1949' Triumph 2000 Roadster 2000

MKE131 had spent many years in Birchington, Kent before Clare and I bought her from Mike Busby in October 2011 and had her transported to Norfolk. Mike worked at a paintshop, and had made a good job of re-finishing the body in British Racing Green. There were other classic cars in his garage, and he was selling MKE131 (TRA1923) to finance more work on the others.
Here’s what Mike wrote about his car in 2011:
‘Introduced in late 1948, the Triumph 2000 Roadster shared the same flamboyant styling and dickey seat as its Frank Callaby-designed predecessor, the 1800 of 1946, and was based around a near identical ladder-frame chassis.
‘Its new 2088cc OHV four-cylinder engine was, however, considerably torquier than the smaller unit it replaced. Such was the newcomer's in-gear flexibility that a 3-speed rather than 4-speed gearbox was specified; operated by a column shift. This enabled three occupants to share the bench seat.
‘Still bodied in 'Birmabright' alloy over an ash frame, save for its steel pontoon front wings, the 2000 used more panel bracing than the 1800 and thus provided a tauter drive. Just 2,000 of the 2-litre Roadsters are thought to have been made during the two years of production.
‘MKE 131 is one of that number. First registered on October 1st 1949, the Triumph is finished in British Racing Green with red leather upholstery. It was sold new by Martin Walter of Folkestone - as confirmed by the neat metal badge on the fascia.
‘The current owner purchased the car in September 1972 and believes it to be almost as original as the day it was made - with the obvious exception of the engine, which was apparently renewed in 1957. It has, however, enjoyed a high level of maintenance in the last few years.
‘This has included: in 1976 - engine liners rebored and crankshaft reground, new clutch. In 2007 - oil pump overhauled and new drive gear fitted, new plugs, points, solenoid, battery, front tyres, track rod end, front radius arm and bushes and master cylinder. The starter motor and dynamo has been overhauled, car resprayed, temperature gauge and speedometer repaired plus much re-chroming.
‘In 2010 a new stainless steel exhaust system and reconditioned radiator were added, with more re-chroming. Something of a family heirloom, MKE 131 conveyed the vendor and his new wife to Scotland and back on honeymoon in 1977, while some thirty years later it was used to ferry their daughter to church for her wedding.’
Mike Busby looked after the car for 39 years.
Pencilled notes in the handbook reveal that in 1955 the car was bought for £495 by Edmund Newton Hartley of Westgate on Sea, Kent, when the mileage was 55989. Two years later the mileage was at 73072, and Edmund replaced the engine with a reconditioned unit. By 1959, the mileage was 84867.
When Clare and I bought the car in 2011 the 5-digit milometer read 24011. Experience told us that it had lost the first digit when it went over 99,999, and that the car had therefore covered 124011 miles, and the reconditioned engine had powered it for 50939 miles, including the rebore, crankshaft regrind and new clutch in 1976. The current mileage reading is 25137.
In our ownership MKE131 has acquired a new hood, new carpets and new leather on the bench seat. Normal maintenance has been carried out with the assistance of a small repairing garage with experience of classic cars, including adjustment of the clutch pedal linkage to make the steering column gear-changing smoother.
MKE131 has many original features, like no wing mirrors and no heater. What is there is working well. The trafficators, for instance, spring out when required – and have been fitted with a little modern technology so that the lights flash while they are horizontal.
We are now in our eighties, and have covered just over a thousand miles in our Roadster, often with two of our grandchildren in the dickie seats. We never planned to use the car extensively or at high speeds, so we run on unleaded petrol. The valves have not been hardened to adapt to modern fuel for heavier use.
The car has been kept in an integral garage, close to the central heating boiler. MKE131 has always performed reliably, including at our wedding in 2013.