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TR2/3/3A I may have found a TR3....but I want your advice

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Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I don't recall you saying what the commission number is. It should be within a few hundred numbers of the "EB" body number and the a few hundred from the engine number. If those are all close, then it all could be legit. It is possible that the original OD trans was swapped out.

I ran into a dilemma when I was doing the resto on my TS23677L. The body tub was in very bad shape, so I bought another tub with a lot of good external panels for a great price. The problem was, it was post 60,000. I had the commission number plate for that body, but no documentation. I opted to just re-register it as TS23677L, as the engine and body numbers go with it. I just didn't need the hassle from DMV.

So, I really built a car that with one look, anyone who knows TR3s, will shout bogus. That doesn't mean it's not a good car.
I'd be more concerned with the quality of the work done on it and whether or not you really like the car.

If you have ANY qualms at all, just leave. There are plenty of good TR3 out there.

Wanna buy my Frankenstein???
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I agree with Art -
Another general thought or opinion - if you are dealing with the owner that restored it, and its been in his or her possession for a long while, typically I think you'll find the owner to be the worst critic for the car. So the phone call on condition may be overly negative.

Randy
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I have no idea how much the car is but it's been almost 5 days since this started and you still have not seen or driven the car (I Think). You mention that you are a purist but the car is not correct in many ways and you are still thinking about it. It's a nice looking car in the pictures but they can lie about actual condition. As to numbers matching it is a Triumph not a Hemi Cuda, or Ferrari. I'm sure I will take some flak over that remark but lets get real. TS1 needed to be as original as it could be but the rest are just fun cars to be enjoyed. It does not sound like this car would be that much fun for you because of the questions. Unless the price is fantastic I would walk away and keep looking. Good luck with your search.
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Without a rigorous inspection you are taking a chance - many of us have done it. In many cases it works out, in others, well not so much.

If you really want stuff to be "right" I'm not sure why you can't find a way to get it inspected before you send money.
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I have often been accused of "over engineering" mostly by my wife, heh. However, quite often she's correct. What I see in 5 pages of commentary is a case of over engineering on the buying of this or any car. Bite the bullet and go look at it. Until you do that you will continue to dither about it. Pleaase don't feel that I am being insulting because I'm not. Only you can make the final call and that can only be done with an eye ball inspection. You have the collected wisdom of commentary from the members, use that, of course but as I said the eye ball is the final judge.


Good Luck, Tinkerman
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Tinkerman said:
I have often been accused of "over engineering" mostly by my wife, heh.
Click to expand...

Me too....and part of this problem I guess. I run my own company and make decisions that exceed this by 200 times. But yet.....

Perhaps posting my thought processes through this purchase was a bad idea.

Sorry if this thread went in a bad direction.

Randy
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I don't think the thread went in a bad direction at all. Its a Triumph forum, and we are talking Triumphs. Now go look at that car!
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

No way has it gone in a bad direction. I've enjoyed following it. I've always felt that in car purchases, the hunt was the most enjoyable part. TR4nut has it right - go see the car.
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

I love these 'Buying a TR' threads. Like helping local friends find a TR -- it lets me exercise the 'buying' gene without actually spending money or having to find more garage space.

Only once has the vicarious process backfired and I ended up being the one who bought the car.
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Randy, gosh, no bad thread, just my random thoughts on the buying process. When I bought mine I bought it in 1988 from a chap in Maryland. I went through much the same process, though I didn't have the BCF to help. I was living in San Antonio at the time and the car was in Maryland. Finally my fiance told me to go look at it because pictures weren't doing it and she was tired of me fussing about it. She and I went and after two days of traveling, found the owner and the car. I walked into his garage, saw the wire wheels and it was love at first sight. Two days later we drove off with that car packed all over a Uhaul trailer (it was a basket case). Made it home and have been in love with it since.

Best of luck Randy!

Regards, Tinkerman
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Hi Randy,

I feel my post was the one that made you think that the thread had gone bad. I just think you need to go see the car in person and it will then be an easy decision for you. My problem is when I speak I don't beat around the bush, and I think you may feel I was a bit blunt. Thats just me. As for weather you should ask for advice on this forum, I think it would be a huge mistake not to ask for it. The people here know more about these cars than you will find anywhere else. I hope you will come back and let us know what is going on, after all these cars are ment to be fun from the purchase, to the weekend downtime, and driving.

Keith
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Well after some careful deliberation I decided I needed to take care of a few things first.

My primary concern remains the title. The “transfer” of the vehicle ID from another source concerns me. Yes, many moons ago I know, but I am used to upfront no-nonsense deals. Not this stuff.

After a few phone conversations I get the feeling this owner is a shoestring budget guy. A second conversation elsewhere confirms this.

The cobbled brake / clutch reservoir is a result of a leaky original one he had and the fact that it would be $100 to get a new one. He dug the one you see out of a dumpster at a dealership he knows and put it in there. It is from a Ford.

There is spray can over spray on the battery and over the black grommets on the firewall...hummm

He painted the rear deck lid with a rattle can as well and why it looks odd and the wing nuts are white...minor yes....but.

I am still checking the VIN. But my gut tells me this looks better in pictures than in person.

10 hours (or a few $100 flying) each way just to see it is a commitment and I want to make sure I can register the darn thing if I go.

Couple it with the fact that I am a more of a purist, the VIN tag, interior, body history, color and owner profile I am beginning to learn, I need to make sure this car is not a salvaged version that will disappoint.

I am not afraid of a project and the costs that go with it. Getting a car needing some work is fine....but I want one that I can bring back to an original state via a British Heritage certificate. This car may not provide that option.

The saga continues...if I am boring some and annoying others I apologize.

Been a heck of a learning experience though. Thanks for all the input so far.
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

mallard said:
I feel my post was the one that made you think that the thread had gone bad. I just think you need to go see the car in person and it will then be an easy decision for you. My problem is when I speak I don't beat around the bush, and I think you may feel I was a bit blunt.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't post my stuff in a public forum and expect anything else.

I was feeling bad in that after an initial rush of looking past somethings on the car I began to find some real reasons to reconsider. Which makes the direction of the thread different than the start....hence my comment.

Life is too short for anything less than direct and "blunt" responses. I appreciate that more than the wishhy wasshy BS I get at work :smile:
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Actually Randy, your comments seem very well founded and well thought out - nothing wrong with taking a breather. With a mix of parts it may be impossible to get the Heritage Certificate you want, but I think you'd find the physical titling of the car not that bad (only speaking from experience in Texas, not Wisconsin). If you have a transferable title from the seller in hand I don't think there would be any issue, regardless of engine/commission/ body numbers.

I still think those panel gaps are pretty good on this one though!

Good luck!
Randy
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Well I thought I would update the group on where I landed with this.

After several conversations with the owner I will most likely pass on the car. While it photographs well and I am told runs well, I am just to much of a purist to make this work for me.

The engine is not original. The VIN says it should have overdrive and it does not, the color is not a Triumph color, the interior is a unique color and the color combination does nothing for me. It needs a re-paint based on comments from the owner and to me that means a dis-assembly and restore....and this car's history does not warrant that kind of expense IMHO.

The title is fine and my concerns were unfounded just as many of you stated.

While I have my reasons for not moving forward on this vehicle, others may find it attractive. PM me for the current owners name and number and I'll respond straight away.

What this has done is really walked me through the details of buying a car and what I want in one as well. Everyone's input, both public and PM's, has helped tremendously......my search has narrowed the type of cars I even consider looking at and I have bumped my budget to accommodate some features that mean something to me...like matching numbers....

Thanks for putting up with this thread....worse yet, another one may develop one day!

Thanks again for the guidance.....despite the conclusion.....
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

GB, I think it has been a good learning experience foe all of us. Knowing what I have gone through with buying a "basket case" I could have REALLY benifitted from this type of info 20 years ago. To me thats what the BCF is all about.

Good luck in your hunt!

Tinkerman
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

Randy - congrats on getting to "a conclusion". We've all learned a lot, believe me, either here, or in the College of Hard Knocks.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]worse yet, another one may develop one day![/QUOTE]

<span style="font-style: italic">Slight alteration:</span> " *better* yet, another one will develop!"

Tom
 
Re: I may have found a TR3....but I want your advi

GBRandy said:
The title is fine
Click to expand...
That's what the seller of my Stag said too. I don't believe he had anything to do with the VIN tag being changed; it happened before the car came to him. And yet, I was the one that almost got stuck, when I tried to get the title transferred to me.

You made the right choice, IMO.
 
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