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TR2/3/3A About to strat a full restoration TR2 / TR3 ?

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TRo8son1

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Hello , im a about to start a full restoration of a recently purchased TR2 or TR3 , im not quite upto speed with it all just yet , Reading a few of the threads , it surgests with having a large speaker hole in the right hand side inner wing that is is a TR2 , also has a small mouth but the rear light pintles surgest a TR3 as dose the heritage certificate
Any info apperciated
 

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Heritage certificate is almost certainly correct, as long as the ID plate hasn't been swapped to a different body at some point.
The TR3 had the full chrome surround on the mouth, as your car has. Is there a TR2 type grill at the back of the mouth, or is it just missing the grill completely? There's very little difference between an early TR3 and a late TR2.
 
Also, the early TR3's also had the speaker hole too, so that is not really a designator of a 2/3. Be sure to post pics as you go! It looks like a very nice car to start with.
 
Even early 3As had the speaker hole; TS39781LO had it.

The integral plinths for the separate turn signals in the rear suggest it's a fairly late TR3. The lamps themselves were phased in over some time (partially depending on destination market), but the earliest cars used separate plinths mounted to the early style rear apron.

Best I can tell, that's also the "short" commission plate, which also suggests late TR3 or early TR3A.

Of course, after all these years, almost anything could have happened. I looked at a car once that was actually the front of an early 3A welded to the back of a later (post-TS60000) 3A! The seller admitted it when I asked, but hadn't mentioned it before that.
 
You are at the beginning of a long and interesting journey. Take lots of photos and notes. Zip lock bags for small parts.

The TR looks good. How are the floor panels and inner sills?

I had a TR2 in England in the late 1960s and it was so rotten even then that it was almost beyond saving.

David
 
Hi and welcome!

As the others have suggested, you do have to be careful using "features" to determine the model (TR2, TR3, TR3A), as when there were model changes, there was some overlap. The commission (TS00000) number is the key, unless as mentioned, some nefarious previous owner has messed with the plate. Bill Piggott's book, "Original Triumph TR2/3/3A" is the bible to all the models and changes, but it's not 100% accurate. What inaccuracies there are I consider minor and a result of later, more complete research. The book was published in 1998, thus out of print, but used copies can be found on the internet. Don't pay too high a price for it, though. I got my copy on eBay, and it was originally belong to the Warwickshire County library!
Part of the problem is that Triumph was not adverse to saving (and thus making) a dollar/pound, so sometimes inventory was used up over a change point in production, confusing the issue for us owners 60 plus years later. So a late TR2 would share many items with an early TR3, sometimes months past the supposed change.
I encourage you to mine this forum, along with another, Triumph Experience at https://www.triumphexp.com/phorum/list.php?6
Since you're in the UK, you may already be a member of the TR Register and their forum. I always enjoy the different points of view, especially across the pond. Since you're about to embark on a restoration, I highly encourage you to read through or download John Durant's (CJD) several threads documenting the restoration of his 1955 TR2. They're a goldmine of information and can be found here: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/search.php?searchid=1866123
The various threads of interest are "Beginning the TR2 Bodywork," "Recipe for a TR2," and others. I like John's dry sense of humor mixed with the right photos (that we all like to see) and info that shows his attention to detail and explanation of techniques. The forums have many knowledgeable people that are quite willing to share a wealth of knowledge. Almost every TR question can be answered on these three forums. (Though folks keep trying, no one has yet to stump Randall Young.) :smile-new:

Good luck with the restoration and please, share it with us!
 
Hi
The TR was a US import , matching numbers car ,looks like an abadond restoration , the right hand floor and sill have been replaced and are held trogeather with self tapping screws the left hand floor pan is thin and riddled with tiny holes asis the sill . the rest of the tub looks good apart from the battery box

Chassis , is in good shape one small hole front left hand side
 

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There are a lot of abandoned restorations. It is a lot of work and sometimes life gets in the way. I was reading somewhere that over %80 of scars that are stripped down for restoration are not completed by the original stripper.
I got mine like that. It was started in the late 1980s and then abandoned around 2000. They had replaced the floor and sills with the body off the frame and lost the door gaps. That made a lot of work for me. They then went on to using glass fiver mat to cover rust holes. More work to remove the rusty parts.
So on that note do all the structural work while the body is mounted on the frame. Assuming the doors fit.

I notice in the first photo you have a large wrench on the starting handle. Is the motor frozen up or just stiff?

Remember it is a Marathon not a sprint.

David
 
You better send it back across the pond because you are busy with that blue MG and the steering wheel is one the wrong side, but that can be moved. I will pick it up for you Seattle. Yes looks like a good restoration project; it is my favorite if it is 1957 with disk brakes. Check the inner sills and if they are good and they do not have to be perfect IMHO to continue with the resto unless you plan on giving the car to your grandkids. The sills are open in the pack behind the wheel well and you can wax oil them after painting them with a mop on stick and that usually keeps the doors in position plus makes the resto go a lot smoother
steve
 
Commission number TS13046 (September 1956) was the changeover from Lockheed drums all-around to Girling rear drums and disc front brakes. The rear-end assembly was changed from Mayflower-type to Vanguard-type as well.

FYI, my car was built July 19, 1957.
 
TRo8son1 said:
The TR was a US import , matching numbers car
Click to expand...

So you already have the Heritage certificate? The numbers weren't the same originally, the build certificate is the only way to know if they "match".
 
Yeah. They told me sorry and sent my money back. On the good side it makes the car an unwritten book.
 
CJD said:
Yeah. They told me sorry and sent my money back. On the good side it makes the car an unwritten book.
Click to expand...
Unless it's something rare like an early car, I consider all of my cars to be unwritten books. Any color that Triumph put on the cars is OK with me, along with some modifications for reliability/usability. The only thing that is verboten to me is non-TR parts. So no 5 speed trans or diff swaps in an IRS car. But otherwise, I consider them a blank slate to make what I want.
 
A few more pictures of the srtip down before the work starts
 

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Were the body tags missing? Or just already removed for restoration?
 
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