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Is It Just ME ???

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The post/discussion on originality hit a nerve with me, on a little different tack.

I LIVED on the Internet for the last year or so, looking at TRs for sale. And I was always horrified to look at a car that reads something like this:

Opening Bid: $22,500
No rust.
New interior.
New wheels and tires.
New paint.
Yada yada yada.

The photos show a car that may be the nicest Triumph in the whole world.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #CC0000">THEN THEY OPEN THE HOOD !!!!!!!!</span></span>

My God! A cesspool on wheels!! And I wonder, "what the heck (go ahead and change it to heck, see if I give a darn. Go ahead and change it to darn, see if I give a...) was the guy thinking? The car looks like the hood was not opened since the car came down the assembly line. Is that UNDERCOATING???!!!!

I thought that I was mellowing in my old age, particularly on my lightening up on originality; but I am still OFFENDED when I see an engine bay that looks like a lava bed. What say you all?
 
We were at the Brisbane British Car show (near San Francisco) There was one TR3 in particular that looked like a good daily driver A nice 15 footer, Then you look at the engine compartment "what the----" Like George said Never been touched. Very sad to me, I feel that the engine bay is just as important as what you see with the hood down. Pride in the mechanics. IMO.
 
Mine's just a driver but I strive to keep things tidy under the bonnet and attempt originality not as an obsession but as a challenge.

I, too, have noted how often an apparently nice car is let down by the engine bay. Apart from how it looks it makes you wonder how well things you can't see were attended to.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The car looks like the hood was not opened since the car came down the assembly line. Is that UNDERCOATING???!!!![/QUOTE]

Well, I'll confess: for fifty years I've had a kind of live-and-let-live arrangement with my TR3. When things broke, especially if I had no choice, I got them fixed. I've even flirted with the occasional improvement.

But since being exposed to this forum I can't undertake the simplest task without thinking: "I'd better get that piece media blasted," or "maybe that bolt and nut should be stainless."

This nagging sense of guilt weighs heavily.
 
I hear you on that. So many classic cars for sale that look like they just went through the local drive-through car wash, but the engine hasn't seen sunshine in years.

Makes you wonder about how that car was really taken care of.

After BCF helped me get my new-to-me TR driveable again, I figured it was time to get the engine bay cleaned up.
 
If any sane person expects to get $20,000+ for a TR6, EVERYTHING on the car better be shiny and like new!

One born every minute, he said . . . :yesnod:
 
Can't see the engine bay from the driver's seat...

Guess I'm guilty of being less than anal about the look of the engine. In my mind it all depends of whether you want to show the car or drive it. If you actually drive a car, I've found that keeping the engine clean and tidy is difficult and time consuming... and I'm just not into spending lots of time with a toothbrush and degreaser. I admire the people who do, but just not into it myself...
 
jjw said:
Can't see the engine bay from the driver's seat...

Guess I'm guilty of being less than anal about the look of the engine. In my mind it all depends of whether you want to show the car or drive it. If you actually drive a car, I've found that keeping the engine clean and tidy is difficult and time consuming... and I'm just not into spending lots of time with a toothbrush and degreaser. I admire the people who do, but just not into it myself...
Click to expand...

I am the same way. I put my TR3 back on the road to drive and have fun with. You are not going to keep the engine and bay clean if you use the car.

Don
 
I guess it depends ... if an owner wants a driver and does a garage "freshen up" I fully understand not having the capability/time/tools to pull the motor, strip the engine compartment and get it painted. If it looks good going down the road, it's all good.

BUT ... if one was selling the car at a premium price ... then it should be in premium condition (including the engine compartment).

Then again maybe, just maybe, the pricing for our LBCs are going the way of exotic sports cars of a few years ago, and American performace cars today. $500,000 for a clapped out TR3 .... I can see it .... yeah that's the ticket :banana:
 
TR3BGeorge said:
The post/discussion on originality hit a nerve with me, on a little different tack.

I but I am still OFFENDED when I see an engine bay that looks like a lava bed. What say you all?
Click to expand...
Offended???

Ha! Sounds to me like you don't have enough to worry about. :jester:

Seriously, there have been times (not too often) when I have examined an untidy engine bay which upon close inspection revealed close to 100 percent original components, e.g., fasteners, clips, routing details for hoses, wiring, fuel lines, etc. These important details are often wiped out by a comprehensive but unguided 'restoration'. Conversely, those that lead an advertisement with the engine bay often do so with the aid of too much chrome, micro-polished carburetor dashpots , unusual engine block colors, etc. This is sometimes a tactic to direct the prospective buyer away from other flaws and partially hidden details.

Now, go back to the sofa, put your feet up and contemplate global warming, world hunger, the drought in texas, etc, etc. :devilgrin:
 
NutmegCT said:
I hear you on that. So many classic cars for sale that look like they just went through the local drive-through car wash, but the engine hasn't seen sunshine in years.

Makes you wonder about how that car was really taken care of.

After BCF helped me get my new-to-me TR driveable again, I figured it was time to get the engine bay cleaned up.
Click to expand...

Tom: That really turned out nice!

p.s. are the leaves changing yet at OSV?
 
Perrymip said:
But since being exposed to this forum I can't undertake the simplest task without thinking: "I'd better get that piece media blasted," or "maybe that bolt and nut should be stainless."

This nagging sense of guilt weighs heavily.
Click to expand...

No kidding, there are some amazing cars and outstanding work done here. I've personally found that I have not been getting the balance (for me) right between improving vs driving. Everyone has their own balance, and I'm particularly challenges due to my Soviet approach to quality! It is hard for me not to try and bring the quality of the cars up to those I see here.
 
I enjoy looking at an engine bay that is clean but I often wonder then if anyone drives the car.

One of my cars is clean the other 2 are well lived in. Remember these are triumphs and they like to leave oil puddles around everything. I look at it as a way to keep the engine area from rusting. (ok only kidding)

Each one of us is in to these old cars for our own reasons and I can say that as long as we have fun doing what we are doing then who really cars.
 
I had a shop teacher in high school that I had a great deal of respect for. He used to always say that "anything worth doing is worth doing right". I still adhere to that philosophy, as much as I can. Our LBC's are highly mechanical critters and because of that, grease soaked dirt and grime and other wonderful things of that nature do all kinds of harm to our beloved critters. Don't have to be spotless fellows, but clean is the critters friend and will help it live a much more useful, longer and stress free life.

My thoughts anyhow, Tinkerman
 
tomgt6 said:
I enjoy looking at an engine bay that is clean but I often wonder then if anyone drives the car.

One of my cars is clean the other 2 are well lived in. Remember these are triumphs and they like to leave oil puddles around everything. I look at it as a way to keep the engine area from rusting. (ok only kidding)

Each one of us is in to these old cars for our own reasons and I can say that as long as we have fun doing what we are doing then who really cars.
Click to expand...

I think a clean, if not spotless engine bay is directly related to one's pride of ownership. Those little day to day maintenance tasks are simple but if postponed can really produce a mess. I recall that my 4A (40 years ago) always had a leaking valve cover gasket. But it only started to leak after 'I' replaced the gasket. I just didn't know enough about how to fit it properly. Boy, once you have an oil leak under the hood it's hard to keep things tidy. Also those little hydraulic fluid leaks sure take their toll.
 
I'm a clean freak with all of my cars, but that came from my early years of turning wrenches for a living. It's easier to fix a clean engine than a filthy one, but this is s sensitive subject. It's all relative to personal tastes, time and scale of importance in one's enjoyment of the hobby.

I enjoy having mine clean and when I drive it, it is easy to keep clean, once it's been done. But I put off doing it for years and really kicked it up once I started attending shows and saw how nice all models of these cars can look when clean. Yet I respect the daily driver that gets only the attention that it needs to keep it going day to day.
 
At least they showed the engine bay. Most internet sales I see wont even show you. In fact, I love the one picture frontal view taken at night on the cheapest cell phone you could find pic.

While I dont agree with the price, what looks to of happened is someone bought the car for the soul purpose of flipping it. Why touch the engine bay if it runs? If you do everything correctly you arent going to make that much of a profit, if any.

I dont mess with my engines. When I need to replace something, or work on something, Ill clean it up, paint it, and eventually enough of my pieces are shiney and new. If Im going to spray the entire engine bay, the whole engine and accessories hafta go. I eventually did it, but only when the time came to pull the engine.

Ive been told that if you keep your engine bay clean, mechanics are going to know that you care a lot for your car, and may treat you better for it... ...but then again, if you treat your car well, you wont be seeing a mechanic.

The other issue is, if youre going to pull a motor and clean everything up, why not go with something with a bit more power? Such things happen. And though it looks good, and performs great, I cant help but wish that they had left the crusty old 4-6 banger.
 
Guilty As Charged. I just spent 4 hours today cleaning the bottom of the car, and never even opened the bonnet. I get grief from others because I've trailered my car to a few shows. I even lost out on awards because the judges knew that the car was trailered to the show. I've driven this car from coast to coast and up and down for the first 25 years of ownership. Right now I enjoy showing the car in the best condition I can keep it in after the restoration 6 years ago. It is now showing it's age but I still think it's in very good condition. I may not drive the car 5000 miles a year, but when I do I don't baby the car I drive it hard and enjoy. The TR3 should be done (I hope) in a couple years and I'm sure I will take care of it the same way. As for cars that are listed restored and for sale they better have a very clean engine bay not just a paint job, interior, and some black paint on the bottom of the car. You get what you pay for.
 
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