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: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
AndySaltspringer
Freshman Member
Offline
Hello!
I have just joined the forum as I am embarking on a frame off restoration of a 1961 TR3A. The car belonged to a friend here on Saltspring Island who, in 1982, decided to take his 75,000 miles TR3A, to pieces. Quite why he chose to do this is lost in the mists of time; there wasn't anything mechanically wrong with the car and there was virtually zero corrosion. However, the car was stripped and the tub, minus the hood, trunk and fenders, was carefully hung up in the roof of his garage, ready to be reunited with the frame and engine after a mechanical refresh...
Well you may have guessed how that turned out and 27 years later I found myself walking around under the tub, flashlight in hand, as Dave and I discussed a purchase price. The rebuild stalled and life got in the way so the whole car remained in multiple cardboard boxes for all the intervening years. Dave had, however, been turning the engine over by hand every few month as it sat on a pallet by his work bench, so the engine was free and appeared to be in decent shape. Looking in the boxes it appeared that almost everything was there, some parts still encrusted with grease and road dirt. Dave asked a very fair price and I bought all the parts home and started looking at what I had taken on.
So far I have had the engine apart and had the block cleaned and checked and all the usual bits and pieces replaced; new shells, new rear seal, new rings, new unleaded exhaust valve seats. Various bits have been skimmed and checked and the motor is probably 85% done. I rebuilt the carbs and they are waiting for a couple of final tweaks before being completed. The frame was sand blasted, a couple of out riggers were replaced, and everything painted in high chromate paint usually used on sea planes, so I am hoping it is going to be pretty rust resistant. It certainly seems to be tough stuff.
All the suspension components were cleaned up and painted, new seals and bushings purchased. New wire wheels recently had fresh tires fitted and balanced and are stacked in the car port.
Right now I have a bare frame with the two rebuild leaf springs in place; my blacksmith buddy Jeri bent up a set of replacement leaf clamps, to replace those that had broken or were severely corroded.
Over the next few weeks I am going to be building up all the components on the frame and completing the engine and transmission. It's quite a puzzle at times; Dave basically gave me a large tub filled with all the fasteners he had removed from the car, so there has been a bit of detective work to identify various fixtures and fittings.
I have restored a few motorcycles, but this is the first time I have attempted a car. The aim is to have the frame complete and the engine and transmission installed, sitting on its wheels by Spring. I can then look at the body during the summer.
Although I have some manuals and lots of photographs; I would like to thank in advance any forum members who take the time to generously contribute help and advice; I am pretty sure I am going to have a few questions as I start out on this journey!
If there are any other local BC TR3 owners, please feel free to get in touch.
All the best
Andy
I have just joined the forum as I am embarking on a frame off restoration of a 1961 TR3A. The car belonged to a friend here on Saltspring Island who, in 1982, decided to take his 75,000 miles TR3A, to pieces. Quite why he chose to do this is lost in the mists of time; there wasn't anything mechanically wrong with the car and there was virtually zero corrosion. However, the car was stripped and the tub, minus the hood, trunk and fenders, was carefully hung up in the roof of his garage, ready to be reunited with the frame and engine after a mechanical refresh...
Well you may have guessed how that turned out and 27 years later I found myself walking around under the tub, flashlight in hand, as Dave and I discussed a purchase price. The rebuild stalled and life got in the way so the whole car remained in multiple cardboard boxes for all the intervening years. Dave had, however, been turning the engine over by hand every few month as it sat on a pallet by his work bench, so the engine was free and appeared to be in decent shape. Looking in the boxes it appeared that almost everything was there, some parts still encrusted with grease and road dirt. Dave asked a very fair price and I bought all the parts home and started looking at what I had taken on.
So far I have had the engine apart and had the block cleaned and checked and all the usual bits and pieces replaced; new shells, new rear seal, new rings, new unleaded exhaust valve seats. Various bits have been skimmed and checked and the motor is probably 85% done. I rebuilt the carbs and they are waiting for a couple of final tweaks before being completed. The frame was sand blasted, a couple of out riggers were replaced, and everything painted in high chromate paint usually used on sea planes, so I am hoping it is going to be pretty rust resistant. It certainly seems to be tough stuff.
All the suspension components were cleaned up and painted, new seals and bushings purchased. New wire wheels recently had fresh tires fitted and balanced and are stacked in the car port.
Right now I have a bare frame with the two rebuild leaf springs in place; my blacksmith buddy Jeri bent up a set of replacement leaf clamps, to replace those that had broken or were severely corroded.
Over the next few weeks I am going to be building up all the components on the frame and completing the engine and transmission. It's quite a puzzle at times; Dave basically gave me a large tub filled with all the fasteners he had removed from the car, so there has been a bit of detective work to identify various fixtures and fittings.
I have restored a few motorcycles, but this is the first time I have attempted a car. The aim is to have the frame complete and the engine and transmission installed, sitting on its wheels by Spring. I can then look at the body during the summer.
Although I have some manuals and lots of photographs; I would like to thank in advance any forum members who take the time to generously contribute help and advice; I am pretty sure I am going to have a few questions as I start out on this journey!
If there are any other local BC TR3 owners, please feel free to get in touch.
All the best
Andy
A friendly reminder - be careful what links you click on here. If a link is posted by someone you don't know, or the URL looks fishy, DON'T CLICK. Spammers sometimes post links that lead to sites that can infect your computer, so be mindful what you click.