TR2/3/3A TR3 must read

[myspitfire]

Nice sentimental/nostalgic story in newest ROAD & TRACK.Another story about a Triumph saved from the crusher.
NO i'm not affiliated with R&T.Just a Triumphant owner who wishes to see EVERY piece of old British iron SAVED.
Ken&Whitelightning

 

[Andrew Mace]

Wow, nice indeed! But then, that's Peter Egan.

The TR3 that was Lee's -- Side Glances

 

[Geo Hahn]

Excellent, thanks for sharing and thanks Andy for the link to it. I get my R&T second hand (and a month late) but the first thing I read is Egan's column and it seems as often as not there is some reference to the TR3.

Nice guy BTW. He was a judge for the British Car classes at a car event I attended last Fall. The other judge he was paired with was a 4-time Indy winner. The Indy driver would take a quick look at the car and mark his sheet -- Egan would pore over the thing, talk at length with the owner and generally wring out every bit of enjoyment he could get from the experience short of actually getting in and driving it. The guy just loves these cars as much as we do.

 

[GilsTR]

Ken Thanks for sharing the great read. Having one of these
TR's is really a special experience. My love afair started my freshman year in college...when I bought the yellow TR3A... and then told my Dad. Car ran fine...he blew a head gasket! If I had a buck for every time I am driving around and have someone stop me and tell me their early year Triumph experience. <span style="font-weight: bold">"Most fun car I ever owned"</span> seems to be a pretty regular comment! I bought mine from the original owner...who had driven it for 20 years...then parked it in the garage for 20 years. <span style="font-weight: bold">"How much does it cost to restore one of those?"</span>If you have to ask the price...you had better not ever attempt a full restoration!
Thanks again, Gil. NoCal

 

[prb51]

Great story, thanks for posting.
The first TR3 I saw belonged to an older high school guy that lived a few blocks over....yellow ext and black int. I think I loved the LBC smells as much as the visuals.

 

[HerronScott]

Definitely a great story.

Like prb51, the first TR3 (and TR4) that I saw belonged to a friend's older brother who also lived a few blocks away. His cars got me interested in Triumphs and I finally got my own senior year in high school with my first TR4A. I later got a chance to buy the TR3 (powder blue) from my friend's older brother 12 years later after it had been sitting in the back of their parent's house for 15 years.

Scott

 

[Brinkerhoff]

My first car was a TR3 too. Something about it just screamed fighter plane turned sports chariot. It was 14 yrs. old and clapped out, I was 16 and could've cared less. Forget about the duct tape bridging the holes in the rocker panels ! I finally bought and restored another last yr.. We're lucky their still out there and reasonably priced compared to the rest of the classic 50s sports cars , I think. TR3s forever ! Kevin

 

[mrv8q]

Ken, thanks for sharing that. I got a little chill down my spine when I first saw the R&T TR3 photo. Mine looked just like that when I first saw it alone in a garage at an estate sale in my neighborhood; dusty, dirty, tires deflated and oil/hydraulics on the ground, but still dignified.

That car really wanted to come back to life, and I've enjoyed it ever since.

 

[tdskip]

That car really wanted to come back to life, and I've enjoyed it ever since.

Helps that it found a worthy partner in it's resurrection...

 

[tdskip]

"“Why is it so much fun to dig an old sports car out of a garage and clean it up?” Mike asked.

“I don’t know,” Lew said, “but whenever you get an old car, it’s always the best single day of ownership. I think it releases some kind of endorphins into your bloodstream. "

No kidding - this is a potent drug. One that survives all the blood/sweat/tears/financial ruin that follows. Should be illegal for the easily drugged like me, but thank goodness it is not. Hmmmmm.... maybe I shouldn't go to Retromobile this weekend.

 

[GilsTR]

Recently I took the TR3A uptown on a Sunday am and parked near the coffee shop. Two teenage couples were walking past
the "Red Head". I could hear a couple of nice comments from the young ladies...only to hear one of the dudes say..."Hey...its only a kit car!". Then the other dude looks a little closer and says "Hey...No...Its a real Triumph! My Uncle has one of these!". Yes...it felt pretty good to slide in and cruise on up the street! Gil NoCal

 

[Geo Hahn]

At cars shows (such as last weekend) I find that my TR3 is a real babe magnet.

Unfortunately all the 'babes' attracted to it were over 60 or under 10.

 

[Gordon_Dedrick]

What a great story! Everyone seems to have one, including me. My first TR3 was a 59 powder blue model with a flintstone starter.....meaning it need to be parked on a hill or pushed to jump start. It was followed by another powder blue 60 model that had a tree run out in front of it and was totaled. I then moved up to model with ROLL DOWN WINDOWS... a TR4A. On the day my best girl was coming over to my parents house for dinner and first introduction, we had a snow storm that prevented me from getting up the drive. We lived on a farm and the house was about a quarter mile from the road. We walked the rest of the way to the house, and had a really nice dinner until mom opened the sparkling wine and sprayed it all over the ceiling. The snow was so bad we had to call her parents and arrange for her to spend the nite.......quite scandelous during the sixties!
The rest of course is history, Carole and I spent many a date in that car and it made many trips to the drive in movies. We were married in 1970 and now have ANOTHER TR...lucky me!
Gordon

 

[sail]

Thanks for the article guys.

“I don’t know,” Lew said, “but whenever you get an old car, it’s always the best single day of ownership. I think it releases some kind of endorphins into your bloodstream."

Yep. Remember the day well, 4 years ago. At every gas stop I had to open the trailer to believe it. It was smiling at me. Sat for 15 years. Didn't look too hot. I had never even taken a ride in a Triumph. My wife took it with accepting consternation. Relatives over for Christmas shook their heads and went back inside. I sat out there in the cold with a huge grin on my face.
Better go out to the shed now and check on it.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

That's a great article. It mentions touch-paint called "buttercup yellow". I can find "buttercup yellow" for 1960 Plymouth, but not Triumph. Could that be the same as "primrose yellow"?

That car looks to be in much better shape than the one I started with. I didn't bother to 'shine it up' when I brought it home, but I've been happily shining every individual part of it since. Like so many others, it's waiting for its turn to shine again.

 

[GilsTR]

Funny that we have this story on the forum at this time.
Just this morning I got a email from a old friend that I have
not seen since college...thats 40 years ago! And the first thing in his email? "I will never forget the ride you gave me down that trail in your TR3...we were sideways for the whole 15 minute ride" Great memories ! Gil NoCal

 

[tinman58]

sideways for 15 minutes!!! sounds like fun......

 

[Twosheds]

From an article I wrote:

"I was directed to a dealer who had two TR3s for sale. After looking at them, I took the powder blue and rust one for a test drive. The engine would not idle; it would die. The front suspension was so far gone that it hopped all over the road. None of these things mattered to me - I had decided to buy it as soon as I saw it. This happened in 1980 and I have had the car ever since."

 

[Lou Metelko]

Got to add to this story line:

My first TR was a beautiful Red TR4A IRS bought brand new from O. A. King Triumph in Indianapolis on May 4th, 1965. My high school sweetheart and I had saved some money together for the upcoming marriage but the sight of that shiny 4A forced me to ask the girl friend if the saved money could be spent on the car. Being the typical narrow minded female she said "it's either me or that car!". Two days later I drove by her parent's house to show off the new Triumph!

She literally threw the ring back to me and I have not seen her since. I remounted that diamond to a ring that I have worn since. Funny, today, Feb 4th is that girl's 68th birthday; boy she sure has gotten old!

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana

 

[Twosheds]

Good one, Lou!

I looked at a TR4 before I bought The Blue TR3. My girlfriend had saved some money for college tuition that fall. She was going to take it out to lend it to me for the TR4.

What's a year of college compared to your boyfriend having a TR4?

In a rare display of comon sense, I turned the offer down.

Who knows what might have come of that deal had I accepted? Nothing good, I bet.