From the estate of the late Roy Jackson 1962 Triumph...

1962 Triumph TR4 Roadster
Registration no. 888 YTJ
Chassis no. CT3191
Engine no. CT 3463E
• An older restoration
• Present ownership since 2013
• Offered from storage
• Requires recommissioning

"The original and very successful TR2 formula reigned for eight years, but between 1961 and 1967 there was a compete redesign revolution." - Graham Robson, The Triumph TRs.

First step in the TR's transition from rugged, uncomplicated sports car to something altogether more refined, the TR4 was introduced in 1961. Giovanni Michelotti's new bodyshell brought the styling bang up to date while beneath the skin there numerous chassis changes. Rack-and-pinion steering, widened front and rear track, and an all-synchromesh gearbox contributed to improved drive-ability, while wind-up windows were a big advance on the TR3's primitive side screens. The standard engine was the 2,138cc four-cylinder overhead-valve unit first offered on the TR3A, and when equipped with the optional overdrive the TR4 was good for a top speed of almost 110mph. Today, the four-cylinder TRs are among the easiest of post-war classic sports cars to own and maintain, being supported by a multitude of component suppliers and other specialists.

The accompanying copy green logbook in the file confirms this TR4's date of original registration as 9th May 1962 and lists three further keepers in the Bedfordshire area from 1972-1977. In 1979 the Triumph was purchased by a Mr Manderson. Examining the limited documentation on file, it would appear that the car was restored for the first time between 1980 and 1986; photographs on file show the body separated from the chassis, so it was an extensive restoration. Other photographs confirm the engine was removed in 2010. There are bills for some of these works on file. At that time the car belonged to a Mr Powell of Cumbria.

The Triumph was purchased by the late Mr Jackson around 2013, since it has been garaged and seen little use. Although the car starts, runs and drives, recommissioning is recommended before returning it to the road. The car would also benefit from some cosmetic improvement. Accompanying paperwork includes a new copy handbook and a quantity of old MoTs dating back as far as 1979.

Roy Jackson was born in the middle of WW2 in the North West of England near Lancaster. He spent his boyhood fishing the local rivers and lakes and shooting. His father was also a car enthusiast and Roy's formative years were spent watching him race his Triumph and Lagonda in local races such as the Barbon Hill-Climb. He was always involved in his dad's motoring escapades, learning to drive in cars considered classics today on the driveway of the family home. Roy's first car restoral was a 1932 Alvis Firefly which he worked on in his father's building yard when he was a teenager. This project ignited in him an ambition to become a fully-fledged mechanic. However, his father had other ideas and wanted him to enter the family construction business, so Roy went and studied Civil Engineering. This was a profession he grew to love and he became managing director of the company at a young age, successfully running it until his retirement in 2013.

Since 2013 Roy had no wish to live the life of a regular retiree. Rather he saw this as the opportunity to resurrect the dreams of his youth and to start to restore classic cars as he had wanted to in his younger days. His home, a converted Cumbrian farm, was the perfect venue for his new career and these restorations became his life. Working together with his son-in-law Seb Morgan, what started as a dream quickly evolved. The workshop they built together became renowned locally and further afield. Roy and Seb rebuilt 26 classic cars and military vehicles over the 11 years they were working together, including the vehicles listed by Bonhams in this auction which are offered from his estate.