THE BIG RESTORATION
The desirable combo of curvy Michelotti styling and six-cylinder, fuel-injected oomph meant that Ian Brindley just had to restore this TR5…
JUN 2014
For many of us classic enthusiasts, the vehicles owned by either our father or another family member had a great deal to do with the marque or marques that we ended up favouring ourselves. This was certainly the case for Ian Brindley, as he explains. ‘My father was a Triumph man, owning a 2000 MkI, 2000 MkII and a 2.5PI – Iguess that is where it all started. Having owned first a TR4A and then a TR6 since the mid-Eighties, I’d always wanted a TR5 as I preferred the combination of the Italian styling and the great sound of the fuel injected straight-six engine.’
In 2005, Ian began to look around for a usable car and found this 1968 example advertised via the TR Register. The previous owner had owned it since 1985 but was no longer using it very much. ‘I felt it was a sound car that I could use, and it came with pretty much a full history back to the early Seventies, including all MOTs and lots of old receipts. The first drive home from Reading to Cambridgeshire was in monsoon conditions – water came in through the windscreen seal and, after I parked up at home, the strong smell of leaking fuel told me I had some work to do!’
After fixing the water leaks, replacing all the corroded fuel injection fuel lines, and evicting a family of mice from the heater, the car went into regular use for the next 10 years. Throughout this period, Ian gradually collected original panels and parts in anticipation of the full rebuild the car would eventually need, which he planned to complete himself when the time came.
Opportunity knocks
In 2016, Ian accepted an overseas work assignment and decided that it would be the ideal opportunity to commence his planned major rebuild as the chassis and bodywork were showing their age and he would not be able to use the car either way. ‘Before leaving, I completely stripped the car to a rolling bodyshell in preparation for handing the car to local specialists TRGB in Somersham. My plan was to have a fully restored, painted shell and rolling chassis ready for me by the time I finished my three-year assignment. I would then build the car back up to completion at home on my return.
