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TR4/4A Restoring a TR4

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Webb Sledge

Webb Sledge

Jedi Warrior
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I want to restore a TR4 (or TR4a). Will I be able to work on this thing with regular tools? I have a pretty complete toolset, but not rare tools. Would I need things like this? And also, I'm not sure I know of any places who work on Triumphs very much around here, how much ordering and buying of new parts would I have to do on a car which is complete and works, but needs a little touching up on just about everything? How many hours could I expect to put into this thing before I've got it well off? I have no idea about any of this, so even the roughest of guesses will help me.


Webb
 
Webb -

I restored a TR3, mostly in my garage, and probably have fewer tools than you. The beauty of these cars is their simplicity. It was a joy to do. The Roadster Factory was a great resource, both for parts, and for tech advice. John Swauger and Dave are quick to help, and extremely well-versed on these cars. What you can't find there, Moss Motors is sure to have.

Have fun with it!

Mickey Richaud
 
Do you have the websites for those 2 companies? ALso, how long did it take you? We have 2 other cars, and only a one car garage. I think I would be allowed to use to garage only if it took a fairly short time (it couldn't take me more that a year without me having to move it somewhere else because my parents wanted the garage back).
 
Try mossmotors.com and the-roadster-factory.com.

If those don't get you there, they have a link from vtr.org.

Mickey
 
About how long would it take me to restore a car which is complete, but needs some, although not a lot, of disassembly to clean things up a bit, and maybe fix the interior up some, like new seat coverings and maybe a new dash. Also, is there a manuel that tells you how to do all this, because I seriously doubt as a 14 year old boy, that I could restore a car without some sort of guide.
 
Welcome!
A Haynes Manual helps but as far as time is concerned, well it becomes a habit as well as a hobby. Roadster Factory and Moss Motors have most all of it. Check underneath the car closely for signs of rust corrosion and even missing parts.
Hope you have as much fun as I do.

Winston

1967 TR4A IRS
 
it takes twice as long as you think it possibly could and costs three times as much
 
Jeez, once i get them to help me pay for a car, which will use up my funding, i won't be able to buy anything else, including parts. I'd rather just weasel a little more out of them and buy one in good condition, and then restore a tr3 or something a little later when i have more money
 
Don't get discourged. These cars are fairly simple to keep running if you don't care what it looks like. I have always been able to use mine
anytime in the last 30 years while I work on it.
I guess mine has never been restored just repaired when it needed something. Just don't be a perfectionest and all will be cool. TR4's are
the best of the new and the old. Dependable drive train and roll up windows. Who could ask for more in a car. Spend money on them when you have it and drive them when you don't.
 
Bought a 4A intending to just fix it up a bit, soooo 6 yrs later and a total rebuild of every nut and bolt I have a great 67 TR4A. It just got to the point that with every part I took off and had redone it made the surrounding areas look worse, so off they came and it snowballed from there. These cars are really just big MECHANO sets, everything is bolted together and standard tools along with some good penetrating fluid do wonders. Do not throw anything and I mean anything away no matter how bad it looks, take lots of pics from all angles prior to disassembly, you will forget. Keep parts, including the screws, washers, nuts and bolts together as assemblies in containers and tag the bigger parts. Having a great time driving the little beast around but I do miss the days and challenges during the rebuild. Have fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/canpatriot.GIF
 
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