Tell me about: Triumph Mayflower

[vulgalour]

 

 

I know I'm presently at capacity but I've been finding myself coming back to the Mayflower as a potential future purchase.  The A40 Farina was also up there but prices on those have been on the rise and now I can't imagine me being able to find one in budget (sub £1500) that's worth having now.  The Mayflower is still in flux on prices, I've seen projects (scruffy, MoT'd, £500 last year) go for surprisingly little and pristine ones go for suprisingly lots (almost concourse, low mileage, low owner,  Â£8,000 two years ago) over the last five years or so.

 

I've been keeping an eye on the Mayflower for a while, rather like I did with the Princess, but never really done any research into them beyond learning they're a fairly basic 1950s car of diminutive scale.  As a 6 replacement, for what I'd want from a car, they make a lot of sense for me.  I do like small classics, especially so if they're unusual in the styling department.

 

That's the other thing too, the Mayflower would likely be a replacement for the 6 once I've used the little Renault for a bit.  With the Princess a long-term keeper and the Rover showing no signs of going away any time soon, the 6 is the slot for cars I'd like to try.  I want to get the 6 sorted first and get at least a year's road legal ownership under my belt with it but I suspect it won't really fit in with my future hobby plans and isn't really a car I want to own, it's just a car I happen to own, if that makes sense?

 

I'd not be looking at doing tens of thousands of miles a year in the one I'd get, it would be a project and very light use hobby car.  Patina preferred, but not knackered if possible.    To cut my rambling short, what I'm interested in hearing is any ownership experience of the Mayflower.  Do they share much with other Triumphs or even BMC cars?  Is parts availability a particular issue?

 

[brownnova]

I only wish I had ownership experience of over I'd these fine machines, but I don't.. So have another picture of one:

 

 

 

I have read about them, bit the only thing that sticks in the minds was that they're very slow, and sold very poorly in America which was their intended market.... But that's not helpful, sorry.

[Walter White]

I don't have a lot to offer other than I think the car was based on pre war running gear and whatever else was kicking about and given a new / different looking body to look new.

[purplebargeken]

Had one for a very short while. It was Damson in colour, ran quite nicely but was rusty as fuck.

 

It's worst rust afflicted areas were the tops of the front wings and the floor pan, more so at the front where it joins the bulkhead. Fortunately repair panels are available from the Club and most else is plain sheet metal. Wings would be a ball ache so I never looked into them. I bodged instead. Engine is pretty straightforward and quite willing for what it is.

 

Interiors are pretty straightforward but a lot will be very tired now. The controls were pleasant and 50's quirky in style.

 

The car was way beyond my ability to tackle properly and went to a new home. It turned many heads when out on the road.

 

Fun purchase as they do look very different. Go for it.

 

Potential first dibs on the Renner?

[purplebargeken]

http://www.triumphmayflowerclub.com/Information.htm

 

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~nicouls/triumphmayflower.htm

 

Cut to the chase:

 

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~nicouls/triumphmayflower.htm#C

 

Try these for starters

[Cavcraft]

Notoriously rusty and unpopular, almost comically bad. My dad said they rotted as they came out of the factory, he'd been to view a couple back in the day and I remember him saying even a salesman told him to give them a miss.

 

When do you pick it up?

 

 

 

*Edit: just waiting for someone to mention if you like rusty, lifetime projects there's on in Chester with your name written all over it.

[mercrocker]

As a die-hard BMC enthusiast I am bound to say you are much, much better off owning an A40. 

 

Mayflowers offer the chance to bankrupt oneself on a Daimler-esque interior, more rust than can be imagined, most of which will be unseen and a parts quest akin to the more difficult sections of The Holy Grail and The Lost Ark.  

 

The only way to make this more difficult for yourself is to yearn for a drophead version. 

 

Verdict - Do It.   

 

Actually, Mrs Rocker loves these and will not be swayed by any of my objections either....

[billyboy406v6]

Should be fun to own and run, and easy to fix if you like twirling the spanners ? Proper car !!

[KruJoe]

One-and-a-quarter litre engine. That's the Yamaha lump, innit.

[trigger]

I seem to remember someone asking this same question on here years ago and i recall the general conclusion was they were dangerously slow to drive and rusted like a rusty thing dipped in salty water.

 

Plus they look like a hearse.

[Angrydicky]

I love them! One of the most universally-unloved fifties cars going, which is all part of the appeal.

 

Engine is a pre-war Standard engine as fitted to the smaller Flying Standards, gearbox I'm pretty sure is the same as the Vanguard Ph1 and 2 (three speed column change). Switches are bakelite and most have disintegrated by now. Both big circular gauges are similar to the Somerset and suffer from the same problem - the glass goes murky so you can't read anything. I always wanted to try taking one apart and using T-cut on it!

 

Rust as mentioned, the Triumph Mayflower club is very small but I believe they have had some parts remanufactured.

 

In short, go for it. They're pretty simple really. I nearly bought one a few years ago, but upon arrival it was nowhere near as good as described, rotten and the engine was smoky.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Dem bitches be all over your ass when you roll in one of these whips.

 

They also seem to appeal to chaps on motorcycles

[barefoot]

I can't think of anything worse.

[purplebargeken]

Citroen AX in dark blue perhaps?

[purplebargeken]

Only kidding.

[dollywobbler]

Mr Dicky has covered it pretty well. Nothing on them from the BMC parts bin, as it's way before the two companies came together. 

 

I've always quite liked them, but I've never driven one. Apparently that could change my mind.

[Wilko220]

The only thing I know about these is that, during the evil reign of Gordon Brown's scrappage scheme, someone infamously traded one in for a new BINI.

 

I like the look of them though.

[Sheefag]

I can't think of anything worse.

 

[barrett]

Almost certainly the least desirable car of all time. Brian Sewell summed them up best: "The Mayflower made one point and one point only; that design must be proportionate"

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/triumph-mayflower-5529957.html

[Squire_Dawson]

The same applies to any small 1950's car; check for rust around the spring hangers, chassis rails/legs/whatever you want to call them, sills etc. I would imagine the power output is sufficient for pottering around town and 50 MPH cruising would be its comfortable sustained speed. Standards were good cars, so provided the engine is showing good hot oil pressure it should be fine. I expect the bearings will be white metal, so best stick to pottering speeds rather than A roads.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I like them a lot and find them very pretty in a slightly gawky way. I've heard rust is a bit of a problem...

[cros]

I've not owned one but have driven the things and they are absolutely joyless and horrible. There's not a single thing that the Farina doesn't do better- amazingly it is even fairly aerodynamic by the standards of the time. I use cars like the A40 everyday, don't have anything built later than '72, but would only drive a Mayflower if paid to.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Crikey, that bad cros?

[richardthestag]

I like the Razoredge style but admit that the Renown wears it much more comfortably.

 

If you have an itch for a Mayflower you should just damn well get on with it!

 

Slow - check

unloved - check

unpopular in its day - check

 

= Autoshite Win 

 

I am just going to leave this here

 

 

The roof chop does make the proportions look better. plenty more modded and standard Mayflowers on Google image search

[vulgalour]

Hateful little rotbox.  Dangerously Slow.  Funny looking.  That's really all I want in a car.

 

It's useful reading the above to confirm what I'd read and been told elsewhere.  Normally the response to "I'd quite like a Mayflower" is met with a particular facial expression and "Why?".  Good to read some actual ownership experience too, that's something that has been lacking in my research because most people said they just bought something else because the Mayflower was just too weird looking, before they even got to the other faults.

[richardthestag]

this one has Patina and an MOT

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-mayflower-/282065534819

 

what is not to love about them

[vulgalour]

MoT means drive it home, very slowly, from Devon... oh, the Dynamo's fucked.  Still, I've got an AA card!  That's actually pretty much exactly what I'd want to get hold of with regards to condition and appearance.

[AMC Rebel]

has the benefit of a mot for piece of mind

 

Which piece?

[cros]

Crikey, that bad cros?

The chromed gearlever is quite nice, but sadly its a long way and many joints before it connects with the selector rods.

[barrett]

MoT is irrelevant, remember! There seem to be a surprising number about and usually a few for sale.