TR2/3/3A Really nice TR3a on ebay

[prb51]

This car has been well done and you couldn't replicate that level of work for the money unless you could do all of this yourself.
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Car....c0.m245&_trkparms=72:727|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[prb51]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Truc...emZ290283727719

 

[NickMorgan]

Hmm, a bit to clean and shiny for me! I would be scared to drive it!

 

[kodanja]

for 35k it better be shinny!


very nioce' wish I had the cash...

 

[TRnorwegian]

Yes, I agree it's more than nice. But not a car I could enjoy in terms of driving around, is it?
I mean - the top selling point "Trailer queen" says it all.

It's almost like those guys collecting toys in the unbroken original packages, toys are meant to be toyed with, not admired from the wrong side of the blister package.

No, in my view a car needs some wear and tear, a few scratches and signs of it having been used as intended.

 

[TR3driver]

toys are meant to be toyed with, not admired from the wrong side of the blister package.

entirely.
But museums have their place in the world as well, so it doesn't bother me that some like to put their Triumphs on a pedestal with a "DO NOT TOUCH" sign. Some day, those will be the only ones left and that will be a sad day indeed.

Saw one of these in a museum a few months ago, and all I could think about was how much fun it would be to drive!

 

[prb51]

I'd drive the *&^% out of it. For 35k why be afraid to drive it like you stole it?
A great car properly done for alot more money than you'd pay for it. The 'owner' put a great deal more time/money in the car than 35k. Heck, they all looked like that at one time.
I've never understood the 'too good to drive' concept. If it gets worn, redo it.

 

[DougF]

Unfortunately, none of them looked like that from the factory. When I rebuilt the suspension on mine at 23,000 miles, I was amazed at the lack of coverage with paint. Many areas had just primer, areas of surface rust probably didn't have that.
Examine the panel fit and you will see that it is very good for a side screen car, better than factory.
A lot of time was put into this car. It's very pretty. But cars were built to be driven.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I'd drive the *&^% out of it. For 35k why be afraid to drive it like you stole it?...I've never understood the 'too good to drive' concept. If it gets worn, redo it.

I could not agree more. What's to be afraid of? Most folks wouldn't think twice about spending that same amount or more on a new Audi, BMW, M-B, Acura or whatever and driving the wheels of same. Why should this be any different? Not uniqueness, certainly. Yeah, I know: they "don't make 'em any more"! But we're not talking a Bugatti Royale here. There are enough of them around, parts availability is nearly as good as it was when the cars were current and better than it was 20 years ago. (Think RAT-CO chassis, complete bodies available from England albeit at a price, etc., etc.)

I see an eBay ad like this...or a car like this rolled out of a $40k trailer at a show...and I think of the TR Register in England. That club restored TS2, <span style="font-style: italic">the second production TR2 ever</span>, and it's been in steady use ever since amongst club and local group members. They don't seem to be afraid to use that car. Anyone at Watkins Glen this past fall saw the one and only TR-250K being driven as intended on-track, and they also saw TS1L0, <span style="font-style: italic">the <span style="font-weight: bold">first</span> production TR2 ever</span>, driving around (although not racing, of course). Need I go on?

Oh, and Randall, I think driving one of those replica Benz models would be a hoot! I had the time of my life about 25 years ago, with my first and (so far) only experience driving a Model T Ford. I'd love to do it again! I remember about 25 years ago listening to a local speaker talk of his recent experiences during a Pacific-to-Atlantic trip...in a curved dash Oldsmobile! Six or seven years ago, I saw a bunch of folks celebrating the centenary of the Winton automobile...by driving a bunch of very old Wintons over quite a distance. (Oh, it was awful :wink: ...some of them got dusty and then wet in the rain and everything...but they were having a ball!)

 

[4aKen]

I think the price is more than fair. It just violates something of the spirit of TR for me. Too glamorous, maybe.

 

[prb51]

Unfortunately, none of them looked like that from the factory. When I rebuilt the suspension on mine at 23,000 miles, I was amazed at the lack of coverage with paint. Many areas had just primer, areas of surface rust probably didn't have that.

Valid point and another good reason not to pamper a restoration. We restore them better than the factory (generally) prepared them so they will actually weather better and survive longer without issue.

 

[DougF]

We had a British car(non Triumph) enter our car show years ago. The people had a fit because we required that the car be driven onto the field, all of 200 yards from their enclosed trailer. The car looked wonderful, but took about 20 minutes to get running. It bucked, sputtered, and coughed the whole distance. What a smoke trail! I hope it was assembly lube.
I'm sure they collected their 1st place trophy and sold the car.

 

[prb51]

I can't fathom that level of participation but otoh they are preserving another LBC so more power to them. There is a level for everyone and I don't mean to say one attitude is better than the other...but for me, I couldn't enjoy a car I didn't drive and if it lookes as good as this just restored 3 I'd really enjoy the 'sorting' process.
One thing I enjoy about Jay Leno's collection is the vids he does as he drives some very unique and special cars in LA traffic.
That's the best part of this forum...the drive it, fix it, drive it some more folks that participate here.

 

[Silverghost]

I was amazed at the lack of coverage with paint. Many areas had just primer, areas of surface rust probably didn't have that.

Back in the "early days" it was "common" practice to paint only what you could see. As I understand it, there would be a person with a bucket and brush and as the car moved down the assembly line, they'd paint the visible areas. Body paint was a different matter, of course, but why waste time, materials and labor on something you'd never likely see, you know?

 

[kodanja]

[/quote] but why waste time, materials and labor on something you'd never likely see, you know? [/quote]



<span style="font-weight: bold">because its there!</span>


It looks like he ran ouit of things to do on the car , I should have that problem!!!

 

[Don Elliott]

Ken Gillanders is a well known original TR2 owner in So. Calif. and Ken told me once about a car that was shown in a concours that had absolutely no oil drops or spots of grease anywhere on the bottom. It did not leak any oil anywhere.

You want to know why and how. ? BECAUSE THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE CAR ANYWHERE !

Now you know the end of the story.

 

[TR4nut]

Okay, I'm being picky, but if I had that kind of money to spend I'd want an overdrive in there too, along with a factory hardtop.

And just because I haven't gotten my Christmas cheer up yet, is it just me or is that lower sill/dogleg/stoneguard done as nice as it should be?

Mr. Grinch

 

[TR3driver]

What a smoke trail! I hope it was assembly lube.

Or not. I've seen several "restorations" that were purely cosmetic. They don't go through the mechanical stuff at all, just make it look pretty. It's a common enough problem that both VTR and Triumphest require that the car complete at least one driving event in order to be eligible for the show competition.

At TRF SP a few years back, there was an MG that literally showed up in shrink wrap! If it ran at all, I never saw it. They winched it off the trailer onto the grass, then back onto the trailer. Last time I saw it, they were re-wrapping it.

 

[Don Elliott]

Randall - That was a red TR3 or a TR3A from Rhode Island that was all bubble wrapped. It won in my class and I took 2nd with about 380 points out of 400 as that year, TRF were also co-running the event with VTR. That car had won the TRA event a few weeks earlier too. It arrived and left all in bubble-wrap there as well.

That was the year of all the rain and mud all around the Roadster Factory buildings where we all had put up our tents.

I remember you were my navigator in the fun rally.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I've seen several "restorations" that were purely cosmetic. They don't go through the mechanical stuff at all, just make it look pretty. It's a common enough problem that both VTR and Triumphest require that the car complete at least one driving event in order to be eligible for the show competition.

And over the years, it's been great to see some unexpected autocross or "funkhana" entrants such as a Le Mans TRS, straight-eight Dolomite, a Gloria Southern Cross or two, various Italias, etc., etc!