IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: my NEW Triumph 1300 FWD project!

In today's video we take a look at the lesser spotted, often forgotten Triumph 1300! It's my new car and the focus for future episodes of Tinkering Tuesdays. IDRIVEACLASSIC is sponsored and insured by Adrian Flux - check them out for your insurance quote on the link below: https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/classics... Today's walkaround text: A lot of people think of sports cars when they think of Triumph, but I’d say the 1300 is a brilliant example of what Triumph could achieve and just as important as their TR sports cars. When the 1300 was first on the drawing board as Project Ajax, it was to replace the Herald but by 1964, the car’s market position was revised and the team decided it was better placed to perform it’s own space and saw it as a scaled down 2000 for the buyer who wanted a smaller saloon. Whilst the car brought a lot of newness and was Triumph’s first front wheel drive, it was the same engine as the Herald 13/60 - but was placed on top of the gearbox and drive was sent to the front wheels. The styling was the working of Michelotti, who of course is well known for his work with Triumph and it was rated highly by snippy automotive journalists. In fact, it was dubbed the best small car available by Autocar. For context, the 1300 launched into a decade of ADO16s and Minis, with the ADO16 across all badge variants being the best seller of the decade and dominated sales charts. Taking the title of best small car was no mean feat in the swinging yet all too conservative decade. The 1300 was said to top 85mph and with plush carpets, wood trim and a dash which was far more advanced than many of it’s counterparts; it’s easy to see why it garnered such praise. My experience so far hasn’t seen the car top 70 miles per hour and if I’m honest, I think the car would be thoroughly unpleasant at anything faster. The car, without any additional extras, came in at £835 with tax, which was pretty pricey at the time but with over 80 seating positions available due to the fact the steering column moves and the seat moves, this was a car which was far more ambitiously upmarket and futuristic than many others in the sector. The car was advertised with a 320 mile in a tank, but my experiences would say this is on the lower end of average and I have got over 200 miles out of half a tank. The seats are supposed to be full flow ventilation - but I’ve already burnt the backs of my legs this week as they stuck to the seats which were hotter than the sun being black vinyl, so this is utter nonsense and any ventilation is barely noticed. Whilst my biggest bugbear is that notchy gearbox, it does have synchro on all gears and independent suspension on all four wheels - which as you’ll see makes the ride pleasant although it’s not as refined as some of the early 70s stuff on Hydragas. So that is a snapshot of the Triumph 1300 - more information will come as we discover the car through coming videos - but first, let show you this dash!