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TR2/3/3A For Sale on Ebay

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I am not an expert on TR3's, but this one looks well worth the money. Especially with the freshly rebuilt engine and Trans. I wish I had 11k and another garage spot!
 
Certainly seems better than most and fairly priced. No great deal though, in my opinion. On the down side, it seems to have had body work and paint in the past. The seem between the rear fender and the apron has been filled in - a poor damage repair or rust coverup. Rust in dogleg behind door also. Although the seller has shown these defects in the pictures, it would be good to have a look at the rest of the car before purchase.
That said, I've seen much poorer examples that sold for the same price.
Tom
 
thechileman said:
I am not an expert on TR3's, but this one looks well worth the money. Especially with the freshly rebuilt engine and Trans. I wish I had 11k and another garage spot!
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That was my 1st thought too but the no bids turned my caution light on.
 
TomMull said:
Certainly seems better than most and fairly priced. No great deal though, in my opinion. On the down side, it seems to have had body work and paint in the past. The seem between the rear fender and the apron has been filled in - a poor damage repair or rust coverup. Rust in dogleg behind door also. Although the seller has shown these defects in the pictures, it would be good to have a look at the rest of the car before purchase.
That said, I've seen much poorer examples that sold for the same price.
Tom
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I have too.

Thanks for your thoughts, Tom.

mgf
 
"Freshly rebuilt engine" but the studs & nuts are still rusty. Radiator also doesn't look like it has been serviced recently (mine always come back nice and glossy). Cylinder head looks freshly painted around the spark plugs, and yet there is rust peeking out from under the heater tube. Stator tube is broken, wires to control head don't appear to be connected. One of the wires to the LH horn is missing.

Current owner bought it with the express intention of flipping it for a profit, meaning any work that is hidden is suspect. Kind of reminds me of a car I bought with a "rebuilt" motor where they had just replaced one piston with a piston that was a different design (and weight) than the others (which appeared to be original 4-ring factory pistons).

Might be a fair price, but I would sure want to see it and hear it run before placing a bid at that level. No doubt there have been worse cars sell for more, but there have also been a lot of people get ripped off.
 
On my first TR3A the rear body work looked pretty good but it was basically formed from Bondo sculpted into the shape of a TR3. Like this example, the seams between the rear wing and rear panel were lost in translation. The area low and behind the door (dog legs) can also hide a world of troubles.

A couple minutes with a magnet would reveal much.

I, too, would be suspicious of the recent rebuild as I would expect things to look a look nicer (clean if not painted) after a competent rebuild -- for example, when I have a new head gasket (and for years afterwards) I get a nice line of copper visible at the joint between the head and block. That area does not look fresh to me.

Still, if someone wanted a safe & fun driver with no expectations beyond that, then perhaps this is a candidate.

BTW -- The term 'survivor' is totally inappropriate for this example.
 
Well, it sold for 12,800 dollars or so. This was an interesting discussion. One of the reasons I really enjoy this forum. Tr3driver and Geo, you both had interesting observations from the pictures. I need to look with a more critical eye when I look at these ebay cars.
 
thechileman said:
Well, it sold for 12,800 dollars or so. This was an interesting discussion. One of the reasons I really enjoy this forum. Tr3driver and Geo, you both had interesting observations from the pictures. I need to look with a more critical eye when I look at these ebay cars.
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Thanks to all who responded. There is a trend that seems to be happened - the so-called "preservation" car. I haven't seen much about it on this website (maybe I missed it?). The emphasis being on "original" vs "restored". Comments anybody?.

Yes, Randall & Geo's input are among the 1st I seek on this site.

mgf
 
I think my car might be a "survivor". It is certainly not original, nor is it restored. It has been at least partially repainted (probably from collision repair) and someone at sometime has replaced the original upoholstery with vinyl etc. When I joined either TRA or VTR the registration blank offered Restored, Original and Maintained as the status of the car. Maintained seemed to fit my car to a tee. I love it just as though it was a frame off restored specimen. I show my car once each year at a local show and one thing I tell the owners of the trailer queens that park next to me is that my car does make their's look better. Maybe that's why they invite me back from year to year.
 
'Survivor' gets abused almost as much as 'barn find' (which seem to turn up even in areas of the country where barns are hard to come by).

One firm (Bloomington Gold) has trademarked the term 'survivor' as it applies to cars:

SurvivorTrademark_000.jpg


Though they apparently choose to educate people on the use of the term rather than sue them for trademark infringement (which, as a practical matter, would be nigh on impossible).

Generally the definition seems to be a car in very original condition, including original paint & interior and original drive train (by the numbers where possible). Usage, however varies quite a bit from that to the point that the word has become about a meaningful as 'rare' or 'collectible' in describing a car.
 
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