Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This Frequently Asked Questions list has been created to attempt to answer some of the regular questions that come to Triumph enthusiasts soon after they find out about The Vintage Triumph Register (VTR.) The FAQ is not meant to discuss any topic exhaustively. It will hopefully provide readers with pointers on where to find useful information, especially material available on the Internet.
Dozens of people have made contributions to the VTR FAQ over the time since its creation; there are too many to name individually. Special thanks go to Mark Bradakis, Andy Mace, and Bill Sohl who have been particularly helpful.
Section 1: General Information about VTR.
- Q1.1 What is VTR?
- Q1.2 What benefits are there to belonging to VTR?
- Q1.3 How do I join VTR?
- Q1.4 What is the difference between VTR Chapters and VTR Zones?
- Q1.5 What are related newsgroups and mailing lists?
- Q1.6 What is "team.net"?
- Q1.7 Who maintains these FAQ's?
- Q2.1 When / Where is the next National VTR National Convention?
- Q2.2 Why hasn't there been a VTR North American Triumph Challenge (convention) in my area? How does VTR decide where to hold the convention, anyway?
- Q2.3 What about local events?
- Q3.1 What is The Carolina's Cup?
- Q3.2 What is The Ken Richardson Challenge Trophy?
- Q3.3 What is The T.S. Imported Sweat Equity Award?
- Q3.4 What is The George Rabey Preservation Award?
- Q3.5 What is The Dennis Riley/Bill Wood TR8 Challenge Award?
- Q3.6 What is The Charles Macartney Daily Driver Award?
- Q4.1 How do I change my email address, US Mail address, or password?
- Q4.2 I signed up as a user of the Classified Advertising section but cannot log in to place or edit my ad.
- Q4.3 I am an EXISTING member and want to renew but don't want to use a credit card. How should I proceed?
Section 1: General Information about VTR.
- Q1.1 What is VTR?
The Vintage Triumph Register is a North American club of over 2,700 Triumph owners and enthusiasts. (You do not have to own a Triumph to join.) VTR is the only North American club which covers and supports all models of Triumphs. VTR publishes a quarterly magazine, "The Vintage Triumph."
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- Q1.2 What benefits are there to belonging to VTR?
In addition to the magazine, membership in VTR also includes:
- free classified advertising in The Vintage Triumph
- access to VTR's staff of vehicle consultants
- a VTR Member Travel Assistance Program
- various VTR club regalia
Most recently, VTR has worked out an agreement with a major classic auto insurance carrier to now provide low cost collector car auto liability for any year Triumph at costs far below regular insurance rates.
VTR also has an annual convention , hosted each year by one of VTR's many local chapters.
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- Q1.3 How do I join VTR?
Take a look at our online membership brochure which will answer some of your questions specific to membership. The easiest and fastest way to join VTR is to do so on line using PayPal. Membership dues for VTR are: US$30 for all USA zip code addresses US$35 for Canada and Mexico US$35 anywhere else. If you have additional questions not answered here on-line, send email to membership@vtr.org.
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- Q1.4 What is the difference between VTR Chapters and VTR Zones?
The VTR establishes a Chartered Chapter when 10 or more current VTR members have formed a local Triumph group or when 10 or more current VTR members are part of a British Car club and wish to be associated with the VTR Organization. The process to accomplish this would be to submit a letter to the Chapter Coordinator for that area of the country which denotes the Name of the organization, the purpose for existence, the area covered by the organization (i.e. Sacramento, CA) and signed by at least ten current VTR members who are members of that organization.
A VTR Zone can be established by submitting a letter to the Chapter Coordinator for that area with the same information as for a Chapter, except it only requires one to nine current VTR members signatures. The purpose of a zone is to establish a beginning point with which to attact additional current VTR members in order to eventually qualify for VTR Chapter status.
A VTR Zone does not qualify for the insurance program and other benefits which are available to all VTR Chapters.
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- Q1.5 What are related newsgroups and mailing lists?
There is a Vintage Triumph Register mailing list, for VTR members to discuss issues related to VTR or their cars. There are currently about two hundred participants, and involvement is rapidly growing. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, send a mail message to
majordomo@autox.team.net and put subscribe vtr in the body of the message.There is also a Triumphs mailing list with over 200 readers. To subscribe to that list, send the same message, but instead with the line
subscribe triumphs in the body of the message.Alternately, you might be interested in the British car mailing list, which currently covers a fairly wide range of vehicles, with over 1500 people all over the globe participating. Well, most of them just read; if all 1500 posted a message or two every day it would soon be overwhelming. Still, it is a pretty busy mailing list. If you want to give it a try, use the line
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- Q1.6 What is "team.net"?
Team.Net, the dot is not silent, is basically just a name made up to refer to various automotive related electronic services. It started with a simple mailing list or two a number of years ago, and now includes a broader spectrum of mailing lists, archives of past mail, images, and a source of information for various programs that present this resource to users. A fair amount of this work is done by a machine named triumph, oddly enough.
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- Q1.7 Who maintains these FAQ's?
Dozens of people have made contributions to the VTR FAQ over the time since its creation; there are too many to name individually. Special thanks go to Kenneth Streeter, Mark Bradakis, Andy Mace, and Bill Sohl who have been particularly helpful. The FAQ posting itself is maintained by the webmaster.
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Section 2: Information on VTR upcoming events
- Q2.1 When / Where is this year's VTR National Convention?
Details about this year's Vintage Triumph Register Convention can be seen here.
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- Q2.2 Why hasn't there been a VTR North American Triumph Challenge (convention) in my area? How does VTR decide where to hold the convention, anyway?
In order to really answer this question, it is necessary to first explain a little bit about how the VTR board decides where to hold the North American Triumph Challenge / Convention. Basically, the VTR board doesn't tell a VTR chapter that they must plan to hold an upcoming convention, but rather relies upon VTR chapters to submit proposals for the opportunity to host it. Hosting the 4-day VTR convention is no small task, requiring a lot of time from a lot of volunteers.
The convention proposal process starts early, with chapters putting together proposals about three years prior to the event, and the VTR board making a decision from the submitted proposals two years in advance. A major factor in the VTR board decision is to move the location of the North American Triumph Challenge around the continent as much as possible. However, this can only be done as is permitted by the proposals received!
If you would like to have a VTR convention in your area, what is needed most of all is for you to talk to people in your local VTR chapter and get them excited about holding the convention (it is a lot of work over at least two years). Contact the VTR Event Coordinator to see if the convention has already been awarded for the year you're considering, since convention scheduling is now taking place up to three years in advance of the actual event. To "keep your place in line" until your final proposal is prepared, your club will need to send a Letter of Intent to host the convention on club stationery to the Event Coordinator. It is extremely helpful to put on a multi-day meet to get some experience, and then put together a proposal to have your chapter sponsor the convention! But, don't just do all the preparation in a vacuum -- talk to the VTR board and prior convention hosts as well, to let them know what you are planning. They can help you avoid some of the pitfalls as well as let you know what is necessary.
Be aware that two or three other clubs may also be preparing proposals to host "your" convention, so think about the venue, budgets, hotel costs, etc. as you put yours together. Seek out the help of the local convention and visitors bureau - it's their job to get people to come to your area and spend money. They may even offer to prepare, print, and mail copies of your proposal at their expense to the VTR convention committee.
If your chapter puts together a solid proposal, has capable, willing workers, and is in a location of North America that hasn't hosted a VTR convention before, you'll probably be selected as host (unless some other chapter has done a better job in preparing their proposal to host the convention!) Then the real work starts!
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- Q2.3 What about local events?
Many of the Vintage Triumph Register local chapters have events on nearly a monthly basis. To find out about these events, you can either contact the local chapter, or examine the VTR on-line calendar .
Instructions on adding an event to the calendar can be found on the event pages.
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Section 3: Information on VTR's Special Awards presented anually at the VTR Convention
- Q3.1 What is the Carolina's Cup?
The Carolinas’ Cup is a perpetual award established in 1994 by the Triumph Club of the Carolinas. The cup is to be awarded at each VTR National Convention. This award is presented by the Triumph Club of the Carolinas to the registered convention attendee with the highest overall score for participation and competition at the convention. Points will be given for participation in each event and the show, with extra points going to the highest finishers. The intent is to award participation first, quality of finish second.
Points are tracked per car registration number, not per owner (i.e. multiple car entrants cannot add up the points accumulated by each car). TCOC will provide individual names on the cup and an individual award each year.
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- Q3.2 What is the Ken Richardson Challenge Trophy?
The goal of Mr. Ken Richardson, while head of the Competition Department of Triumph Motor Cars, was to produce the finest competition sports cars in its class. His long list of successful competitions, in both speed and trials events, speaks for itself. All of his cars were pristinely prepared and he was a stickler for details. The winner of the Ken Richardson Challenge Trophy must exude these qualities as evidenced in both performance and appearance of his/her car today. The award of the “Challenge Trophy” is limited to TR2 through TR3B models, as these were the cars to which Ken dedicated his career at Triumph Motor Cars. It was Ken’s desire that a weighted formula in favor of driving performance be used. To that end, the following rules shall apply:
The “Challenge Trophy” will be awarded each year at the VTR National Convention. This is a one-time award, which means that a car shall not be eligible if the owner has previously won the “Challenge Trophy”. To be eligible, a car must be entered in both the speed and concours events. The primary speed event should be an autocross type event. At those meets where an autocross cannot be held, a TSD rallye may be used. At those meets where both an autocross and TSD rallye are held, the TSD rallye shall be scored as a tie breaker or bonus points.
Those cars which enter both “speed” and “concours” events shall be considered for the “Challenge Trophy”. Weighting for speed competition shall be 60% for speed and 40% for concours.
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- Q3.3 What is The T.S. Imported Sweat Equity Award?
This award is presented by Ted and Doris Schumacher of T.S.Imports. This is a large trophy presented to someone who exemplifies the spirit of Triumph ownership. This normally translates to the one person who has consistently shown dedication to both their own Triumph as well as the marque in general. This is in no way a hard luck award. The recipient is selected by the Schumachers when they are in attendance of the convention. Should the Schumachers not be in attendance, the convention chairperson and the VTR President will select the recipient. The trophy is placed in trust of the recipient and is returned to T.S.Imports one month prior to the next VTR National Convention.
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- Q3.4 What is The George Rabey Preservation Award?
George Rabey, who served as VTR Chief Judge for a number of years, was instrumental in creating the Concours Rules and the creation of the Senior and Preservation classes giving VTR a professional and consistent structure for conducting its annual Concours d’Elegance at the Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. This award is given in his honor to acknowledge his accomplishment and the accomplishment of VTR members who maintain their Concours cars to a highest standard, while keeping with the spirit of VTR by participating in other moving events. The first George Rabey Preservation Award will be/was given at the 2002 VTR National Convention in Red Wing Minnesota.
Those cars, entered into Concours in the Senior and Preservation classes, which enter both “driving” and “Concours” events shall be considered for the “Preservation Award.” The winner will be selected by the current VTR Chief Judge in consultation with the Host Club’s Concours Director using the following criteria:
- The top three cars in the Senior Class and top three cars in the Preservation class shall be reviewed again by the VTR Chief Judge (or designee, if the Chief Judge is unable to attend the convention) and the Host Club’s Concours Director. This will even out any slight variances in the judging which might exist from one team to another.
- Participation in driving events in the spirit of VTR
An agent of the VTR keeps the actual trophy in trust. The recipient will have the privilege to keep the trophy overnight after the convention Awards Banquet. The next morning, it is to be collected to be returned to its designated trustee. Each year, the Chief Judge will be responsible for procuring and delivering a commemorative plate to the VTR Convention. This plate will be presented to the recipient at the Awards Banquet to keep as a permanent recognition of their unique accomplishment.
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- Q3.5 What is The Dennis Riley/Bill Wood TR8 Challenge Award?
The Dennis Riley/Bill Wood TR8 Challenge Award recognizes “The most sporting TR8 in attendance at the Vintage Triumph Register’s National Convention.” In addition to his many roles in the Georgia Triumph Association, Dennis Riley was President of the Vintage Triumph Register from 1991 until his untimely death of a heart attach in April 1996. He also owned both early and late sporting Triumphs (a TR3 and a 1982 Canadian market TR8 convertible). Shortly after he passed away, the Georgia Triumph Association established this award to recognize the owner of a TR8 that embodied the characteristics of the TR8 that Dennis so dearly loved. The first Dennis Riley TR8 Challenge Award was given at the 1996 VTR National Convention in Albany, NY. Bill Wood won the first three awards in an immaculately restored 1981 TR8 convertible, which he frequently towed to a number of events using a 1979 TR8 coupe. He was quite active in his role as the VTR TR8 Vehicle Consultant, and had just been appointed to the position of VTR Business Manager when he suffered a tragic accident while working at his church. He passed away quite unexpectedly in May 1999 after making significant progress in his recovery. Starting with the 1999 convention, this award was renamed to Dennis Riley/Bill Wood TR8 Challenge Award in recognition of these two remarkable TR8 owners and drivers.
The rules for the Dennis Riley/Bill Wood TR8 Challenge Award are virtually identical to the rules for the Ken Richardson Challenge Trophy. To be eligible, a car must be entered in both the speed and concours events. The primary speed event should be an autocross type event. At those meets where an autocross cannot be held, a TSD rally may be used. At those meets where both an autocross and TSD rallye are held, the TSD rallye shall be scored as a tie breaker or bonus points.
Those cars which enter both “speed” and “concours” events shall be considered for the “TR8 Challenge Award”. Weighting for speed competition shall be 60% for speed and 40% for concours.
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- Q3.6 What is The Charles Macartney Daily Driver Award?
Charles Macartney worked for years behind the scenes at Standard-Triumph Motor Company as a Service Manager, Chief Inspector, Works Manager and Quality Engineer. He would bring a new car home; take it apart with customary precision just to see how manufacturing had changed the engineered specifications, for example, brackets replaced with bent tin, a separate earthing strap removed from the chassis and the only earthing strap was the choke cable, etc. Charles had often said that the engineers, designers and line workers in the plant always did their jobs with one primary intention – to produce cars which would be driven and enjoyed by those driving them.
The first Charles Macartney Daily Driver Award was given at the 2003 VTR National Convention in Armagh, Pennsylvania.
Those cars registered for the VTR National and not participating in the judged Concours classes who declare on their registration form that they would like to be considered will be eligible for this award. These cars will be given a windscreen sticker (or other appropriate identification) to display on the windshield placard during the Participants’ Choice Car Show.
The Chief Judge or his representative and the Host Club’s Concours Director or his representative will use the Charles Macartney Daily Driver Award Guidelines to determine the winner of this award.
This award will go to the car appearing at the VTR National which most typifies a well cared for and much loved Triumph “daily driver” with emphasis being on regular use, rather than perfection or conformation to original standards. Particular importance will be placed on:
- Regular use in all weather.
- A high overall standard of presentation.
- Modifications to improve reliability, performance, or comfort.
- Normal wear and tear from daily use.
- Normal maintenance completed to maintain daily use. (If time permits all fluid levels will be checked underhood.)
- Driving to the convention as well as participation in driving events.
This award, presented each year at the VTR National by a Host Club member who drives their vehicle daily, is provided by Charles’ son, John Macartney, in memory of his father.
An agent of the VTR keeps the actual trophy in trust. The recipient will have the privilege to keep the original trophy overnight after the convention Awards Banquet. The next morning, it is to be collected by the Host Club and returned to its designated VTR trustee.
Each year, the Chief Judge will be responsible for procuring and delivering a commemorative plate to the recipient at the Awards Banquet at the VTR Convention to keep as a permanent recognition.
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Section 4: Your Personal Information and Website Usability Issues
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Q4.1 How do I change my email address, US Mail address, or password?
It's very easy. First, log into your Member Profile Area by clicking on MEMBER LOGIN, under the RESOURCES tab at the top of the VTR home page. You will be presented a page titled "Your Membership Subscription Information."
Click on the "Change Password/Edit Profile" link as shown above.
Simply enter your new email address and/or your new password in the spaces shown. If you are changing your password, be sure to enter it twice.
Finally,be sure to click SAVE PROFILE at the bottom of the page. That's all, you're done![ Back to Top ]
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Q4.2 I signed up as a user of the Classified Advertising section but cannot log in to place or edit my ad.
The classified section's user name and password system stands independent of the member login section because non-members have access to placing and editing their classified ads.
The system automatically sends you a an email to validate (or confirm) your email address to prevent hackers from accessing the system. If you didn't receive it, you may want to check your Spam folder for it. It is impossible to regenerate the email message and the webmaster cannot validate you manually. If you can't locate it, send a request to the webmaster requesting you be deleted from the database so that you can re-register and watch closely for the validation email.
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Q4.3 I am an EXISTING member and want to renew but don't want to use a credit card. How should I proceed?
First, thank you for your continued support of VTR! You'll want to log in to http://www.vintagetriumphregister.org/amember/member.php by entering your user name and password. Once logged in, the right hand column labeled "ADD OR RENEW SUBSCRIPTION."
In the PAYMENT SYSTEM space select OFFLINE PAYMENT. This way you will be given information on where to send your payment and all your information is entered from the existing record, you'll not need to re-enter anything. This also assures you'll retain your membership number instead of being assigned a new one.
Even if your membership is expired you will still be able to log in to renew, your information is retained in the database. Please note that mailed payments can take up to three weeks to process.[ Back to Top ]
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