Stafford 2009

TSSC Stafford 50th Aniversary of the Herald 2009

We thought it might be a good idea to get the oldest Herald (on the road!) up and running for this years TSSC Stafford 50 th anniversary of the launch of the Herald event.

Born on the 19th March 1959 and bearing chassis number 11 there can't be many cars earlier than this.

Bearing in mind it hadn't been on the road since the 1980's it needed very little in the way of recommissioning. A complete brake overall, a drivers footwell, clutch hydraulics, and it flew through an MOT. Our aim is to preserve where ever possible, not to simply 'restore' and loose all original reference points. To many cars have had all originality 'restored' out of them, bearing little evidence of how they left Triumph's gates when new.

The drive up to Stafford proved uneventful bar a headlight cowl flying off. Once retrieved from the side of the road we were surprised to find no damage to it what so ever which was a relief bearing in mind how rare long peak cowls are getting.

Since Stafford I continued to drive the 948 every day until the end of the summer, and what a great little car it is to drive to. One of the nicest 948's I've ever had the pleasure of driving (and I've driven a few!), they made these early cars real good.

As Found

Here's the photos as found...

The Oldest Herald Saloon

Canley Classics saves the oldest known Herald saloon, chassis number G11, engine number G8E, built on the 19 March 1959.

Not registered until July 59 in Leicester, only two owners from new. The second owner bought the car in the seventies and used it only for one year, it then entered a period of storage in various locations for the next 30 odd years. Losing its last covered storage over a year ago, it had until recently been parked behind a shop in a public car park, and was starting to attract the attention of vandals. Saved in the nick of time, allthough superficially tatty, it has survived remarkably well retaining all of its original unique bits that would be next to impossible to replace. Now safe and in the dry, it awaits it's turn in the (sympathetic!) restoration queue before it joins the other museum cars.

Oldest Known Surviving Triumph Herald Saloon