TR2/3/3A Photos of My Old TR3 Racecar

[Twosheds]

Hey Twin, PLEASE upload more photos of the racer. That is so cool!

I bought this car in 1997 one month after I bought what became The High Speed Triumph Research Laboratory at Soggy Bottom. It wasn't so much that I wanted a house; I wanted a racecar and needed a garage with a place to sleep and stuff.

The TR3, TS 22312, was being raced in the midwest in VSCDA. It was basically stock. I never raced it. I did some autocrosses and drivers' schools and drove it on the street some. Mostly I worked on it. I sold it in '05. It is being raced in the Northwest now.

Here you go:

 

[Twosheds]

Here are some before and after photos:

 

[Twosheds]

More photographs:

 

[Twosheds]

At a Drivers' School. I'm happy.

The current owner racing:

 

[Twosheds]

I like this one;

 

[mallard]

Great pictures looks like a lot of fun. What's that lurking in the barn in the last picture?

 

[Twosheds]

Great pictures looks like a lot of fun. What's that lurking in the barn in the last picture?

Thanks. The Blue TR3 is occupying the High Speed Triumph Research Laboratory Annex in the last photo.

 

[TR4nut]

John-

I don't think I have the skills to really get serious on a track, but that car you had looked like a lot of fun both on AND off it - absolutely great looking!

Randy

 

[Perrymip]

Thanks for that tour. And, an excellent reason, so far as I'm concerned, to buy a house.

I was hoping you would gloss, for us uninitiated, what that in the trunk is all about.

 

[DNK]

Perry, it's a fuel cell. Safety deal if you tend to bang around a little,or,...drive a Pinto

 

[mrv8q]

Great pictures looks like a lot of fun. What's that lurking in the barn in the last picture?

I agree, great pic! You should submit that one to Basil for next year's calendar...

 

[mallard]

Great idea Keven. A sports car of any type on a country road. (Priceless)

 

[tdskip]

You forget how small these are util you see a driver in them for scale.

Thanks for the pics!

 

[Twosheds]

Thanks for that tour. And, an excellent reason, so far as I'm concerned, to buy a house.

I was hoping you would gloss, for us uninitiated, what that in the trunk is all about.

Thanks for all the compliments, Guys. I wasn't sure how these photos would be received, but I should have known better.

Don is correct as usual, it's a fuel cell in the boot. Fuel cells are required by most, if not all, racing organizations. The only exception that I can think of is the Pre-war class in VSCCA.

A fuel cell is a tank that is filled with foam, like a foam-rubber type of material. This keeps the fuel from sloshing around in turns and while the car is accelerating a decelerating, allowing the pick-up to always get fuel. Also I think it helps prevent fire in case of a wreck. The fuel tanks of the A-10s I used to work on had foam in them, and that's what they said it was for.

The foam is encased in a tank, made of rubber, called a bladder. If the tank is hit in a wreck, the rubber is supposed to stay in one piece, preventing leaks.

The whole works is contained in a metal case. This particular cell is called a saver-cell made by ATL. ATL sold (sells?) you the foam, bladder, fittings, and plans to build your own case to save money. The PO made the case from galvanized steel. Red is the color denoting fuel, so I painted it red. And it looks cool.

The PO cut a hole in the boot floor and the cell goes down into the spare tyre compartment.

I made flex fuel lines using Aeroquip products. One line goes forward from the pick-up to a bulkhead fitting in a stainless steel firewall I made in between the boot and where the stock fuel tank would be. Then it goes to a filter, then an electric fuel pump, then to the engine compartment bulkhead along the gearbox cover on the passenger side.

The other flex line is a vent for the tank. It goes up then down to a bulkhead fitting in the wheelwell.

I made a firewall that goes where the stock millboard would go to isolate the boot from the rest of the car. It's made of aircraft stainless steel firewall material.

The yellow wire going from the cell to the boot floor is what we call a bonding strap in aviation. I keeps the cell and the rest of the car at the same voltage to prevent arcing between them.

Again, thanks for the compliments!

 

[Brosky]

That's a nice walk down memory lane. Thanks for sharing those with us.

 

[angelfj1]

I like this one;

Dear Twin: Is this Shed 1 or Shed 2?

Twin

 

[Twosheds]

Dear Twin: Is this Shed 1 or Shed 2?

Twin

That is the High Speed Triumph Research Laboratory Annex, known affectionatly to the Boffins as "The Other Shed". So I guess it <span style="font-style: italic">would</span> be Shed #2.

Here is a photo of the High Speed Triumph Research Laboratory during the period when I was working on the racecar. Go over to the lab, start a fire in the woodstove, go back to the house, drink coffee while the Lab warms, then back to the Lab to work on the car. In front is the '50 GMC Service Station Truck.

So the Laboratory is Shed #1.

 

[billspit]

Makes me sad I sold my TR3 24 years ago.

 

[AngliaGT]

John,

Nice car!Kind of reminds me of Hardy Prentice's.
You ever meet him?

- Doug

 

[Twosheds]

John,

Nice car!Kind of reminds me of Hardy Prentice's.
You ever meet him?

- Doug

I have e-mailed with Hardy Prentice, but never talked to him in person.

One of the old Group 44 guys told me that my car was very much like the Group 44 cars.

Also, someone in the paddock saw the old dash plaques I put on the car and asked the current owner if the car had actually raced at those events in the '60s. The car was not a racer until the 90s.

These remarks make me think that I accomplished my goal of re-creating a period racer but also using modern safety equipment.