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TR2/3/3A New TR3 for me

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lordwestbrook

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Hey everybody!

I just picked up this 1960 which has been sitting in a damp barn since the 70s. It pretty much needs everything but the frame is decent and as a whole the car a rolling tetnis shot waiting to happen, but not completely rotted away, and the price was right (free) so I'm going to attempt my first full mechanical rebuild, starting the the stuck motor. Here's some pics.

Wish me luck and any advice/thoughts/tips would greatly welcomed and appreciated.

More pics and stupid questions to follow as I make progress.

Cheers!

Jeff
 

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Jeff - that'll keep you busy for a week or two.

Lucky you've got the removable hood; not many of those originals to be had.

Congrats on the find - Keep us posted as you make progress. By the way, there are *no* stupid questions! (Only stupid answers ...)

Tom M.
 
Hi Jeff,

Congrats on your TR3. Lots of fun! Look forward to following along in your restoration. Lots of great guys on here to ask questions if you run into issues along the way.

Cheers
Tush
 
The head you show is a TR4 head. Pretty much the same as a TR3. Good luck.
 
Hmmm...I could be wrong, but it looks like you might need a new left front fender...

That head, if not cracked, is gold. I recently rebuilt an engine in similar condition. It was seized, needed a new piston and cylinder set, but the internals were pretty good, much better than you might expect from external indications.

How is the rust situation in the body and frame?
 
Sarastro said:
Hmmm...I could be wrong, but it looks like you might need a new left front fender...

That head, if not cracked, is gold. I recently rebuilt an engine in similar condition. It was seized, needed a new piston and cylinder set, but the internals were pretty good, much better than you might expect from external indications.

How is the rust situation in the body and frame?
Click to expand...

You noticed right! Previous owner had the drivers front wheel stuff itself into the fender when it came loose from the spline adaptor.

BUT I have 2 new rust free front wings coming to me. The car is rusty, but not horribly corroded, the floors could be patched, the trunk has a hole in the left front corner (Could probably be patched as well, tub corners are rotted but not that bad, Frame is solid! Just hope it's not bent from the "Loose wheel" incident

Anything rubber will need replaced, be it bushing, seal, or hose.

The entire wiring harness is connected with wire nuts so at least electrical is done :encouragement:

Good to know about the head, I'll have it reconditioned, and I have a set of carbs from a TR4 ready for rebuild. Motor comes out next and I'll have a look at the crank and stuff.

Thanks!

J
 
M_Pied_Lourd said:
Hi Jeff,

Congrats on your TR3. Lots of fun! Look forward to following along in your restoration. Lots of great guys on here to ask questions if you run into issues along the way.

Cheers
Tush
Click to expand...


Thanks Tush- To keep the budget low The plan is to mechanical refresh and make it structurally sound. No paint or pretty stuff for now. As it will be daily driven/parked on NYC streets on a regular basis no need to worry about bumps and bruises;)
 
You defiantly got a bargain with the price, not many freebie's around these days? I think the only thing TR4 about the head is the heater tap which is a good upgrade if you want to turn the water off and on from the cockpit. It looks to be all there so have fun.

Graham
 
Great project. Great price. That hardtop doesn't look original to me. It sits too high in the front and the rear backlight doesn't appear to curve slightly around the sides. Looks like a Smoothline.

https://www.smoothline.com/tr2-hardtop
 
Nice project—looks like about a 5K free bee. These cars sell high even in difficult shape, but from what I can see it looks all there.
 
sp53 said:
Nice project—looks like about a 5K free bee. These cars sell high even in difficult shape, but from what I can see it looks all there.
Click to expand...

That's about where I want to keep the budget. I think I'm going to try and rebuild the motor myself, a first for me, and I've been working on my sheet metal welding skills and I'm pretty handy with pop rivet gun. For some reason I keep thinking the front end rebuild is going to be the most difficult part. But hey! It's gonna be fun!
 
You will get plenty of tips and hints from this section for your project.

The motor rebuild is not difficult to do but there are some things that need to be attended to. For example the cylinders are wet liners and the "Fig of 8" seals are critical to sealing the coolant from the oil pan.
Plenty of help on that here.

David
 
Congrats! Looks like most of the issues will buff out ;)

Rod
 
When I got my TR3 15(!) years ago, I went back through all the old threads from earlier, to find out what I didn’t know, which was considerable... I learned a lot!

You have the gift of all the knowledge on this forum, from the past, and all the knowledgeable guys here. Most questions have probably already been asked and answered, so search will be your friend.

When in doubt, there will be an answer here. Have fun!
 
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