The Triumph 2000 Mark 2: A 6 cylinder OHV engine of 1998cc giving 84bhp at 5000rpm with 2 Stromberg carburettors. A 4 speed gearbox with optional overdrive was fitted, or a Borg Warner 35 or 65 automatic. It had rack and pinion steering. About 97000 cars were produced in the 6 years of it's production.

When purchasing the 1969 Triumph 2000 Mk2, I wanted a cheap car which I could run just as cheaply until I could afford a 'proper' car. Well, that was my intention anyway. The car was bought for a modest £395 from a vendor in Sheffield with a current MOT certificate. The chap had been the owner since 1997 and, according to the V5 registration document, there had been only one owner since 1977. It seems the car had spent most of it's life in the Sheffield area being first registered on the 1st November 1969 in that city - hence the registration mark CWA.
On a 'pre-purchase' inspection the vehicle appeared to be fairly solid except for some obvious filler in a couple of the wheel arches and the engine seemed to be in a reasonable condition. I was not expecting too much considering the price and it was only going to be a 'run-around'!!!

Driving the car back home presented no problems until I reached my home. I had feelings of deja vu as another water loss occurred (see Daimler problem). This time, however, it was a heater hose that had surrendered and it's replacement solved this predicament.

I felt it prudent to replace the 'bungee' rope that was holding the battery in position and so devised an appropriate clamp. A few other tasks seemed to be in order as there was an oil leak from around the rocker cover and the oil pressure appeared to be rather high at 80psi. An oil and filter change along with a few service parts such as plugs, HT leads and driving belts did not cure the high pressure so a compression test was performed and revealed no compression on cylinder no.4. The engine had to come out! This done, I found the piston to be broken and the rings chewed beyond salvation. An extensive search for a new 'flathead' piston was fruitless so rather than take the car off the road for some time, I decided to ditch the current engine and purchase a second-hand unit. Whilst the car was at the 'menders' the windscreen was smashed, but fortunately it was replaced FOC.

A number of other jobs were undertaken during late 1999 such as replacing the clutch, starter motor, brake pads, filling holes in the front cross support under the bonnet, replacing the front door hinges and a bit of welding to various parts of the car's structure. I also bought a replacement second-hand boot lid as the original was completely rusted through on the underside. This was from a blue car and, therefore, required repainting to match the British Leyland White No.19 of my car.

It became evident that the garage where I had the engine 'seen to' had not done a very good job as, on a journey to the midlands to a show, there was a gradual power loss and smoke started coming from the engine. Some of the passers by were Triumph owners and they suggested a big end failure. Once again, I thought to myself "if you want a job doing properly....". The car was recovered home and shortly after I started taking the engine to bits and found the crankshaft to be heavily scored.
Parts replaced;
Crankshaft (reconditioned), main and big end bearing shells, oil pump, timing chain, flywheel and gaskets. These jobs and a thorough clean and some painting took me through to around March 2000. When everything was back together it was a relief to hear it fire up with a little fiddling. The engine, however, did not sound as smooth as it should. Resetting the timing did not make things any better and later I decided to replace the old, worn out Stromberg carburettors with a couple of reconditioned SU units which proved to be a positive step.

Over the next couple of years many jobs needed to be carried out, far more than was my intention when I bought the car. It was meant to be a means to an end where I could justifiably attend classic car shows and continue with increasing my knowledge of old cars and the classic scene. I still considered myself a novice and 'getting up to speed' was taking some time - I am a slow learner!

The two pictures below show the car following a cheap respray in July 2001.
   
To summarize the jobs requiring my attention (and not to bore the reader with too much of the technicalities) they were as follows;
To change the steering rack, it being loose; refurbish the front Macpherson struts and replace the shock absorbers; recore a leaking radiator; a cheap respray; replace gearbox mountings; new brake discs; renew rear brake pistons; new petrol pump; renew door and windscreen seals; welding to rear upper spring mounts; replace choke, accelerator and bonnet release cables; convert oil filter to 'spin on' type and add an extra feed line to the rocker cover; propshaft alignment check; replace front suspension bushes with polyurethane type; replace odd registration plates (white on front, black on rear) with old style black plates with silvered digits; replace right rear drive shaft unit after bearing failure and inability to remove the bearing itself; paint this and that; renew wooden centre console. Just a few things to get on with! However, much as with the Daimler, I felt I was getting nowhere in the car's renovation and anyway it was not my intention to spend too much money on it.

I took the car off the road in late 2003 and, as the MOT had lapsed, I decided to have a change. But this time I would wait a while until I could afford a half decent car. I was, therefore, without a classic vehicle for a short while.

The above is just a brief summary of my time with the Triumph. Whilst the model was a success in it's time and even today there is an enthusiastic following, I was never totally happy owning one - not quite to my taste. It is difficult to say exactly why, perhaps it was the colour, or the pale wooden fittings, or the fact it was not an automatic. Perhaps a combination of all these.
Final update 2007.

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