editions of the TR7. All of the mechanical upgrades and livery changes made from 1975 through 1982 as well as the motivation behind the various editions are fairly accessible. All of that information made into one comprehensive video would be a lovely addition to the channel. Brilliant work mate.

Absolutely agree, a pioneer of modern sports saloons seldom mentioned alongside BMW and Alfa. A push for more triumph content online would be a great thing to work at.

The AWD Triumph 2500 estate is classy.

You really put a lot of work into these videos and it shows. It is riveting stuff for me as another lifelong Triumph fan. My 1st Triumph was a full sized new bicycle for my birthday in 1967. Thanks.

BMW own triumph didn't know that, v good vid tom

Both 4WD Stags still exist and are on the road as is the 2nd 4WD 2.5 estate which is right hand drive and in the UK.

I was lucky enough to own a Mk2 estate for a number of years and I'm still looking for something that can replace it..Beautiful to look at and beautiful to drive, and it was a damn-good workhorse to boot. For those unaware, this was the same car as the 4x4 in the video but with the standard Triumph drivetrain and a plain white colour scheme. It had legs as well. This was back in the early days of the hot-hatch craze and the Triumph was 14yrs old when I got it. I remember being passed by a shiny new XR3i on the M27 while I was driving in the high 90s (mph). So I caught him up and passed him. I wonder what the poor guy thought about his shiny hot-hatch felt about being taken by a beat up old estate car. It's only letdown was it's thirstiness, but back then an average of 20mpg wasn't bad for a 2.5ltr automatic estate. I've driven many cars since including the much more modern BMW 325 estate, but even that couldn't match it for feel. I miss my 'BlunderBus' as it was affectionately called.

Had a 1977 2000TC, lovely car to drive, three speed Borg-Warner gearbox, with a towbar. It would pull anything I put behind it, I got over seventy out of it, pulling a twin axle car trailer with a MK4 Cortina Estate full of parts... happy days..

Funny too, my daily driver has Triumph parts a lot as standard, the steering column, front seats, brakes, wheels, interior parts from the Lucas parts bin... its not a Triumph nor is it a Bond but a MK2 Reliant 3 wheel van, when BL stopped making the Herald variants and had sold most of its tooling to the Indians, Reliant bought the tooling for the wheels, steering and a couple other bits to be seen on the brand new Robin whilst other Triumph parts appeared on the Scimitar like the cake wedge light display from the rortier Triumphs.

Excellent documentary with so some much rare information. Need to watch it a few times! 🙏. In the family we had a 1966 triumph 2000 estate, a 1966 triumph spitfire, a 68 spitfire and lastly a triumph Dolomite,1850HL. All wonderful cars, especially our new 1966 Estate.

The black Stag looks good The TR7 estate thing 😱

another awesome vid tom

Very good mate loved it

Triumph are most commonly known for their 2 seat sports cars but their saloon line up was so on the ball, especially during the 70's. I grew up around a lot of Dolomites, Heralds and 2000's and when I see BMW's model line up today I see a mirror reflection. By that I mean tye saloons ranged from economical base specs to sporty top specs all while functioning as 4 door saloons with spacious boot. At this stage, I've owned a few myself and they are extremely well built and great fun to drive. Great watch and keep em coming 👌

I saw a feature on the Tickford Stag in Sports Car And Classic years ago. From memory the engine had some gas flowing done and larger valves were fitted. The inlet manifold was modified to fit a 4 barrel Holley carb and Edelbrock wire mesh air filter. "Lumpy" cams were fitted but after the owner (who was in fact an extremely well-heeled student) complained that it was almost undriveable in traffic they were replaced by standard cams. Hope that's been of some help and thanks for your very interesting posts!

Really great series of vids these mate 👍

Memories of Triumphs are my dad buying a stag in around 1989/90, the engine blowing up on the m62 near the farm in the middle of the motorway, my dad rebuilding it in old mill that was used as garages and him starting the engine with a a 12 year old or so me leaning against the wing, indoors with no exhausts fitted and me running from the garage.

Great channel. Really interesting about Triumph cars too.

Great video, keep up the good work.

Really enjoying your content looking forward to more. An early memory sitting on the front wheel with my eldest brother sitting on the opposite, maintaining his Triumph Herald.

Great job! My first experience of driving a sporty car was in a Triumph Vitesse that was owned by a friend’s dad. It was just fabulous to drive. I’d love to see a video about the Herald and Vitesse. Very best wishes, Adrian

Definitely need more triumph videos. Well said young man. Great video.

Great video 👍🏼

The slighty extended wheelbase as used on TR8 works rally cars was perfect - got rid of it's spinning twitchy tendancies. Compare it's side profile to see.

Great video Tom, thanks! I had five Triumphs in a row, Vitesse 1600 soft top, Vitesse 2 Litre Mk II with overdrive ( non overdrive Vitesse Mk II cars could over rev. in top gear), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pale blue), Triumph 2000 Estate Mk II (pimento red) and finally a Triumph 2500S estate (in sienna brown). Then emigrated to Australia in 1982. Triumph had a very extensive range of cars with a 1300, 1500, Dolomite 1850, Triumph 2000, Triumph 2500S, Spitfire, GT6, TR6 and Stag. I think the Leyland management saw them as a threat to Austin Morris and Rover and killed them off. I believe a number of Triumph Engineers then left to work for BMW in Germany and a more enlightened management. Years later I bought a BMW E39 Touring and later found that the back end was styled by Michelotti, who also styled the Triumph 2000/2500S and often wondered if that drew me to the E39 Touring.

Good video, really enjoyed it.

I live in Coventry not far from where the Canley plant was. We had a neighbour who was a triumph tester he showed us many of the cars he tested but nothing like those in the video just standard off the track cars. So thank you for all the research and information you've given us here. Great stuff.

New subscriber here, enjoying the videos, very well presented. Over the years, I have owned four Triumphs. A spitfire, a 2.5PI mk 2, a Dolomite 1850HL and a 2L Vitesse. Out of the four cars, I would dearly love two of them back, namely the Vitesse and the 2.5PI. The PI was white, with black vinyl roof, reg no PDB 807H. According to the DVLA, it ran out of tax in 1983. I doubt it has survived all these years. It's refreshing to see a young lad (hope you won't mind me referring to you as such) taking such a keen interest in these older cars. Keep up the good work!

Great job

That black Tickford Stag is gorgeous.

Saw a Panther Rio parked up on Topping Street in Blackpool about ten years ago , an older couple drove of in it after shopping

Well done on the research for this. Yes, Triumph had many good ideas and a real chance to go where BMW were going. Sadly, they completely ignored manufacturing quality - warranty costs on the Herald nearly killed the company, and it carried on like that... the Stag was a disaster mainly because of engine flaws, the Dolly Sprint was clever but fragile, and the TR7's build quality was famously awful. It's very sad.

Good video, thanks. During the early 70s, I had a 2000 Mk1 estate with overdrive on 3 and 4. I could not afford the Mk2 at the time but drove the 2.5 PI a lot around Essex on Traffic Patrol. It was a brilliant car in its day. Main competition with the public then was the good looking P6 Rover 2000 and 2000TC; later the V8 3500. Over the next few years I had a reliable Dolomite 1500HL and the 1850 Dolomite which had engine problems which are well documented elsewhere. The BMW 5 Series looked similar and was good to drive but I could not afford one although I have had E36 and E46 estate touring models for the last 20years. I have fond memories of the Dolomite and 2.5 PI . I am now aged 77. I am sure the BMW look, with the twin headlamps to this day was partly inspired by Triumph. BMW build quality is better but I loved my Triumphs.

thank you,very interesting

i had a triumph 2000 mk 2 in 1978 best car i ever had.

Great video, really enjoyed it, what about TR8?

Very interesting content 👍. Subscribed 🙂

Am stoked how the 'Rolls inspired' Panther Rio from the front at least looks uncannily like a Rolls that was launched 5 years later...

I remember Tickfort in the 80’s doing Aston Martin’s and Ford Capri’s , who back then were also oldfashioned cars..

i knew a guy who worked on stags at a dealership,when he left the job he set up his own garage rebuilding stag engines ,he did alot of mods rebored all the water and oil inlets, filled in the head bolt locations and added 2 more bolt head holes better cam belts ,his builds were a much stronger and good stag v8

Thanks for your interesting video. Would be good to see you tell us more about the so-called Stag estate, i.e. the conversion of the 2500 estate with the Stag engine.

Hi Tom, great video. I worked on a Panther Rio early 80's during my time at Lenham Motors (Kent). It was dark blue metallic, black vinyl and was quite striking. I seem to remember the external body panels were ali. From memory the reg was HRH5, or thereabouts, as we joked it could have belonged to Prince Charles! We also purchased one of the 1st TR7 convertibles into the UK from Belgium (LHD), in order to take moulds and produce hardtops, ready for tte UK launch, of which we sold many! Came across many odd balls during that time, XK 150 estate, MGB dressed in ali as Ferrari 250 looky like, Ogle (Mini), prototype Midget, Tickford Metro, Park Ward Cooper. Happy days! Cheers, Martin.

Fascinating...........thank you Tom My step Auntie has a Triumph TR5

There was and i think still is a panther rio floating about here in northern ireland, i remember it used to sit in the square of the local village on a Saturday i have pictures of it here on the computer, it also has attended a few classic car shows.

Perfect example of a big Triumph 2.5pi in Saffron Yellow. I hope the stainless steel sill trims eventually corrected and put on the right way round!

My father purchased one of the first Stags. We wen on holiday to Spain, driving through France and down into Spain. Wherever we went the Stag generated lots of admiration from on lookers. This was a manual gearbox car as I recall. We did have some issues with overheating that sorted out. Later dad bought on of the late automatics. Again it attracted admiration, especially as I was allowed to drive the car, despite being relatively young. Insurance costs were relatively low back then. Mum had a Herald and a Spitfire. I went one better and had two GT6s: both Mk IIIs. Alas my red GT6 caught fire. However, before its charring I did go on many epic drives across France, Italy and Switzerland. It was a fabulous car.

Lovely video - thanks for all the research. I think Ferguson produced a 4 wheel drive Ford Mustang (69 model), so the 2500 might not have been their first time converting a production car. Thanks once again. Always look forward to your videos.

It is shame Triumph was lost because I love every single Triumph ever made even the eighties acclaim great video again absolutely love your channel look forward to following the straight six project.Also try and track down that Woodford and Pickett Dolly because it's my favorite car of all time.Also love Triumph vittesses as well .

Lucas also built at least 2 T2000 test mules / demonstrators, with a lot of state of the art tech - full engine management, radar controlled cruise control , ABS etc. - There is a James Burke clip on YT and pictures of one in an I Mech E Paper from a talk by the then Chairman of the institute who had lead the development of these test cars .

I had a mk2 2000 and bloody loved it

The Rio looks like a Hillman Hunter Vanden Plas.

Interesting I depth video about the Triumph car brand , l took my driving test in a Triumph Acclaim , they were good cars on the whole 👍

Hey Tom I mind seen a dolomite sprint tickford at mathewsons auction it was a blue one with gold stripes along the side it went to a collector in orkney I believe.

Very gud vid 💯💥

Very interesting. I have owned a Trumph Herald estate which I loved until it failed its MOT with wood rot. Apparently the rear part of th frame under the estate bit had rotted and the previous owner had hammered a piece of 2x4 into it and painted over with underseal. Great car though. My wife also owned a Herald saloon before we got married. My favorite Triumph was a Dolomite 1850HL in powder blue. An astonishingly comfortable car with a nice, ribbed nylon interior. It was also an automatic. Performance was quite good. I did have one problem when it would lose power during an overtaking maneuver. After a lot of investigation I discovered that the rubber tube between the two carbs (Strombergs I think) had rotted inside creating a rubber valve that shut under high fuel pressure. Happy days. I deeply regret not driving the stag as well as the Dolly Sprint.

Love the Tracer!!!

The Triumph going into the KDF Swastika truck is quite amusing.

I loved the time Tony Pond took a,1989 manual red rover vittess 2.7 honda v6 i think ,round the 37 & three quarters mile isle of mann TT Circuit at an average speed of 100.01 mph, i think the superbikes were doing it slightly below 120 mph ,what a driver

Hi I rescued a 1996 Ford Mondeo estate ghia X 2.5 v6 had been sat for 11 years in a garage and was heading to the scrap yard until I stepped in to rescue it. I get some Stick for rescuing it and showing it at a local classic car club.

It does make me wonder why BMW continue to own the dormant marque. I'm a Triumph guy. My father owned a Spitfire Mk3 when he met my mother in the late 1960s. The Spit was traded for a signal red GT6 Mk3 on 1971. My first ever car journey was in a carry cot in the boot of the GT6. After it was swapped for an Avenger then a tatty grey Mk2 Mini (one of my first memories of our family cars), we had a dark blue (possibly Delft blue) Toledo in the mid 1970s. I think around 1979 we got a Carmine red 1500TC on a N reg. That was chopped in for a brand new VW Golf CL in Monaco blue in February 1982. Wind the clock forward to the autumn of 1996 and I bought a 1973 GT6 Mk3 in Emerald green. I was only the 4th owner I think and the car was built exactly 2 weeks before I was born. I sold it in 2002. It was exported to the USA some years ago. Around the same time, my parents relived the GT6 experience by getting a 1973 GT6 Mk3 in Mimosa yellow. Sadly that one appears to have been SORNed for several years. My paternal grandfather also owned a white Triumph Toledo, with red interior, from new in 1971/72 on a K plate until the late 80"s/early 90's when he changed it for a Vauxhall Chevette.

Great video, really enjoyed hearing about the concept cars. If only BL had been run like Toyota it would have been a world beater.

My father drove and raced tr-2s and tr-3s. He told me that the "wet sleeved tractor engine" was a marvel of engineering. I believed he used 4" sleeves with 327 chevrolet pistons and connecting rods. I remember him tuning the side draft Weber IDF carburetors and cornering on 2 wheels.

@6.55 Panther Rio , never knew it was a Triumph!!!! I seen one at the Manchester Classic car show ......years ago

I saw a few other FF car conversions. Best example was the BRIXMIS Opel Senator. Interesting history.

Beaulieu motor museum had loads of info on Triumph about 25 yrs ago. This was in their library

We done a nut and bolt rebuild on a stag. I dislike it but it looks good and gets all the attention at the car shows. People literally walk passed the 944 (nut and bolt rebuild to) to look at the stag

Back in the early 70s my father worked at BLNetherlands and I collected any car brochure I could get hold of. Including one of the Panther Rio. Somehow BLN was interested in the Rio, so my father took the brochure to work with him for a few days. I have no idea if they seriously considered importing the Rio as part of their range but nothing came of it anyway and after a few days I got my Rio brochure back.

I've wanted a Triumph Stag for 50 years and when a "good one" came along, the horror stories always stopped me from writing the check.Even by 1980 most had been converted to a Chevy small block 350.

Mark Parsons of New Zealand enthusiastically races a P6(?) and a TR7/8 on tarmac and gravel.

I owned a 2500 mk2 pi and a dolomite 1850 and loved both. sadly missed

My 1972 Triumph 2000 auto (underpowered) that I fitted a 4.4l P76 motor & auto in and made it fun. I also had a 1968 Triumph 2.5 PI 4 speed

Oh Americans loved the older TR series ans still do today. I wish to drive a Dolomite someday!!! Looks like a fun BMW 2002 competitor!

You may want to investigate the Jensen Interceptor FF (1966-71) - a mass-produced 4wd production car,not an estate but a well known car nonetheless! Love your enthusiasm for Rover/Triumph and BL stuff. My dad worked at a dealership in the early 70s so Rover 2000TC, Triumph Stag, and Spitfire brochures were always available! Sadly not kept...

THAT TICKFORD STAG.!!! 👍 👍 👍 👍 Be still my beating heart...

Cheers👍