body shop on long Island?

[JonnyRotten]

anyone know of a body shop that works on triumphs on long island.Im a little leery of bringing it to a shop that works on normal vehicles.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I suggest checking out the Long Island Triumph Association for recommendations!

 

[martx-5]

anyone know of a body shop that works on triumphs on long island.Im a little leery of bringing it to a shop that works on normal vehicles.

As Andrew says, Long Island Triumph Association. I'm a member and I know there are several guys that have used several different places, unfortunately, I don't know which ones they used, as I did all of my own body work. If you have time next Saturday morning, you should stop by at one of our tech sessions. PM me if you're interested and I'll give you the specifics.

 

[Guest]

Some advise that might be useful,that I havent seen posted. Dont go too fast about restoration. Get one of Bill Piggot's books and a factory manual and feed your brain. Read,read and read it again.Excitement can get the better of you. Do it once and do it right. Rushing anything costs more money in the long run.

 

[TRDejaVu]

Depends on your plans for the car.

Nice Looking Driver
If it can be confirmed that it is roadworthy, then run it for the summer, get used to it and pick your projects accordingly. Starting on a complete restoration means that you won't see the car for quite some time.

Concours
If you are made of money - go for it.

 

[JonnyRotten]

Ive got the original service manual and "Triumph owners handbook of Maintenance and repair"which ive been reading and seems to have every detail of every maintenance issue I will ever need to know.But im curios as to what the body work will cost,and paint.It will be the last thing I do on restoration but Id like to know what im in for.also Ive swapped a few motors in my time and brakes and things like that but Ive never done body work.Should I do some reading and give it a shot or is it real difficult and more or an art form?I called a triumph restoration place in pa.and he said im looking at a minimum of 10,000. for body work alone which would break the bank.

 

[TR4nut]

Some advise that might be useful,that I havent seen posted. Dont go too fast about restoration. Get one of Bill Piggot's books and a factory manual and feed your brain. Read,read and read it again.Excitement can get the better of you. Do it once and do it right. Rushing anything costs more money in the long run.

Oh so true. Another decent book that is very TR3 specific is John Williams' restoration book. At least shows what you might need to get into.

 

[TRDejaVu]

What body work does it need; a bit of rust cleanup or major panel / frame repair?

 

[JonnyRotten]

floor pans,and one rocker.the paint is chipped all around,but no major dents or rust.the floor pans are a big deal i know.The previous owner bent up sheet metal over floor pans and its solid,with new carpet you would never know.I have a picture on"chance to buy dads tr3a".Im not looking for showroom quality.just a nice looking car.

 

[Andrew Mace]

The previous owner bent up sheet metal over floor pans and its solid,with new carpet you would never know.

If the rust has not extended beyond the floor pans themselves (i.e., into the rocker panels or the firewall, etc.) and there's enough paint or other treatment to keep further rust at bay for now, by all means leave it alone under new carpet!

Im not looking for showroom quality.just a nice looking car.

And, to many folks, you've already got that. In my experience over the years, 99.44% of the "general public" see an interesting old car with an owner who enjoys said car, but they usually don't see chips or small rust spots, minor tears or stains in the upholstery. It's not quite as good with "enthusiasts"; even there, though, the vast majority will see a well-maintained and thoroughly enjoyed car with its happy owner, and overlook. Of those remaining, I'll wager that most of those who seem disturbed by a less-than-Concours car secretly wish that they'd not spent quite so much making their own cars into Concours contenders...especially when they watch you drive happily down a dusty or muddy dirt road....

And yes, I have every appreciation for Concours-level cars, but it might be obvious that I'm not one who has ever or will ever aspire to bring a car to that condition. I greatly prefer to enjoy them as much as possible...even in (gasp) inclement weather (although I try to draw the line on salt-covered winter roads).

 

[martx-5]

floor pans,and one rocker.the paint is chipped all around,but no major dents or rust.the floor pans are a big deal i know.The previous owner bent up sheet metal over floor pans and its solid,with new carpet you would never know.I have a picture on"chance to buy dads tr3a".Im not looking for showroom quality.just a nice looking car.

Jonny,

I sent you a PM with my phone number. Give me a call. Some of the members could either go to your place, or we might even be able to trailer the car to Tony's (Ratco, where we have the tech sessions) and go over the car stem to stern. He's got a lift there also. Most of us have been through all of this before and we do a lot of work at these tech sessions whipping guys cars into shape.

As others have mentioned, don't jump to any conclusions on how to proceed until you know what you're up against. Many cars can be done as rolling restorations where you have the opportunity to drive between repairs. Let's get it safe to drive first, and go from there.

 

[Gordon_Dedrick]

Jonny
Easy there Tiger!! Know you are excited, and I know you want it now, but now is the time to take it SLOWWWW. You have the best of all world's going for you, this forum and now a local club member who has offered to have the group ponder your needs. As Art says, many of us have been thru the same issues you face and spent more than necesary to correct it in some cases (me).
I just finished puting a nice "driver" quality car together. The car ha over $1000 in new sheet metal....floors, lower front fenders, dog leg bottoms, batt box, and lots of fabricated patches for rusty spots. My body guy spent almost 450 hours completing this job. It cost WAY more than I ever expected. You get to the point in any job where you say "well I'm already here so I might as well do .......", and it all costs $$.
Get the car SAFE, running, and enjoy it this summer, then you can make plans for the next step.
Gordon

 

[Lou Metelko]

Jonny:
When you do a rolling or body off restoration, do yourself a favor and go to Triumph Register of America's web site (www.triumphregister.com) and download the restoration guidelines (bottom of News & Events tab). In the long run it is simpler and less expensive to do it right the first time.

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana

 

[Guest]

Concours? Classic mistakes are classic. Common sense and experience priceless. Every day I wake up,the things I experience prove I knew less than yesterday.An unknown quote by an open minded minded man.

 

[TRDejaVu]

The previous owner bent up sheet metal over floor pans and its solid,with new carpet you would never know.

If the rust has not extended beyond the floor pans themselves (i.e., into the rocker panels or the firewall, etc.) and there's enough paint or other treatment to keep further rust at bay for now, by all means leave it alone under new carpet!

That's what I've got on one side. I check it every year for structural integrity and will eventually get it done as one of my annual winter projects. It's not a uni-body car so the strength is in the frame.

 

[toysrrus]

Ive got the original service manual and "Triumph owners handbook of Maintenance and repair"which ive been reading and seems to have every detail of every maintenance issue I will ever need to know.But im curios as to what the body work will cost,and paint.It will be the last thing I do on restoration but Id like to know what im in for.also Ive swapped a few motors in my time and brakes and things like that but Ive never done body work.Should I do some reading and give it a shot or is it real difficult and more or an art form?I called a triumph restoration place in pa.and he said im looking at a minimum of 10,000. for body work alone which would break the bank.

Hi Johnny,

What shop did you contact in PA? I know several of them being an "Ex" Pennsylvanite.

Russ

 

[TR3driver]

In my experience over the years, 99.44%

For the "pure" driving experience, eh, Andy? :laugh:

FWIW, I'm with Andy. Make sure the rust is stopped as best you can; get the paint freshened if you want to; and drive it. IMO, They are a lot more fun that way, than as a work of art.

And metal is metal (to paraphrase another old advertisement), there's nothing magic about bodywork on these cars. You can even learn to do it yourself, if you have the time and inclination. YouTube is just full of how-to videos.

I lack the time and inclination, so I just took mine to a cheap body & paint shop (you may have heard of Earl Scheib ?) and gave them rather detailed instructions on what to do. Didn't take many photos (unfortunately), but these should give you some idea what I got for $3000:

 

[TR3driver]

Johnny, I note your chrome looks a little tired, so I'll pass along a tip I got from Fred Thomas. Find a shop that specializes in auto paint supplies and buy a bottle of PPG DX579 "Metal Prep". Also buy some fine "bronze wool". (My shop didn't have the bronze wool, so I ordered it from https://www.mcmaster.com/#7364t71/=5jjgwb )
Wear rubber gloves, and mix 1 part of DX579 with 4 parts water, put the mixture in a spray bottle from Home Depot or wherever. Spray it on the chrome, and scrub with the brass wool. The rust & patina will melt away like magic!

Again, I should have taken better photos, but here is a brief test I did. Obviously I didn't finish the job, it's just an example to show what is possible.

 

[Andrew Mace]

In my experience over the years, 99.44%

For the "pure" driving experience, eh, Andy? :laugh:

Absolutely, Randall! (And yes, I'm showing my age with these old ad references!)

And metal is metal (to paraphrase another old advertisement), there's nothing magic about bodywork on these cars.

Right! But try not to crash the car; unlike Doritos chips, "Crunch all you want; we'll make more" doesn't really apply to TR3s!

 

[TR3driver]

unlike Doritos chips, "Crunch all you want; we'll make more" doesn't really apply to TR3s!

Now you tell me !