????????????????

 

As well as the poll question, you have to ask - what else will I get for £500?

 

Well yes that had occurred to me as well, There are a couple of minor cosmetic jobs need doing on the Acclaim and once done I reckon I could easily sell it on for more than £500 and having an MOT'd car in part ex would mean that I could look for a Dolly or Herald at my leisure.

 

Love the Acclaim, always have done, always will do, in the same way that I love the facelift Rover 200 Series (SD2).

Go for it, is it a minter? Or is it in need of some work? What colour is it? Loved it in metallic red.

 

It's metallic silver, in top spec CD trim and its manual which is rare as most CD's had the Triomatic. Was bought as a rot box off fleabay last year but has had all the bodywork restored properly with new panels (no bodging). Mechanically very sound, low miles, full MOT etc.

Downsides are a badly dented rear bumper which might be tricky to replace and the paint (although generally good) is losing its lacquer on the bonnet and in a few patches on the roof. Would only need the specific panels painting rather than a full on respray so it shouldn't be too expensive to put right.

Prices have really picked up in the last couple of years so i reckon with a little TLC it could make a good profit.

 

I think you've already sold it to yourself there.

I'm sure a donor rear bumper could be found easily, and silver paint does lose its lustre over time.

And yes, that's super rare. I've only ever seen the top-spec CD models with the Trio-matic.

If you don't want it, I'll buy it!

 

Been scouting round at parts today just to get an idea. Brand new wings for £35 a go.......... bit different from the £300+ for 2000 wings if you can find them........

Ideally, what i really want is a Dolly 1500, thats what I was looking for when the 2500 dropped in my lap and in hindsight I prob should have just waited but the big six was a good car at a really good price so it was hard to turn down. Thought id found a Dolly earlier this week which was the main reason for agreeing to sell the 2500 but on closer inspection it needs to much work and so the hunt is back on. I dont like the idea of being without a car though and good dollys sadly dont grow on tree's anymore.

 

Well I guess it [probably] says Triumph on the boot.
If you have to ask Huff, you have doubts. Don't do it IMHO

 

acclaim

Get it bought, or at least traded in.

The 2 I had knocked spots off my TR7s, started first time, bits didnt fall off, and oh the beigh velour trim who could ask for more.

Seriously if you want a reliable run around you cant beat them.

 

am i imagining that there was a Honda Ballade here,or was it just a different model to the one that matches the Acclaim?
sure my uncle had one donkeys years ago

the 13/60 is one of the later models isnt it?,im sure there was a herald at that garage i mentioned the last time i was there,but im pretty sure it was an earlier one

 

The acclaim was replaced by the rover 213/216 and there was a near identical Honda model on sale here which was also called ballade, the earlier version was never sold here.

Yup the 13/60 was the later herald, bigger engine, more equipment etc

 

In the past, I've had two Triumph 13/60 Heralds and one Acclaim. If I was given a choice of which car I'd buy now, I'd go straight for the 13/60 Herald. They're easier to work on. Parts support seems to be better. Classic insurance and free road tax. They also have a turning circle to die for. The down side is the iron cylinder head. Unleaded conversions are available. Fitting a pair of twin SU carbs from a Spitfire (I had a Mk3) will give better performance and take you from the standard 28MPG to around 35MPG.

 

aye I tend to agree, I've owned 3 heralds previously and dad has had 20 odd so I know them pretty well

I don't bother with unleaded conversions tho, I prefer to run my triumphs on castrol valvemaster+, as it not only replaces the lead but also boosts the octane of the fuel to 5* level which is what they were designed to run on

 

excellent,i'm not going senile then
personally,i would have the Herald over the Acclaim,but thats just me

 

Having owned a A plated CD manual I would still say it was a Honda. From one year old and at 11k on the clock through to 1997 selling it on with 216k on the clock, for a mighty £10.
It was a great little car with the best engine I have ever owned, a sweet gearbox and great visibility. The steering is light but once used to that it has its ups as well. If you buy it and don't like it I will give you £400 if there are no major issues, so you are only down a ton.

Steve.

 

I heard that the Honda engines on Acclaims (and equivalent Hondas) are not that reliable. It's quite usual to see them with HGFs. This problem was solved when the mk1 200s where launched.

I'd rather have a 213, but I was told that they are quite rare in the UK...

 

2 Acclaims and 200,000 miles between them

Failures clutch x1 brake master cylinder x1 ignition module x1.

Other than that can't remember a single failing. Rot box yes I'm afraid although only the later B plater. Handling was interesting and needed attention but other than that just a simple cheap reliable little car.

Unleaded yep no probs and during the fuel strike on '01 when my 306 was off the road and I couldn't get diesel or risk running out the Acclaim ran on anything I could find.

I loved both the ones my dad had and would not hesitate to recommend one to anyone.

 

I disliked the looks of the Acclaim when I was younger, I haven't changed my mind since, but ultimately it's what you want. If it's a good spec and it's in good condition then why not? £500 these days will get you plenty of older cars in reasonably decent condition. I got my hands on a sheddy old green mkIV Ford Escort as a backup run-about quite a few years ago. Cost me a whopping £395. It was reliable and it never let me down. The interior was goddamn aweful though which was probably why it was £395 but mechanically it was the dogs nuts.

 

You'd be surprised at how much values have shot up, have a look at the prices mk4 escorts are fetching on eBay as a prime example.

There is no doubt the acclaim would be the better run around but I want something that I'd won't look out of place on a show stand but us capable of a trip to the shops when I need it too.

I'm going to look at a herald this weekend so will see how that pans out before making any decisions

 

hi

my brother years ago had a couple.

very good cars, ran for miles without problems, think only 1 elec window motor went.

very good spec for age, nice interior etc.

i think if i remember right it ran on the old 2 star petrol, hence was ok on unleaded, but not sure.

go for it, much better than a modern cheapie, and rare...how many do you see know?
after those he bought a ballade (UK car) again rare even back then!

 

just looked, on ebay is a rare limited edition with leather interior.

some enthusiast plaease look after it!, got to be one o the only ones left.

and looking at wiki, they made a turbo!, only 4 thought to survive.

bet that was quick back in 83!

what a shame the honda/rover marriage finished

 

There's still a few Escorts knocking about in reasonable condition for their age under £500, not so many these days it seems as I imagine theres a lot of them gone to the scrapyard in the sky since I got mine, but still.

This particular one (I know it's not a mkIV this time, I didn't mind the looks of mkVI though), if it doesn't have interstellar mileage almost tempts me to get it as a runabout, however the lack of mileage info makes me wonder if it's been to the moon and back...looks in decent condition though:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-FORD-ESC...999-FORD-ESCORT-FLIGHT-BLUE-/290587293472?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item43a85a3720

However, the Acclaim is your choice and that's all good! Go for it!

And yes, MKIV Escorts in decent condition have certainly increased their value!

 

The Acclaim certainly was 'car shaped'.

 

Not overly keen myself although the spec levels were excellent at the time.

There is (alternatively) a half tired beige Rover 216 1988 example on ebay! The facelift (hyacinth bucket version) looks so much better than the original

 

The Mrs Bucket Rover does nowt for me im afraid, the Acclaim doesnt do very much for me either but at least its got the right badge on it.

Been giving it a lot more thought over the weekend and the conclusion Mrs Huff and I have come to is why buy one car when two will do!

Assuming this guy does still want my 2500 and assuming the Acclaim is as good as we think it is im going to go ahead and take it in part exchange and it will be pressed in to use as cheap "everyday" transport. I am then going to put the rest of the money i get for the 2500 towards buying a Herald, Vitesse or possibly even a Standard 10 which will be tucked up safe and warm in the new garage im having built. I've resisted having purely show cars in the past because I think cars should be driven and to a lesser extent I just havent had the room to keep them stored away under cover but a bit of jiggery pokery with the designs for the garage over the weekend has shown up a way of building it so that i can keep my classic folding camper and a small classic car both safely inside and still leave enough space on the drive for the Freelander and the Acclaim.

So all being well, problem solved.

 

Right, the deal is done and the Acclaim is mine. Will post some proper pictures tonight.

Was really happy with the deal I got, I thought the guy was going to try and get the 2500 on the cheap but give him his due he paid me exactly what I asked for it without question. The Acclaim is a bit scruffier than I was expecting to be honest but I was still happy to take it as its mechanically very good with all the major work having been done and the body is solid in all the important places. Plan is to spend a couple of hundred to tidy it up, get it looking more presentable and then ill either use it as my daily driver or sell it on and get something else. Either way I dont think I shall loose on it.

Work on the new garage starts in about a weeks time and should be complete by the end of August at which point I can go looking for an older Triumph to put in it!

 

Couple of piccies.

The 'orrible wheels will be going in short order.......

 

I saw an absolutely smashing A registration example in light green on the A1 yesterday about 4.15pm - anyone on here?

(Nottinghamshire)

 

nice looking example,happy driving!!

 

Not that I'm one for advocating. However, as regards the Triumph Acclaim, check out http://www.oilsplat.co.uk/carq.asp?p=1&s=Triumph+Acclaim

It tells you how rare it is.

Yeah, i'd looked it up previously on another similar site. Just over 500 cars remaining out of a total production run of nearly 135,000.

 

Cannot think of an Acclaim without thinking of this; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41cm7Z4pWf4

 

Superb advert!

 

I reckon the Acclaim is a decent motor and it will be at the lower end of tax and insurance. I bought a 1990 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5GLX for £350 with new MoT and only 55000 miles which drives like new and the Acclaim should be the same. OK, the Lancer had 2 previous lady owners so has a few wounds from the parking wars but I can't see that from inside.
I had a Dolly 1850 which was brilliant but I think the 1500 is a different thing entirely. i.e. FWD?

 

The original Triumph 1500 was FWD but was later replaced by the 1500 TC which was RWD. Then later on all the smaller Triumphs were all rationalised under the Dolomite name and the the 1500 TC with a few mods was relaunched as the Dolomite 1500, either in basic TC trim with a flat dash and square headlamps or as a HL which got the curved dash from the 1850 and Sprint and twin round lamps.