4WD Triumph

Five years ago I put together a web page with some photographs and details of the 4WD Triumph put together in the late 1960s. Unfortunately the web page was lost a while ago, but I recently found the photographs on my computer, so I'm uploading them here in case anyone is still interested.

Background Information

Sometime in the 1960s, Triumph designed a 4WD utility vehicle utilising 1300 FWD derived components, called the Triumph Pony. From what I can tell, Triumph never went into production with the vehicle, instead series production was taken up by a company called Autocars in Haifa, Israel who turned the Pony into the Dragoon.

Triumph Pony / Autocars Dragoon

Autocars Dragoon

Triumph Pony - registration CHP 786C

Triumph Pony / Autocars Dragoon Technical Specification

Engine
Triumph 4 cylinder, I-I-W-F (cylinders in line, valves in head (OHV), water cooled, front mounted), 1498cc, 56 bhp @ 4300rpm

Transmission
4F1R x 2

Brakes
Hydraulic

Tyres
6.50-13

Wheelbase
2.01 m.

Overall
l x w x h : 3.43 x 1.57 x 1.93 (max) m.

Weight
991 kg. GVW on/off road : 1638 / 1435 kg.

Note
Normally front-wheel drive, engagement of rear wheel drive also engages low range. DeDion front axle. Semi-elliptic springs front and rear. Produced to British design (Triumph 'Pony').

Triumph Pony Gearbox

Pony Gearbox from Canley Classics (shown with genuine Le Mans Spitfire wheel)

Motorsport

However, the story doesn't end there. The Triumph Competition's department took a 1300 FWD, and fitted a Le Mans Spitfire 70X spec engine, 2000 LSD rear end and the Pony 4WD system. Now we're talking! The result is shown below, being driven to first place by Brian Culcheth at a televised Autocross at Lydden in Kent, in February 1969.

Getting some air!

Brian at the Wheel!

Unfortunately, in an event later in the same year at High Egdorough, the car with Brian Culcheth at the wheel broke a trailing arm, rolled and was comprehensively written off.

Oh dear!

'finishing lines' - courtesy of Classic Cars Magazine

Letter from Brian Culcheth to Jason Chinn

Further reading

I'm assuming (until David Pearson tells me otherwise) that the Pony gearbox will bolt on to the back of the FWD engine in a similar fashion to the FWD gearbox -

FWD transmission

Here's a more detailed cross section of the arrangement of the FWD gearbox. It would be great to get a similar diagram of the Pony gearbox arrangement -

FWD cross section of clutch, gearbox and final drive

Here's the arrangement of the RWD rear axle. Note the mounting points of the "trailing suspension link (2)" and the "semi-trailing radius rod (4)" -

RWD rear axle

Here's the arrangement of the FWD rear axle. I'm assuming that the FWD rear axle shares the same mounting points as the RWD rear axle.

FWD rear axle

If anyone's actually up for doing this conversion, I'd be very interested to see the results!