The idea of restoring a vintage British sports car with his 16-year-old son seemed like a good idea in 2008. Gary Gruchey knew all about working on cars. He has rebuilt thousands of automatic transmissions while working at Vancouver-area General Motors dealerships over the past 35 years.
“I wanted to buy a project that Matt would be interested in and would be timeless – a car with classic looks that will hold its value,” he says reflectively. But sight unseen is not always the best way to buy a classic car. “We were shocked when we saw it,” Gary says.
He had sent $4,000 to a dealer in Kelowna for a 1962 Triumph TR4. It was one of 40,000 two-seat Triumph sports cars built in a five-year run starting in 1961 and ending in 1965. The vast majority were built for export to the United States. According to the factory heritage certificate, the car was delivered in black with a red interior to Los Angeles and was purchased by the Canadian dealer out of Oregon. It was in very sad shape: derelict and rusty.
“I knew nothing about British sports cars. I’m a GM guy. We pretty much had to take it as we had already sent the money,” Gary laments. The rusted hulk came home to Vancouver on a rented trailer. Father and son got to work disassembling the car to the bare body and frame. The body went one way and the chassis another for sandblasting. While rust repair and body work got under way, Gary was passing on his mechanical skills to his son by involving him in every aspect of restoration. The frame was sandblasted, painted and reassembled with new suspension components. Matt learned about engines by helping his father rebuild the original four-cylinder power plant including all new bearings, piston rings and valves.
Then life got in the way. Matt went off to attend university in Newfoundland where his father grew up and he had many relatives while Gary took up motorcycling and other pursuits. The restoration project stalled and would sit untouched for more than a decade as Matt graduated with a political science degree and then went to Dalhousie University law school in Nova Scotia.
“My wife kept asking me what I was going to do with the car,” Gary says. “I decided to get it done, went out to the garage and got back to restoring the car.” After Matt returned to Vancouver and took a job at a large law firm handing commercial real estate work, he got back into the project. They got inspiration by attending the All British Field Meet where up to 500 classics are displayed including other Triumph TR4 examples.
The car took shape in the driveway of the family home in South Surrey. With the exception of body work and paint, Gary and Matt did all the restoration work including the spectacular all red interior. The restoration was finally completed last summer. Gary drove it for the first time to get it safety certified so he could license it in British Columbia. It drove well and passed inspection with flying colours. Matt was able to take his girlfriend for a convertible top-down cruise through White Rock.
“What’s important to me is I didn’t let my son down. The car got finished,” Gary Gruchey says looking back at the 16-year restoration odyssey.
Father and son are looking forward to displaying the car at the 2025 All British Field Meet to take place at Vancouver’s Van Dusen Botanical Garden next May. But first, Gary, who spent his entire career rebuilding transmissions, will have to fix the four-speed manual transmission in the show-ready 1962 Triumph TR4. “The overdrive doesn’t work so I’ll have to take it apart to find out what’s wrong. Then the restoration will be complete.”
Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in a Vancouver-based public relations company. [email protected]
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