1948 Triumph 1800 Roadster

Finished in bright red and displaying some excellent chromework, this sporting Triumph looks every inch the Jaguar competitor its designers intended it to be.

In the care of the vendor since 1999, he’s only the fourth person to own it, which is remarkable given that it was first registered on the 9th of March 1948. Bought on a bit of a Bergerac-inspired whim, its status as just one of 26 classic cars in his collection means that while it has been very well looked after, it hasn’t been able to drive it as much as he had hoped he might.

Only being offered for sale because of this, it’s being auctioned with a very sensible guide price and an even more reasonable reserve. So, if you’ve ever fancied adding a brilliantly rakish and beautifully engineered British sports car to your garage, then your time has come.

Lightly freshened up in 2000 (#267) and regularly rust-proofed, the bodywork of this beautiful red Triumph Roadster is also fitted with very good chrome; as you can see, the whole thing hangs together wonderfully and looks amazing.

It’s got decent panel gaps too, and solid, rust-free bodywork – but enough of the dry facts; just take a look at it! Those swooping front wings, huge headlamps, the elegant pair of chromed horns, the fabricated metal stone guards on the leading edges of the rear wings, and the black steel wheels -wheels that are adorned by chrome hubcaps and fitted with blocky crossply tyres - all conspire to produce one of the most beautiful cars of its era.

The 16-inch steel wheels look to be in good shape, and they’re all fitted with Triumph-badged chrome hubcaps; we’re fans of steel wheels anyway but this combination surely is peak wheel, isn’t it? The tyres were fitted in 2005 and while they all match and still have plenty of tread, they’re time-expired now and could do with changing.

Nonetheless, as we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

There’s a rudimentary brown folding hood too, and while it is a bit grubby it’ll still protect you but if you’re looking for Mazda MX-5 levels of fit and finish then may we respectfully suggest that this isn’t the car for you? (However, if your idea of dressing for a drive includes an Irvine sheepskin coat then this is going to be the start of something beautiful.)

Yes, there are some stonechips there plus the odd spot of cracking (#207), some microblisters (#209), and perished rubber seals and trim. There is also a small area of rusty crustiness on the rear (#238) but there’s nothing there that would worry us at all and the car is solid enough to act as a blank canvas for its new owner, freeing them to make the important decision as to whether to restore it or preserve it free of the need to undertake serious structural repairs first.

The seating is now by way of two individual front seats, even if the wonderfully eccentric rear dicky seats and rear windscreen remain; these are almost certainly not the originals but they are, to our eyes at least, possibly the very best of all worlds with much great lateral support for the driver and front passenger while retaining all the fun of the fair for children clambering into the rear seats for occasional roof-down summer runs.

With a repair to one seat having been made in 2015, the interior is pretty darned good with decent carpets backing up those modern and comfortable front seats. More importantly, lifting those carpets shows solid metalwork underneath, which you should find as reassuring as we do.

The ivory-faced jaeger instruments look terrific and their light patination only adds to, rather than detracts from, their considerable appeal. The dashboard they sit in comprises proper wood too, and the whole ensemble is wonderfully over-engineered in the way that only cars of this era are.

As you can see there is work to do. But, and this is important, the fact that it is constructed of proper materials like solid wood means that refurbishing it is going to be possible using only basic hand tools and a rudimentary understanding of basic DIY techniques.

There are plenty of invoices for work over the years since the vendor bought it and while it might not have seen much use in that time – only a couple of hundred miles are recorded as having been covered since the MOT record starts in 2006 – those miles are matched by an impressively comprehensive maintenance and repair record. Please see slides 264-285 for details of the work that has been carried out since it’s been in his care.

The most recent is an oil service in 2019 but, annoyingly, the Triumph doesn’t start at the moment. It drove onto the trailer at the vendor’s house without any issues and he suspects that the spark plugs just need cleaning and, perhaps, the carburettor replacing or refurbishing.

Given this, we think a half-talented DIYer with a basic toolkit and an oily rag could probably have the old girl up and running with only minimal cost and absolutely no inconvenience given how desperate we all are these days to escape the tender ministrations of our families to spend some quality time alone in the garage with our loved ones.

The engine bay is neatly presented and has its wheel-changing tools clipped into place. Like the rest of the car, it’s been well conserved rather than obsessively detailed, which leaves the new owner free to follow their own values in deciding what to do with it.

The underside has been, just like the vendor’s Riley which we’re also selling, regularly undersealed, so it’s still rock-solid and has never come to the attention of the MOT tester. Heck, even the jacking points are still as strong now as they’ve ever been. If we’re being pernickety then we could point out that the black protective coat has worn away in a few places, giving you another small job to add to the list.

The Triumph doesn’t have a current MOT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

But, just like the Riley we’re selling from the same chap, it had an unblemished MOT record prior to its last, so there’s rock-solid, incontrovertible proof of the car’s careful curation over the years.

It has a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years in addition to a reproduction of the original Drivers Instruction Book and the Members Technical Handbook, both produced by the Triumph Roadster Club.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard while in his care. NOTE: all the service history documents in the gallery are facsimiles. We do not have the originals, the seller will provide them to the winning bidder. 

With a guide price of somewhere between £10,000 and £15,000, someone is going to get an absolute bargain, especially when you consider what the Jaguar XK120, a car that is by no means any better engineered or built, is fetching these days.

And that quality engineering is merely the icing on the cake because this is already one of the most beautiful cars of the period, too. Wonderfully styled, its sleek lines make it look like it is streaking along at a three-figure speed even when it is standing still.

Charmingly anachronistic, that wonderfully OTT rear dickey seat and windscreen add yet another layer of charm to a car that is already over-endowed with charisma.

So, if you’ve ever found yourself in need of a four-seater, semi-vintage British sports car with impeccable credentials, then now is the time to raise your virtual hand and give the auctioneer a computer-generated nod.

Trust us: you’re going to enjoy the coming summer far more with this in the garage than you would without, especially when we find ourselves on lockdown #5/6/7/8 (delete as appropriately) by then…

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.