What does £450 get you these days? A short trip to Rome? A few nights out on the town? A fridge? Well…it could nab you a Triumph Herald. Giving a Herald a home is akin to rehoming a puppy, and like rehoming a puppy, it’ll be well worth it once the training/teething stage is over.
Project of the Week: Triumph Herald
1959 was a good year for British cars, the Ford Anglia and Mini made their world debuts alongside the rather elegant Triumph Herald - of which nestled itself in as one of Britain’s ‘darling’ cars.
Yet, you would probably call it something else when trying to perform a 0-60mph sprint with an original Herald - being out accelerated to 60mph by a Land Rover and capable of only 71mph.
Later models were vastly improved, with sportier engines propelling the car to 60mph from a standstill in little under 18 seconds. This is a rather nifty feat for a car from the days of the pillbox hat and endless Beetles-esque haircuts. To put things into perspective, a Jaguar E-type, considered to be at the top of the sportscar world at the time, would do 0-60mph in seven seconds but cost rather a lot more. It was also a lot larger and had running costs to match, while the complex mechanics could hound you into a care home should you attempt tricky jobs in a hurry.
The Herald is a piece of cake to work on, however. With the bonnet up, the wheel even provides a handy seating position for making yourself comfortable during long stints in the garage.
This particular example is a later model, with just over 80,000 miles on the clock. The previous owner has had the car for nearly six years and adored ownership and traveling with it, but sadly they no longer have time to care for the Herald, as it requires to remain road worthy.
There are several areas of rust and the carburettor has caused the vehicle to remain off the road for a year, but it’s apparently been a joy to drive.
By the sounds of things, it won’t need much to get through an MoT and insurance will be cheap with the right insurance company - not to mention that it’s tax exempt; registered in 1969. A Triumph Herald is also pretty cheap to run, too.
After spending some time bringing this old girl back up to shape, you’ll be rewarded with classic coupé motoring in an elegant little car harking back to the days of sheer class and the swinging sixties. Parts availability is excellent and with an asking price of only £450, it would be a sin to pass on such a great project.