This week’s Prime Find takes me back to when I was learning to drive around 1975. While the first car I drove was my father’s 1967 Volvo 144E, most of my lessons were in a Triumph Toledo, blue, as I recall. Our car this week is bright yellow, but otherwise the same.
The Triumph Toledo is one of those forgotten cars of the 1970’s – at least, I can’t remember the last time it ever came up in conversation. It’s probably one of the most unexceptional, unassuming classics you can buy, utterly conventional in just about every way.
Introduced in 1970, the Toledo followed the more advanced Triumph 1300 – the latter was British Leyland’s first front-wheel-drive car, with the engine placed longitudinally above the gearbox, more sophisticated suspension, styling that aped the bigger Triumph 2000 and a quite highly specified interior for a small family saloon car.
The Toledo reverted to rear-wheel-drive, simpler suspension settings and a more basic interior – in many ways it was no more than a cheaper 1300, slotting in below the new Triumph 1500. It was initially made available only as a 2-door, with a 4-door version not going on sale in the UK until the late summer.
It was a perfectly acceptable-looking car, if somewhat unexciting, with only minor styling differences from the 1500 courtesy of Michelotti, designer of many Triumph’s of the time; principally the single rectangular headlights instead of the 1500’s dual headlight set-up.
All in the family…
Performance could best be described as modest, unsurprising with only 58bhp on tap, making for a maximum speed of around 85mph or 135kmh, with 0-60mph taking a very leisurely 17.6 seconds, according to an Autocar road test in August 1970. Having said that, it wasn’t significantly worse than the Austin 1300 and was quite a bit better than the Hillman Avenger 1300 or the Ford Escort 1300, and at the same time, was more economical than most.
These were not the Toledo’s only rivals – Citroën’s advanced GS was a much more modern package, if perhaps too unconventional for some, or staying with French alternatives, the Renault 12 was an option, and from Germany, the Opel Kadett and even the VW Beetle could be considered.
Some of the alternatives to the Toledo
Autocar summarised the Toledo as roomy and comfortable, well finished, “outstandingly easy to drive” and economical. They concluded that it should sell extremely well, which it did by Triumph standards.
A 1500c version was announced at the Geneva Motor Show in the Spring of 1971. Buyers could choose from a single or twin-carburettor (TC) version, both offering over 60bhp and generally improved performance. A number of minor improvements were made over the rest of the model’s lifespan, such as front disc brakes, a heated rear window and radial tyres as standard, among others.
The Toledo was eventually replaced in early 1976 by the Dolomite 1300 and 1500, by which time 119,182 had been made, of which just under 6,000 were the 1500cc version. These numbers made the Toledo one of the company’s best-selling small cars, although it was nowhere near as successful as either the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 or Ford Escort.
Let’s take a closer look at our Prime Find, and for such an unexceptional car, it’s really quite, well, exceptional. First, there’s the colour – need I say more? It transforms what would otherwise be a bland little saloon into a cheery and charming classic.
Second, it’s history – delivered to its first lady owner on March 1st 1976 to her home in Powys, it covered only a little more than 300 miles a year before being stored in her garage 1993 with the odometer reading 5,300. There it stayed until the lady’s nephew picked it up, passing it on to a family friend with whom it was also put into storage, not seeing the light of day until February 2013, when it was recommissioned, taxed and tested and put back on the road.
The selling dealer – based in Chichester in the south of England – says that this is “One of the most original examples you could wish to own. The car is completely original except for its yellow coat, which has been renewed a few years back, and there is “absolutely no corrosion”. Based on the photos we have borrowed from the dealer’s website, the tan interior looks to be unmarked.
This Toledo comes with a big history file, complete with invoices, MOT certificates, brochures and so on. One thing that the advert does not make clear is whether this is a 1300 or 1500, but with so few 1500’s produced, the odds are it’s a 1300. It’s (still) extremely low mileage of 11,000 is warranted, and the asking price for this practically as-new budget classic? £8,995.
Considering how rarely they show up at events – at least, the ones I’ve been to over the last half-dozen years – there’s a surprising 164 still on the road here, with another 134 SORN’d. Remarkably, there is one other currently for sale in the UK, and it is equally as special, a 9173 example with only 13,500 miles under its wheels and even more original than our Prime Find, still wearing its original coat of paint. It’s also quite a bit more expensive at £12,995, plus it’s not yellow, which is why it’s not our Prime Find of the Week. Still, what are the odds of being able to choose between such fine examples of this budget classic, either of which would make superb entries for the Concours de l’Ordinaire at the Festival of the Unexceptional.
You can see the full dealer advert here, (you’ll have to scroll down their page a little) and as always, if this charming British classic has put a twinkle in your eye and sent you checking your bank account, we recommend arranging an inspection first if possible.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk.