A separate chassis with a bolt-on body, a front end that hinges forward in one piece, and a brake question you have to ask.
The Herald is built the old way on purpose: a separate backbone and outrigger chassis with a body bolted on top. Every panel comes off, including the sills and the roof, and the whole front end hinges forward in one piece for engine access. Rack and pinion steering, a claimed 25-foot turning circle — the smallest of any production car of the day — and swing axles on a single transverse leaf spring at the back. The engine is the Standard SC four: 948cc at launch, 1,147cc in the 1200 from April 1961 and the tuned 12/50 of 1963, and 1,296cc in the 13/60 from October 1967.
Two things decide a Herald order, and neither is the model name. First, brakes. The 948 and the 1200 have drums all round as standard, with front discs only as an option from October 1961. The 12/50 of 1963 is the first Herald with front discs as standard, and the 13/60 kept them. So a 1200 may or may not have discs and it has to be checked, not assumed. Second, and less well known: Herald body and chassis parts changed in May 1962, and the two versions are not interchangeable. Ask for the build date, not just the model. The Herald’s chassis went on to underpin the Spitfire in shortened form, and the Vitesse in strengthened form — but strengthened is the operative word, and a Vitesse chassis is not a Herald one.
Triumph Herald — specification & changes within the model
- The range
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Herald 948 1959–1962, 34.5bhp · Herald S 1961–64, austerity saloon · Herald 1200 April 1961–1970, 1,147cc, 39 then 48bhp · 12/50 1963–67, tuned 1,147cc, 51bhp · 13/60 October 1967 – May 1971, 1,296cc, 61bhp. Over half a million in all.
- Brakes — ask the question
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948 and 1200: drums all round as standard. Front discs an OPTION from October 1961. The 12/50 of 1963 is the first Herald with front discs as standard, carried on by the 13/60. A 1200 must be checked, not assumed.
- The May 1962 change
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Herald body and chassis parts changed in May 1962 and the two versions are not interchangeable. Ask for the build date, not just the model. Which specific parts changed is not documented.
- Construction
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Separate backbone and outrigger chassis, bolt-on body. Every panel unbolts, including sills and roof. The whole front end hinges forward in one piece.
- Steering
- Rack and pinion. Claimed 25-foot turning circle — the smallest of any production car of its day.
- Rear suspension
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Swing axles on a single transverse leaf spring. The same arrangement as the early Vitesse, with the same camber-change behaviour.
- Engine
- Standard SC four — the same family that started in the 1953 Standard Eight and finished in the MG Midget 1500.
- Bodies
- Saloon, coupe, convertible, estate and van. The 1200 estate arrived May 1961. Saloon production of the 13/60 ended December 1970; convertible and estate ran to May 1971.
- What it gave the range
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The Spitfire uses a shortened Herald chassis with structural outer sills added. The Vitesse uses a strengthened one, particularly around the differential mountings — not the same part.
- Disc and drum sizes
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Not established from a citable source. At least two front disc and caliper variants exist. Measure before ordering.
