1972 Triumph 2000

bjdw, Jun 30, 11:15pm
Will these things go up in value ever and be worth some coin one day?
seadubya, Jul 1, 12:18am
The better Mk1's, any S, any estate and to some degree PI's are already.
Standard Mk2 2000 auto's, might one day if they become rare enough while petrol availability is still good. In saying that, the same would probably apply to hunters, land crabs or even the Princess.
If yours is a diamond in the rough (a rust free mint condition original), it will be worth more than most because most are showing more than their age.
elect70, Jul 1, 1:08am
See a few around in origonal unrestored condition . The others above have remorphed in to jap&korean cars , havent seen any in 10 years
richardmayes, Jul 1, 2:41am
Not really a classic car for impressing other people, so not likely to ever be worth serious money, if they were they would have shown signs of it by now surely.

Getting my 2.5 PI back on the road with a complete top to bottom restoration is the only classic car project I really want to do in this lifetime.
They are underappreciated and underrated and you'd have to spend a LOT of money to get anything classic that goes significantly better than a PI Triumph does when it's running right. Heck people spend bigger money on things like MGB GTs and VW Beetles that are bloody hopeless cars by comparison!
A big part of the appeal is in driving something that people don't know anything about, which has much better performance and handling than it's narrow, olde worlde looks and not overtly sporty styling suggest.

But it's not a big throbbing V8 or a convertible that turns everyone's heads, and they don't have any significant racing heritage so that is always going to limit the demand for them.
bjdw, Jul 1, 2:58am
There is a very tidy original unrestored standard Mk2 going going locally for a couple of grand and I'm wondering if I'll get my money back if I use it for a few years then pass it on.
sr2, Jul 1, 3:15am
I'd be a little wary of buying any classic car purely as a financial investment but I can't see sound and tidy Triumph 2000 do anything other than increase in value. They are still a great car to drive with a ride better than many moderns, they keep up with the traffic on the open road, they're easy to work on and parts are readily available.

If you want something for your investment portfolio look at shares or real-estate but if you're after an inexpensive and very usable classic with lots of character find one that isn't a rust bucket and go for it.
bjdw, Jul 1, 3:34am
It's not intended as an investment, just something that won't LOSE value.

I have my work delivery van I use as a daily driver but am looking for something cheap and a bit different to fart around in on the weekends and days off.
intrade, Jul 1, 3:43am
yes they will go up in value if you have the last one of the garbage . but by how much is anyones guess. Storing stuff to not have it turn to dust costs lots of money also.
glang, Jul 1, 4:00am
I remember in my youth (I was 17 at the posters date of 1972) a Triumph 2000 was regarded as a car that an elderly gentleman would own, and in my opinion is has never lost that connotation. I've never heard of a younger person aspiring to own one, and hence their values will never increase much due to the lack of popularity. What about a TR6 instead, basically a Triumph 2500 saloon clothed in a different body, problem is although back in 1972 they were roughly the same price new, nowadays a TR6 is worth conservatively 10x a Triumph saloon in similar condition.
snoopy221, Jul 1, 4:06am
Well so happens i personally know an ! Old Gentleman! who in his day was obsessed with zee ole trumpy.

As time and those days go by finding a genuine mint one well

Talkin to him one day and well we both knew of one fulla who had an absoulute minter 2500 S.
Nek Minut the very same vehicle came up as a deceased estate auction and he purchased it with all receipts as a genuine ONE owner vehicle for about a grand.

So yeah as per post #11
richardmayes, Jul 1, 5:33am
If the car has ALWAYS lived in a garage then it will probably soldier on for the next few years while you own it.

If it's spent any time living outdoors then there will be rust brewing somewhere and that can become terminal very quickly.

Body rust is the killer with these cars, they just can't keep the water out and they rust from the inside out. All body panels are fully welded in place so you can't even un-bolt outer guards to clean up or re-paint the insides.

There's not a lot of power with the two litre ones so you'd have to be looking for a relaxing cruiser, not something that can push its way into gaps in city traffic.
richardmayes, Jul 1, 5:46am
Heh, I guess I'm glad I no longer care what teenagers think then!

Last big trip I took in my 2.5PI was up to Taranaki for my wedding in 2012. 3 up with Mrs and daughter in the car (which was going to be our wedding car the following day.)

Between Wanganui and Stratford we caught up with an older guy on his own driving a 3.8 litre Mk2 Jag. one of the iconic classic performance cars of its era. He was obviously affronted because he drove a really fast and ragged looking line through miles of twisty bits, trying to remove the shitty old Triumph from his rear view mirror.

I just kept driving at a speed that kept my passengers happy, and that was more than enough to stick to the tail of the legendary 3.8 litre Mk2 Jag while it was being driven by someone who was clearly having the drive of his life.

So if that's the famous Mk2 Jag, Jag people are welcome to spend mega bucks on them, in my humble opinion!
comsolve, Jul 1, 6:01am
Because most classic cars are the sort of thing where there is a gulf between what the owners think they are worth and what they actually sell for.
ml6989, Jul 1, 6:02am
Cut my front teeth in the motor trade on those, and other British engineering wonders, Mini, Allegro, Princess, Landrover, Marina and so on. Life seemed to get better once the Jap stuff came along. But I still hold fond memories of Triumphs 40 years on. All those oil leaks, 1/4 and 5/16 inch bolts holding them together along with an exhaust system that rattled even if it was fitted correctly!
stevo2, Jul 1, 9:45am
A mate recently bought a very tidy 2.5TC for $3.5k. Nice car that ran well but currently off the road waiting for parts.
flack88, Jul 1, 7:51pm
Had a nice manual o/d 2.5 years ago they were good cars underated really,could wind out with the o/d on 3rd and 4th.and got easy 33mpg.
dublo, Jul 1, 9:29pm
When the Triumph and Rover 2000s were introduced in 1963 they were a new class of car: sporting saloons aimed at "young executives" and a cut above the "GT" versions of lesser makes. Triumph benefited too from Giovanni Michelotti's styling input (you couldn't beat the Italians for styling flair!) Performance and handling were very good for their time and they are still enjoyable cars to drive. (A Motor magazine road test compared the two, driving them from the UK to Switzerland. They preferred the more long-legged Rover across the flat country of France but the Triumph for the mountain passes.)
When the Mark II versions appeared in 1970 the front and rear styling changes copied the Stag's. They were little less nimble with the extra weight fore and aft but the new instrument panel design was much better (and you could plug straight in a panel from a PI with its tachometer.) The 2500 twin carb. version was introduced first here in NZ in 1973. That gave it more low-revs grunt. 1975 saw the 2500S replace the PI. No more power than the standard 2500TC (106bhp at 4750rpm!) but you got alloy wheels, softer front springs but an anti-roll bar, and a tacho on the dashboard.
The 2000TC, 2500TC and 2500S continued to be assembled in Nelson after UK production ceased, the 2500S until 1979.
When I was "rich and single" in 1973 I could have afforded a new 2000, but they were so popular there was a one-year waiting list, so I bought a 1970 one. I still have it. Rings and bearings and auto. trans overhaul at 199000 miles and it is now on 226000 miles. Used every day on town and around work, but a very low km 1977 2500TC manual/overdrive one is best on longer open road runs with its extra power and higher gearing.
Find a very good unmolested one and you will enjoy it! If it has been well maintained it should require little expense in keeping it up to scratch. But they are becoming hard to find and I regularly see examples listed here which make me cringe and wouldn't touch.
nz_stacie, Jul 3, 8:26am
A mate got a 1975 2.5 Pi for $300
franc123, Jul 3, 9:01am
A top 2500S or a proven to be well sorted (if there is such a thing) PI is the one to get, I wouldn't bother with any of the other versions or anything that was clearly neglected and in need of money needing to be spent on it. buyer determines the price on that. If you're not clued up on them and can't follow a Haynes manual you need to find someone who is to check it out, drive it and listen to it, someone in a club who was a BL/NZMC mechanic in the 70's who still has boxes of Leyland and Lucas stuff in the shed is the one to seek out. Remember these engines hate unleaded gas and how this has been coped with over the last 22 years by previous owners should be of interest as a buyer, what motor work its had etc, a quick test with a vacuum gauge by a trained eye will confirm if the valve gear ain't happy.
tshop, Jul 3, 9:24am
They were company cars offering thats why they carried on here before email & sms and you had to drive to see the job (ô¿ô).
dublo, Jul 4, 3:09am
Franc (#21), the only valve gear faults I have seen have been due to blocked oilways to the rocker shaft! No valve seat recession problems with either of my cars: my 2000 has had 2 valve grind and decoke operations in its 226000 miles and regular valve rocker clearance checks show no abnormal wear so no problems with valve seat recession from unleaded fuel with either that or my 2500TC. But with its higher compression ratio than later models the 2000 never liked 96 (or 95) octane petrol unless the ignition timing was retarded somewhat from the basic idle setting of 8 degrees BTDC. Now it has a Lumenition Magnetronic system replacing the points and with a wider spark plug gap, timing set to 10 degrees and slightly leaner carb. mixtures it is much, much better!
If you like the late 1970s "fashionable" colours go for a 2500S but check them out very, very carefully for rust and poor panel fit. They were built at the end of the production run of the big Triumph saloons and only a little more than 500 were assembled here. The assembly jigs may have been wearing resulting in the poor fit of many panels( especially) doors , and rumour has it that they had panels that had been rejected or were rust-prone examples. There are few survivors. Even my 1977 2500TC is noticeably more poorly-assembled than the 1970 2000, but despite that it goes very, very well!
Yes, a 2.5PI has that much more power (almost as much horsepower per litre as a twin-carb MG1100 engine at 5500 rpm!) and revs more freely than a 2500TC, which tends to let you know when it is getting near its maximum power revs of only 4750! (Due mostly to the camshaft profiles?) The short-stroke 2000 engine is noticeably free-er revving than a 2500TC.
franc123, Dec 6, 10:16am
It is still an area I would pay attention to when buying, for how long it takes, even if it appeared to idle smooth. Sure its not a huge problem in the scheme of things if you know how to fix it, but if you don't its still another expense you should be aware of. I wouldn't doubt that the last 2500S done CKD at Nelson were probably slapped together with whatever parts they could get hold of, UK production had ended some time before here of course. The panels could have even been stashed goodness knows where for goodness knows how long in the bowels of a Leyland warehouse un painted during industrial action.