It’s not a stretch to say my life has been lived at pace. I have careers in the RAF, the motor trade and the oil industry under my belt, and in my spare time I enjoy restoring old cars, paragliding and fine-art painting, and all while having lived in four different countries.
Many cars have passed through my hands – 75 at the last count – with marques including Porsche, Bentley, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and plenty of others.
But while many have come and gone, there has been one constant, owned since it was just two years old, when I was 17 and serving in the RAF: my beloved Triumph TR7.
Steve Flint’s Triumph TR7 fhc looks resplendent in its post-restoration state
While working as an MT driver refuelling Victors and Tornados at RAF Marham, I coveted what was then a friend’s TR7.
Eventually I was able to buy the Triumph, which I then raced around Norfolk’s roads as only a young teenager can.
The car taught me the skills of fettling, including bodywork repairs after the occasional ‘off’ caused the odd dent.
For more serious issues, however, I had a wizard in the form of Roly Denton, the closest thing to a mad scientist you could get in Norfolk.
This cherished Triumph TR7 looks as good as new inside
