TR2/3/3A Restoration of TS 69891LO 1960 TR3A

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Hi All,

Well, I have been following this forum for some time now keeping an eye on all the ongoing "sidescreen" projects and making notes along the way.

I had purchased two 1960 TR3A's a couple of months ago, TS 69891LO and TS 64870L.

TS 64 unfortunately, was no more than a parts car and over the past two months, it has been stripped of all it's valuable components and the rest (body tub/panels/chassis) will shortly be sent to the scrap yard.

This week, I started on the frame off restoration of TS 69 and fortunately, some of the parts from TS 64 will find a new home and will "drive on".

As some of you might recall, TS 69 spent the last 15 years or so of it's life prepared as a vintage racer. It last saw action in about 2006 and has not run since. I purchased this car from the second owner who bought the car in 1968. The first owner of the car, who was forward thinking it seems, ordered the car from the factory with competition springs front and rear along with the optional 411 Diff and Overdrive. As an interesting aside, according to my Heritage certificate, the car was originally shipped to Japan from the factory.

I have found a few more things about the car as I have been poking about it. Some things I might not have necessarily been aware of had I not had the parts car to compare to.

When I bought the car, I thought I remembered the owner saying that there was a TR4 block in the car. While working on the car this week, while shining a light down towards the starter (aftermarket hi torque) I thought I could see red paint streaks on the block. I wiped it down a little and sure enough I could see the scrawled TR3 in red paint on the side of the block. I have read here and there that this was done for easy identification by the factory workers of the time. So, I had a TR3 block in the car after all. A little more digging and removal of the coil bracket to get at the block serial number revealed that not only was it a TR3 block, but according to the Heritage certificate, it is original to the car.

It took me awhile to decide on how I wanted to restore this car. Two choiced I bounced around were a concours type restoration or a "sympathetic" restoration in lieu of its vintage racing history. Incidentally, I managed to get some old photographs of the car in action as well as all the racing inspection log books for each race that it competed in.

So, I decided to restore it as I bought it. It is not heavily modified like some of the vintage racers I have seen. It does have upgrades to the suspension like the comp springs, koni adjustables, heavy duty levers, oversized sway bars front and rear. It has "upgraded" rear 10 " brakes (will switch back to the 9's from the parts car) and looks to have something other than TR3/TR6 brake calipers up front (I have a 6 as well to compare to). It does have the bigger piston/liner kit along with a shaved head and balanced crank/pistons etc. It has an oil cooler, spin on adaptor, TR4 rad and electric fan. It has the HS6 carbs on it and came with a kit of about 50 different needles and an extra set of carbs. It has a nice 4 into 1 header with a "cherry bomb" style exhaust (I am sure it's loud), and although the header will remain a "quieter" exhaust will be installed (I have the stock SS mufflers from the parts car). It has a Lucas Sport coil and Crane Electronic Ignition. Battery was located to the trunk and it's place on the bulkhead taken by two "ugly" plastic bottles (One for coolant overflow, the other for Oil) It has a TR6 transmission mated to the stock Diff and A Type. One of my favorite things on the car is the really thick, leather wrapped Moto Lita Wheel. It has a "Triumph racing sock" over the Brake and Clutch Master cylinder ( I am told that this was used to soak up and fluid that escaped the cap on hard cornering).

I am sure that I will find out more about the car as I get deeper into it.

Anyway, here are some photos that I can share. I hope to do some regular updates along the way.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[kodanja]

Looks like an awesome project
Im green with envy!

 

[TR4nut]

All I can say is wow! Also, that frame looks quite good for your parts car - are you positive the tub etc is only good for the crusher? Would hate to throw away something that another hobbyist would happily use, and pay for!

Randy

by the way, just where is "Parts Unknown, Weight Unknown" anyway? :laugh:

 

[Silverghost]

I think you need to call the Orkin Man....you have TR-mites in your garage! You can tell because all the body panels have fallen off your car....

Keep us posted on your progress!

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Randy,

I am positive that the tub nor the frame could/should be used. The parts car was in a very serious accident at high speed. The frame is severly twisted and compromised (read holes)in several places. It it not worth the time or effort to repair. The tub is the same. There is not one straight panel on the inside or outside of the car. Even the inner wheel wells have detached from the tub at the rear shelf. The Trunk area was so compressed, I couldn't even rescue the trunk carpeting as the metal had a good hold on it and I was not able to pry it apart even with a 6 ft pry bar. And no, I will not post pictures of it in case anyone asks, out of respect to the former owner.

I will be sad to see it go from my garage, and I hate knowing that there is one less on the road. If I could have fixed it, I would have but the expense and effort would have been astronomical.

I will be saving some of the sheetmetal from the car in case TS 69 yields some "surprises". As a racer, she sustained some bumps and bruises along the way. Some of these "bruises" have been patched with bondo and other quick fixes. I will fix these issues when they come up and will replace with metal when/where I can.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[newmexTR3]

I'm lovin' that fattie steering wheel. It's gonna be a fun car!

As far as the cherry bomb exhaust goes, that's what I'm running on mine, but with the stock exhaust manifold. I had a 4A manifold (2 pipes out) in my yellow TR3A, but it was destroyed in an accident many moons ago.

The straight exhaust with single glass pack (no muffler) is pretty loud, but I'm used to it now and frankly I love the sound. However I can attest that on cold mornings my neighbors do not. It's a Triumph alarm clock!

You might consider keeping the cherry bomb setup- I think you'll find the sound addictive.

Cheers,
Gavin

 

[prb51]

Really nice car and the panels look great for one that's been 'campaigned'.

Looks to be an excellent project. Keep us updated.

 

[NickMorgan]

Great TR3 and you are doing exactly what I would do. It will make a fantastic car. What a perfect scenario, a restoration project and a parts car in the garage and a TR6 to use in the mean time!
I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Thanks for all the feedback.

FYI, the color scheme of the car will change a little.

I do really like the red and white combination, but the red interior has had it's day. I think that the front capping is actually the original and it has shrunk severly over the years.

One of the reasons that I bought the parts car was for the interior. It has a full black with white piping leather interior in really good condition.

So the car will be white with a black racing stripe. Haven't decided on wheels yet. I have a good stock steel wheel set as well as a set of alloy rims that were used for racing. According to my heritage certificate, it came with Wires from the factory, so I might go with Dayton 60 Spoke Chromies. Other options are knock off minilites or bolt on Superlites, charcoal with a polished lip.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[sail]

whatever you do you gotta cool car and sounds like you have a much better idea what needs to be done than i with limited experience. again, will be a cool car enjoy it as you build it to your own ideas, yer car. we all need one.

 

[TR3driver]

As far as the cherry bomb exhaust goes, that's what I'm running on mine, but with the stock exhaust manifold.

That's what I had on my TR3A as well.

FWIW, I found that using a turn-down tip on the tailpipe moderated the noise considerably, with no apparent effect on performance. And after someone insisted that it was a V8 even after I told them it was the stock 4-banger, I sure wasn't going to change it :laugh:

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Now you guys have me thinking about keeping the cherry bomb.....

I will have to take a closer look at it when I get the body off. I have a feeling that it might be welded together and difficult to get off the car....will let you know.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[Twosheds]

Kinda reminds me... sniff... of my ... sniff... I promised myself I wouldn't cry... old racecar.

Have fun with it.

 

[poolboy]

...and there's always the option of putting a baffle in the tailpipe for reducing the noise. Adds a bit of back pressure, too.
Very, very cool car.
I know you know how to do things right and you'll make a great steward.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

That's a great looking project, and a smart way to do it. I have a TR6, and enough parts to make a TR3, including the "nearly complete" car that was given to me -but collecting the missing pieces (and required replacements) was very expensive. A parts car would have been a better approach.

I love the way the tach is rotated so the red-line is verticle. That looks way cool. Mine will also have a black interior with white piping -though I still lack the occasional seat.

Keep posting progress pictures.

Jerry

 

[Don Elliott]

May I suggest that you change the 4.1 to 1 rear end to the 3.7 to 1 ratio from your parts car if it didn't suffer in the crash. That's what I have in my TR3A with overdrive. It will give you better gas mileage. On the other hand, if you want to exhibit it's full spirit, keep the ratio as it is now. But keep the 3.7 axle in case you change your mind some day.

I look forward to meeting you some day and seeing your TR3A.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

PB, Yes, I was following your post on the "other" forum on the exhaust baffle as well, thanks.

Don, I agree. I was looking at doing that as an option as well. Since I plan to do some travelling with this car, I think I will start with the diff from the parts car after a thorough inspection. Actually, I think I may just swap the axles in the cars as you know I wanted to convert back to the 9 Inch brakes anyway. Of course, I will hang onto that stock diff in case I decide to go back the other way in a few years time.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Hi All,

Thought I would add and update as well as ask a question to those with more knowledge than I.

I am pretty much at the point where I can get the body off. I need to make some space in the garage before I get to this. I also need to make some door braces before I do this. I found some surprises along the way with the worst of this being some major rust issues in the inner rockers inside the passenger compartment footwells. I ended up removing some thick fiberglass that was hiding this issue. I am sure that I will find many more issues when I start stripping paint.

Here are a few more photos.

Here is the question.

Does it look like the original primer color inside the passenger compartment and on the gas tank? I am wondering if it is the original tank in the car. If it is, I was quite surprised to see how little rust there is in the tank. My California TR6 had much more rust in the tank so I am shocked at how clean this one seems to be.

Having lots of fun!

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[tdskip]

Wow - you are cranking!

Thanks for the pictures and update.

 

[Moseso]

That doesn't look like any "original primer" I've ever seen. I suspect that's a respray color from the car's checkered past. Tanks aren't body color. The old TR3 ones I've encountered are black -- possibly over a red primer.