• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!

    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A TR2, 3, 3A

prb51 said:
rustbucket said:
There's a TR3A on e-bay in Georgetown. Might be worth checking out.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-Triu...=item3a5579c3ca

That looks like a great project car that need finishing and sorting...looks as if all of the hard/expensive/time consuming work has been completed.
That could be a nice driving resto project.

Well, yeah, but as much time and money as has been spent on it, seems a shame it's not a "proper" color. Will be interesting to see what price it fetches...
 
Thanks for the info rustbucket. I already spotted that one on Ebay...WAY more money than I have! But it looks good.
 
Mickey Richaud said:
Well, yeah, but as much time and money as has been spent on it, seems a shame it's not a "proper" color. Will be interesting to see what price it fetches...

That really is a shame. It's a nice color, but is so clearly NOT a Triumph color.
 
Mickey Richaud said:
deadair said:
You're half way there when the wifey gives you the thumbs up. I'll keep you in mind if I lose interest in the project. In either case, I'll be selling either the TR3 or the Alfa. If I decide to give up the Alfa, I'll let you know.

Yep, Janet has been VERY understanding - long-suffering would be a good description!

By all means, if you do choose to let the Alfa go, I'll assure you I would treat it with kid gloves!

Mickey

Will do Mickey. I'll at least get the car running and then assess my motivation and circumstances after that.
 
GaryBeu said:
Thanks for the info rustbucket. I already spotted that one on Ebay...WAY more money than I have! But it looks good.
Well then, Gary, time to start saving your money. That one looks like a pretty good buy to me.

From Craig Landrum's post: "TR3A Restoration Lessons" "Craig's EZ restoration cost predictor: all restorations cost $20,000. If you bought your car for $5,000, the restoration will cost $15,000. If you bought your car for $500, the restoration will cost $19,500."
 
Kinda depends on your goals ... I wouldn't call TS13571L "restored" but it definitely looks nice & is fun to drive for under half that amount. (Although it could use a bath at the moment)
DSCF0012.jpg
 
We don't mind doing the work (we enjoy it)and paying as we go. We just can't drop down 8-15k all at once :smile:.
 
Which brings up the most important thing to have (other than money) -- patience.

Good deals happen but it is hard to find them on short notice -- if you can wait they will come along.

OTOH, I just did my annual check of the NADA site for updating my insurance policy valuations for the coming year. Yowsa. There at least the values have climbed, especially the TR4.

NADA values using their 'average' category which they describe as a '20-footer' or 'older restoration':

1959 TR3A 19,200
1964 TR4 17,825

I try to temper such info with some common sense but I don't want to be caught short should the worst happen.
 
Randall...that's a great looking car! I'd love to have done the work to make it like that for around $10k...
 
Wow...sounds like you found a GOOD deal somewhere.
 
Good thing you stayed with green so there is no confusion in the grocery store parking lot.

Nice car.
 
Geo Hahn said:
Good deals happen but it is hard to find them on short notice -- if you can wait they will come along.
Or, they find you.... One of the guys in our local club picked up a very presentable, running TR3 for 6K, and absolute incredible deal. Touch rusty here and there, but he'll take care of that.

Deals are out there, but the stars must be in complete alignment for you; although my neighbor told me last night he was watching a Mecum auction, and he saw a later- year TR6 go for 6K!

I think the coming year may see some people being squeezed to part w/ cars...
 
KC1209-87534_1.jpg

Holy Cow! $6100!
 
tdskip said:
What paint package/level did you go for with Scheib? Is that your TR3 with a bit of sparkle in the paint,
They're both the same dark green metallic, pretty close; I literally took them the spare tire cover from the wrecked car and said "This color"
grin.gif


It was the mid-grade paint job, not the high end one. ISTR paint came to about $800 with the additional charges for the stripe and changing color and something else (I forget what). The bodywork came to about $1500 I think.

The car itself was an eBay find, pointed out to me by a friend who knew I was looking for a TR3 project. A pretty good deal considering that the drivetrain turned out to be usable and the rust very minimal, but I didn't know that while I was bidding.
 
Not to hijack the thread, but how has the paint held up Randall? Is she stored inside or out and under a cover?

Thanks.
 
Randall,

That is what I did with my first TR4A restoration which was a tub-up restoration since I had to replace the frame and tub so every part was off and rebuilt with the exception of the differential (just new seals). I ended up with $5000 invested (this was 1982-1984) and insured it for $8000 but I rebuilt it to be my daily driver and not as a show car. It wasn't perfect and I lucked out in some areas such as finding an interior from a wrecked TR4A (new seats adn excellent original panels in shadow blue!), but I was very happy with the end result.

I hope to do the same with the other cars as well (need to build the garage!) although at this point they won't be used as daily drivers.

Scott
 
Back
Top