Any TRIUMPH TR3 fans here?

[herman maire]

Just wondering if there are any triumph TR3 fans here? I just picked up a 1960 TR3 project car and I have to say that the car is REALLY , REALLY cool. I even prefer it to my 356 coupe ( which I am selling so I can work on the tr3 )

A few cool facts-

1- Motor was sorced from a tractor ( super realiable)

2- FIRST production car to have front disk brakes ( even before jags or Porsche 356. 356 got them in 1963 or 64 )

3- weight - 1900lbs ( all metal body and thats with the heavy cast iron cylinder head + motor VERY HEAVY )
HP- 100 stock



here are a few pics of what I aiming for in silver though-





And one of the frame... pretty simple


British cars are coool

[kaisen]

Bugeye Sprite? Sure.
Always felt like my elbow would hit the ground in hard RH turns

[Chocaholic]

Know why the British drink warm beer?



Lucas makes refrigerators too.

[Hugh R]

Very cool. Welcome to the world of British Trash

Here's mine

[74cookiecutter]

From Pettit Jean car show this Fathers Day week end. Wish I had one.

[Stuart993]

I just sold this last year.

[Stuart993]

[Jim Bremner]

I'lll take the FALCON

[lendaddy]

In that age group I'd prefer an MGA, but they are unique.

[FastCarFan]

My father used to tell a story about a neighbor of ours who had a TR2 or TR3 (I was too young to know the difference). I vaguely remember the car -- it was light yellow.

Apparently, the guy bought the car the day his son was born because he was feeling old. He kept the car for many years.

The story my dad liked to tell: One day my dad saw our neighbor driving down the street. His hat blew off & the man simply made a u-turn, drove by his hat in the street & reached down & picked it up as he drove by. Then he made another u-turn & continued on his way.

My dad thought that was very funny.

Personally, I have always wanted a TR6. Or a TR250.

[Drew001]

I was brought home from the hospital in a TR3.
I'm convinced that the TR3 helped make me the car (Porsche) nut that I am today.

[FastCarFan]

Drew -- You are not from Columbus (Grandview Heights) OH are you? I think our old neighbor brought his son home in his Triumph too.

[Evans, Marv]

I had a '59 TR3 back in the late '60s. I dearly loved that car. And yes, one thing I liked about it was that you could actually reach down by the door & pick something up off the ground. Made me feel like I was really close to the road. It was a fun car, & I wish I still had it. A very simple car too.

[onlycafe]

saw this little beast at the hershey show five or six weeks ago.
xk-e power in a sprite. crikey.

[Joeaksa]

Like old Brit sports cars but for some reason the TR-3 never excited me. Austin Healey, E-Type, Spitfire and so on have owned them all but got a better feeling about them. Still have two of them today...

[Drew001]

Originally posted by FastCarFan
Drew -- You are not from Columbus (Grandview Heights) OH are you? I think our old neighbor brought his son home in his Triumph too.

Nope. I was born in Long Beach, CA and that's where we lived also.
I've got a picture of the car somewhere....

[PeteT]

Herman
I have a 58 TR3A that has been in the family since '61. My dad gave it to me for my college graduation back in 95. Much different beast than the 911 but a great car. My dad drove the car for twenty some odd years to work everyday.
Pete

[Walter_Middie]

I bought a 1958 TR3A about 15 years ago from a local car collector. This was one of the cars he hadn’t restored, and was one of the few he could drive. It ran well, but had some issues with rust around the battery box, rocker panels, door bottoms, and floors. I took the car completely apart, welded in rockers and floors, and fixed or replaced everything else. This was more of a fix-up and clean-up than a restoration. The goal was to use as many original parts as possible. The results were a very good, reliable driver – certainly no garage queen or show car. The main problem I had with the car was its top. In the Pacific Northwest, a roadster is a luxury. You can get rained on most days of the year. The top of the TR3A could be erected in less than 15 minutes if you were practiced. This allowed a small amount of protection, but was not too good in the rain. With the top down, and a blanket attached to the bottom of the dash and laid across your lap, the small heater would make a nice warm place to keep the lower half of your body. I drove this car in all kinds of weather and loved it. Here’s what I liked and didn’t like about it:

Likes:

Simple to work on
Dead reliable (those with Lucas electrical problems have not rebuilt the wiring and cleaned the connections)
Fun to drive at normal speeds
Like driving a roller skate – it seems quick, even when it was going slow.
It got lots of attention – a great looking car.
First production car with front disk brakes.
Every nut and bolt could be purchased through excellent parts catalogs (this was before the internet)

Dislikes:

No weather protection
Very crude suspension
Very low limits of adhesion
Unhappy at any speeds over 45 or 50 MPH
Uncomfortable seats – the best driving position was leaned way back - almost laying down.
Everything seemed cheap – no quality engineering. Just a small light production car that could handle well and go 100 MPH.

I sold it to buy my 911s coupe – due mainly to the lack of top and low limits of adhesion. I remember lapping at Pacific International Raceway in the rain. Keeping the car pointed in the correct direction was a real chore. The 911s is an infinitely better car in every way. I still miss the TR3A – it is unique. You just don’t see them on the road every day.

[typ550]

Originally posted by lendaddy
In that age group I'd prefer an MGA, but they are unique.

Me and my MGA on the Dragon a few weeks ago...

[Aerkuld]

Apparently I am a TR3. You see, my parents were going to get one but got me instead. One day I really want to buy one for my Dad, I think they are very cool cars.