The "modernising" trend

[Andy Thompson]

I can't argue with anyone who wants to keep things mostly standard.

If keeping a 'standard' car I would suggest the only sensible modern bits to add would be larger diameter wheels to benefit from quality tyres - Triumph usually fitted the best tyres available as standard - Dunlop/Michelin/Goodyear but decent brands in the original sizes are now almost unobtainium. I think a 14 or 15" rim using a modern, quality 70 or 65 profile tyre is completely sensible and need not detract from the period feel. I use 195/65 Michelins on 15 x 6 minilites - even Triumph used 15 inch rims on their competition variants.

The other suggestion is to uprate the rear springs on a saloon to at least estate car rating if you regularly carry 4 people or a boot load of gearboxes.

Other than that - standard is just fine

[CAR]

Forgot about the rear springs Andy.
The estate had standard springs when we bought it, they were fairly tired and the driver's side had 3 insulators in the bottom of the trailling arm to try and level the car left to right.
New standard height but uprated springs from Chris made a world of difference without much expense.
The pi however had a very down at the rear look when purchased and would hit the bump stops on an undulating road with an 11 and 9 year old in the back and an empty boot. They were way beyond tired and replaced again with some from CW, just his normal height but mildly uprated pfl 'standard' springs. Along awith a nos set of Gabriel Redryder shocks the ride was transformed and the car no longer had a nose in the air stance.
Although both sets of springs were uprated from standard they have not compromised the ride at all and are possibly better rates than the original springs in good condition would have been. The rear overhange particularly on a mk2 saloon gives the springs a hard time over 40 years or so, is it any wonder they are past their best by now?

[Alec]

Hello Andy,

."even Triumph used 15 inch rims on their competition variants."

Yes but that was to help lift the car for forestry or rough stages, as fitting longer springs would upset the camber, one of the drawbacks of the semi trailing swing arm and the very short track control arms at the front.

Alec

[Andy Thompson]

Hello Andy,

."even Triumph used 15 inch rims on their competition variants."

Yes but that was to help lift the car for forestry or rough stages, as fitting longer springs would upset the camber, one of the drawbacks of the semi trailing swing arm and the very short track control arms at the front.

Alec

Very true - I was just trying to avoid the stigma of 15" rims being modern

What sort of decent full profile tyres can you get in 13" nowadays? And the less said about Stag alloys the better

[murcod]

One thing I forgot to mention (Andy can probably relate to this) :

Spares can often be a problem for the 2500 in Australia, with often huge sums of money being asked for "standard" fit parts. That was one of the reasons behind my brake upgrade- to buy stock replacement front rotors required a huge outlay. Then I had doubts as to the condition of the front calipers, doubts on if the pads had been contaminated with power steering oil (from the leaking rack/ hose). I also had little idea on how a "serviceable" set of brakes performed.... So, it wasn't hard to justify buying a kit that used parts that are readily available locally (BMW 3 series and Mazda RX-7) and were going to perform better. Plus it was a safety issue, so money well spent IMHO. I've also got a different engine fitted, so potentially it could have more power than the stock PI.

Most of the other "mods" (shocks, springs, poly bushes etc) have been safety related too.

The cosmetic mods to the body were to reduce future rust issues (removal of some of the stainless trim pieces, badges and vinyl from C pillar.) I've decided to stick with the wood veneer inside on the dash - sourcing proper veneer doesn't appear to be as hard/ expensive as I thought....but it will probably be a "more modern" species of timber!

PS: If I'd "inherited" a stock PI none of the above would be occurring and it would be kept completely original.