BTW Ferny, my wife now hates you and wants to know where you live so she can steal your car!
The only advice I can give is that if she wants one, grab one. When you look into it there are more of these around that you'd think, but still not many. And it's not often they come up for sale at all. I love in Luton. We've looked at one in Portsmouth and this one is in Wales. One that was listed got sold to someone in France. So that could give you some idea of what sort of distance you may have to go to get one.
This is a 1968 model year? It appears to have been very well kept! Sweet!! Was this considered a performance car in its day? What motor/trans combination does it have? Please tell me this car has a small block V-8 and close ratio 4 speed...
As ThomThomsk said, there is another model called the Vitesse. I think it's a much better looking car. The only real difference is in the looks. It has four lights instead of two. (
click ) It also has a straight six in it. It has more power, but as it's a different engine and the characteristics are different many say it's not as nice to drive as the 13/60. It is a 1.3 lt, it only has 60 bhp and the car weighs 3/4 of a ton. So it's not going to blow you away. But I was told that it probably produces more than 60bhp as they used a different system to work out the horse power back then. Don't forget as well, that the philosophy behind American and British cars was even more different then than it is now. You guys wanted big heavy cars with big heavy engines producing 400bhp. We wanted small nimble cars to throw around bends. We took this car around the tight roads where the owner lives, half way up a mountain. It pulled great and there was no roll or shake.
It may only be a 4 cylinder, but it sounds great. My sister had a Saxo VTR and has a new Mini Cooper. They're meant to be fast (for what they are) but to be honest, they sound ****. You'd struggle to tell the difference between them and a sewing machine. This car is a little different. And more so later on. When the exhaust goes I fit a sports one so the back looks better and it sounds better.
Here are a couple of iffy engine shots.
Here are some specs for you.
Cylinders : 4 in-line
Cubic Capacity : 1296 cc
Max Power : 61 bhp @ 5000 rpm
Max Torque : 73 lbft @ 3000 rpm
0-60mph : 17.7 seconds
Top Speed : 85 mph
Standing ¼ mile : 20.9 seconds
Overall Fuel Consumption : 30 mpg
With an overdrive box the numbers change. 5-6 gears depending on what type I chose, top speed goes up as well so I can cruise at 70mph without any problems. Fuel consumption improves as well.
I didn't get the car for the speed anyway. I would have got a Vitesse but the insurance was too much. When I rang around for this car I was quoted as much as £1700. One would only insure me with 3rd party, another wouldn't insure me because of my age and it would be my only car and another insurance company gave me three different quotes (on-line, phone and their classic division, the classic section charging much more plus twice the excess). In the end I settled for a £200 fully comp. deal. It pays to shop around... The Vitesse cost's more to insure.
No offence intended, but British cars of that era were not known for their durability (nor were American cars for that matter), how did your Triumph survive the test of time?
The cars that do come up for sale have often only had a few owners. Sometimes they've been kept in the same family. It was an expensive car in its day as well. So people wouldn't want to damage it after forking out so much for them.
It's also one on the last cars to be based on a chassis. So if you get a bit of rust you can repair it much easier than a monocoque. I'm just making assumptions there.
There are lots of Triumph clubs around as well.
It's not in perfect condition. I've bought this from someone who bought it for the same reasons as me. Cheap to insure, don't have to pay tax, different from other cars etc. And he got it from a watch-maker. We think the guy he got it from did a home spray job and it shows a little. But a polish and some touch-up will make it look ok until I get a re-spray in the future. It has small rust patches here and there. Mostly from stone chips and they're all orange patches rather than big rusting holes. A little care and they're fixed. It also needs a new roof as the back windows are yellow and split. It'll cost about £150 for a new one.
But, it's in much better condition than the one in Portsmouth. That had huge rust blisters everywhere. And not just in panels which can be replaced. The doors needed fixing or replacing due to rust. The roof wasn't too great and it also needed a re-spray. That car sold for £800 less than the car I've got. So I think we got a good deal. Oh, and this has a radio as well. Which is something I'd want to fit anyway. Oh, and alloy wheels, an electric fan to fit (left in boot), small steering wheel, K&N filter and a tonneau. It all adds up.
ale: Lucas the Prince of Darkness. If there's anything Lucas in there, it's bound to malfunction sooner or later. 
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