1965 Triumph TR4

The vendor of this car has lived for much of the last thirty years in the USA, working as a race engine builder in California and Oregon. He still travels there fairly regularly and buys British classics to re-import when he finds good examples. This is one such car, bought as a nearly-finished restoration that recommended itself thanks to a rust-free shell.

It’s been back in the UK getting on for a year now, during which time the vendor has polished off the jobs that needed doing to the wiring loom and to sundry mechanical bits and bobs.

He bought the car in California from a musician who had acquired a few similar classics; this gentleman in turn purchased it in Texas, though the printed history with the car is limited. It’s in very good if not quite concours condition and remains a standard US market example that offers the key advantage we all look for with dry-state cars…no rot!

The vendor is somewhat given to understatement, describing this TR4 as ‘half a nice car’, which makes us wonder what it would take to get him to describe a car as ‘nice’. It’s really very smart – the respray is a decent job with a good shine. Unlike some British TRs, it clearly hasn’t been blown over again and again until the swage lines blur.

Here, the body lines look very crisp and straight and the sides are free from dings, dents and wobbles, except where the passenger door has been caught by the wind and caused a small crack a couple of inches long. A tape pinstripe along the car’s waistline gives it an extra lift.

The chrome is pretty dazzling too. We don’t know if the bumpers are original and re-plated – seems unlikely they’d have survived so long without a dent – but new or old, they’re in great nick. The chrome knock-off wire wheels are the show-stopper though. They catch the eye the moment there’s any sunshine and come with only one drawback…hit a muddy puddle and you’ll be cleaning them for a week. They wear expensive Michelin XZX 165 SR 15 radials.

The car’s interior has been refreshed with good quality seat covers that have leather centre panels with vinyl panels around the edge, finished with white piping. The carpet set looks new, too. The dash panel could be from a TR4A but wood veneer dashes were an option on the TR4 too, so it could well be original. Either way, it’s been re-stained or varnished in something darker than it would have been when new. It’s actually a really handsome look that suits the black trim and green paint very well.

Inside the glovebox is a modern stereo head unit that the previous owner had fitted, perhaps failing to appreciate what needs to be done to fit a negative-earth unit to a positive-earth car, as this one is. The vendor has now wired it safely with a modern non-earthing aerial and it gets excellent reception, kicking out a good sound from the four speakers concealed in the cabin.

There’s a lovely Moto-Lita wheel (note the Standard-Triumph badge on the horn push resting upside-down! We didn’t spot it…the vendor pointed it out) in front of the handsome speedo and rev counter. All the gauges and dials work.

Lifting the carpets reveals dry, untroubled floors both in the footwells and in the boot. The spare wheel well is probably in better nick than most home-market cars were after their first winter. Along with the spare, which is a painted rather than chromed wire wheel, there is a hammer for the knock-offs and a bottle jack.

If the good looks of the top-side of the car don’t convince you, the state of the underside really should. Everywhere you look it’s dry, sound steel with a layer of black paint. No rot, hardly even a glimpse of surface rust, no mysteries hidden in half an inch of underseal.

The car started first kick from cold when we went to see it, idling nicely straight away as the vendor brought it out of the garage. It’s mechanically standard and feels sprightly and strong – these could manage 0-60mph in a little over ten seconds when new and this one should still be in that neighbourhood. It’s a non-overdrive car so don’t expect it to feel relaxed at 80mph on the motorway, but for cross-country use it’s ideal. It shows very healthy oil pressure on the gauge.

The engine bay is smart and pretty clean – everything is accessible and there are no worrying leaks or frayed wires. There’s a huge new Bosch battery that’s aesthetically out of place but looks very powerful. It’s got a cut-off knob on the positive (earth) terminal. The inner wings and bulkhead are as sound as the rest of the structure.

We don’t have a great deal in the history folder, but there’s a note from the Texan owner who had the car before the Californian chap, plus the Texan title and the odd receipt for service work. The Californian title is there too.

There is also correspondence with the DVLA about the car’s first registration in this country and the subsequent SORN declaration, plus of course the V5C in the vendor’s name. The car is MoT exempt. Finally, there’s some paperwork from the shipping process that brought the car back to the UK.

We’re estimating this car will sell between £18,500 and £24,000.

This is a very good, rust-free TR4 – if it were a UK right-hand drive example in this condition, it might fetch as much as £5000 more. That makes it something of a bargain for anyone who doesn’t mind sitting on the other side, or who may actually prefer LHD for holiday use. What a car to have in the garage at your place in Provence, Tuscany or the Algarve…

 The lack of printed history is a minor annoyance, considering the recent restoration work that’s clearly gone into it, but it’s very common with American-sourced classics. This, therefore, is a car to judge on condition. Getting a heritage certificate and doing a bit of Sherlock Holmes stuff on the car’s life story is something the new owner can enjoy.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Scotland, about half an hour from either Edinburgh or Glasgow. 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’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and an array of regional providers for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.