TR2/3/3A 1960 TR3A Small Mouth [Huh?] on eBay

[60TR3A]

Bill Redinger, the TR2/3 expert who is listed on the VTR website, offered to trade me his 60-spoke wire wheels for my replica Minilites. He has 45 years' experience restoring, judging and appraising TR2s & 3s and is the only expert recommended by the VTR. 'Nuff said. For those of you who think that these wheels "don't count", you're entitled to your opinion but I trust Bill's expert opinion a lot more than yours.

Regardless, opinions are like anuses: everyone has one but they think everyone else's stink.

 

[PeterK]

Agree, definitely not a way to introduce oneself and win friends. Good luck with your new car.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Shoot -- I like it. But then I pretty much like all sidescreen TRs I see (and most other TRs too).

For the really bold look somehthing like this is eyecatching:

Beautifully done and, though not what I would choose for myself, I had to admire the result.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...He has 45 years' experience restoring, judging and appraising TR2s & 3s and is the only expert recommended by the VTR. 'Nuff said...

If correctness is real important to you, you may want to swap the positions of your speedo and tach.

Somewhere on the web (if you don't already have a copy) is PDF of the TRA judging manual which, while not perfect, is a pretty good resource for how the sidescreen TRs usually left the factory.

 

[60TR3A]

...He has 45 years' experience restoring, judging and appraising TR2s & 3s and is the only expert recommended by the VTR. 'Nuff said...

If correctness is real important to you, you may want to swap the positions of your speedo and tach.

Somewhere on the web (if you don't already have a copy) is PDF of the TRA judging manual which, while not perfect, is a pretty good resource for how the sidescreen TRs usually left the factory.

Thanks for the tip, George! I just looked it up in Piggott's Originality Guide page 73: "The speedometer was originally situated to the left and the rev counter to the right on both left- and right-hand-drive cars, but at TS29098 the positions were reversed for left-hand-drive cars, so that the passenger could better view the mileage recorder for rally purposes." You have a very good eye and should be a judge! I may just switch them when I get my wood wheel (horrors!) installed. :-D

 

[60TR3A]

Shoot -- I like it. But then I pretty much like all sidescreen TRs I see (and most other TRs too).

For the really bold look somehthing like this is eyecatching:

Beautifully done and, though not what I would choose for myself, I had to admire the result.

Actually, I think it's very cool. Quite beautifully done. Very menacing-looking and somewhat Darth Vader-ish. The difference between this car and the TR2 wannabe I first posted about is it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. It's a modified car with a V6 engine and is probably very fast and looks like it. I've never seen anything quite like it.

 

[60TR3A]

Agree, definitely not a way to introduce oneself and win friends. Good luck with your new car.

Thanks!

 

[60TR3A]

Question: how "period correct" are Minilite alloy wheels to a TR2 or 3? or any other alloy wheels, for that matter? Anyone know? (For my money, current Panasport, Minator, etc. wheels that emulate the original Minilite style don't count!)

I did a little research and it turns out that Minilite makes Minator! Same address in UK. Same factory. Just different branding.
You don't have to take my word for it, just click on these links and you'll see:
https://minilite.co.uk/contact.php
https://home.btconnect.com/knwheelsltd/contact.html

Now who's the snob?

 

[Mickey Richaud]

C'mon, guys. This is not the schoolyard. Let's keep this civil, OK?

 

[TR3driver]

It's a modified car with a V6 engine

V8 actually. Rover engine with alloy heads & block.

Notice the cut-down windshield and side curtains. He has an even shorter one for use without a top.

 

[Andrew Mace]

 

[60TR3A]

It's a modified car with a V6 engine

V8 actually. Rover engine with alloy heads & block.

My eyesight ain't what it used to be. A Triumph Cobra! Must be a brute to drive but must also burn rubber in fourth. I've never seen a V8 Triumph. Big Healeys, yes, but never a TR. Very cool.

 

[60TR3A]

It's a modified car with a V6 engine

V8 actually. Rover engine with alloy heads & block.

Notice the cut-down windshield and side curtains. He has an even shorter one for use without a top.

I wonder how he manages not to spin the hubs and break all the spokes in the rear wheels?

 

[60TR3A]

Here is one mean-looking, black, side curtain TR:

 

[TR3driver]

I've not ridden in that one yet, but another friend let me drive his TR3 with (I think) a 5.0 Mustang motor in it. I didn't try driving it hard, but it was actually pretty tractable. It had an automatic trans & Ford rear end as well; essentially a Mustang in TR3 clothing.

Yet another friend with a 5.0 in a TR4 says his goal is 0-100-0 in 10 seconds. Last I heard, he was putting disc brakes on the rear.

Different strokes for different folks, and all that. Not my cuppa tea, but I have to admit that having 250+ bhp on tap would be a lot of fun.

But I'd probably want to try to coax it from the original lump:

 

[60TR3A]

Yet another friend with a 5.0 in a TR4 says his goal is 0-100-0 in 10 seconds. Last I heard, he was putting disc brakes on the rear.

My R8 Spyder can hit 100 in 8 secs but I doubt it'll stop from 100 in just 2 secs. That would be pretty hard to do in a street car, wouldn't it?

 

[TR6BobNF]

Yo Don!

 

[Guest]

I see that this thread has spiraled out of control and has left the universe.Getting back to the car in question,I wonder what the extra fuse box and the funky little electrical item on the right of the fire wall are used for?Looking at the pic with the side curtains on,does it appear that the curtain might hit the oddly placed side view mirror,when the door is opened? Is there any mention of a convertable top or rack? Maybe the seller was going for the Francochamps look as well? WORD OF CAUTION! about that TR motor in the pic. Combining a flux capacitor and dilithium crystals can be very dangerous.Too high a compression ratio could result in a tear in the universal fabric and end life as we know it. Solution to the monkey poo slinging wheel argument. One steel,one minilite,one 48spoke,one60 spoke.To avoid any future questions,throw away spare,remove rubber plug,and pack the compartment with beer and ice.Ziggy Zoggie.Ziggy Zoggie. Hoy! Hoy! Hoy!

 

[swift6]

This has certainly been an entertaining read.

One question about the Minotars being accepted as period correct. Just because the VTR expert wants them for his car doesn't mean they are period correct for judging. He probably wants them for his car because they are a more stable wheel for driving than the original 48 spokers. I doubt the car they would be going on would ne in any sort of concourse judging especially if he were a judge.

Also, just because they are made in the same factory doesn't mean that they qualify for period correct. Otherwise a TR4A engine in a TR2 should be allowed. While the Minotar is a wheel of the correct diameter but not width, and it may match the widths available of a period correct wheel, the look is a little updated and not quite the same as true period correct wheel. In the same manner, the TR4A engine is an updated 4 cylinder, based on the same block even as the TR2, and made in the same factory, possibly by the same people, but would still not be period correct for a TR2 (or TR3, TR3A or possibly even a TR4 depending upon VIN). At a glance, they would look the same espeically to the uninitiated but are not the same.

There are two basic standards used for judging side screen TR's in the US on a nationwide basis. One is TRA, the other is VTR. My guess, and that is all it is, would be that your TR3A, as it sits, would be classed as modified and you would be put in the same class as that small mouth "Resto-Mod" (which there seems to be as many definitions for as there are for "restored") on ebay (the original subject of the thread).

This of course is all my opinion and as you so ably put it, they are like aresholes.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[TR3driver]

Getting back to the car in question,I wonder what the extra fuse box and the funky little electrical item on the right of the fire wall are used for?

Just a WAG, but I would guess that the fuses are for the electric fan and additional lights; while the electrical thing looks like it might be an adjustable fan thermostat.