I have a buddy that has this car. What do you think it is really worth TOP LINE. No wrong answers since its just an opinion! The car has been sitting for 5 or 6 years in a open shed. I could not find any sign of rust or rust repair. I did not pull the carpets to look at the floors. He said he parked it one day and it would not turn over when he tried the next day. The engine turns by hand so it was probably a battery,starter or wiring issue. Plus now it will need a complete going thru,Hydraulics, Fuel,Hoses,Top, etc. You get the picture. Basicly its the nicest TR project i have seen in 20 years. The paint is showing some crazing and there are a few spots that have paint cracks. The Hood does not appear to have ever been cracked and fits good around the headlights also. The spare was a original Goodyear G800? red line. When the car hits the market it will be cleaned up. What do you think the final sale number will be?? Bob

Here are more shots taken about a year ago. The car does have the factory hub caps.

Before I give an answer, I'd like to have a look under the front mats/carpeting, trunk, and the battery cubby, at least!

I agree with Kevin - we need more info. How are the fender bottoms and sills? Compression readings on the engine etc?

TR250s are cool cars, but sitting outdoors even if covered isn't good for them.

I agree with Kevin on the rust issues. Looking at the condition of the body and bumpers he'll want at least 3.5k. Looking at the condition of the rubber around the windshield and hood I can only imagine the condition of the carbs and all the hydraulic systems(master/slave). I can also imagine the clutch plate frozen to the flywheel. The condition of the radiator. The gas tank bottom. The electrics all springing back to life? The brake drums/calipers. A unknown engine sitting idle. Look at the irs rearend for cracks/breaks..many TRs begin their retirement with these problems. All will need addressing/replacing. I'd give that another 6.5k and lots of hours wrenching.
New top/paint/tires/carpets etc etc ad infinitum....
They say that TR's need to be driven for a reason.
Body and seats do look nice.
"Hey these cars go for 30k." After 20k, maybe.

I did look at the outer body very close when we loaded it onto my trailer and its crisp with no signs of ever being rusted. The pic of the back side of the trunk lid shows the seam thats in fantastic shape. I will see if i can get to his house and help him get it running and check out the trunk floor and under the carpets. I would love to own the car but i would prefer he finds someone that would pay more than i could. Lets go out on a limb and assume that the floors and trunk floor are good. What do you think John Q Public would pay for this on ebay? He wants a large pile of cash for it! I will put people in touch with the owner if requested but i do not see this thing going at a fire sale. I like the car and would try to step to the front of the line if that were to happen! I know its easy to put a pile of money into the car just to get it safe and back on the road. Thanks for all your replies so far.Bob

There was a somewhat similar TR250 on eBay in the past few months which I believe ended up selling for between $5000 and $6000 (non-running but complete and body and frame appeared solid from pictures but it had been repainted).

Is that the original paint or had it been repainted correctly at some point with the stripe? Frame condition would be key especially where the rear A-arms attach.

Found the link to that TR250

eBay TR250

Scott

I have seen TR250s in much worse shape go for 5-6K, If it is truly rust free and complete I would put it a little higher than that, TR250s are still pretty much in demand right now, rust free is a great feature, all mechanicals are readlily available, although it may not effect value as much as it should, condition of the interior is importatn to, between the crash pads, door panels, seat covers, capet you can spend a lot on the interior, also original badging,there is lot of it and it is somewhat expensive in total, and what is the point of having a TR250 if you don't have the half dozen or so badges that say "TR250" on them?

When I was looking for a TR250 to restore would have given a pretty penny for the one you are describing.

Scott, Glemon, Thanks! When i put the jack under the car I was amazed at how nice it was under there. Alot of MGs I have seen that have sat a while had lots of surface to heavy surface rust under pretty nice looking examples. This one looked nice. The paint is not original and was done to a pretty high standard many years ago. The stainless trim was not painted as is original to 250s. It appears pretty correct and even has the odd alternator still there. I wonder how the time of year and economy will effect his final numbers.It always seems a crap shoot when buying or selling these cars. I would be in for 5 extra large $$$$! I saw a project i think on the VTR site for $4500. Bob

It's not neccessarily the purchase price you need to look at. Do you plan to restore it? If you do, it will cost at least $20k to do it right (If you really think you can do it for less-you're kidding yourself). Do you have the time to do it? Would it be better to just buy a perfect one for $25K-$30K and save the time and enormous effort and be able to drive one now instead of some time in the future (could be years)?
just things to think about.
Rob

I don't disagree with Rob, but the flip side is sometimes it is easier to dole the money out over time rather than all it once, if you do it yourself you can pick the options and upgrades (overdrive tranny, etc.), I think I am doing mine right, and may be able to "scrape by" for morr like 15K--but I am doing most everything except the machine shop work myself and since I needed pretty much everything I just placed an order with The Roadster Factory each week as the placed items on sale.

Good advice, above.

The first post indicates that the car had been ". . . sitting in an open shed . . ." for years. That's the clincher, IMHO. Any LBC that's been sitting outside for "years" inevitably is going to have rust problems somewhere, unless it's been in the desert.

I would be very surprised if the car wasn't pretty rusty in places that may not show up on visual inspection, simply because it's been outside for a long time. Again, seem inevitable.

However, if a VERY careful inspection indicates otherwise, go for it. As we all know, rust is the only real enemy. Everything else can be easily remedied.

Boy, what I'd give for a TR250, probably my fave Triumph. I hope you get it, please keep us posted.

Good luck!

If only my bank account weren't empty and my garage full...

It looks like a great car if all the above is true. I have no idea about the value, as a TR250 is further down the list. After the roundtail Spit, the TR4... However, if you are willing to do it yourself as much as possible, and break it into small manageable projects, and order just the parts needed for those small projects, it can be affordable. That's how I've done my Spitfire 1500. The biggest question is how far are you willing to go with it? I was going to have my car stripped and repainted, but decided against it. It has an ok paint job, but there's lots of personality.

If I were to get this car, I'd carefully go over it, address any rust issues, save whatever original parts I could, and then get it on the road. The paint looks good enough to me to keep. Then I'd just make sure the interior was a nice place to spend time. You can go overboard, and spend more money than needed, and sometimes spend it on stuff only you know is there.

I say someone is going to get a solid car, just wish it were me.

I am fairly well versed in TR rebuild costs. I sold my red TR4A irs 3 or 4 years ago due to health reasons. I do body and paint and most mechanical work(except diffs!). It still cost alot of money to build the car. If it works out I will be happy to be the next caretaker or watch it go to another TR guy.

Bob,
Are you going to get it running, or just clean it up? If it will run the price should go way up in my book. But seems like the owner doesn't read my book.

And do look under the carpet.

Have you done a magnet test? see if a weak magnet sticks, or get one of those purpose built spot rot ones, if it was painted in the last 10 or so years could be hiding stuff, not trying to be negative, just careful.

Floors, Rockers, rear deck where it meets the fenders are prime spots, condition of chrome important too.

Hey guys, you are talking to bob67bgt, a guy who builds some of the most beautiful MG's you have ever seen. Do a search on the MG section if you don't believe me.

Jim;
I wholeheartedly agree.
Bob comes from my small town in Canada and has forgotten more than most of us will ever know about British sports cars.
If he says this is a good car, BELIEVE him.

Dave

Jim and Dave, Thanks for the kind words! Billspit- are you going to the SBMOC run next week? We are going tuesday and wed. I wish i had time this comming week or next weekend to assist him with the startup process. Haps run to Carolina Motor sports park is next saturday and I'm looking forward to that also. After that i can assist him putting fire under that 250. I will be happy to step aside if someone wants the 250 more than I do! Its not like i need another british car in the yard (garage). Bob

Bob-

Was that red one yours? I'm still drooling over it.

As to value, if you are the buyer you have the advantage of checking it out thoroughly and the knowledge of how much effort it will be to get it going or even fully restored. An ebay sale, though is tough to pin down - from the looks of it I'd say $5K looks like a steal, but breaking $10K might be tough unless the car is really well photographed and described. Offhand, if I were the seller, and I wanted to market it I'd probably try to stick the rostyles back on, and get the original steering wheel on there too to represent it as close to stock as possible.

Randy