by Bruce Valley The following is an excerpt from Bruce Valley’s book “Zen and the Art of Collecting Old Cars,” available on Amazon and in select bookstores. Settling into our home on California’s Monterey peninsula, I felt certain that my British car collecting was concluded. British cars simply didn’t move me like they once did….
By Raymond Lacy In Sacramento, California, in 1959, my mother must have been having a momentous mid-life crisis due to the stresses of having to deal with me. She went out looking for a replacement for her ’49 Chevy sedan and spotted a little red sports car on a used car lot. Thus began my…
By Brian Kinney Memories are funny things. In 1963, when I was four, my Dad bought my Mother a birthday present. I know this because I have the hand written bill of sale in the glove box. It was a red, 1961 Triumph TR3A Type 20 roadster. My Dad had recently been stationed in Hawaii…
By Abram Perry It was a cool day on the Ohio River. The wind had picked up, and I had to dig in a bit harder with my paddle to keep the bow of the canoe on course. Almost there. I had been making my way down the river for 110 days. I was filled…
Despite the fact that plans for the TR4 were well underway by 1960, the ever present problem of insufficient funds led Triumph management to question the wisdom – and financial viability – of replacing the TR3A with Michelotti’s TR4. An alternative was proposed that would have been much cheaper (and far less effective) to implement…
Morgans do not just evoke the past, they are the past – come to life to remind us of what once was – and for a price and patience – what can be again. Against all odds, Morgan has outlasted its larger rivals throughout the years from BMC, Standard-Triumph, Rootes and eventually British Leyland; and…
Last year we asked you to determine the greatest British sports car of all time and after spirited voting the Jaguar E-Type – not unexpectedly – emerged victorious ahead of the Austin-Healey 3000 and Triumph TR6. This time we changed the call of the question: name your favorite British sports car manufactured since the end…
One of the most storied names in the British automotive industry, Kenneth Richardson was instrumental in the development of the Triumph Roadster and much of that car’s success can be attributed to his efforts. His career almost ended with ignominy before it had started when he crashed the Ferrari Tipo 125 Grand Prix owned by…
Most automotive enthusiasts appreciate the innate differences between sports cars from America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom even if they are unable to articulate what makes them unique. Even the casual car guy can tell you that American muscle cars have large displacement engines; Italian engines make their power with lots of…
My first time driving was in my older brother’s first car, a red 1964 TR4. We had just finished a repair. My brother realized that somehow I understood mechanics better than he did. He saw that I wasn’t assisting him, but the other way round. I hadn’t caught on yet. I was 14 and he…
