Ever since Keith Irwin worked on a customer’s Triumph 2000 roadster in his restoration shop a couple of years ago, he knew he had to own one.
An unusual sports car for the day, it was as though Triumph had attempted to build a Rolls Royce sports car rather than a competitor to the MG. “I’ve worked on British cars for 30 years,” Irwin says, “everything from TR2s, TR3s, and TR6s to Austin Healeys and Bug-eye Sprites. I had seen the Triumph 2000 in books, and it was a dream of mine to find one, but never could.”
The Triumph 2000 was a special car, although more of touring car than a sports car. Between 1946 and 1949, 4,501 were produced. It was credited as Triumph’s first production car after World War II. The standard engine had been used by Jaguar before the war and eventually increased from 1.5 liters to 2 liters. Because of a shortage of steel in postwar Britain, the bodies were made of aluminum. The front fenders were huge, with equally huge headlights and dual horns. And the unique rumble seat had a built-in windshield for passengers.
Restoration specialist Keith Irwin had heard rumors of a Triumph 2000 Roadster hidden on the North Carolina coast. This is the car’s longtime owner as he prepares to help push the car onto Irwin’s trailer. KEITH IRWIN
The Triumph’s intricate dashboard is made entirely of red mahogany, instead of wood applied over a metal frame, like many sports cars of its day. The Triumph 2000 appears to be more of a coach-built classic than an assembly line sports car.
A proud Mr. Irwin with his new acquisition. It’s a unique car with a rumble seat, fully wooden dashboard, huge front fenders, headlights, and horns. It is very much more a coach-built car than MGs of the era. KEITH IRWIN
Irwin had heard one existed on coastal North Carolina, owned by a gentleman who bought it while in U.S. military service in the Caribbean. The car was imported from England in 1967 by a U.S. sailor, who sold it to the most recent owner in 1970. The gentleman used it on the islands during his time in the service then shipped it back to North Carolina when he was discharged in 1974.
“It sat in this guy’s garage for 40 years,” Irwin says. “I drove my truck and trailer to his house and wouldn’t leave until he sold it to me. The car’s black paint job is from 1970, but still looks pretty good.”
The 64-year-old car’s odometer only reads 23,480 miles. It features right-hand-drive steering and a three-speed transmission. Irwin and his team at Keith Irwin Restorations worked on the car for just two days, flushing the cooling system, rebuilding the brakes, and changing all the fluids, before firing it up.
“He sold me the car with most of the maintenance items I needed,” he says. The car features badges from Liverpool, England, the Triumph Roadster Club, and a parking permit from the U.S. Department of the Navy on the island of Antigua.
“When I take it to a car show or a cruise-in, I’m usually hoarse by the time I leave the show because everyone wants me to tell them about it,” Irwin says. “Maybe someday I’ll restore it, but right now my family and I are enjoying it too much as a survivor.”