RevingtonTR started, as many businesses do,
by growing out of a hobby.
Neil Revington has owned a TR2 - registered as TKR49 - since 1970 when as an
apprentice in the aircraft industry he bought the car for £70 from a fellow
apprentice whist living in the YMCA hostel the apprentice school used as
student accommodation. It wasn't long before lack of driving talent, coupled
with rubbish tyres and poorly maintained suspension resulted in a spin on ice,
taking out all four corners whist proceeding through the fence onto Denham
airfield. The YMCA hostel was just behind the airfield, but this was not an appropriate
shortcut. The car was not too badly damaged but as the car was only 70 pounds
worth and barely MOT'able the relatively minor accident ensured other bits fell
off than should not have. The car was rebuilt over the following two years in
one of the sheds at the hostel and painted in Neil's room-mate's uncles home
workshop. The 'rebuild' using lots of Dexion shelving and Ministry of Defence
filing cabinets - techniques which are thankfully now no longer employed at
RevingtonTR- was completed at the YMCA hostel late in 1971 with limited tools
and certainly no welding equipment.
TKR49
is still used by Neil as daily transport and in competition. It's seen to the
right at the Wilaston Pursuit Sprint on the Isle of Man in 1998 and is used to
this day for all manner of expeditions; for going to the pub, to endurance
rallies across Europe. You name it, this car has done it. A conservative
estimate is that Neil and Sue have covered over one million kilometres in the
car to date (Neil revised this in 2020)
Neil was apprenticed to the Aeronautical Quality Assurance Directorate, a
branch of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) responsible for the quality of design
and manufacture of all military aircraft both fixed wing and helicopters. Neil
was employed by this branch of the MoD until the TR business was started in
1981, initially being called TR Spares South West.
This background in the aircraft industry laid the groundwork for many of the
modifications which RevingtonTR have developed for the TR range.
RevingtonTR are situated in the heart of the Somerset levels in the South West
of England - eleven miles from Taunton and six miles from Bridgwater and the M5
motorway.
We occupy a three acre ex-farm site, where the farm buildings have been
converted to stores and workshops. In 2002 the farm buildings forming part of
the courtyard of Thorngrove House, across the road were purchased and these
were then converted to accommodate the administration of the business and the
parts counter along with additional storage space. This building today is the
focus of the RevingtonTR parts activity with the workshops remaining at the
rear of Home Farm.