• 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.)
  • When posting a classified ad, you MUST select a prefix from the drop-down next to the subject line. If you don't you will get an error and your ad will not be posted!
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A TR3 Buyers Guide

Share this page

TR3TR6

TR3TR6

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Has anybody received the Winter 2011 British Motoring from Moss Motors? They have a buyers guide listed for the Triumph TR2 & 3. The market value prices comes from Andy Reid at Classic Motorsports. I know what I have in my 3A, and I also know that I wouldn't sell it for the $ 13,500 - $ 18,500 price range they have listed for good condition. As high as parts have gotten I'd come out on the short end of that deal. But then again, I'm not sure of what they mean by "good condition".
 
$13.5K for a good condition TR3A? I think I'd better call Moss and order one.

IOW, I don't put much stock in buyers guides, NADA, Blue Books & big name auction houses. Completed listings on eBay may have some credibility.
 
"Good condition" generally means "nice, driveable, but not perfect". A 10-footer, not a recent restoration.

When I went through this with the insurance company about 5 years ago, they actually came up with a list of TR3As that had recently sold in the area. I saw the photos, they certainly were not basket cases although they might have needed mechanical work. The average of those 4 "comps" came to $8800 ...

Here, you can buy this one , Geo ...
 
I guess I live in the wrong part of the country. You could easily spend $8,800 in parts alone restoring a basket case and not even figure in the labor.
 
So in that article, they show an instrument panel that's not from a TR3. I'm thinking Austin Healey... anyone recognize it?
 
Looking at the red interior and what appears to be a white paint job, I wondered if that isn't a picture of TS1's interior which is shown in the article on page 20 in the same issue of British Motoring. They mention in the article that TS1 had many different parts from the TR2.
 
Just a "filler" article,probably written by someone who saw a TR2/3 drive by once. Most of the article was drivel to sell aftermarket up grade stuff for Moss.The dash is out of a Healey but shows the level of proof reading.Values and pricing? The cars will always be worth what someone is willing to pay for them. With a crashing dollar,inflation,and fewer places to invest money,prices will continue to rise.Last time I checked,the Triumph factory was still closed, and superior cars will command superior money,but anyway,the quaterly Moss Motoring Sales flyer is free and amusing to look at.
 
I like the Moss magazine, and you can't argue on its price! But that article isn't something I'd take too seriously. Head to head, for example, I would expect a TR3 to command as good or better price than a TR3A, but they have the TR3 as a 'bargain'.


And yes, I saw that dash, I think its a Healey too.
 
The TR2 in the photo looks like Jack & Carol Schmelyun's, and the photo of the engine compartment below the photo of the Healey dash is of Jeff Snook's TR3 vintage racecar #41.
 
Like most of you I get a smile at the value on some of these buyers guides prices. From my experience here on the "Left Coast" the Triumph values have held...or are stronger than a couple years ago.
Below I will past a link to a car from Craigslist that is
what I mean (I know nothing about this car)
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/2152607773.html

Just try and buy this car and do ANY restoration and see where you sit cost wise!
Gil
 
Twosheds said:
The TR2 in the photo looks like Jack & Carol Schmelyun's, and the photo of the engine compartment below the photo of the Healey dash is of Jeff Snook's TR3 vintage racecar #41.
Click to expand...

Jeff Snook? I know him, he has a real nice museum near our home and I even had his racecar mechanic work on my TR4 when I first bought it. Jeff made sure the work was to his liking by running my car around the country side. He drives a little bit different than I do.

I even got to check out his #41 up close and personal. A real nice guy that Jeff is.......
 
Yes, a fine fellow is Jeff.
 

Attachments

  • 23871.jpg
    23871.jpg
    41.8 KB · Views: 354
As the article says, a TR3A, "in good condition," has a current market value of $13,500 to $18,500." I think the author may be close to the actual value at $18,500. But one could easily put another $10,000 to $15,000 into the car to rebuild the engine, transmission, exhaust system, etc., etc. So, I estimate that a TR3A in "worry-free driving condition" (ha! ha!)would be somewhere around $30,000 (high end). If you look at some of the prices being paid in England and elsewhere, that is a reasonable estimate.

We're talking excellent operating condition but not fabulous "show condition" here.

Some estimate that to completely restore a TR3A to "mint" condition would cost about $70,000. I don't know anyone who would go there unless they were absolutely "in love" with the car.

The January 2010 edition of Classic Motorsports (p. 39) says, referring to TR3, "Nice drivers can still be had for just under $20,000, and really good examples that could win a show or two only cost around $24,000 to $29,000."

Want to increase the market value? Just feature the TR3 in a feature film or two, as they were featured so often in the 50s and 60s, and the "market value" will rise dramatically. (My opinion.)

And, finally, I wonder what the market value would be in China today?
 
Hi, George,

I should have said relatively "worry free." In other words, you can get out of your driveway, down the street, and well out of town before something goes wrong.
 
LexTR3 said:
Hi, George,

I should have said relatively "worry free." In other words, you can get out of your driveway, down the street, and well out of town before something goes wrong.
Click to expand...

So you break down farther away from home.

Got it.
 
Actually, to tell the truth, I should say that since having my engine rebuilt in June 2010, I have put 4000 miles on the car without a single breakdown or problem. Perhaps this is because I make a burnt offering to the Prince of Darkness from time to time... Whenever I return home from a roadtrip, I exclaim to my wife; "Nothing broke and nothing fell off!"
 
In 30 years of driving The Blue TR3, who knows how many miles, I have been towed home once, when the rusty gas tank sprung a leak.

Oh, I've broken down, but have always been able to make a roadside repair and limp or run home.
 
With reasonable "preventive maintenance," I really think these cars are reliable.
 
Back
Top