Hey there Guest!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
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smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Saw an ad on Ebay for a one owner black plate 1963 TR4, called the seller and was told that he would cancel the auction if it was sold locally. He said that he already have a buyer in Canada who wanted to wire the money, and that I would have to hurry to see it, so we set up an appointment to view the car first thing in the morning. Went with a couple of family members to take a look and then purchased the car. The drivers side rear brake was completely frozen, we had to use a cable winch puller to drag it up onto the U-Haul trailer. Once back home, we took off the wheel and found that someone had already tried to remove the brake drum and had taken a big chunk off of the drum. There was no way to rotate the drum to get at the adjuster, and we had the parking brake released. No fluid in the lines at all. It wasn't the ideal solution, but we ended up using an air hammer to get the remainder of the drum off so that we could get the car off the trailer (not fun when it is over 100 and the car is in the sun).
I was able to get the phone number for the original owner from the seller and I gave him a call. His wife had bought a TR3 new in the 1950's, and she traded it in for the TR4 in 1963. He married her in 1972 and they drove the car around their home in Manhattan beach until the motor "started making a noise" in 1985. The car was then parked and had been sitting in the garage until a month ago. The owner said it was never repainted during the time that he had known the car, but that his wife had backed into a wall and bumped a front fender in the past. The rear bumper is pushed in far enough to interfere with the trunk opening and closing.
There is very little rust, other than the usual around the battery box and master cylinders. The motor spun easily by hand. I changed out the oil, pulled the plugs and allowed oil to soak the cylinders. After spinning it by hand for a few cycles, we used the starter to see if it would build oil pressure. No weird noises were heard, it sounded fine. Hit it with a shot of starting fluid and it fired up right away. We are going to leave the engine alone for now as we go through the brakes, clutch, suspension, etc. There is always the possibility of noise from the generator, water pump, chain tensioner, or any number of things that we can tackle later.
Not going to restore this one, just going to clean, polish, and replace the hard parts necessary to get it back on the road as a driver.
FWIW, the seller did not cancel the Ebay auction and ran it to the end. He called me and said that he had a buyer lined up and wanted to split the difference, I declined. PM me for details if necessary.
I was able to get the phone number for the original owner from the seller and I gave him a call. His wife had bought a TR3 new in the 1950's, and she traded it in for the TR4 in 1963. He married her in 1972 and they drove the car around their home in Manhattan beach until the motor "started making a noise" in 1985. The car was then parked and had been sitting in the garage until a month ago. The owner said it was never repainted during the time that he had known the car, but that his wife had backed into a wall and bumped a front fender in the past. The rear bumper is pushed in far enough to interfere with the trunk opening and closing.
There is very little rust, other than the usual around the battery box and master cylinders. The motor spun easily by hand. I changed out the oil, pulled the plugs and allowed oil to soak the cylinders. After spinning it by hand for a few cycles, we used the starter to see if it would build oil pressure. No weird noises were heard, it sounded fine. Hit it with a shot of starting fluid and it fired up right away. We are going to leave the engine alone for now as we go through the brakes, clutch, suspension, etc. There is always the possibility of noise from the generator, water pump, chain tensioner, or any number of things that we can tackle later.
Not going to restore this one, just going to clean, polish, and replace the hard parts necessary to get it back on the road as a driver.
FWIW, the seller did not cancel the Ebay auction and ran it to the end. He called me and said that he had a buyer lined up and wanted to split the difference, I declined. PM me for details if necessary.
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