Before starting to take the Triumph to bits it seemed like a good idea to see if I could get the engine running, so that I’d at least know whether there was anything catastrophic that would need sorting during the rebuild.  As the previous owner had told me that it hadn’t run for at least 12 years it was fairly obviously not simply going to be a case of charging the battery (which, by the way, was knackered) and turning the key.

I’d already removed the petrol tank as it was clear that any 12 year old  fuel remaining would be completely stale and useless, so a gallon can of the amber nectar was perched just beneath the fuel pump in readiness for the ‘great start-up’.  Getting a spark out of the ignition system, however, took a little longer to resolve;  having first removed the add-on electronic ignition system fitted by the previous owner I then spent several frustrating days replacing first the coil, then the condenser and finally the plug leads before I finally worked out (with a little help from Google) that I needed to remove the now redundant ballast resistor from the ignition circuit.  Job done, turn the key for a few seconds, and……………. she lives!

Wonderful!  Now down to the slightly long-winded business of stripping out the engine compartment in preparation for removing the engine and gearbox.