IdahoNuke
Freshman Member
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Greetings from Idaho Falls! I am a new member.
I acquired this barn (literally) find a few years ago. It's a 1957 TR3, number 12772. It was last registered in 1972, and it's pretty rusty. The previous owner is pretty old and doesn't remember much about the car. It was one of many cars, motorcycles and trailers on his property which he abandoned in the early 2000s. As near as I can tell he stopped driving it in the middle of a rear axle swap. The "new" axle is about 5-6 inches too wide and was never connected to the driveshaft, but it has the 4 on 4.5 lug pattern. The car overall is fairly complete, but at the same time pretty far gone. It has some collision damage as well. When I retrieved it, the engine compartment was completely full of rodent droppings. The trunk was about 6-inches deep. I have started disassembling it, but only about 1/4 of the fasteners are operable, the rest are rusted solid. My plan, at the moment, is to restore the body, but replace the powertrain and maybe other important items like brakes, suspension, steering... to end up with a classic-looking but modern car. Feel free to tell me what you think I should do.
Personally, I am 59.5 years old and retiring. I have some knowledge of cars, mainly Hondas, and some fabrication skills, but my body work is pretty sketchy. I am looking forward to sharing and learning from this forum.
I acquired this barn (literally) find a few years ago. It's a 1957 TR3, number 12772. It was last registered in 1972, and it's pretty rusty. The previous owner is pretty old and doesn't remember much about the car. It was one of many cars, motorcycles and trailers on his property which he abandoned in the early 2000s. As near as I can tell he stopped driving it in the middle of a rear axle swap. The "new" axle is about 5-6 inches too wide and was never connected to the driveshaft, but it has the 4 on 4.5 lug pattern. The car overall is fairly complete, but at the same time pretty far gone. It has some collision damage as well. When I retrieved it, the engine compartment was completely full of rodent droppings. The trunk was about 6-inches deep. I have started disassembling it, but only about 1/4 of the fasteners are operable, the rest are rusted solid. My plan, at the moment, is to restore the body, but replace the powertrain and maybe other important items like brakes, suspension, steering... to end up with a classic-looking but modern car. Feel free to tell me what you think I should do.
Personally, I am 59.5 years old and retiring. I have some knowledge of cars, mainly Hondas, and some fabrication skills, but my body work is pretty sketchy. I am looking forward to sharing and learning from this forum.