Rick & Mary Middleton's Triumphs

 
It’s 1999 and having tired of my current hobbies - taxidermy and beekeeping, I decided a two seater convertible requiring restoration would be a good way to learn about auto mechanics and provide a nice ride for a midlife crises.

 

The June 1999 Auto Trader featured two cars in Regina that deserved a look, so Mary and I drove down and test drove a Porsche 914 which sounded too much like a sewing machine and then a 1976 TR6 which although looked and drove rough, we drove it home. The adventure begins.

 

 

Not sure how I learned about the SBCC but shortly after acquiring the car I joined the club. Now that was a good decision. I enjoyed and drove the car for the next few years while sorting out a few issues and getting comfortable with it, which included my first road trip to BC.

 

By 2003, having arranged support from buddies, I felt I was ready for the restoration of the body which was completed in time for the 2004 driving season – Yahoo. Over the next several years the engine bay, interior, suspension and exhaust were all improved. During these years many road trip miles were racked up attending various shows in several provinces.

 

I’ve always thought the Triumph TR3 to be a beautiful design. So in 2010 when John Butler’s (a past club member) car became available I took the plunge even though the car was very rough. John suggested it had never been in an accident but my buddy Ken says “it was in a 50 car pileup and it was the only participant”. Ken should know as he spent untold hours working on the body. Oh and I also had to source a frame to replace the crooked one.

 

Turned out the plunge I took was very deep, it was nine years later when the car was completed, but I’m glad I did as the car turned out quite nicely and produced a lot of stories.

 

Meanwhile a phone call from Bob Forward, in May of 2011, led to my third Triumph - a 1980 TR8. The car was a little rough cosmetically but a good driver so I intended to keep it that way and use it, without worry it might get dinged, as a local run about. That plan lasted just over a year when I was side swiped by a gravel truck. Guess it’s time for another restoration project. I only intended to do the body but Ken suggested an engine rebuild. I said there’s nothing wrong with the engine, he said let’s do it anyway. Good idea, since then I’ve put around 90,000 Kms on the car ranging as far as N. Carolina.

 

The cars and the SBCC have supplied me with many great stories. Many thanks to all my buddies who made my Triumph collection possible.