We are extremely excited to be underway on a very special project: a full restoration of a 1962 Triumph Italia 2000. This is car number 301 of 329 built by Vignale and is one of just a handful that still exists today. This is actually the second Italia 2000 we have been lucky enough to restore. These cars were built on a TR3 chassis and had custom bodies made by Vignale in Italy. Mechanically, they are quite easy to restore but when it comes to the body, it’s a whole different story. Parts are, as we like to say, made of ‘unobtainium’ so anything missing or damaged beyond repair will need to be custom made to the vehicle.
On arrival, the first thing we did was drive the car to see what we were dealing with. To our surprise, the car ran and drove excellent. This is a great sign as we now know the engine and transmission are in pretty good shape. The next step was to get the car stripped down to a shell and off to the sand blaster to see what we are dealing with under the paint.
Now that the car is sand blasted and all of the paint is stripped off we can see that it is in fair condition with some accident damage to the driver’s side. There was also accident damage to the front nose and rust in the lower fenders and sills. Rust in these vehicles is very common as the bodies were made quite crudely and no rust protection was used. All panels will need to be fabricated by hand just like Vignale did when they originally produced these vehicles.
We are just getting started on this project so as you can see, we have a long way to go. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments. Be sure to sign up for our RSS feed to get updates on this and other projects currently in the shop.
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1962 Triumph Italia Restoration Part 1
Do you have any of your restoration project for sale.
Sorry but we do not have any for sale. I wish I knew where there was one but they are very rare and desirable.
Im in the process of restorting a italia also. im starting with less then you,i was able to uptain a set of rusted ,old floors an rockers uprights etc….but i dont have the bump (rear clearence) the panel i copied, it was gone, could i get some pictures an size of yours..also i have the tooling for my pullmax to reproduce the floor pans if needed Thanks E Smith
no…i copy the used parts, i did not use them…..E Smith
Hi Eugene,
I would love to help in any way possible. Just let me know what you need. Photos of what you have would also help. Where are you located? We are in the process of replicating many of the panels for this car right now. They are all hand made so no 2 cars are alike.
Justin . thanks for getting back with me.i have replicated the floors,the inner body mounts,floor uprights, ,rockers,trans rear tunnel,rear upright, rear floor over rear(no bump up yet)and outer rockers, etc.. i realize these cars where hand made but i belive the center floor was stamped maybe from another model ?? i say this because the tunnel an center floor look to be one piece and the beading looks stamped, i would be happy to share any photos and or measurements or data i have gathered,im 25 miles from phila. pa. let me know where you want me to send the photos Thanks again. E smith
Go ahead and send the photos to me at any time ([email protected]). Be sure to let me know exactly what you need. I can also take any photos you need.
Justin, was away this past week. looking for some photos of rear bump up over rear behind seats….size flange etc.. any thing whould be helpfu llthanks.. Eugene Smith
Hi fellows,
if anyone is interested in a Triumph Italia Restoration Project, please contact me under
[email protected]
Regards
Leo
Hi Eugene,
please let me know which Vignale Body Number your car has.
I surely can help with some parts.
Contact me under [email protected]
Leo
Triumph Italia Register Europe
Switzerland
Leo, Thanks for your interest,would be interested in a parts list.. im doing the metal work on the body,i will past all information on to the owner Thanks Eugene Smith
Just wondering if you guys are going to take it off that TR4 frame and put it back on a TR3 frame so it’s original and fits correctly. Those frame welds were scary.
We will still be using the TR4 chassis as it is very similar to the TR3 with the added benefit of rack and pinion steering. It would be very expensive to change the chassis.
hi everyone!
I have one triumph italia 2000 green made by 1962.i’m doing the restauration but it’s in a very good condition,like new with 8000 km.
It is for sale if you are interested on.
We do have interest in the car. Where is it located? How much would you like for the car?
it is in italy in my garage.i don’t know the price right now.If you’re interested contact me direct by e mail. [email protected]