Fiona White Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Hi all, I am looking to buy a Triumph Herald 1200 but would really appreciate any advice on what to be aware of or watch out for. I am new to classic car owning and joined this club to learn more. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks. Fiona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 If you go and look at one, take someone with you who knows how to use filler. They'll be able to spot bodges and rust. And that's your main issue - rust. Anywhere water can settle will happily rot. Bottom of doors, bottom of a-posts, bottom of b-post, corners of the boot floor and all of the chassis. Check for previous repairs to the chassis and poor welding. Mechanically, nothing is past fixing or replacing and it's all easy to learn and with a bit of time and effort, easy to master. Don't underestimate labour costs for any work you don't do yourself. Generally speaking, anyone confident in checking over an old car should be able to spot issues. You'll only find out the more entertaining ones after you drive it for a while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Arnold Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Ideally get someone to check the chassis and in particular the rear suspension mounting areas for corrosion. When I bought my Vitesse it had failed then passed its MoT 3 months previously. I was unable to get a good look underneath but decided to risk the purchase - mainly because the car's reg no has my initials!!. The failure reason on the MoT certificate was shown as excessive corrosion to the offside rear suspension mounting. The pass certificate was dated the following day at the same MoT location. When I got the car home and my local mechanic put the car up on his lift, it was apparent that a welding repair had been done to get it through its MoT. However the nearside suspension mounting was in far worse condition and the car should never have been granted a pass certificate! Result was a search - eventually successful - for a good replacement chassis on to which the body was transferred. More than nine years, and more than 15k miles, later the car is still proving to have been a good choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Fiona, What is your budget and what do you want to use the car for? It will make a huge difference and help point you in the right direction. Old cars can be beautiful and fun to drive, they can also be rusty money pits - the trick is to pay the right price :-) If it's a beauty that's well sorted and needs nothing but regular maintenance then the price should reflect that, what you don't want to end up with is an old nail dressed up by an unscrupulous seller. The advice I was always given is the same as Ferny's - buy bodywork. Everything else is fixable DIY or for reasonable money. Renewing a tired interior is surprisingly satisfying and doesn't cost the earth to DIY. Parts for Heralds are quite reasonably priced and availability is good. Some other asvice; "Surface rust" on panel work is never just on the surface. "Just needs a...." if it just needs something then a decent seller would just do it - there's usually more to that problem than the seller is telling you. Trade sellers expect to make a profit, so trade cars will always be more expensive than private sellers - if you're not getting a "service" from the trade seller than you should be looking elsewhere. The trade can often fix little things for you and include it in the price - new number places, tyres, fix a dent, that sort of thing. But don't expect the fix to be a premium one, often it's not - so just be aware of what you're getting. Go see several cars at both the upper and lower end of your price range - get a feel for where the market is. Never buy in the dark Never trust a car that's just been washed. Always test drive for 20 mins+. Always suspect a car that's warmed up already when you come to view it. Cars that haven't been anywhere for years will need work as soon as you start using them - so something that's been 'dry stored for years' will probably need a hydraulic overhaul immediately, new tyres and new hoses soon after that. Lucas electrics are simple - a Herald only has a handful of fuses. Consequently, it's easy to neglect them and melted wires are often a 'feature' - stick your head under the dash and have a look! There are buyers guides out there, a quick Google will get you to some like https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/classic-cars/104977/triumph-herald-buying-guide-and-review-1959-1971 which is not a bad place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Quoted from Jason- The advice I was always given is the same as Ferny's - buy bodywork. Everything else is fixable DIY or for reasonable money. Sound advice in principle but must be taken in conjunction with the "take an expert with you" advice. My brother bought a Spitfire (years back, when he was young) on the strength of its "excellent" bodywork, believing the rumbly engine to be an easy fix. Within a couple of years it had rotted out to the point of needing a complete restoration. The rear wings had three layers of patches on them, the outer sills were merely spot brazed over the old, rotten ones, there was half an inch of filler in many places... Still, thirty years on and with a different engine, gearbox, diff, suspension, brakes, and just about every single body panel, I'm now happy with it. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona White Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Thanks everyone. This is really helpful. I was thinking of setting my budget around the £5000 mark. I like the idea of tinkering but am not up for a large project. I have a garage to keep the car in, and the plan would be to use it for weekend outings - not too far - and summer evening drives. On this basis, do you think I have set a realistic budget in your experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonnick Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 There cannot be that many 1200 Herald available these days, or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 It looks like your budget is probably OK for a decent but not perfect saloon, although you may need to stick to private sales. (I saw a nice white/jasmine one in Cambridgeshire which sold for £4000 a month or so back, to a dealer, and is now for sale at £7000.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve P Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Not sure where you are or if you want Saloon or Convertible but this one may be worth a look,not perfect but useable if the ad is genuine(IF). https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Herald-Convertible/254815732453?hash=item3b543382e5:g:yN4AAOSwFvVf4x~z Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonnick Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Looks a nice example although no pics of the chassis and it has a 1296 engine- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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