TR3A Project
 

So, my '59 TR3A made it from the other coast the other day. Started unpacking boxes of spares and whatnot yesterday and attacked a leaky fuel pump today. Next up is tires (might be harder than finding them for my 9" Fuchs).
Engine is good / rebuilt, shifts well, brakes/hydraulics recently refurbed.

Going to need some (a ton?) of body work, paint, interior, etc so should keep me busy for a long while. Unlike the 911, I'm going to do whatever I want, originality be damned. Cafe racer a la Magnus?? Thought I'd do a build thread here since the Brit car forums aren't nearly as much fun.

A few pics to follow, the car (PO shot), sweet vintage hubcaps, original owner's manual, etc.

Had one many years ago & loved it. I'll be watching for that build thread. Have fun.

Why must your pictures be as small as a TR3?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363061063.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363061116.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363061148.jpg

Had to re-post the pics b/c I accidentally downloaded the thumbnails from gmail and one's upside down thanks to Apple.

Upside down, Lucas, same thing.

cool car.

white with a red interior please.

neighbor had one in these colors when I was growing up, (it was actually his IBM company car, he had a VERY low employee number), and to this day that is the color I think they all should be.

TR3A Project
 

It's the only car I've driven where I could touch the road with my finger tips while driving.

^ This.
Plus, you're sitting right on a solid rear axle, makes you feel like you're wearing the car.
I like Triumphs a lot.

You can paint a union jack on the top of the hard top for extra fun!

Just don't get me started on triumph Spitfires. :mad:

If it was my car, I'd probably paint it grey with a rich brown interior and soft top. :)

A real fun car, I have had two of them when I was younger. Even painted one Corvette yellow with black interior, looked like a bee! Not much good in the rain and cold weather, but a lot of fun when the top is down and the sun is out! I think I have a few manuals laying around for it, I'll have to take a look for them. Their yours if you want them, just pay for the shipping.

I like these little cars. There is a TR3B in storage around here, but it would be a major restore. How much does it cost to restore these cars?

ive had lots of TR's...feel free to ask if you need help, ive restored several, and i still have a large collection of mechanical bits.

you'll find that 15" air cooled vw tires are the same size. if you want period correct, you can try Coker tire. i have pirelli's on my TR4.

and doug, it depends on how much work you do on your own. parts prices arent bad, and almost everything is available for them. fun cars.

Like this?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363271374.jpg

Nice! Wish I had the time/money for such a project :(

Sweet little sports car.

Sweet!!!!!!

[QUOTE=Brian in VA;7323330]http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363061063.jpg

QUOTE]

Whoa... When I was a very young child, my mother had a light blue TR3. We lived in southern California. I used to take my clothes off and throw them out of the car when we were on the freeway (I eventually outgrew this). :p

My mother sold her car in the late 60's or very early 70's. I am almost positive that I remember the hard top being stored in the rafters of the garage. If you have ownership history on it, look for "Pope" or "Thompson" in the past owners. If that's a hit - that's the same car... Which would be one heck of a coincidence! Then again, that blue might have been a very common color.

angela

Good luck and please keep us updated. I have a soft spot for old brit cars, still have the MGB from high school in a millions pieces in my garage.

Let me know if you ever want some help wrenching on it.

Sweet!

Jim - want to grind/drill some spot welds. I've be working on rockers and floors for years now. Sad.

I'm going out of town for the rest of March, but afterwards, I can help. Grind, drill, beat on with hammer...I know how to work on British cars. :D

Thanks everyone!
Angela, the only registration I've got from around then is to a William B Curley III in Oceanside, CA in 1969. That name seems like it should mean something to me but can't place it.

Haven't done much, ordered a new fuel line and fuel pump, hope to get those on and then get her moved and start the real fun. I figure it'll take me about 20 or 30 years at this pace :)

I know the feeling, hang in there. I wish I had room for one.

Well, a little progress. Replaced the fuel line and pump, started her up and moved it into the garage (now that it isn't leaking fuel.)

Looking sad in the freak snow storm:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1364688958.jpg

A lot of work to be done, but solid underneath:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1364689031.jpg

Younger daughter inspecting it:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1364689128.jpg

Pcar related fun:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1364689169.jpg

A bit more progress
 

Tune-up, plugs, rotor, points, etc. Radiator drained and pulled off, generator pulled off to paint. Ready to replace the belt (it was cracked in about 10 places.) Repainting the engine bay black (was already black when I got it and not worrying about originality is pretty freeing.) And spin-on oil filter adapter.
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have a radiator shop shorten the filler neck on the radiator. they are prone to snapping. very common issue. the extra length of the filler neck is unnecessary. or, if you really plan on driving the car, install a modern radiator, or a TR4A radiator. much larger cooling area.

also, if you get parts online, use Little British Car Co. up in Michigan. they use the Moss part numbers and catalog...but tend to undercut Moss's prices. Plus they will send you walker's shortbread in your box when you buy parts.

I hope you have a good supply of clotted cream, jam, and black tea to go with that new shortbread supplier.

The ratio for a cream tea is 2-2-1. 2 parts scone, 2 parts clotted cream, 1 part jam. One cup and saucer of black tea with cream and sugar as you like.

The maths work.

Looking good!

Very nice. I had 3 TR4s but never a 3, which I wish I had. Good luck.

Sort of on topic. What is a TR6 like? There is one for sale close by. Looks good from a distance. Red with black top. What are the probs to look for? Had an Austin America with auto trans for a few years so I have some experience with brit cars.

I have two TR6's...they are great cars. Still very British. They sound awesome!

Here are my two:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369767119.jpg

They sound great!

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and Jame May approves!

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Tr6's are great cars, but watch for rust and Lucas smoke.

Thanks. I think I'll stop by and take a look. What's a decent one worth?

Like any car, rust is the killer. Look for rust in the rear of the frame, floor pans, and trunk.

If the car is solid, prices range for $3-$4K for a solid restorable car, $7 to $10K for a nice driver and mid to upper teens (or higher) for a really nice one. Options (which both of mine have) are overdrive and hardtop. Both are worth $1K (each) to the value of a car.

A bit more progress. Fresh VR-1, rebuilt carbs, valve adjust. The carbs had about a 1/4" of dirt and gunk in them, pretty ugly. Was so nice to be able to pull the ONE valve cover and see everything clearly for the valves while standing up. The new fuel pump doesn't have a hand pump for priming so I had to let it turn over about a million times but now she's running pretty sweetly. I'm sure it needs some tuning still but pretty nice to hit the starter button and have her start right up. Steering and tranny fluids etc next.

Awesome, Brian. I think every true car nut should have the experience of adjusting side draft Strombergs or SUs at one point in their lives . . . .

For some reason I always loved turning the key and then pushing the start button on the old sports cars to start them. My Austin Healeys had start buttons, but I have a vague memory that my TR3 had a pull knob to start it. It was a '59.

Good to see you are not alone on this project Brian. Your two helpers look pretty keen to get involved.

My TR's had cable operated chokes in the center of the dash - could this be what you remember?

+1

My 54 MG-TF had a pull knob to start.