A Satisfied Triumph 2000 User

Sir,
I read with interest the letter you published from Mr. A.R. Cawthome about the Triumph 2000. I also have one of these cars and can fully endorse Mr. Cawthorne’s opinion of it. Mine, used mostly for long runs and being fitted with overdrive, averages 33 m.p.g., and its accelerative powers and road holding make it very safe in modern driving conditions.

However, soon after I acquired the car, I decided the steering wheel was too big and clumsy, and replaced it with a woodrimmed one advertised as being of the type fitted to the works rally cars. From then on, a judder in the steering became apparent at 60 m.p.h. and upwards that was so severe that after fifty miles or so of motorway driving, I could neither hold a teacup nor write my own name.

The local agents went to great trouble to trace the cause, their efforts being complicated by the uneven wear that was taking place in the SP41 tyres with which the car was fitted from new. Seven were consumed in about 12,000 miles.

Eventually, we put Cinturatos on all round, which accentuated the judder. The car went back to the works, who reported nothing wrong.

At last we tried replacing the original bus-type steering wheel, and the trouble vanished. It is evident that the inertia of the steering wheel is an important factor.

Apart from this trouble and the rate of wear in the SP41s, and a manifold gasket as on Mr. Cawthorne’s car, the 2000 has behaved impeccably. Since it replaced a 3-litre B.M.C. Princess, my journeys have been made in approximately 10% less time on about half the petrol. It has now completed 21,000 miles and the Cinturatos show very little wear as yet.

Hitchin. Richard Walker.