1962 Triumph TR4

The previous owner bought ‘545 YPC’ as a barn-find in 2008. He then embarked on a nine-year restoration, documenting it with what turned out to be a 300-page photo album – and he only sold it to the seller in 2015 after finding a Sunbeam Alpine he wanted to restore.

Carefully updated – the seats are from a Mazda MX-5, the wheels are Minilite-style alloys, and the engine was professionally rebuilt – the early ‘white dashboard’ and thin-rimmed steering wheel have been left untouched.

With a couple of jobs yet to do – the rear bumper and the front overriders need to be refurbished and refitted – the seller has only covered around 600 miles since he bought it 11 years ago.

The wheelarches are in an excellent condition, something enthusiasts will recognise isn’t always the case. The shutlines are tight and consistent too, and the panels are free of dents, dinks, and scrapes.

The paintwork also has a good shine to it, and the hood is still so new that it can be a bit of a struggle to fit. However, this is surely the very definition of a #firstworldproblem and regular use should ease it. 

The 15-inch wheels are Minilite-style alloys from John Brown Wheels. Free of kerbing scrapes and scuffs and boasting good ‘JBW’ centre caps, the original steel wheels remain with the car should you want to reinstate them.

The TR4 currently sits on three Maxxis MA-701 tyres, with a Victra 510 on the offside front. While all have good tread left on them, they were made in 2011 and 2012, so will need to be replaced. 

While we’re on the subject of jobs that need doing the rear bumper and front overriders need refurbishing and fitting, and given the front bumper is starting to pit you may like to get that rechromed at the same time. (Both door handles are also pitted, but most people would probably be happy to leave them as they are for a while yet.)

The lamp lenses are in good order with no chips, cracks, or other damage, although the headlamps are not a matching pair. 

The bonnet is also missing its badge, the offside door mirror is missing, the driver’s door handle doesn’t work, and the nearside door is hard to close. 

As for the paintwork, we spotted blistering to the nearside front wing and door, the boot lid, and offside front wing. There are also a few scratches to the offside front and rear wings, and the paint finish is wrinkly in places, most notably the driver’s door.

The Mazda MX-5 seats are considerably more comfortable and supportive than the ones the factory fitted in 1962, and their design suits the cabin very well. However, there is heavy wear to the outer edge of the driver’s seat plus some staining to both. 

(There is also scuffing to the bottom of the driver’s door card and a cracked vent on the far nearside of the dashboard, but these are the only other faults worth mentioning.)

Should you prefer originality over comfort, you’ll be pleased to hear the factory seats have not only been retained but one of them has already been refurbished.

While we’re on the subject of originality, the ‘banjo’ steering wheel and white dashboard have been left in place. These help give the car a more vintage feel than the later models with their veneer dashboard and fat-rimmed steering wheels. Both are in a decent condition too, as is the vinyl that covers the top of the dashboard.

White-on-black instruments from Smiths provides information on road and engine speed as well as fuel level, coolant temperature, battery voltage, engine oil pressure, and distance covered, both trip and cumulative.

As we mentioned earlier, the car has only covered around 600 miles since being finished and it appears the odometer was reset at that time.

Other nice touches are a good hood frame, very good carpets on top of solid floors, and capacious door pockets to supplement the good-sized boot.

Speaking of which, the luggage compartment is very neatly trimmed and lifting the false floor reveals a full-size spare steel wheel fitted with a Maxxis MA-701 tyre – and lifting that out uncovers nothing other than a well-painted metal.

The boot has been painted in a textured black finish, and this finish extends to the underside of the boot lid, the cabin floors, and the engine bay.

Which brings us neatly to the mechanical components.

The engine is said to have covered only 600-odd miles since being professionally rebuilt, so it’s barely run-in yet. There are plenty of invoices on file for other mechanical components too, so it’s probably fair to assume that everything was inspected and refurbished or replaced as necessary. 

It’s had a couple of services since the seller bought it too, plus a new fuel pump recently, so it will come as little surprise to learn that it starts, idles, and revs as it should. The twin pancake air filters give it a lovely intake rasp and the stainless-steel exhaust system has an attractive note. 

Our short drive went well, and it ran as you'd expect.

Cosmetically, the chromed rocker cover has a few spots of rust but, assuming you can’t bring yourself to ignore that, buying a new one wouldn’t be expensive. 

The cooling/heating system also appears to have been modified with the installation of domestic shut-off valves, which might be a sensible modification even if it jars a little in appearance. 

No such issues with the underside though because this is as neatly finished as everywhere else, with the textured black finish continuing to provide a good level of protection. 

The TR4 does not have an MoT certificate. 

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the history file includes a few magazine articles on the model plus invoices for the parts that were used in its restoration.

A prize-winning example of one of the definitive British sportscars – the local mayor declared it the car he’d most like to take home at the owner’s local classic car show – this TR4 needs only a small amount of finishing to bring it back to show-winning condition.

And this work, which could easily be completed over a couple of weekends, would help cement your relationship with the car: The Ikea Effect in action, if you like. 

As for what it’s likely to sell for, we suspect the hammer will fall somewhere between £14,000 and £18,000, which is cents-on-the-dollar compared with the cost of restoring one yourself. 

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