Old Bulldog Now a Terrier

03Mär12

Road Test

Reprinted From The Newark Sunday News, February 18, 1962

TRIUMPH TR4 has changed body styling so radically from its predecessor, the TR3, that photographer posed it beside twin-engine plane at Newark Air Service area at Newark Airport. Road test showed cloth top to be watertight in rain and snow storms.

Triumph TR4

Fun to Drive

By BOB TAYLOR

They’ve changed that old bull­dog, the Triumph TR3, into a little terrier, the TR4, and made it more fun to drive.

Take it from a mildly blase road tester; the wider wheel-spread of the TR4 and the booped-up engine gives a crackling performance on a firmer footing. The wheel-hopping habits of the FR3 are just about gone, and a machine-gun get­away is assured.

The result is a sports car with a great deal of eye appeal and a real claim to being a pleasurable vehicle for any young at-heart driver.

Two Air Ducts
Take cockpit ventilation, for instance. It might be a trifle tough to prove that the average British sports car – and the old TR3 – actually could cook human leg flesh in summer, no matter how the driver believed it. The new TR4 has an elegant solution in two ducts which blast in fresh air like a typhoon.

And take those British soft tops and side curtains which on the TR3 seemed to collect rain and dump it on the riders. The TR4 has roll-up side windows and a cloth top that is watertight. And it has an optional hardtop which is not only watertight, but has an ingenious sun-roof gimmick for open sky driving.

Of  course, there had to be some concessions to British tradition. The cloth top still is a jolly hard handful to put up and down. The clutch and brake pedals are small and close together. The bucket seats are at a comfortable stance and well-situated for easy driving (particularly since the steering wheel can be adjusted) but the upturned side edges of each seat cushion  are too close together.

This road tester has always wondered whether all Englishmen have small feet and small posteriors, and has urged that measurements of an average American be sent to British auto makers. The side edges of the TR4’s seats pinch most Yankee rear facades, to put it briefly, and need widening for the American market.

Actually, these minor things are forgotten when a driver begins to handle the car with verve and freedom. There is a big tachometer dial clearly visible on the dash, and an equally large speedometer alongside. All the instruments are there in honest guage form, and the short floor-shift lever seems to fall easily into the right hand.

Slight Kickback
A new rack-and-pinion steering system is somewhat twitchy at low speeds and needs watching. But as the speed goes up this twitchiness disappears and there is no trace of it at 60 and above. A slight kickback on rough bumps at low speeds also vanishes, and the TR4 steers accurately at speed. In fact, a test on a Pennsylvania race track showed it was safe to take hands off the wheel at 80 on a undulating surface.

With a stiffer frame on the wider tread – the front wheels are 4 inches wider and the rear 3 inches compared to the TR3 – the TR4 is a happy road-holder on snaky curves. The gear ratios have been improved, and with a fast-acting shift mechanism the car can be belted around a twisting road at an exhilirating rate. The gear shift, by the way, has synchronization on all four speeds and a lock slot to prevent choosing reverse accidentally.

The engine, upped to 2,138 cc’s by an increase in bore, turns out 105 brake horse-power with 128 pounds-foot of torque at 3,350 RPM. The test car hit 60 miles an hour from a standing start in 10.1 seconds, and 100 miles an hour in 47.1 seconds. Top speed was a consistent 104 although 106 was achieved in one run. The  test  course was rather short but caused no trouble because of the TR4’s braking system with discs in front and drums on the rear. Stopping was always firm and quick.

Good on Gas
A surprising result during the 500-mile road test was that the new car gave 30.2 miles to the gallon steadily. Each test is divided into three periods, one of normal commuting in traffic, one including a long run over freeways or turnpikes, and finally the speed and acceleration tests. Ordinarily this latter period is rough on gas consumption and yanks the overall average down. Yet the TR4 hung on to the 30 figure and gave promise of doing better in warmer weather.

The test car was so excellently prepared by the mechanical staff at Genser-Forman, Inc., in Union, that the driver returned instantly during a rainstorm when the windshield wipers air-lifted off the glass at speeds above 35. All that was needed was a slight bending of the blades – and the tester was somewhat embarrassed he hadn’t thought of it himself.

To put it all together, then, the new model from Standard-Triumph is a good one. For a new owner it will prove an enjoyable sports car docile enough to be trundled to the store if necessary. The owner of the old TR3 may consider the TR4 somewhat less than rugged on the driver, but Standard-Triumph says it will continue to produce the 3 for such die-hards.

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Schlagwörter: 1962, bulldog, road, terrier, test, tr3, tr4