Triumph Herald

Nearly complete frame-off restoration of a little British convertible

I'm a big fan of tiny cars

The Triumph Herald fits many of my desires for a project, but in factory form it is slooooooow. 1650 pounds may be extremely light, but 35 horsepower is still anemic.
The secret of the Herald is that it was designed as a sports car but detuned with a family car body shoved over it. Add in drum brakes all around and it's "just" a boring import.

This project aims to rectify the power deficit and other shortcomings with mostly period-correct modifications. No literbike engine swaps, but maybe a few microcontrollers.

Pneumatic Shifting

This is basically a fever-dream turned real project, with little justification other than it'll look cool as heck in a convertible. There are some interesting accessibility accommodations made possible by this device, though they require very specific circumstances.
2022-23 senior design project; prototype is completed and under the $350 all-encompassing budget. The end goal is a tweaked paddle-shift system that's suited for both road and race driving.

The pneumatics infrastructure adds ~5 lbs to the car, but allows for some other fun tricks, such as adjustable rear ride height and eliminating the manual washer fluid pump. And, well, I carry an air compressor already, so the weight penalty is down to the small tank alone.

Above shows an early version of the code with intentional delays, which will be cut down in testing.

In-Progress and Completed Major Components

Rebuilt 12/50 Engine

Holds 7k redline, vs 5.5k original (balance & springs)

Frame/Chassis

Bare-metal strip and repaint

Rebuilt Transmission #2

Laycock D-type Overdrive

Carburetors

SU HS2 (1-1/4"), replacing original Solex

Steering Rack

from a Mk3 Spitfire

Rebuilt Transmission #1

Standard 4-speed, traded for trans. #2

I think I would have fit in well at MIT

Simultaneously ahead of its time and decades behind, the Triumph Herald is as simple as "modern" cars get.

The tip-open bonnet reveals a measly 1.2 liter 4-cylinder engine, mated to a 4-speed manual transmission sending power to the rear wheels. Its sporty front suspension and steering were copied onto the reveled Lotus Elan and Europa, but the swing-axle rear end was subject to the same safety concerns as the Chevrolet Corvair.

I've had a Corvair on two wheels, and will pretend to be immune.

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