Picking Up The Doer Upper Today

The metal fuel tap switch is a good idea, the plastic ones can break easily.
triumphhinckleyparts.co.uk
Sprint mfg
National Triumph
Fowlersparts.co.uk

 

Good luck with the trip and enjoy that Trident. A good 900 is a real 'all-rounder', its only real downsides being that it's tall and heavy so needs a bit of manhandling, especially at walking pace. If the engine's in goood condititon and the carbs are well balanced it is a peach out on the road - grunty, quick, but not mental, well mannered within it's weight/height limits and an exhaust note that is wonderful in the high registers.

As you've found, parts can be a bitch to find, many being obsoleted (is that a real verb?) by Triumph. Fortunately, Fowlers are showing availability of a fuel knob for yours at £8.35

https://www.fowlersparts.co.uk/parts/view/2400081T03

plus postage. It may not be EXACTLY the same as the original but will be a close, possibly 'updated' compatible replacement.

In general your first port of call should be the main dealer to get an idea of whether or not parts are still obtainable - I've always found Fowlers' web site and service to be very good but other main dealers may have a similar level of service and web site functionality so try your local dealer first.

Next will be to try Trevor at SPRINT Manufacturing.

https://www.triumphparts.co.uk/?s=fuel+tap&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1

Sprint have been working on and with T300 Triumphs since they first came out and they even get some repro stuff made in house or to order. Great people, very knowledgeable and very reasonable pricing.

For used (often well-used) parts I'd try Ivan at NATIONAL TRIUMPH first. He sells tons of Hinckley stuff on ebay. Not necessarily cheap, not necessarily the best condition parts but, if he has what you want or need, he is often open to some negotiation and a little bit of discount.

It's easy to forget that many of the T300's are more than - or rapidly heading towards - 30 years old - imagine looking for original parts for a '69 Bonnie in 1999...........................

We do, of course, expect to see pictures - lots of pictures - of the new acquisition and, perhaps, the full story of your adventure into 'restoration' or rehabilitation of one of Triumph's finest ever products.

Best of luck with that Trident.

 

Greetings from Lincolnshire.

 

Looks pretty complete, really - just a few odd broken bits and the common failure to replace an original indicator!

My personal view would be that, in the long run, conversion (reversion?) to a Trident will add a fair bit of complexity and expense to the project IF you're going to look for an entirely original look.

You'd need headlamp; shrouds and instrument cluster - so there's your original mileage screwed! The front wiring loom might be different, too, as I imagine the Sprint's might be longer to allow for the fairing.

You could retain the brakes but they're better than/different to the original - or at least the fronts are - as the Trident has (IIRC) non floating discs so if you're looking for the wholly original look they'll be obviously different.

The silencers on the Sprint were, I think, lower than on the naked Trident as the Sprint was set up to optionally have side panniers fitted - the original "sports tourer" approach.

It's difficult to know if the Sprint fairing is desireable and/or saleable - I'm guessing there might always be somebody looking to replace their cracked or broken fairing with a complete OEM one. If you are determined to remove it then it's probably worth hanging on to, if you have the space to store it. How much it's worth depends on who's looking to buy and why. It doesn't have the original windshield so that might devalue it slightly.

A big project but a good one with a sound base.

 

Hi Relay.

No, not quite - original Trident clocks sat in a "binnacle" and were configured with the temperature gauge located centrally above them ..... like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17557438...MIsciY0NrR_AIVKe_tCh3RogJfEAQYASABEgL1GPD_BwE

If you're looking for the original, "naked" look, the clocks will have to be changed.

The solid front brakes on the Trident look like these ;-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266072734608?hash=item3df32bbb90:g:6EIAAOSwQv5i7Nye

The early Sprints were badged as Tridents - I think later ones got different badging.

 

Hi Relay. Really sorry to hear of the situation you've found yourself in with that bike and can fully understand your frusration.

The positive "spin" on the situation would be to suggest that it's a genuine and highly unfortunate case of mistaken identity! In essence the early Sprint really was commonly seen, and known, as a Trident Sprint with the 1/2 fairing being the most obvious difference between the two. As mentioned earlier, I have a feeling that the Trident badges were used on the early bikes - though I wouldn't swear to that in a court of law.

Realistically it's quite feasible that you'd get most, if not all, of your money back if you break the bike for used spares, though I imagine the experience wouldn't be anything like as satifying as restoring a real Trident!

I'm really very sorry to be the bearer of such disheartening news and information and hope that you find a way through to a satisfactory conclusion.

Please let us know how things pan out and good luck with whichever course of action you choose.

 

Floating disc's I believe we're std on sprint , as a difference between that and the trident.
Whatever the mileage , so long as it was regularly serviced the motor should be good , cam chain would be an important part to check. 130/160 thousand km ~ 75/100 thousand miles is roughly how long they last ..!

 

A lucky "escape"?

Live and learn, I guess - presumably for both buyer and seller in this instance!

Hopefully, you'll soon find the Trident that you're looking for and will get busy overcoming the disappointment. At least now you'll have a much easier time spotting any anomalies in any potential purchase.

 

Hi Relay.

Definitely something of a "curate's egg" for you, I suppose, but it's nice to hear that somebody else is keen on seeing an old T300 resurrected!

I'm pretty sure that many of us would like to see/hear/read about your "journey" with the restoration & rebuild of the Sprint. The early ones are not that common so I, personally, would be inclined to bring it back to as close as possible to standard SPRINT trim ..... but it's your bike, your P&J and your choice.

Good luck with whatever you do.

Adie