Tops and spares

Sir,
Regarding Mr. D. J. Dee’s letter on soft-tops, as the owner of a Triumph TR6 PI the main reason I was often seen with the hood erected in good weather, was the pathetic plastic press-studs fitted to the car. Every time the hood was lowered at least one more broke off the hood or tonneau cover. Replacement studs were unobtainable, so any breakage meant a draughty, flapping hood. I finally bought a set of metal studs in England and had them fitted myself.

Something which may be of interest to other TR6 owners is that if their fuel pump fails in Germany a new one costs no less than £125, a set of brake pads £18 (front wheels only). A friend of mine recently sold his two-year-old Mini as it was costing too much to maintain and bought a four-year-old NSU TT with “only” 98,000 km. on the clock. My six-year-old VW has covered 135,000 km. and has never let me down. The Triumph, bought new, has so far been off the road for over 40 days in six months.

No wonder British cars are looked on with amusement in Europe.

J. Grottick.
Stuttgart.