1948 Triumph Roadster

Description

In running order; floor-change gears; sound example for straightforward restoration; one of only 4,501 made and c.600 surviving 

Triumph’s first post-war car, the Roadster was produced from 1946 to 1949. Initially equipped with a 65bhp Standard 1800cc engine, it was superseded by a 68bhp 2-litre version in 1948.

Post-war steel shortages meant that the swooping bodywork was built from aluminium using rubber press tools previously used by Standard to make parts for the Mosquito fighter bomber during the war. A riot of generous curves, the styling was certainly distinctive, although ‘more toadster than roadster’ was how one critic unkindly described it!

The Roadster had transverse leaf sprung independent suspension at the front and a live rear axle with half elliptic springs, the rear track being considerably narrower than the front. Brakes were hydraulic and drive was via a four-speed column-change gearbox with synchromesh on the top three ratios. On the 2-litre model this was replaced with an all-synchro three-speed ‘box.

Just 4,501 examples were made, of which around half had the 2-litre engine, making these quirky roadsters rare and sought after today.

First registered in Birmingham in January 1948, this rather sorry-looking Roadster has been something of a Shropshire secret for the last 50 years or so. It comes with no paperwork other than a V5C but we have sold it before so we do know a little bit about it.

For many years it was tucked away in a nice dry barn in Shropshire and the long-term owner resisted various offers to buy it. Eventually though, about a dozen years ago it was finally prised from its resting place and moved to another Shropshire barn by the previous owner who had every intention of restoring the car.

However, with various other projects also on the go, he never got round to the task and ended up putting it in a Brightwells auction in 2018 which is when our vendor acquired the car (for considerably more than the guide price suggested here). Also the owner of a nice dry barn in Shropshire (there’s a theme emerging here, isn’t there?!) he too was planning to restore the car to join his collection of interesting machines.

He soon got the car running (it required little more than a new battery and some fresh fuel), rebuilt the brakes and fitted a new exhaust. He also carried out some repairs to the rear jacking points and bumper mountings and was able to drive it around on private land.

Life then got in the way (doesn’t it always?) and six years down the line he too has now decided that the time has come to pass it on to someone with the time and enthusiasm to get the job finished. Starting promptly and running very sweetly on site, with healthy oil pressure, the brake pedal has now dropped to the floor so it can’t be safely driven.

Classed as a Historic Vehicle and therefore free to tax and MOT-exempt, the V5C records two former keepers and states the engine capacity as 2,088cc although the brass chassis plaque calls it a Triumph 1800 so you will need to make your own minds up on that score. The original troublesome column-change gears have been replaced by a much more user friendly floor-change set up at some point.

Believed to be complete, it shouldn’t take too much effort to get it roadworthy, and the cosmetics could be attended to as desired. It has a ‘shabby chic’ charm as it is, the chassis looks solid and the aluminium bodywork is, of course, rust-free. It also retains its original (transferable) Birmingham-issue number plate, HOM 217.   

Given that the last Triumph Roadster sold by us back in 2020 made a whisker under £35k, this rare ‘barn find’ example, one of only around 600 known to survive worldwide (249 of them in the UK), should leave ample scope for the remedial works now required. Just make sure you've got a nice dry barn to store it in, ideally in Shropshire!   

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com