Author: Website Administrator

Here is an update of what the club’s press office has been up to in the last couple of months. It is always a quiet time of year for the press office of the club but behind the scenes much as been going on. I now start to get busier letting the world’s press know about our plans for the year ahead. If you have news of your local area then do please let me know at publicrelations@triumph2000register.co.uk

2026 National –

The first press release will be going out to the local press and media in Cornwall and the national classic car press in the first week in February. This is a “save the date” type of teaser press release and contains details of our event and our chosen charity. There are two further press release then issued as we get nearer to June.

 NextGen – Classic Car Weekly have started running a series of one page articles called “Next Generation Diaries” where they feature a younger classic car enthusiast’s car. Having seen the first two I got in touch with the editor about NextGen and could they feature one of our members cars. He has responded favourably and passed it over to the Features Editor, Chris Hope who runs this page. In the meantime I contacted Keiron who has suggested we use Jake Witor’s car and Jake has given me all the information and pictures so he and I can put together the article to send to Chris Hope.

Chris Hope has been in touch with me and is happy to feature Jake’s car so have now put together the article with Jake and sent it into Chris. Chris and Jake have been in communication and the article will feature in Classic Car Weekly on 4 February.

Result!

 

Since the summer the Press Office has been busy and following successful coverage of our 2025 National both before and after the event the office was able to turn its attention to other club matters that the classic car press needs to know about.

1: 2026 National – The Press Office has now researched all the local press and media in Cornwall ready to do the first press release in the new year.

2: Atlantic Garage Del Lines Blue Plaque – Thank you to all who contributed to this appeal and the finished plaque is now waiting to be placed and unveiled in Weston-Super Mare, which should happen in the next month.

3: Practical Classics – The magazine did a full page feature on NextGen in their January 2026 edition which is on sale now. It interviewed Keiron Trumper and pictured his car.

4: NextGen – Classic Car Weekly have started running a series of one page articles called “Next Generation Diaries” where they feature a younger classic car enthusiast’s car. Having seen the first two the Press Office got in touch with the editor about NextGen and could they feature one of our members. They are shortly going to showcase Jake Witor’s car, so look out for it.

5: Classic Car Weekly- In their issue of 12 November we were featured on p22 in the section “Clubs Celebrated” under T for Triumph when they reported on our 2025 National Week and the money we raised for Forest Pulse. There was also a picture of our cars at the National.

We were also mentioned on p33 in an article by James Peene on “Clubs Act To Save Classics” which was about clubs who have official scrappage schemes whereby the clubs buy examples of their cars, that are beyond restoration, store them and sell the parts to members.

Don’t forget, if you have news or something you would like to see in the classic car press that relates to your Triumph if you send it to the Press Office, it will see what it can do in getting it published.

It has been a very successful year for the club all round and we have received a lot of coverage both locally in Gloucestershire and nationally in the classic car press. All this helps to continually raise the profile of the club and hopefully continue its prosperity in the future. This will also depend of course on volunteers wishing to contribute to the club by taking on  more active roles within the club. The magazine, the National, the shows we attend and the functioning of the club all happens due to the existing people who fill these roles. They obviously won’t be around forever so if you want to be more involved please do let one of us know – it is great fun and very rewarding as you do get a lot more out of being in the club when you are part of actually running it.

In the meantime, my best wishes for a merry Christmas and happy, peaceful and healthy new year and see you all in Newquay if not sooner,

Mike Menhenitt

Press, Media and Public Relations Officer

The Register’s Press Office has been busy throughout the summer and members can read a summary of the activity follows:

Following the successful National in The Forest of Dean Classic Car Weekly in their issue of 30 July gave is a half-page spread on the National which James Peene of the paper co-ordinated with me on and Classic Car Buyer also featured us.

Some of you may remember an article about a Triumph 3000 that was the subject of a feature in Classics Magazine a couple of years ago. This was about a car that British Leyland built and following the further research I did on this, which is lodged in the Register archives, I have written an article on this for Classics World magazine to follow up on their article, so they can update readers and of course our members!

According to the new editor of the magazine, now of course called Classics World, it is due to be featured – so watch this space!

Classics World also started what is going to be an occasional regular feature about how two people met and changed the course of motoring history. They naturally started with Rolls and Royce meeting in Manchester. I hit upon an idea to follow this up with the founder of Triumph, Siegfried Bettmann meeting Colonel Holbrook at the start of WW1 which subsequently led to Holbrook joining Triumph after the war and the two of them heading a company that produced the first sporting saloon cars, for which Triumph became world famous. Watch this space!

Talking of Triumph 3000s we cannot of course forget the Stag estates and saloons built by Del Lines of Atlantic Garage in Weston Super Mare. To commemorate Del and the Triumphs he created we launched a public appeal for monies to purchase and then erect a plaque to recall this for prosperity. Enough money was raised and the plaque is now ready for us to put up and unveil. So many thanks to all who contributed. The next summary will have a report on the unveiling.

Our NextGen section is going from strength to strength and they put on a great display at the National. Classic Car Weekly have started running a series of one page articles called “Next Generation Diaries” where they feature a younger classic car enthusiast’s car. Having seen the first two I got in touch with the editor about NextGen and could they feature one of our members cars. He has responded favourably and we have chosen Jake Witor’s car to feature. So Jake and myself are now putting together an article that will appear shortly.

If you have news of what you and your Triumph or your local group have been up to do please send it to me and I will try and get you into the classic car press.

Mike Menhenitt
Press Media and Public Relations Officer

publicrelations@triumph2000register.co.uk

Visit logothatpolo.co.uk/store/tri2000 to view our new range of embroidered clothing.

Further to earlier news items about the FBHVC survey, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs have advised us that the survey is now closed and they are “delighted with enthusiasts’ responses to the National Historic Vehicle Survey”.  They go onto say “Enthusiasts have responded to the extent that 17546 people expressed their opinions and details of their historic vehicles and “future classics”, more than ever before.  Also 501 vehicle clubs, (from a total FBHVC membership of 528 clubs), responded to the survey” which included the Triumph 2000/2500/2.5 Register. Thanks goes to our President, Andy Roberts, who submitted the survey on the club’s behalf and to all those club members and non-members who completed the survey as owners of the Triumph 2000 range of cars.

We have received a communication from the FBHVC (Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs) asking us to help them with one final push on their survey.  So far 11,000 people have responded, but many more are needed.  The last five yearly survey was answered by 15,000 people.  They are saying:

“Please help us keep our classic vehicles on the roads! The five-yearly National Historic Vehicle Survey urgently needs your input. Taking part in the survey is vital as it shows the crucial importance of our hobby and will help stop future legislation from preventing us using our vehicles. The survey only takes around 15 minutes (a little more if you have numerous vehicles) and it is your contribution to safeguarding our freedoms! The survey closes on 31 May, so please don’t put it off – ‘later’ will be too late! The survey is anonymous and your data is kept safe. Follow this link to the survey: www.fbhvc.co.uk/survey”

The Register’s Press Office has had a slightly quieter time since the last news on the web site, before its starts to get busy about now as I do the pre-national press releases. The following has been happening with the Register in the press since the end of winter and I hope some of you may have seen these items in whatever classic car magazines/papers you may buy. I don’t buy them all by any means, so if you do spot something please do tell me about it at publicrelations@triumph2000register.co.uk

1: 2025 National – Practical Classics featured our National after I sent them the first press release teaser for the National, in their April issue. It was also in Classic Car Weekly and Classic Car Buyer. The classic car monthly magazines had their press release yesterday to allow time for them to get it in their next issues, in time for the National.

The classic car weekly papers and the Gloucestershire local press will all get theirs week commencing 9 June to allow them to hopefully get them in their papers just before we all descend on the forest!

2: The Triumph 3000 – Yes, Triumph did make one or two! This was a feature in Classics Magazine in January 2023. Following further research on this by Mike he has written an article on this for Classics World magazine to follow up on their article, so they can update readers and the editor confirmed that this will appear over several pages with photos in a future edition- so look out for it!

3: Tracing The History of Your Car – I hope you enjoyed my two articles in Six Appeal and it enthused you to start to trace the history of your cars. Since writing it, I have been reunited with “Lulu” my old 1970 Mk 2 2000 and so am starting to trace the missing bits of her history. Due to this I have reluctantly had to sell my Mk 1, but the new owner is delighted it has so much history- and it does add to the value of your car. “Lulu” will be at the National so please do find me and tell me how you have got on with tracing the history of your car – I am sure there will be some interesting stories!

4: Stoneleigh 2025 –  The Register is wishing to be at the forefront in the classic car movement with regard to young members; and as a start the club threw open its stand at Stoneleigh to cars being exhibited by our young members. A report on this was sent to the press with a picture of our stand on it.

Following this, Classic & Sportscar magazine contacted me saying they want to feature us from Stoneleigh and further information was sent to them about each car exhibited plus photos. The feature appeared in the April issue out on 6 March and although heavily edited  appeared in the News Section.

Practical Classics also featured it in their April issue.

5: Next Gen – This is the exciting new young persons section of the Register and named by the guys who instigated it. The Board approved it and it has been launched and the classic car press and media received a press release from me. We now await to see if they publish it in the forthcoming monthly magazines.

6: The Triumph Stag Estate and Saloon Cars built by Del Lines – Del Lines owned Atlantic Garage in Weston Super Mare where he built many Triumph variations as he rallied these cars extensively in the 1970/80s. He is most famous for dropping in 3.0 Litre V8 engines into our cars and creating the Stag Estate and Saloon cars of which four survive and all owned by Register members, including Del’s own car, DEL 33 owned by Alan Chatterton. Classic and Sportscar did a major feature on these cars last year for us and I hope you saw it.

The club has long wanted to remember Del Lines, who sadly died after a long illness in 2023 and we now have permission to erect a blue plaque on the site of what was Atlantic Garage. The Register felt that it should be up to individuals whether they wanted to be part of this instead of the club spending members’ money on such a plaque and therefore have launched a crowdfunding site to raise the necessary funds. This can be accessed at

https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thetriumph2000registerdellinesappeal

and I hope you will contribute towards this to honour the man that did a lot for the Triumph range of cars and in particular the 2000 range. The plaque we hope to erect is shown below.

AN APPEAL

Many of you will know of Del Lines and perhaps even have met him. He was a Triumph man through and through and particularly for the 2000 range of cars. He was a fiercely competitive rally driver in Triumphs and later in a Rover SD1.

He ran Atlantic Garage in Weston Super Mare from 1970-1993 and quite by chance he one day put a Stag engine into a Triumph 2000 Estate. From this were born the Del Lines Stag Estates and Saloon Cars for which he became famous. Four of these cars still survive and all are owned by register members, with Del’s own car, DEL 33, being owned by Alan Chatterton.

Del died in 2023 after a long illness and the club would like to honour his memory with a blue plaque at where Atlantic Garage was and the club has permission to do this. The plaque is shown above and would be by public subscription to fund it. If you would like to contribute you can do so at the Crowdfunding Page:

https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thetriumph2000registerdellinesappeal

Thank you for your support.

Mike Menhenitt