L plate sprints

[sprint95m]

I bought a Sprint, from the original owners, that was registered on 1st August 1973 as NSK95M. It was VA154. They delayed registering the car to get the "new " suffix. (SK was county registration for Caithness and car was sold by Finlayson's of Castletown).
With this car came a genuine BL workshop manual, inside which was the registration document for an L reg Sprint (VA71) which was registered in Lancashire. (This car had been scrapped.)

[Len Hughes]

Hi sprint95m

What colour did the registration document have for VA71?

[sprint95m]

Hi sprint95m

What colour did the registration document have for VA71?

I think it was blue, but I know this car was resprayed from its original yellow. It only ever had one owner. Was taken off the road c.1988.
Somewhere I may still have the document. If I find it, I'll update.

[sprint95m]

I have found the document for VA71. Its colour is listed as yellow (although it was later resprayed blue).
It had engine VA000078HE and registered on 2/7/73 as VJT982L (which I am led to believe is Lancashire. The owner moved from Ormskirk to Scrabster in Caithness.)

[Howard81]

VJT982L is a Bournemouth registration!

[hsdolly]

Just reading the L-Reg thread - I have owned five of these in the last few years - the lowest chassis number was in the low 80's, the highest just under 1400, so Mart's is the 'oldest' L I've heard of. I have nearly finished restoring the ex Isle of Wight dealer car which was registered on 1/7/73, so the earliest registered for public sale car I know of, but is just over chassis number 1100. Equally I have one just over number 180 and that is an M. So confirms lack of a pattern. All of these cars were yellow originally. Obviously the second works rally Sprint was an L - so white for that one. Never seen a road car that was an L and originally anything other than yellow - would say I've known of a dozen over the years. Anyway, fairly rare motors. Cheers.

[SprintMWU773V]

Ian H's VA6 is most definately Yellow and always has been. It's an L reg of course!

[Len Hughes]

Thanks Ian, shame such an early one "pased away"

[TahitiSPRINT]

VA632 is in The Netherlands. It was imported from the UK in '94. It's Mimosa of course and it was UK registered KNR 259L on 27 06 1973.

As far as I know there were no export-Sprints build during the first (2000?) batch.

Actually, in The Netherlands the first ones used at the local introduction were build from August ’73 (chassisnumber from about VA 24** LDLO on).
The Dutch registration was embargoed by the BL importer until January 1974. All ’74 MY colours were available from the start and overdrive was standard fitment as well as a tandem brake master cylinder (LHD).

So my guess is that ’73 MY Sprints were RHD home market, no o/d and Mimosa Yellow only (production Jan ’73 to July/August ’73?). And then from the start of ’74 MY production (starting August/September ’73?), the production started for other markets, specifications, colours, LHD, etc

Can anyone confirm this? Also I would love to see some pictures from the Geneva press introduction

Cheers,
Ronald

www.triumphowners.com/tahitisprint

[xvivalve]

Having had the option to watch some paint dry this week, I chose instead to analyse the last registration list published in 1997.

Removing any duplication and any car known to be scrapped, there were at that time 1797 UK based Sprints listed (of which incidentally 112 were automatic!), within which there were 49 'L' Registered cars. Extrapolating this ratio to total build numbers gives us a tenuous statistic of circa 620 'L' registered Sprints in total, most of which I guess would have been factory supplied demonstrators. The list of 'L' registered Sprints known at the time is as follow:

AHK 587 (ambiguous with AKH 587 also listed): colour blue!
BDL 934: colour yellow
BMN 824: colour red, private export later to EU!
BTE 322: colour yellow
DCJ 616: colour yellow
DCJ 660: colour yellow
DTT 645: colour yellow
DUJ 219: colour unknown
EAJ 855: colour yellow
EMR 836: colour yellow
EPX 347: colour yellow
HSU 200: colour yellow
HWK 277: colour yellow
KBB 891 (ambiguous with KKB 891 also listed): colour yellow
KDN 539: colour yellow
KHJ 702: colour yellow
KLR 143: colour yellow
KNR 21: colour red white & blue!
KUT 395: colour yellow
LRM 798: colour yellow
MUF 749: colour yellow
MUM 387: colour black ! (automatic; which was not launched as an option until autumn 1973!)...development car?
MVF 749: colour yellow
NHC 969: colour yellow
NOT 924: colour yellow
ORJ 756: colour unknown
OUM 998: colour yellow
PEH 218: colour yellow
PGJ 749: colour yellow
PLY 51: colour yellow
PUR 900: colour yellow
PUW 323: colour yellow
RMG 491: colour yellow
RPJ 708: colour black!
SLL 620: colour yellow
SPL 360: colour yellow
TEY 893: colour yellow
TNR 508: colour yellow, private export later to EU
TSB 721: colour yellow
TXF 649: colour yellow
VBH 470: colour yellow
VBW 450: colour yellow
VBY 174: colour yellow
VJT 950: colour yellow
VRR 565: colour yellow
WBX 148: colour yellow
WST 491: colour yellow
XAU 519: colour yellow
YWX 550: colour yellow

You will note some obvious exclusions, Mart's BFR, all of the FRW press cars for example.

Note some were not (at that time) yellow! and one was an automatic several months prior to that being offered as an option on the Sprint!

I'll leave it to others to report how many of these are remaining registered at DVLA; I'm bored now!



At the same time, there were a further 65 Sprints known in europe, and 19 in the rest of the world

[xvivalve]

So no one picked up the baton then

[hsdolly]

Hi Al,

The ones I have now are BDL 934 and RMG 491. SLL 620 was sold to a forum member and I believe NHC 969 is someone who posts here too. All four of these are/were in originla shells as far as I am aware, with BDL being mint and, when sold, SLL was not far behind. RMG awaits resto and SLL looks as though it is in good hands. I also had one not on your list which was/is PMF 67 and was blue when sold, although this looked to have been reshelled. Hope this helps update your list.

Regards

S

[DoloWIGHTY]

What Isle of Wight dealship was BDL sold through?

[hsdolly]

I am not sure ref BDL. but you may know as the garages listed on old MOTs in order from 1977 are Esplanade Newport, R A Spiller Shanklin Garage, Binstead Garage Ryde. Any of these Triumph dealers at the time?

[DoloWIGHTY]

Binstead was and always a Volvo Garage, closed up business very recently. Not heard of any of the others you mention though, I would assume it would have been supplied by Westridge Garage looking at the areas that the MoT's were done in, Westridge is still going, always a BL/Rover garage right up to the time Longbridge went down. Now it is Ford and Mitsubishi dealership.

Not heard of the others, but if I can help any further I will be pleased to help.

*EDIT* Esplanade is still going but now based in Newport (was Ryde) and I think have always been a VW/Mercedes dealership.