• 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 TR3 Losing Its Cachet

Share this page

Perrymip

Perrymip

Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Preliminary to this confession: I never thought the TR4 and so forth were even worth recognizing. That's how dedicated I was to to the TR3 fifty years ago, and, without much variance, that's how I still feel. But, now, in the wisdom of old age, I realize that the TR3 was THE youth cult car for me, quite possibly owing to my own youth at the time, and my own willingness to be conscripted.

Well, today, springtime beaconing, I thought, let's start him up. So I unlocked the storage, shook all the dust out of the cover, spent the requisite fifteen minutes getting him started, did the casual check, noted that I must have switched wires in the right front signal/park when installing the new harness this winter, noted with pleasure that all gauges showed the promising signs, backed out, and drove four times around the Public Storage lot.

I didn't want to go out on the highway at 4:00PM on a Friday with city rush hour traffic. I vaguely wanted to drive to California or NYC, like in olden times, but I put him back in prison, thinking that the valve train is making very dubious sounds. The leather seats feel luxurious and new. The Vredestein tires: well they look the part, and last fall they felt good. But that choke linkage: if I could only, after fifty years of tinkering, finally get that back to perfect, wouldn't I be happy. And what is that valve train noise? Am I just used to a different sound from internal combustion?

And later I watch all the two seaters from BMW and Lexus and Ferrari and Porsche and so on mosey up and down the busy street in front of my home, and I think how that TR3 was so much the cat's meow in 1960, and now any old Honda can out perform it and any old SUV can corner right along with it, and I think what a youth cult critter that was, but fifty years ago. And now it's reduced to Public Storage prison and weekend visitation.
 
Well, no cachet lost in my neck o' the woods. Even in winter, if the roads are dry I enjoy driving my TR3. The waves and thumbs-up I get from bystanders, and the freezing cold (oops, crisp and bracing) wind, are always great fun. Never got much out of just parking in a field and letting folks walk by, and cruises seem pretty boring to me.

But driving - that's what the car was made for.

I'd say ... don't let the dust build up on your car cover! As a matter of fact, if you drive the car fast enough, there's no need to prevent dust from building up anyway :jester:

7922.jpg


I don't even try to compete with the interstate craziness; I just enjoy our two lane blacktops which wind around all the hills and woods here in southern New England. I've got about a dozen routes, each one lasting an hour or two or three, around Connecticut and Massachusetts. And I doubt those BMW and Lexus and Ferrari and Porsche drivers have any more enjoyment in the drive than I do.

As my doctor once told me many years ago ... use it or lose it.

Tom
 
Tom - When I leave Quebec with its flat dull long straight roads and I drive down to Vermont and the other New England states, I become convinced that the engineers who laid out those roads must have been TR owners.
 
I learned to drive in the great state of Maine (where I was born),And it was told to me by the school driving instructor "The lines on the road are just a suggestion". Back then with so few cars, that was the case. My mother (also a Maine-iac) said that if there were no cars on the other side of the road going into a left hand corner, then it was up for grabs. Now a days its so crowded even on the back roads that the "Freedom" feeling of driving has almost gone away. I still cross the road on corners, and love to see the yellow line traverse from one side to the other, as it rolls under your car.
 
Not worth recognizing? My viewpoint was quite a bit different. When I sold my 48,000 mile TR3 and purchased my used 23,000 mile TR4A in 1969, I couldn't have been happier. I had a windshield that actually kept the wind out of my face. I had a truly weather tight convertible top that could be easily and neatly folded (or put up) in a matter of minutes (and with no side curtain drill). A heater that heated (and defrosted) the passenger compartment. Plus a trunk that would hold a suitcase even when the top was down. While I truly loved my TR3, I thought I had finally "arrived" with ownership of the TR4A.
 
I had my TR3B out on the road yesterday. Although I did not have time for an extended drive, I did take the cover off, hooked up the battery, and cranked 'er up to drive to the shop that had my speedometer rebuilt over the winter. For the first time in my ownership, I can now look at the speedometer instead of guessing my speed. It even seems somewhat accurate, so I my drive home was my first time I could not say that I did not know I was over the speed limit.
Driving through the "less desirable" neighborhoods of Allentown, I got a "Sweet" from a young man with drooping pants and a sideways Yankees cap. And later a business man in his polished black Porsche 911 gave me an OK hand signal. Plus there were the smiles of folks on streets of the city as I went by.

Perry, you may feel it is less of a "cachet" car in your life, but for me, it is just fine to drive, and to share on the occasional car show field. With a high of 71 today, and 70 tomorrow, the TR3 will be out on the roads some more this weekend getting his legs under him for a summer of fun.
 
I'm with you, Perry. I restored a small mouth TR3 some years ago, drove it as often as I could, and had a great time taking it to shows where it did quite well. But it slowly dawned on me that it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Revved way too high when on the highway, interstate or otherwise. The ride was OK, as long as you can miss the potholes; the low-cut doors are sexy, but don't do much for protection. (OK, I'm a wimp!)

Had I owned a place where I could store several cars and the money to afford one I could actually enjoy regularly, as well as one like the TR3, it would have been a different story. the TR8 is a fantastic ride - very comfortable, and much less vulnerable, at least it feels that way.

Still have the MGB, and it's somewhere in between the TR8 and 3. Not sure how long we'll keep it, and if I ever find the Giulietta Spider I've been searching for, will probably have to let it go.

Anyway, try a TR7 or 8, if you can find one. I think you'll be surprised.

Mickey
 
I was raised in Mass. and lived in central Conn. Learned to drive in the early 50's and fell in love with the TR3 while I was up there. Now I live in East Central Tenn. Back roads very much like New England and I can't wait to be able to "crank er up" and run the roads. I will go to the club events and the Cruise in's, but my heart is set for the two lane runs with or with out others where I can let it out, or run it through the gears. This is the motivation that has been the driving force to get finished and enjoy it.
One of the things about the forum is that we can talk about it and we understand the talk. Can't do that with ordinary civilians.

Tinkerman
 
Perry a good drive in a tr3 is the best antidepressant you can ever take.Plan an outing and get out of Dodge!!!I think that it will get your mojo back on track!
All those drivers in their so called sports cars of today,see a tr3 on the road and go green with envy of having the REAL THING!!!!!!
MD(mad dog)
 
I was born in 1960 in a small rural town in Pennsylvania. By the age of 14, I couldn’t tell a MG from Triumph. They were few and far between. Then my brother got a great deal on a TR4 and I learned to drive in it. It was the cats meow. The same brother purchased a TR6 in 1978 and it was the sexiest car I’d ever been close enough to touch, let alone drive. Everyone gave the thumbs up or yelled “nice vette” and my head was as big as a balloon.

Last weekend, I shook the dust off the cover and drove my TR6 to Austin. A BMW with wide eyed kids strapped in the back seat were stretching their necks to check out the strange old car as it cruised past them. I didn’t have to hear them say “nice vette” to have a big head and know I was enjoying the drive more.

I never considered owning a TR3 until a club member gave me one that was under 20 feet of storm surge during hurricane Katrina. Now, I’ve got more cash invested in the TR3 cache than the TR6 and it’s nowhere near driveable. Not to mention time invested. When I finally drive my TR3, my head will be as big as a balloon. I’ll be 17 again, and I’m sure I’ll get a few thumbs up. The cachet is all in your head, unless your hands are on the wheel. In any case the excitement is building - forget that most any car on the road can outperform nostalgia. It’s still the cats meow.
 
Jeeze, Perry, you sound depressed. Don't read the newspaper, turn off the radio and don't watch TV news for awhile. Tune in the syfy channel. Scantily clad women, stupid stories and monsters dining on everyone. Than it is all over in about two hours, unlike the endless horror of the world we inhabit.

I have to say living where I am, two stop lights from country roads is very conducive to driving an old Triumph.
 
Perry -- your post reminded me of that Porsche commercial from several years ago ... an older gent in his 1950's silver Porsche Spyder crosses paths with a young guy in his new silver Porsche Boxster. Both their mouths drop open as they admire the other's car. As they pass each other, the young guy begins saying "Holy sh..." and the older gent finishes "... schmoly!"

Now get out and drive -- you'll make some BMW driver's day (and yours, too).

Scott
 
I've enjoyed Triumphs for well over 25 years now, but as I've aged I actually have been 'devolving', moving backward in time from Spitfires to TR6s to TR4s and now TR3s. I agree with the comment that the cachet is in your mind - I'm definitely not putting myself in competition with the latest from Porsche, BMW, Honda, or whatever. But I just got back with my wife in the TR4 in an absolute pooring monsoon here in Houston, wiping the fog off the windshield with a rag every minute, and ignoring the wipers since they seem to get in the way more than actually do anything. And even with the top up it was great - and when the TR3 gets on the road I know I'm going to enjoy it too, even though I've never even ridden in one!
 
Perrymip said:
And later I watch all the two seaters from BMW and Lexus and Ferrari and Porsche and so on mosey up and down the busy street in front of my home, and I think how that TR3 was so much the cat's meow in 1960
Click to expand...

Having both a Ferrari and a TR3 and being able to watch people's reaction to both, I can say... the TR3 still has just as much, if not more, cachet than the Ferrari does. The Ferrari gets hoots and calls of 'Hey, Magnum' and 'That's a Fiero!' But the TR3 never fails to get big, big grins- from toddlers all the way up to octogenarians.
 
Perrymip said:
and I think how that TR3 was so much the cat's meow in 1960, and now any old Honda can out perform it and any old SUV can corner right along with it, and I think what a youth cult critter that was, but fifty years ago. And now it's reduced to Public Storage prison and weekend visitation.
Click to expand...

All true, but you <span style="font-style: italic">own</span> your own time machine. Whatever your personal circumstances are for "weekend visitation", at least you have the option to go back in time and go for a spin, even around the storage lot. How many guys would give their left nut to have that option?

Even here in L.A., where Hyundai Excels pass me on the freeway, getting in my '3 is just 'clear head" time for me. I say just enjoy it as much and as often as you can!
 
Knee deep in my project in the shop, it's easy to lose sight that some day I will actually be driving this machine instead of only working on it. (mind you I <span style="font-style: italic">am</span> enjoying it) My kids still think it's a pile of junk - I think it needs the paint before they can really visualize it - a picture just doesn't do it. Anyway, I can't wait for them to go for their first TR3 ride. Thanks for reminding me guys!
 
I followed what I took to be the consensus advice (omitting only the SciFi Channel recommendation), and drove to the top of Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Range. It used to be a two-lane winding road, when the TR3 was a youngster. The pass is still pretty lovely, especially on a sunny day. And, I admit, so was the car. And, yes, there were convincing acknowledgments all the way.
 
It was 70 here yesterday,took the Granddaughter out
in the TR6.Stopped for breakfast,& the owner of the rest-
uraunt made a comment (positive) about the car (he drives-
an AMG Mercedes).
Also stopped by a guy's house who used to own the only
British Car repair shop in town.He said "Sure - rub it in".
He used to own a TR6 until he lost it in a divorce.

- Doug
 
I don't think that a TR3 will ever lose its cachet for the guy that loves to take a drive, with the top down, on a country road, in the sunshine, with your wifely wife; happy that you've got those carbs dialed in, valves set just right, and pleased with all that you've done with her (the car, not the wife). It doesn't get much better than that!
 
Back
Top