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TR2/3/3A Is a 63 TCF probably needing total restoration worth getting into?

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bnw

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There's a 63 B 4 hours away reasonably priced up for sale. Looks like it needs a major restoration just like my unfinished 57 did 8 years ago. In your opinion, is this car, if really a TCF, worth more, less, or the same as my 57 Smallmouth with OD if and when I finish it? I am striving to make my 57 better than new and I know what it takes in time and $$$. My wife of 40 years will probably leave me over this, but?????
 
hmmm - a few photos might be helpful here.

If it's fixed up better than new, it's definitely worth it. But likely only worth it to you.

Are you asking about the car *after* fixing it up? and of course, we don't know what your 57 will be worth then either!

Hang in there.
Tom
 
In the same condition and with the same options, the 3B might be worth slightly more. But only slightly IMO, the OD would probably make more difference. And a correct restoration is likely more valuable than "better than new" as well.

Prices have gone up lately, so it's possible to turn a small profit on a restoration if your time isn't worth much. But there are still lots of jobs that are more profitable, so I'd say restoring a TR is still a hobby.
 
TR3driver said:
Prices have gone up lately, so it's possible to turn a small profit on a restoration if your time isn't worth much. But there are still lots of jobs that are more profitable, so I'd say restoring a TR is still a hobby.
Click to expand...

Truer words never spoken, I actually "made money" on the last couple cars I sold (an AH100 and a BMW 2002) So I don't really agree with people who always say "you will spend twice as much restoring it than it will ever be worth" and such. But getting to the quotes on "made money" I made money if my time spent is valued at nil or at most somewhere in the range of cents an hour, cause if I get anywhere near a dollar an hour or more there ain't no profit.
 
For me, "better than new" is what the big hammers and the body shops did after they got off the boat and made it to the show room floor. Most of us are just trying to make them correct as original with better paint and panel fittings and it ain't easy or cheap.
 
bnw said:
For me, "better than new" is what the big hammers and the body shops did after they got off the boat and made it to the show room floor. Most of us are just trying to make them correct as original with better paint and panel fittings and it ain't easy or cheap.
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Sorry, my mistake and my apologies for jumping to the wrong conclusion.

I've seen too many ads for "restored" cars with R&P steering, Toyota gearboxes and so on. Certainly there is a place for such cars, my own TR3 has a number of small upgrades as well. But such changes don't count as "restoration" in my opinion.
 
No need for apologies, Randall. Your constant attention and responses to our "problems" allows you some latitude here! BTW, I removed the R&P from my car when I first got started on the project. Sold it for $1100 on E bay and proceeded to purchase the correct straight shaft steering for $600. I wanted to be able to hand crank the car as I did many times on many cars over the years. You know, that bullet nose starter was not all that reliable! HA
 
Bnw, As most of us don't take the cars out in the winter much, if at all, I use the crank to turn the engine a 1/2 turn every once in a while, (when I remember). That keeps the piston in a different place and the valves on different seats. Helps with rust on the parts. Also helps with the front seal not sticking to crank.
Love my crank handle.
Wayne
 
Vaark01 said:
According to NADA a '62 B with OD is worth $50,700. A '57 3 is worth $44,400.

Paul
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I think that's NADA guide for *top* prices.

Would still like to find where NADA and Hagerty get their prices. So many classics sell "off the net" we're left with only asking prices to chart - not actual selling prices.
 
Strange they don't even list overdrive as an option for 57. It was very definitely available, not installed on most US-spec cars, and definitely very desirable. What is an "Italia" overdrive, anyway?
 
Randall - that's one of the reasons I question using NADA as a price guide. Where do they get their information, and who checks it for reliability?

Tom
 
TR3s are selling in the 20 to 30k range, I've done that myself but 40 to 50k is getting out there, doesn't take that much to build a nice one. To me a small mouth is prettier than the 3b but values should be about the same. I have a small mouth that my father built and one of the last 200 black on black 3bs yet to be restored.

Marv
 
There's a difference between actual market prices and owner's valuation. The same difference between reality and fiction.
 
I paid $2,500.00 for my TR6 in 1995. Towed it home on a rope, got it going, replaced many, many missing parts, corrected electrical shorts, upgraded shocks & stainless steel exhaust system to the tune of $13,000.00. I did all labor except for installing new top, valve job, suspension work and installing chromed bumpers (not original to my car but swapped at the rechrome place - now out of business for shady business practices!). PO had spent $2,027.00 in repairs plus someone had painted the car at a cost of $$?Total mileage driven - about 6,000.00 since then. Could I get $15,500.00 for what is essentially a "daily driver"? How much would you pay for such a car? Show cars will sell and basket cases - if not too far gone - will also sell- cheap. These garden-variety LBCs are easy to buy and hard to sell unless show cars. I did make a profit on an MG TD I restored back in the '70s when parts were still cheap - if you discount my 600-plus hours of backbreaking labor in a cold garage at night mostly. And no thanks - I don't want to do it again, especially at my advanced age...
 
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