TR5 for SALE - Andrew Uprichard

 Andrew has put his TR5 up for sale. Below are some of the details:

Here is the background story from Charles Runyan: 

https://the-roadster-factory.com/Images/Customer-restorations/Runyan/T5-engine-gbx/Charles-TR5-Restorationl.html

Charles rebuilt the car with a high-performance engine, but it blew up after a hundred miles or so.  He had the engine pulled but never finished the rebuild.  I have included a picture of how the car looked when I saw it in 2019.

I had the engine rebuilt with the original head, crank and block and put the car back together.  New pistons and rings, new oil pump, new clutch. Various additional parts as required for rebuild.  Injectors refurbished (Kinsler Fuel Injection, Troy, Michigan).  New soft-top boot. New redline tires and wheels sent to Alan Hendrix (Greensboro, NC) to be trued and balanced.

As far as I know everything is stock with the exception of the TR6 wiper motor – pic.

Less than 1000 miles since restoration.  Everything works, although the wipers are slow to sweep.

Obviously I am limited in that the car is in Michigan. Reach out for pricing and more information on this wonderful car.  auprichard@uprichard.net    

Andrew

Story & Photos by Andrew Uprichard

I first met Albert Runyan several years ago when I took one of my TR3 restorations to Larry Learn in nearby Indiana, PA. I had been given Larry’s name some time previously and his work was of such a high standard that he has done the upholstery work on all my cars since. This time I needed some fasteners, so he directed me to the Roadster Factory, about a half-hour’s drive away in a town called Armagh*.

I had heard about how a TR enthusiast called Charles Runyan started a business called The Roadster Factory (TRF) back in the 1980s, but I had never ordered from them, so I was keen to see the place. For those who may not be familiar, the building is a beautiful brick structure sitting adjacent to what was the Runyan family farm. On opening the front door, a visitor was greeted by a beautiful black TR3 with a red interior and two incredibly rare TRS race cars sitting right behind. These are two of the three surviving cars which raced at Le Mans in the 1960s. The engines were of a prototype double overhead cam design, called “Sabrina” after the English model Sabrina Sabby, who was best known for her voluptuous hourglass figure.

I was greeted at the front desk by Albert Runyan, son of the founder and owner of TRF, Charles Runyan. At this time, Charles was heavily into running his restaurant, The Coventry Inn, and would tend to come to work at TRF at all kinds of odd hours, leaving Albert responsible for most of the day-to-day activities. Albert handed me the fasteners Larry needed and was then good enough to show me around the building. 

The building was a maze of rooms and corridors, probably going back to its origins as a chicken factory. Some areas were heated, but there were some which were still cold in what was early Spring in Pennsylvania. In a warehouse immediately behind the reception area stood a line of cars in various states of disrepair. I saw a Lotus, an MG, a couple of TR6s, and a tub from a TR3.  As we went deeper into the building between the scattered TR4s and TR6s I saw two (or was it three?) TR250s and two long-door TR2s. And then, in the last room in the building beside the chassis of a petrol-injected TR6 sat Charles’s favorite car, his beloved red TR5. I had never seen such a collection of rare Triumphs in my life.

I made it part of my routine to go back to TRF each time I visited Larry Learn, and Albert and I ended up being pretty good friends. We would go down to the local bar for a beer (usually a draft Yuengling, as it is not available in Michigan) and Albert introduced me to the staff at TRF: the two Chucks, distinguished by their nicknames, “phone Chuck” and “wood Chuck”, Brenda who makes up the carpets, Dan in sales, Becky in accounting, Deb the operations manager, and Mary and Julie in shipping. I even got to meet Charles, and Albert’s brothers, John-Paul and Simon, who so tragically died shortly after I met him. As I too had lost a brother in his early twenties, I felt Albert and I had even more to share than our love for TRs.

On one visit in the fall of 2018, I asked Albert if the TR3 tub sitting in the warehouse was for sale. I had bought a TR3 from a Detroit Triumph Sportscar Club member who was moving out of state, but the body of the car was just too far gone to restore. On the other hand, the tub at TRF looked to be in great shape, with evidence that someone had replaced the floors and sills at some point in its history. Albert explained the car was his dad’s and Charles was unlikely to sell anything other than the parts for which TRF was so well known.

“Would you ask him anyway?” I asked. 

“Sure,” he replied.

And so a week or so later I got the expected response that Charles was not going to let the tub go. But in what was subsequently going to prove to be a very ironic moment, Albert added “I’ll sell it to you if anything ever happens to him.”

One can only imagine my shock upon calling Albert less than two months later and hearing that Charles had just died over the weekend. This was before the news hit the usual channels and the newspapers and chat pages filled up with the details of Charles Runyan’s remarkable life.

Now I was in something of a quandary: much as I wanted that TR3 tub, I didn’t know what the protocol was under such circumstances. Is there a period of time one should wait before gently asking, “Er, sorry again to hear about your dad, but what about that TR3 tub???” Fortunately, Albert made such concerns unnecessary: within a week or so following his dad’s passing he told me to come and get the TR3 tub.

It took a while to get organized enough to go back out to Armagh and during our by now routine drink at Griffiths, Albert mentioned that the finances of Charles’ estate were such that they were going to have to sell the inventory of cars to help settle matters. He had recruited the help of an expert to get an idea of their worth and they would be posting the cars on their website shortly. My thoughts immediately ran to the TR5, but I realized that was wishful thinking and so concentrated on the long-door TR2s as I had always wanted to restore what has become a very rare car.

There were 2 long-door cars there: a white car with factory overdrive and a green car which had been disassembled and was in a series of boxes. It was something of a toss-up, but the green car looked to have less rust and so I told Albert that once a price had been decided, I would gladly buy the car. After a week or so, Albert told me to come back out and we could load up the car. As I did, I remember looking at the TR5 again and thinking what a beautiful car it was. But I couldn’t be so selfish: up to this period I was lucky enough to have a green TR3B, a red small-mouth TR3, a red TR4 and a midnight blue TR250, not to mention the TR3 restoration project which now had a body, and I was bringing home a TR2. Six cars !

Meanwhile I was back in Michigan, thinking how fortunate I was to have the cars I did, but secretly dreaming of the TR5. The story Albert gave me was that his father bought the TR5 many years ago and drove it regularly when an employee asked to borrow it for his wedding. Charles had agreed, but unfortunately the employee crashed it. Charles used the opportunity to do a frame-off restoration and chose to upgrade the car with performance engine parts, but whether as a result of this or not, he had an engine failure while out driving one day in the early 2010s. The car was brought back to TRF and the engine pulled and disassembled. And there it sat until Charles passed away, many years later.

One day I mentioned the car to my lovely wife, Maggie, and without missing a beat she replied “Fine with me if I can get a new master bathroom!” It was immediately clear to me that this was a win-win opportunity! I could get the TR5 and Maggie could get the new bathroom she so badly wanted! (To be honest, the old bathroom was showing its age and really needed to be modernized). 

I pretended to think about it for a while, but in my mind I was already driving that red TR5 around the winding roads of Michigan.

Another trip to Armagh followed and I am now the proud owner of what was Charles Runyan’s Signal Red TR5. I am pretty sure it is the only TR5 in Michigan, and probably the only one in the Midwest. I have the car back on the road, and it is a joy to drive. I was asked one day, “so just how many TR5s are there in the US?” That innocuous question started a year-long review of records, spreadsheets and websites and the list of 20 or so owners we have confirmed so far. We hope there are more out there and that the development of this website (many thanks to Rob Ervin) will encourage others to join us.

In the meantime, I realize I am very fortunate to have such a TR5 among such a treasured collection of cars, to have such a great friend in Albert Runyan, to have such a nice master bathroom, and to have such an understanding wife. 

* It is a coincidence that Armagh is also the religious capital of Ireland. It has two cathedrals, one Roman Catholic, one Church of Ireland, on opposing hills bordering the city. Both are called St. Patrick !!