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CJD

CJD

Yoda
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Well, low balled and now have a new project...TS5248. A TR2 with overdrive.

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Still getting over the shock of the seller accepting a lowball offer. Normally I'd be excited about a new car...but feel more like "dead man walking"!?! Mainly because I have no illusions about the amount of work involved. I'm sure I'll perk up once I get to work on it...once your involved in the details you forget about the grand size of the big picture.

By the way...you guys saved me about a grand. The seller came down when we both thought the title had the wrong VIN...turns out it was registered under the engine number like you guys said. Thanks!

At least a couple years of posts to follow!

John

And...in case you are wondering...they did throw in the acorns and rat fecese for free. Bonus!
 
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Great find John. Congrats. What a great car and great project.

Pat
 
John, looks pretty complete. Any car project with its original air cleaners intact must be promising. Does the engine turn over? How long has this TR2 been slumbering?

Best of luck!
 
Congrats on the new project. Should keep you busy for a few days :jester:

Say, what engine is in that car? Looks unusual (to my untrained eyes).

Tom
 
John,
Now you will get a feel for my project. I think if it turns out anything like your last project you will have two very nice cars. It will be great to follow along and see hos you tackle the work. I may have some parts as well......
 
John:
I feel your excitement on the project. First step is to order the car's BMIHT certificate to learn how and when it was born. Next and more importantly is to go to TRA's web site www.triumphregister.com to get a free copy of their restoration guide. Far better to do it right the first time. Once at TRA's web site go to the bottom of the News and Events tab and print out the 50 or so page guide. Good luck and I do envy your find.

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana
54 TR2LD
 
That looks like a great find, John - you were just spoiled with your first one being as nice as it was! This one looks very decent though, the front valance looks in great shape.

Engine seems to still have the low port head on it from the look of the intake/exhaust ports - for but some reason they stuck a TR4 valve cover on it.
 
CJD. Nice project, wish I had it and a bunch of time. Still moving and getting the house like the madam wants it. I'm still have sticker shock on the price of a refrigerator. Our hobby is cheap compared to a kitchen restoration. I like driving, but I think eating might be first now, at 72.

Good luck on the TR2. My first ride in a English car at 15 was a brand new TR2.

Wayne
 
John,

Looks like a neat find and new project for you (and the family since I recalled you got everyone to help! :smile: ).

What does the odometer show for miles and how does it look in the rust department?

Scott
 
John - Great looking project. It looks like it will be easier than mine. It took me 3 years to restore my 1958 TR3A. BTW, that is a TR4 valve cover as noted by the pipe out the side as well as the oil filler cap at the rear of the engine. The early TR2s had a black painted valve cover and I can only assume that some previous owner felt that a shiny one looked nicer than a black painted one.

Lou is correct as the build record from the heritage center will tell you the exact date and time it was assembled and the other numbers as well. The judging manual from TRA will tell you at which TR2 they started to introduce the chromed valve cover. Lou has a prize winning TR that still is a super looking TR2.

BTW, when you remove the grille, it should not be painted with "over-spray" as it is now. It should be shiny aluminium finish.

Any more questions ? Just ask.
 
Thanks guys.

I'll have a million TR2 differences questions...one of the first was going to be what's up with that valve cover. TR4 explains it...So, I have a valve cover for anyone that needs a '4 cover!?!

Jerry, you're right about not "saving" me any money, LOL! I bought a pit to throw money down. The good news is my wife likes the '3 so much that she supports this project wholeheartedly. It's always nice when you don't have to hide the parts coming in from the wife!

Now for you long timer project managers...I'm starting at the bottom with a real mess, so I expect you guys to beat me to the end so we can all meet up on a road trip with the new (?) rides. No excuses!

John
 
Congrats! Looks like a good candidate for an interesting project.
 
Oh catching up on the questions...

I met Joe in Irving, who owned the car from 1971 to 2009. He rebuilt the engine and painted over the original green in '89, and then parked the car in the back yard. So it has not been run in 24 years. He said it just passed 100k miles when he parked it. I didn't bother to clean the odometer to check...I was just impressed all the gages were still there.

I expect the motor to be frozen...tried to turn it over using the starting crank in the boot. (Can you believe that was still there?) Couldn't break through the dirt dobber nest in the end of the crank extension, though.

I expect the tranny and OD will be boat anchors, but will cross my fingers that they are rebuildable.

All the upper metal is solid, but all the floors in the cabin and boot are gone. The seats were, well, completely turned back to iron ore. I guess the bright side is its less metal to remove in the replacement process!?!

On the last car the tub was solid enough to work on unbraced. That won't be the case with this old girl. I'll have to study all your old posts showing bracing and rotisserie techniques.

I guess it's obvious that I am expecting the absolute worst case with everything. So, if I count on the worst, I can only be pleased if anything turns out not to be that bad...

I'm still not that excited about the job at hand...but it is nice to have a project like most of you guys again!

John
 
Beautiful car and it is in the right hands for a great restoration.I think it is the year with only one piece of chrome on the small mouth.
steve

 
John, once you get it cleaned up, you will have a better idea of what needs to be done. The body panels look pretty good from the pictures. As long as the trany and overdrive stayed sealed, a good cleaning out and fresh oil may be all it needs. It really looks like a good project to take on. Good luck with it!
 
So very cool, I don't know a lot, just enough to be dangerous, but there are many little subtle differences between the TR2 and the TR3, I have a buddy with an early long door, and he tells all of them to me, but I never remember them. But it looks very original and complete, crank in the trunk is beyond cool, original jack? Tools? I though cars didn't rust in Texas :wink-new: You might be pleasantly surprised about the drivetrain, old TRs are tough, maybe in better shape that you think. Great find, rusted seat frames are a bummer though, I spent way to much time fabricating and reconstructing the rusted out bottoms of the frames in my car.
 
Finally got around to checking...there is an "O" on the plate, so it's an original overdrive car. The engine number matches the title, so you guys were right about that too.

The last TR I took completely apart and then started reaching in the pile of parts, like a grab bag, to restore them. This time around I have decided to restore each part as I take it off...I no longer have the room to spread the whole job out at one time. Say, maybe that would be a reason to talk the wife into moving to a house with a bigger shop???

Anyway, I think this wraps it up for this post...time to move it to working posts, with a lot more questions...
 
Well.

I've committed.

Marv is providing me with a donor body for the TR2, which should be here in the next few weeks. A year of vascillating about whether to part it or rebuild it is over. There will be regular updates from here on out.

Most of the major parts are accounted for with one exception. Anybody got a set of early style bumpers and brackets? Most of the parts are available repro, but I would rather buy the originals if I can.
 
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