Hi, This won't be one for the bookmarker but I was asked to post some more photos so here we go.
Back in September time i sold my wife's old Suzuki Alto and needed to find a replacement, I was going through a bit of a Honda spell having not long bought the Civic and after hearing good things about the Triumph Acclaim i decided to take a look for one.
The Acclaim is basically a Honda Ballade which in turn is Honda Civic with a boot, the only difference being that the Acclaim has the better Keihin Twin Carb setup unlike the Civic which is a single carb, also as many of the older generation seemed to love them when they came out (they were British Leylands most reliable car) they kept them for a long time meaning there's a good supply still about and most of them are low mileage.
A forum member on another site told me about one that he was selling so i decided to drive over to Luton to take a look, It was tidy enough, low mileage having done only 47000 miles, drove well, the interior was mint and though the price was a little high i decided to still buy it.
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
This was on the way home at South Minns, as you can see the valance needed sorting like most of them.
Once home I gave the car the once over and externally it seemed fine.
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Unfortunately all was not well, the expanstion bottle started over pressurizing and boiling over...
Yep, the head gasket had gone. 
At this point i had already invested an unwise £800 into the car so writing it off wasn't a option, I had to suck it up and drop it off at my tamed mechanic, It turned out that due to the lack of anti-freeze changes the head had gone porous and started to rust, so after getting the head welded, skimmed and new belts, gaskets and fluids i got it back £250 worse off...
So once home I set about cleaning inside all the wheel arches and sills and undersealing everything ready for winter driving.
I then had a go on the front valance, it isn't the greatest of jobs but it's tidied it up.
Looks much better now.
My 1976 Honda Civic 1200 and my 1984 Triumph Acclaim by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
The number plate was in the wrong place so i made some brackets up and moved that back too.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Now it looks much better, It drives really nice and once the head gasket issues were sorted it's proved to be a really good daily driver, It's very comfortable and easy to drive and it's perfectly nippy enough around down, the only downsides are that it's a bit dull!.
This weekend fitted new discs and pads as the old one's were warped and that's improved it no end and only cost £40!.
Here's some more photos.
I've now fitted a Alpine CD player as that OEM tape player was really rubbish and MW too!.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
It's had a pair of rear arches at some point, I think Steve Wonder did the filler work on this side!.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1976 Honda Civic 1200 and my 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Back in September time i sold my wife's old Suzuki Alto and needed to find a replacement, I was going through a bit of a Honda spell having not long bought the Civic and after hearing good things about the Triumph Acclaim i decided to take a look for one.
The Acclaim is basically a Honda Ballade which in turn is Honda Civic with a boot, the only difference being that the Acclaim has the better Keihin Twin Carb setup unlike the Civic which is a single carb, also as many of the older generation seemed to love them when they came out (they were British Leylands most reliable car) they kept them for a long time meaning there's a good supply still about and most of them are low mileage.
A forum member on another site told me about one that he was selling so i decided to drive over to Luton to take a look, It was tidy enough, low mileage having done only 47000 miles, drove well, the interior was mint and though the price was a little high i decided to still buy it.
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
This was on the way home at South Minns, as you can see the valance needed sorting like most of them.
Once home I gave the car the once over and externally it seemed fine.
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Unfortunately all was not well, the expanstion bottle started over pressurizing and boiling over...
Yep, the head gasket had gone. 
At this point i had already invested an unwise £800 into the car so writing it off wasn't a option, I had to suck it up and drop it off at my tamed mechanic, It turned out that due to the lack of anti-freeze changes the head had gone porous and started to rust, so after getting the head welded, skimmed and new belts, gaskets and fluids i got it back £250 worse off...
So once home I set about cleaning inside all the wheel arches and sills and undersealing everything ready for winter driving.
I then had a go on the front valance, it isn't the greatest of jobs but it's tidied it up.
Looks much better now.
My 1976 Honda Civic 1200 and my 1984 Triumph Acclaim by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
The number plate was in the wrong place so i made some brackets up and moved that back too.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Now it looks much better, It drives really nice and once the head gasket issues were sorted it's proved to be a really good daily driver, It's very comfortable and easy to drive and it's perfectly nippy enough around down, the only downsides are that it's a bit dull!.
This weekend fitted new discs and pads as the old one's were warped and that's improved it no end and only cost £40!.
Here's some more photos.
I've now fitted a Alpine CD player as that OEM tape player was really rubbish and MW too!.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
It's had a pair of rear arches at some point, I think Steve Wonder did the filler work on this side!.
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
My 1976 Honda Civic 1200 and my 1984 Triumph Acclaim HLS by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
