Through the years, various companies have turned to Italian stylists when they were looking to broaden their appeal or increase their sales volume. Nearly every nationality that manufactures cars has done it – Japanese, Korean, German, French, British, Swedish. Oh, and the Italians themselves, because nobody goes to the land of the 5-series GT and says “design me something beautiful”. While they were hardly the first to do it, Triumph started a long-lived and fruitful relationship with Giovanni Michelotti by awarding him the contract to design their inexpensive family sedan, the Herald. Most were used up and thrown away, but you can find this 1962 Triumph Herald saloon for sale for $3800 in the Brentwood/Oakley area, CA.
Looks like this car’s had the old polish-a-turd treatment. That’s not a criticism, but it seems the paint has been brought back with a careful wet sanding and polish. The color is said to be hard to find, but frankly, on a car that’s hard to find, any color is rare. All the glass and trim is present on the car, and while it comes with the chrome bumper covers, they are not installed. It’s nice to see the black plates as evidence of a long California history.
The front grill appears to be missing, so count on a little search to find that. It seems to have been lowered, which is unfortunate for a car like this, but hopefully reversible. The car is said to have been part of a package deal found in a container, so hopefully there was little exposure to moisture. The overall look with stock wheels, caps, and weathered paint together with the shiny trim is quite appealing.
The seller listed this car as a saloon, so this is likely to not be a true convertible, but a regular car with the roof removed. The interior is said to be missing the rear seat but is otherwise complete, so hopefully the barriers to getting it on the road and in debug mode are not too great. The seller says he is planning on installing new tires before the sale since the current ones won’t hold air.
The engine is said to be a Spitfire unit, and while it runs, it does so poorly because the carbs need attention. It’s said to be an original owner car, although everyone’s interpretation is different – if he purchased it from someone other than the selling dealer, he’s not likely to be the original owner. Either way, when a car is 52 years old, the condition matters more than how many people have held title. A little more polishing and some readily available maintenance parts could put you on the road fairly quickly.
Rusty But Trusty 
March 18, 2014 at 7:34 am |
“Original owner” indeed will cause confusion when he states in the ad he found it in a container along with others… He does mention original condition though, which wold be a hard sale also if in fact it is a saloon with the top chopped off…LOL
March 18, 2014 at 10:46 am |
Well, the good news is the top is not so much chopped as unbolted – I believe it functions much like the top on a Bronco or 4Runner, so you can remove it but it’s a two-person job.
March 18, 2014 at 2:34 pm
That would be good news…
February 19, 2015 at 12:16 pm |
Hello, I actually bought this car from this guy in San Jose. And it only took about 45 mins of tinkering and I got it running. And it runs really good!
February 19, 2015 at 12:28 pm |
Oh, also the top does bolt on just fine!
February 19, 2015 at 5:12 pm |
Cool! Post back with pics if you can, always like to hear when a feature car finds a new home.