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TR2/3/3A TR3A Time Capsule

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PeterK

PeterK

Yoda
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I've been redoing the rear side panels on the TR3A, after reshaping the aluminum rear capping for the hardtop.

Well I got the passenger side done, and found little scribbling on the drivers's side after the covering was pulled off. Here's what I found:



I've already googled the info and contacted the phone number. Real nice conversation with this guys mother (who also owned a TR3) but still waiting to talk to the previous owner. She said he used to have many TRs and fix them up, quite a while ago.

We already knew from the BMH certificate that the car was delivered to Hawaii in 1958, and we have Calif black plates from 63 with registration records for the comission#. But would really like to fill in the gaps.
 

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Really would have been amazing had he dated it.
 
kennypinkerton said:
Really would have been amazing had he dated it.
Click to expand...

We thought it was odd that it was not dated/ When I talk to him, I'll ask. Maybe I'll add a date before I recover the panel.

But now I'll want to remove the door panels just to look for more info!
 
Wow - like a message in a bottle.

I think all I've ever done on that line was a 'Hi, whoever sees this' scrawled somewhere.
 
WOW! Wish I'd done that with the TR3 I restored. I may have to find some way to leave a similar note in the MGB and the TR8 now...
 
Of course if I had done that on the TR3A I restored in 1982 I would have been the one who found it in 1993 and again in 2001.
 
I'll do that with the Jag I just got. What a COOL idea...I might even stash a canister or something with some pics and some receipts just for fun!
 
Speaking of stash. Both of my TR4As have had presents in the ashtray when I got them. Both were off the road for a long time before coming home with me.
 
Stuff like that really adds to the joy of driving these cars. What a thrill to talk to the original owner!

Cool. :thumbsup:
 
The only thing I found on my car was a bag of weed under the carpet for the tunnel. It had been there before 1974. The person my uncle got the car from did not no anything about it. Said a freind of his could have left it there.

Don
 
I found "May, 1965" scrawled inside the door capping trim when I replaced it.
Early example of ballpoint pen technology as they were not widely used in England in that era, (at least we were not allowed to use them in school, we had to use fountain pens.)
Simon.
 
I signed and dated a TR3B that I helped restore in 02. Up on the bulkhead, behind the glove box.
And when I took the bottom of the seat out of the MKVIII Jag I had, the craftsman that had uhpoulstered the seat had signed it in fancy lettering with a pencil. that was cool.
 
Back in the 60's & 70's idiots at GM used to leave Coke bottles in the doors of cars as built in rattles. It always happened around union contract negotiation time. I'll bet that their kids wished those cute little things never happened as American quality went down the toilet and the jobs went away.

Sorry for the rant, but THAT kind of malicious signature stuff always bothered me.

Please continue back on topic.....
 
Brosky said:
Back in the 60's & 70's idiots at GM used to leave Coke bottles in the doors of cars as built in rattles.
Click to expand...
Oh, is THAT why ! I thought someone was just taking a break sitting in the car and hid their mess. Had an empty Frito bag in there too.
 
When I bought this TR6 about 8 years ago, there are two screw heads showing atop the right bulkhead that aren't supposed to be there. While lying upside-down and backwards working under the dash I spotted what they held up. A round tin can bolted to the underside of the dash, way, way up inside. The original owner had devised this clever hideaway to hold his folded papers for the car, and some <span style="color: #FF0000">o</span><span style="color: #33CC00">r</span><span style="color: #3333FF">e</span><span style="color: #993399">g</span><span style="color: #CC6600">a</span><span style="color: #CC33CC">n</span><span style="color: #FFCC00">o</span>, of all things! Gee, he must've been Italian.
 
That's fantastic. I wish I had thought of that when I restored a TR3 in the early 90s. I painted my post (zip) code all over the car in hidden areas such as inside the doors, on the petrol tank, the back of the guages, etc as a security measure. Probably confusing the current owner as the car is now in Denmark!
 
What about the Porn in the Queen's Jag..

'PORN HIDDEN IN QUEEN'S CAR'

A Jaguar car worker in Coventry has resigned after reports that porn magazines and a swastika were found behind a panel of the Queen's new car. The magazines and a painted swastika were found by experts making the vehicle bomb-proof at the plant. Jaguar said it had "apologised to the Royal Household for any embarrassment already sustained".


14th.June 2001



It is a shame I remember that as my mind must be in the gutter.
 
Brosky said:
Back in the 60's & 70's idiots at GM used to leave Coke bottles in the doors of cars as built in rattles. It always happened around union contract negotiation time. I'll bet that their kids wished those cute little things never happened as American quality went down the toilet and the jobs went away.
Click to expand...

I know the guys on the Cadillac line would leave marbles in the doors.
 
When I removed the front fender of my TR3 several years back, there was a rusted out bottle opener that fell out. I still have it in a zip-lock somewhere and have thought about cleaning it up and re-plating it. It will stay with the car.
 
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