Triumph 10  in California

Story of a Triumph 10 Restoration in California

Bryan's Triumph 10 in primer

Hello Phil,

I thought your readers might like to see the latest pictures of my Triumph 10 restoration. I would have started the restoration earlier had my regular car, a Chrysler, not suddenly decided it needed a new engine. I'm glad the 10 was in working order, as she served me well as my main source of transportation for several weeks, while my late-model, low-mileage American car was getting an engine transplant.

Disassembly of the car has been delightfully easy, unlike some other cars. It only took a couple of weekends and a few evenings to get down to the bare shell, and I found that at that point I could tip the entire shell on it's side by myself without too much difficulty. I've taken lots of photos for the reassembly.

Paint stripping wasn't as hard as I expected, probably because most of the paint was burned off in the high desert sun north of Los Angeles where the car sat idle for many years. On the other hand, this means that there is almost no rust on the cars. There is a small amount on the bottom side of the windscreen where the gasket leaked, and on the floor a small spot from the same leak. Other than that, the car is remarkably clean and straight.

I'm having a great deal of trouble matching the original Mandarin Red. I only know that's the name of the color because I found an actual Triumph  10 US sales brochure I found on Ebay. That was the only color red listed.

Everyone smiles when they see the little car, and I'm looking forward to when she's on the road again. Until the next report,

Bryan Reese
Pasadena, California

These photos show the car during restoration, click on any of them to see an enlargement:

Hi Bryan,

This is just the sort of story I like to receive - someone who appreciates the value of this little car and is prepared to put in the time and effort to get it back on the road. It all looks very familiar as I have restored a 1956 10 myself. I am sure the car will reward you with long and reliable service, and that you encourage others to search out and restore more of them - they are out there somewhere!

You will know how difficult it is to source parts, but if there is any advice we can give, please just ask. Mandarin Red looks to me like a colour also used on TRs of the time so a call to TR specialists like the (company name witheld), they might well point you in the right direction. Many paint factors can mix a colour from a sample panel if you have anything with an unfaded section - like inside a door? (It looks like everything is already in primer!)

I will feature your car very shortly. Best of luck with the project and please keep us updated

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,
Phil Homer