Friends of Triumph,
May I present to you Richard Taylor, who recently contacted me concerning
TR parts. Richard is active in vintage racing and brings a unique and
vintage perspective to the pursuit.
I had asked Richard to sent a bit about himself and the car, and by way of
introduction, include it here.
Mark, could you add
n196x@mindspring.com
to the FOT?
Welcome to the group Richard!
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From: Richard Taylor[SMTP:n196x@mindspring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 5:46 AM
To: spirals@esinet.net
Subject: TR-4's
Chip,
I'm not sure that I have very much technological substance to offer your
select group of Triumph aficionados. I do have, however, some racing
experience in sports cars and motorcycles which covers quite a few decades.
In fact we could throw in a few airplane, hydroplane and 4 marathons if
other forms of racing count. In the good ole' days (mid 60's) I raced a
100-4 Healey at SCCA events. In the 70's I raced motorcyles (motocross,
enduros, flat track and a couple of road racing schools). In the late 70's
I started vintage racing a 300SL Mercedes and later another 100-4. Last
year I placed third in the regional AMA Vintage Motocross on a 400 Maico.
With respect to TR-4's, I bought mine a couple of years ago. It had been
sitting in a garage for 17 years and I felt that the $400 I paid for it was
absolutely top dollar for the poor condition it was in. With the help of
super friends at Atlanta Import Auto Parts and Neil's Restorations, we have
brought it back to reasonably good and reliable running condition. My plan
is to continue to keep it streetable but to also drive it to races as we
did 35 years ago. Last November I drove it to it's first race in Savvanah
(225 miles) and competed. I did rather poorly for neither the car nor I
were in very good racing form. Last month I drove it to Road Atlanta to
compete in a National HSR Vintage race and placed third in a starting field
of 24. My modest success, however, was largely due to poor weather
conditions. I expect that this is about the best I will be able to do so
long as the car is street legal.
The car has very few modifications. I installed a TR-6 overdrive
transmission, a Spitfire dual master cylinder, 72 spoke wheels, all new
shocks, a 10 gal. fuel cell, emergancy cut-off switch, roll bar, racing
harness, a set of Hoosiers and a heavier sway bar. The engine has 118,000
miles on it and I have made no modifications to it...that's next. This
brings me to why I have an interest in your group. Nearly all of the work
I have done to date has been directed toward resusitating this old machine
to dependable running condition and minimum racing mods.
I have no illusions about adding many trophies to my shelf, but I do have
visions of being a threat in the pack(and this may be a stretch). Then,
Sunday afternoon, when all the other guys are loading their full racecars
onto trailers, I quietly re-install my windshield, put on my street tires
(which are my rain tires), load my tools and head on down the highway at
the posted speed limit. This may be a low-threashold of achievement for
real racers, but for me at my age(61) and economic condition(nouveau-broke)
it suits me just fine. Although these qualifications for being a member of
your group may not be very strong, I ask that they be considered carefully.
If, on the other hand, what little I have to offer doesn't justify
inclusion in your group, you tell any of your members who compete in
Vintage racing to just watch their six o'clock. I'll be moving up.
Richard Taylor
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