1949 Triumph 2000 Roadster
Owners: Bernie and Janice Taulborg Collection
Original cost: $3,000.00 (In 1949, the average car in the U. S. cost $1,420; average household income was $2,950; an average home was $7,450; gallon of gas was 17 cents)
Previous owner: Owner from Omaha, 1988 – 95
Number made: 2,000
Engine, etc.: 2088cc (127.4 cu. in.), 68 bhp; straight-4; 3-speed manual; 168.4 in. wheelbase; 2,460 lbs.
Triumph Motor Co. Ltd. was saved by Sir John Black, managing director of the Standard Motor Company which bought Triumph in 1944. His goal was to rebuild the ailing company and produce sturdy vehicles with an all new chassis and body. He wanted a sports car to take on Jaguar which had used Standard engines in the pre-war period.
The Triumph 2000 was the first new Triumph after World War II.
With steel in short supply following World War II, the body was build from aluminum using tools that had been used in making parts for large wooden bombers built during the war. The chassis was hand welded from tubular steel. Transverse leaf springs on independent suspension were in the front and a live axle with half-elliptic springs was in the rear. The rear wheels followed a considerably narrower track than the front wheels. The radiator was set well back from the front. The Triumph 2000 was the last series produced with a rumble seat which used the forward half of the trunk lid as a second windshield. In the original headlight set up, when low beam headlights were needed one headlight would go to low beam while the other light switched off, resulting in the nickname “One Eye Monster”.
First produced was the Triumph 1800, followed by the more powerful Triumph 2000 which was built on a slightly longer frame. The body of the 1800 was lifted and dropped into the new chassis and the Triumph Roadster 2000 was the end result.
The Triumph 2000 was unveiled in 1948, at the same time as the release of the Jaguar XK120 which was its main competition. The Triumph 2000 featured both a regular passenger compartment and a high-sided rumble seat. Door were suicide doors and very narrow. The radiator ornament and hub cap centers feature a cloisonné (inlays of enamel separated by thin metal strips) red and blue map of the world. The 2000 could achieve 0-60 mph in 24.8 seconds and had a top speed of 77 mph.
The 2000 did sell at a much better rate than the 1800 but it was not enough to keep production going. The Triumph 2000 lasted one more year with production ceasing in 1949. A total of 2,000 were made.
Sources: http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16190/Triumph-2000.aspx
http://vintagetriumphregister.org/raodster2000/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Roadster
http://uniquecarsandparts.com/lost_marques_triumph.htm (History)
https://www.triumph-roadster.de/ Ossip’s Triumph Roadster Page; click on “Translate this page” box for English version)
