Welcome to teamspirit-uk
The home of a classic race team project
I was fortunate in 2011 to have an opportunity to acquire a fascinating motor vehicle. Commissioned in the early 1960's the TR Mulsanne is a unique prototype that raced in the 1960's. I'm the second owner from new and this site tells its story
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How We Got Here
In 1958 Richard Butterfield was given a new Triumph TR3a as a 17th Birthday present. In its day the TR was the sports car of its generation. Richard used the car for a few years before the idea to race it was born.
He built a space frame chassis, commissioned Williams and Pritchard to build a body. He tuned the engine and took it racing.
He raced it in UK races until c. 1965 with some clubman's successes.
In the early 1970's Richard emigrated to Westlake Ohio, USA.
Richard and his family were long term family friends and after my degree in 1989 I travelled to Australia, then USA and was scheduled to stay with them in Westlake for 2 weeks...
I stayed 8 months.
In their garage, covered in detritus I discovered the TR.
It had not run for about 20 years and was in need of some TLC.
A few months later I was driving it.
I returned to the UK.
In the early 2000's Richard commissioned a local 'British Marque' expert to work on the car. This was a disaster as the skills and knowledge of the vehicle was very lacking.
In 2011 I travelled to Westlake and shipped the car home.
The second part of the story starts...
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UK Restoration
Locally I met a Triumph expert, Wes Keeley, who, though retired, expressed interest in the car. It was always going to be a gentle, long term project as family priorities meant that funding was tight.
Initially we focused on getting the oily bits right.
Wes rebuilt the engine with period parts, balance and lightened where possible. Reinstalled the Isky cam that was in the car.
Brakes, steering and suspension all fettled the car romps along at modern traffic speeds.
The car is quite a challenge on the road in NVH terms. Noise, vibration and harshness - yes, it's got them.
Next plans are for a body off treatment, and prep for UK historic racing.
Budget is tight so it might be a while, but please check back for news. Any funding help much appreciated.
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