VTR’s 2008 North American Triumph Challenge

This Year’s NATC will go down as one of the best in recent memory. More than 200 Triumphs rolled into Ypsilanti. From a 1935 Gloria Southern Cross to one of the last TR8s ever built in late 1981, there was something at the show for every Triumph fan. In short, the lousy economy and high fuel prices didn’t detract from the fun of the people who attended. The highlights were many:
–The driving events all went off without a hitch.
–The host hotel delivered, with a polite, helpful and friendly staff, excellent rooms, plenty of space in the parking lot and a fine catered banquet.
–Keynote speaker, author Burt Levy, gave a lively, humor-filled presentation that had the packed ballroom roaring most of the night.
–Riverside Park, where the show was held Friday, seems custom made for big cars shows. It was an excellent venue that allowed plenty of space for parking each class of cars.

The signature event at this year’s NATC has to be the Spitfire rebuild project. Geof Bush and the 31 volunteers made history this year. The car entered the hotel late Monday night as thousands of disconnected parts. The reassembly got underway Tuesday morning. By late Thursday night, the car was on all four wheels ready to be pushed outside for a test run of the freshly rebuilt engine. Gas was put in the carbs. The battery was connected. The key was turned. The starter spun the motor over. But she wouldn’t fire. Many very experienced Triumph veterans, such as Ted Schumacher took a look at the situation, made some suggestions for remedies, but the engine still wouldn’t start. It’s possible the camshaft is installed wrong. Or the carbs aren’t working properly. But no one knows for sure right now. So, with the final event, the big show, just hours away, the time clock ran out. And that’s where the project ended.

“The team worked really hard. Geof Bush feels really bad about this. But he shouldn’t. He worked miracles in a short period of time” said former VTR president Vern Brannon, who owns the Spitfire.
Anyway, most of the trim is on the car. And Brannon will trailer the car home and sort out the engine problem. On Friday, the light blue Spitfire was trucked to the show and it looked fine in the summer sunshine.

So, next year, the NATC moves out west to San Luis Obispo, California. There are some really cool events planned and some driving routes along the Pacific Coast Highway that no Triumph fan will want to miss. — Richard Truett

Astonishing progress has been made on the Spitfire
project.

Spitfire at 6:30pm, Thursday

Day Two of the NATC was nothing short of excellent. The hotel parking lot was buzzing with action all day. Still more cars are filtering in. The mix is surprising this year. There’s a huge number of Stags, TR7s and TR8s. I didn’t do an official count, but the TR6 just may not be the most numerous TR this year. There are not many TR250s this year either and only a smattering of TR4s.

One row of parking spaces had 10 gleaming Stags — all different colors and all looking awesome in the summer sunshine. One of the best things about attending the NATC is that you can ask technical questions and get them answered. Because somebody has already done what you are thinking of doing, they can help you solve problems and give you tips. I saw plenty of TR fans doing just that today. Even I did it, hitting up Doug Jensen, Dave Massey and Jim Tencrate for information on TR8 engines, fuel injection, cooling systems and electrical problems.

One person who always is willing to help out with technical advice is Ted Schumacher of TS Imported Automotive. I stood by his display area and listened as one TR fan after another came by and asked Ted how to fix this or how to modify that. He is always very gracious with his time.

One of the most fun activities today was the Ice Cream Run. I drove my TR7 Sprint behind Bill Hanke’s wild Hemi-powered 1948 Mayflower. You can’t believe how awesome that car looks tooling down the road. And it sounds great too. The ground underneath shakes as it rumbles by. In all about 20 classic Triumphs — and one gorgeous 1980 MGB LE (owned by Sue and Dave Snyder since new) — made the run.

Just after that came an event I have been looking forward too for a long time. One of VTR President Blake Discher’s projects is to capture on video for future generations of Triumph fans interviews of people important to Triumph’s history. Working with Blake, at last year’s VTR event, I interviewed Triumph historian Graham Robson. This year, it was former Triumph PR and advertising executive Mike Cook’s turn in front of the camera. Cook, as you may know, wrote the wonderful book “Triumph Cars in America.” This is a must read, by the way, for any Triumph fan. Today, Cook shared with us stories about Triumph’s early days, its glory years and of the tough times in late 1970s and early 1980s. He spoke about specific models, such as the Stag, TR6, 2000 sedan, TR7 and others. Blake plans to edit the video and post it on the VTR site in the near future. Trust me when I tell you that you will want to hear what Mike has to say.

The parking lot was the scene of a quite a few on-the-spot repairs. Some were successful, some not. Two days ago I wrote about Bill Derksen’s awesome black 1980 TR8 coupe with the freshly built modern 4.2-liter fuel injected Rover engine. Well, something went very wrong inside the motor and it seized up completely. It was a very weird incident that had some of the best Triumph minds at the NATC totally stumped. Bill had driven the car Tuesday and it was running fine, no weird noises, no low oil pressure or loss of coolant. Nothing to suggest anything was amiss. He parked the car and returned later to take it for a drive. The engine turned slightly and then seized. Tim Lanocha and a handful of guys pushed the car onto a trailer and took out the starter and the spark plugs, but even with a breaker bar they couldn’t get the engine to turn over in either direction. Speculation is that a piston is seized. In any case, Bill drove 2,000 miles from Edmonton, Alberta to attend the NATC. It appears as if he is going to have his car shipped home. If there’s a hard luck award, Bill wins hands down. By the way, he bought the car new and has spent at least three years on building it.

And finally, I stopped by the 48-hour Triumph Spitfire rebuild. This may have been a tougher project than what was envisioned. Work ground to a halt this afternoon. Although the car is coming together, it’s going to take a lot of hard work — probably around the clock — to meet the deadline. It’s very time consuming fitting everything into place, fabricating fuel lines and whatnot. Still, if major progress can be made Thursday, there’s a chance Geof Bush and his crew can pull it off. Thursday is the pivotal day. This is crunch time. Everything has to go perfectly now to make up for lost time. The pressure is on… — Richard Truett

Marty Sukey’s Brew Swap was a huge success.  About 50 people crowded into a hotel hospitality suite to sample many types of beer brought to the convention by fellow Triumph enthusiasts.  Beers with names like 10W-30, Spitfire Stout, Spitfire Ale, and Bent & Twisted Bourbon Ale were huge hits.  In addition to these home brews, there were quite a few samples of beers produced by micro breweries across the country.

The first full day of the NATC is underway. Thanks to the crew from the host club, the Detroit Triumph Sportscar Club, the event is firing on all cylinders. Here’s the scene…

The Spitfire rebuild project got underway on time at 8 a.m. this morning.

The ballroom where the Spitfire coming together is stuffed to the rafters with new parts, rebuilt and refurbished parts, tool boxes, all sorts of supplies. A computer connected to a printer is located on a table. In it is the British Motor Heritage DVD of the Spitfire factory repair manual complete with schematics showing how the car is to be assembled.

With project leader Geof Bush directing 9 or so Spitfire technicians, much of the heavy lifting had already been done by noon. The front and rear suspension systems were being torqued into place, metal brake lines were being formed and wiring harnesses were being installed. Still Bush felt the team should have been further along. “It’s going slow. There are some fasteners we aren’t going to have,” he said.

Ahh, but this project is too important for little things like that to trip up the team. Not far down the road in Sarnia, Ontario — just over the river from Michigan — is Obsolete Automotive, a big British parts business. Whatever parts aren’t on hand, special deliveries from Obsolete should take care of. Here’s a link to the company’s website: http://www.obsoleteauto.com/

In all, about 17 volunteers are going to build the Spitfire The goal, says Bush: “At 8 a.m. Friday, we are going to fuel it up, fire it up and drive it to the show.”

In yesterday’s blog, I promised to tell you about the very special Triumph on display in the lobby of the Marriott. OK, here’s the deal. The car is a Triumph Mayflower. You remember that one from the Triumph history books, right? If you’ve never seen one in person, let me tell you that it is a Volkswagen Beetle sized car that has what the Brits call “Razor edge” styling. It looks like a compact Rolls Royce. Of course, it was not engineered as solidly as a Rolls.

And that’s where Bill Hanke comes in. Bill, who’s owned the car for 25 years, did a little re-engineering and a little restyling. His Mayflower is like no other. Underneath the ‘Flower’s styling body is a race car chassis. The roof as been lowered, the hood stretched and the fenders reworked. And now for the best part: If anyone asks Bill if that thing has a Hemi in it, he can say yes, step on the gas and disappear in a cloud of tire smoke. Under the Mayflower’s bonnet is a 1958 331 cubic inch Chrysler Hemi V-8 with a supercharger. Horsepower is around 450.

Hanke is a retired Ford engineer. Building the ‘Flower was a labor of love. The Jaguar green paint is flawless. So is the leather-lined interior. The car has been built to go as well as to show. It’s fully functional. I asked Bill what it was like the very first time he turned the key and fired up the big Hemi engine and drove the car.

“I couldn’t wait to drive it, so I took it down Eight Mile with no hood or doors and no glass.” The car performed every bit as good as Hanke had planned. It was such a complex project that Hanke nearly choked up when he realized what he had built. “I was in tears,” Hanke said. “It was very emotional.”

Out in the parking lot, row upon row of every kind of Triumph sold in the USA is on display. One particular TR8 caught me eye. It’s a black coupe owned by Bill Derksen of Edmonton, Alberta Canada.

Wedge fans know that the Triumph TR7 and TR8 can easily be made much better simply by using BL parts that were developed after the final TR went out of production. And that’s just what Derksen has done with his TR8. Nestled under the hood is a 4.2 Land Rover V-8 outfitted with a modern fuel injection system and a serpentine fan belt system. Looking closely at the engineering, one can see that the conversion was professionally done. In fact, Derksen drove his car to the NATC. How cool is that?

There are plenty of examples of upgrades done to all models of TRs in the parking lot at this year’s NATC. And that’s one of the reasons why the NATC should not be missed. Derksen was only too happy to show me what he did and explain how he did it. That’ll help because in my garage is a freshly build 4.0-liter engine that is destined for one of my Wedges.

And finally…Here’s the coolest story of the day so far: About Noon, five TR3s lined up for the funkhana. At the head of the pack was Chuck McGuire, of Des Moines, Iowa. Behind Chuck were his four children — each in a TR3 that Chuck restored and gave them. All the car’s were driven to the NATC from Maryland, Minnesota, and Iowa. Chuck bought the red TR3 new in 1958 and has owned it ever since. How many one owner TR3s are left in the world?

That’s it for now — Richard Truett

I’ve just returned from the Marriott Hotel where the North American Triumph Challenge is being held this year. Every few minutes this evening, you could hear the distinctive sound of a throaty Triumph exhaust rumbling through the parking lot. Yep. The NATC is just hours away from starting and the cars are rolling in regularly now. Attendance took a big jump in the last few days and now more than 200 classic Triumphs are registered. Not bad considering the shaky economy and worries over high fuel prices.

A quick scan of the license plates on the Triumphs already in the parking shows that many drivers came from far away to take part in the his year’s NATC. I see plates from Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana,and California. Dennis and Bridget Lambert and their friend Paulette Caudill arrived this evening, ending a drive that started 10 days ago in California. The Lamberts were in the pale yellow TR3, while Caudill was in her bright red TR4. That car, by the way, is her DAILY driver. She’s owned it since 1972. Wow! How cool is that?

High gas prices weren’t much of a bother for the Lamberts or Mrs. Caudill. Both of their cars got at least 30 mpg. Neither car had any technical issues on the 2,782 mile drive. Dennis Lambert said the majority of the trip didn’t take place on interstates. Instead, the pair of Triumphs crossed America on backroads, through small towns and off the major thoroughfares. “You see everything, the people, small communities, it’s like taking a walk across the country,” said Bridget Lambert. Both cars were on the road about 10 hours a day. Average daily mileage was somewhere around 350.

Inside the hotel has turned into Triumph Central. When you walk in the lobby, you see parked what has got to be one of the wildest custom Triumphs ever built. It’s a real work of art. I’m not going to tell you what it is just yet because I want to speak with the owner and find out about the car. But let me whet your appetite just a little. Now I want you to think of all the Triumphs ever sold in the USA after World War II and pick the one you think would be LEAST likely to have a fortune lavished on it. You might have said the 1800 or 2000 Roadster, the Renown saloon, or any of the Herald/Vitesee/2000’s of the 1960s. You might have even said the TR10. And you’d have been wrong on all counts. For now, let’s just say this car brings a new meaning to the words “Flower Power.” Check back here tomorrow for pics and details.

Roger Cotting and Geof Bush

In one of the hotel’s ballrooms sits a completely disemboweled Triumph Spitfire. I mean, there isn’t so much as a rubber grommet on the bare tub. Roger Cotting and Geof Bush were busy tonight unloading the myriad of parts it will take to build a complete Spitfire from scratch in just 48 hours. This is going to be a magnificent event. Teams of Spitfire experts are going to rotate from 8 a.m. to midnight three days this week until the Spitfire is ready to drive.

Last year I drove more than 600 miles each way to attend the Valley Forge VTR. This year the event is 34 miles away from. Last year, I had no troubles getting to and from the VTR in my Dolomite Sprint. This year, my first trip to the event ended on a sour note. I just bought a TR8 two weeks ago, a fuel injected 1981. I’ve been fixing things on the car and getting in good enough health to be a daily driver. Well tonight, by the time I eased into the driveway, the oil pressure light was on and the engine was running rough. Two of the wires that go to a sensor on the intake manifold came off. I plan on fixing the wires sometime this week. But the oil pressure light could be big trouble. So my TR8 will be staying home. Instead I’ll be at the event in my 1981 TR7 Sprint. I saw a lot of Wedges in the parking lot tonight, including two early coupes. There were plenty of Stags, too.

I can feel it now: This is going to a great convention this year. The hotel is just buzzing with activity. It’s still not too late to come. Get in your Triumph and get here!

We (Dennis and Bridget Lambert and Paulette Caudill) have created a blog to chronicle our cross-country trip from Southern California to VTR in a TR3A and a TR4. We’ve been on the road for 5 days with a posting for each day. We are currently in Custer State Park in South Dakota, with plans to arrive in Ypsilanti Monday afternoon. Here is the address:

http://dennisandbridget.wordpress.com/

Anyone is welcome to comment.

Thanks, Dennis

I just received the new CD titled “Tappetstry” that the committee for the 2008 NATC commissioned from the Spinal Tappets. Each person attending will receive one in their Welcome Packet. It’s fantastic! A total of 11 tracks, six of them brand new.

The Spinal Tappets will perform at the Welcome Party Tuesday night as part of their (yet another!) Farewell Tour.

If you are unfamiliar with the band’s music, I think this passage of “Grinding Through the Gears” (to the tune of Steely Dan’s “Reeling in the Years”) with parody lyrics by ISOA’s Bob Streepy is a great example of their style:

I’ve been telling you you’re a showcar since I bought you in ‘81,
In all the time I’ve owned you, I don’t know if you’ll run,
The VTR convention didn’t turn out like you planned,
The things that pass for concours, I can’t understand.

Other great tracks:
“While my TR Gently Leaks” and “Gearbox” (to the tune of the Who’s
“Squeezebox”)

Great stuff. Very, very well done.

Written by Blake Discher

Last year, I didn’t decide until the last day which car I would drive to Valley Forge. I chose my Dolomite Sprint over my TR7 Sprint. This year, I won’t have any trouble deciding. My Dolomite Sprint has retired to warm and sunny Georgia, where it will spend its days cruising the smooth roads. So, I’ll be in with the Wedge crowd this year with my 1981 TR7 Sprint. I’ve also recently bought a 1981 TR8 that is not anywhere near show worthy in appearance, but it is a good, solid driver. Last year, I felt the TR7 and TR8 class was not well represented. But in the Detroit and midwest area, there are some seriously impressive TR7s and TR8s. I know a lot of Triumph fans don’t care for the final TRs, but lately — finally — Wedge prices have been increasing dramatically. It’s about damn time. This is a very under-appreciated sports car, even among the Triumph faithful.

But can anyone show me one another sports car from the early ’80s whose styling has aged as well? I recently took Katherine, my 30-something across-the-street neighbor, for a ride in my TR7 Sprint. The first thing she said after settling into the passenger seat was, “Wow. Talk about a Back To The Future Dash.” I can’t tell you how cool that made me feel. If you have the chance to ride in or drive a TR7 or TR8, I say do so at your own risk. The final TR, four-cylinder or V-8, is the most comfortable, best built, nicest equipped and best handling TR ever. Drive one and you just might have to have one.

Written by Richard Truett