TR Action 257
Whilst Club Nights at the Amber Hotel continue to be very popular the TRs remain in hibernation. So I thought I should get out and meet the members as we have a lot of interesting people with so many diverse skills, it would be ideal for others to know who’s who in the Group.
My first stop was the house of Ian, Chris and Ryan Walker. Ian has been a member since the early 90s when he started listening to another member, one Alan Wilkinson who is a business customer. So in 1990 Ian bought a burnt out TR6 from Rimmer Brothers who had acquired it for spares. It was an ex-USA car but from New York so the rust had a firm hold. As a first TR, a burnt out rusty one at that, it brought the expression “baptism of fire” to mind. Undaunted, Ian and his wife Chris set to work to restore the car to its former glory and fifteen months later they had a shiny red TR6 in better condition than it was originally. The bug had really got a hold and they started to have fun and enjoy the car, quickly becoming regular Group members.
In 1995 they bought a TR3A in boxes from Wales. Whereas the car did not have a Registration Document it did have a comprehensive history file from the previous owner with photos of it at early TR Register events. The car was originally pearl white and apparently destined for South Africa but didn’t actually make the trip and stayed in this country. Ian contacted Bill Piggott to ask for assistance in tracing the cars history and after some extensive digging a Heritage Certificate was issued and the car had its old identity back. In the meantime the total rebuild continued and three years later an immaculate TR3A emerged, now in red.
Another addition to the family arrived, their son Ryan. He was therefore born into a TR family and has grown up immersed in everything about Triumphs. This in depth knowledge is much in evidence as Ryan knows all the history of the cars and the detailed records of their experiences over the years. They also owned a Stag for a while which in anyone’s book is an under rated luxury grand tourer.
Ian believes the Club is all about people and no one would disagree. They remember the interesting and fun times they had around the country staying in strange B&Bs with Dave and Linda Smith as well as all the shows they have attended. They are a complete TR family and always attend Club events together. Things are now getting a bit difficult as Ryan is now well over six feet tall and getting three of them in a TR is proving tricky.
When not TRing Ian runs his own metal fabrication and welding company and he is producing, as a side line, stainless items for TRs such as battery clamps, bonnet and boot stays, radiator cowls and exhaust heat shields to a very high standard. At the time of my visit both their TRs were stripped down for resprays which are being done by another member, John Geeve, at his body shop works south of Derby. Our photo shows the beautiful TR3A at a show in Yorkshire.
My thanks to the Walker family for their hospitality and help in agreeing to be featured in the magazine.
TR Action 256
Winter is upon us and the shortest day has come and gone so spirits are beginning to rise. This was certainly the case at our Annual Dinner held on 14th January where fiftt of us sat down to a splendid dinner at the Twin Oaks Hotel near Chesterfield. The atmosphere was happy, light hearted and generally good fun. All of which bodes well for the coming season which promises to be very busy. Lots of talk about Le Mans Classic, Silverstone and IWE back at Malvern. However from my investigations I am aware that quite a few cars are stripped down, being rebuilt or modified so there is a lot of work to do before Spring arrives.
At one of our recent Club Nights, Steve Hall of TR Enterprises gave us a talk about his classic car racing and rallying days. He still rallies either a TR4 or TR7 V8 and his workshop usually has interesting competition cars in for all sorts of work from servicing to full rebuilds. Club members found the talk very interesting and were intrigued to hear that whereas a Porsche 911 has the legs of a TR4 on the straights, the TR was much faster through the corners.
Early December saw a good turnout for an excellent Sunday lunch at the Spotted Cow. Our youngest member’s first words will probably be “TR” as opposed to mummy or daddy.
Some of our Group are booked for the Winter Ball in Wales and one member and his wife are off to the TR Party Weekend down in the West Country organised by Glavon Group. Enthusiasm for the Club and its’ activities is as high as ever which is very encouraging for the future.
So as you see it is all action at Derbyshire Dales and plans are already being made for Drive It Day so if you want to take part keep an eye on the web site.
TR Action 255
Our Group seems to becoming a centre of ownership and expertise for the ubiquitous TR6. And with good reason as it has proved itself as an excellent long distance comfortable cruiser popular with many of our members. Our latest convert is a long time member and already a TR5 owner, Dave Burgess. Dave has purchased a car from California and it has a hard top. The colour was that well known 1970s chocolate brown that we all loved back then, but not now. The car was imported and delivered. Then the fun began. Dave stripped it all down to the bare shell and off it went to the body shop for stripping and painting. Our picture shows the finished shell before being mated back with the chassis which Dave had restored, painted and rebuilt the running gear etc. I am sure you all will agree the new colour is fabulous and if you could see and feel the finish you would be green with envy. Thanks to another of our Group Members, John Geeve whose body shop did the work. It is a testament to true craftsmanship. At about this time Dave had some health problems which took him away from work and meant he could not drive for a month. The body was now back on the chassis, all was complete at the paint shop and the car needed collecting. So yours truly volunteered to help trailer it back to Dave’s garage so work could continue. Thankfully he was now feeling much better and was looking forward to building the car back up. My next job is to persuade him to do a piece for Rebuilders Diaries but I have a feeling I am on a loser as he will be back at work and dashing about the UK again.
Our successful Club Nights continue and at the November meeting we had a new member arrive in, yes, you have guessed it, his newly acquired TR6. He introduced himself as Chas. I introduced him to our Group Leader Dave Worne, another TR6 nut and soon they were deep in conversation and going out in the dark to inspect the car. So we are now sorted for entertainment at our Annual Dinner on January 14th (details on the Web Site). Chas and Dave will be giving it some Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit.
Our next Club Night on 14th. December will have Steve Hall of TR Enterprises giving us a talk. It should be a very good evening.
That’s it for this issue, Season’s Greetings to all our members and a Very Happy New Year. 2012 promises to be very busy with a lot of great car action.”
