Triumph : Other Supple Connolly leather with Wilton wool

You are bidding on a 1960 vintage Triumph TR3A. un-restored. The real thing. It has never been parked or stored.   Not something we decided to get running and sell. but a nice car continuously in use since new. Runs and drives excellently. Looks good. Leather and wool look and smell wonderful too. Everything works. Joy to drive. Tight. not a rattle-trap.   Service fully up to date: drive anywhere. It has no rust nor prior major collision damage. Doors fit and work perfectly.   Oily and greasy on the under side. like any British sports car that's on the highway. Paint is shiny. but much spider-webbing and occasional cracks and bubbles.   Not at all embarrassing to drive. Not a show car.  

Before the detailed description. let's take a quick spin in my dad's classic British sports car. the model
"Triumph Sports Type 20 TR3" .



This is a pretty much all-original car. Of course a few items have been changed-out over the past 54 years. but only with original quality replacements.   If you would like a truly reliable TR3 to drive. this is an excellent example. Same owner last 27+ years. but my dad's getting a bit old. and it's time to find a new curator for this machine. It has always lived in the desert parts of Arizona as far as we can tell. Original seat pans. floors. and chassis. without rust. Paint is not original. and upholstery has been replaced with Connolly Leather seats. and Wilton Wool carpets. The seats are unusually comfortable because they still have the original hand-built coil type springs and horsehair. not foam replacements like most TR3s. In fact there are no Chinese reproduction parts on this car. Like the shiny black steering wheel -- note it doesn't have a cover to hide all the cracks and damage -- yet it's original. not a Moss Motors special.   It is a British car. still made of English car parts. right down to the nuts and bolts. mostly its original ones. and assemblies professionally rebuilt when they became worn. Cloisonné hub and bonnet insignia are good. and the chrome is above average for original chrome. Leather cockpit surround is almost perfect.

Optional equipment was limited in those days. but it does have the quick-release windscreen. Smiths heater. and factory luggage rack. It came without seatbelts. but with factory welded body fittings for them. We fitted Magnatex belts partly because they're English. partly because they fit the factory fittings. and partly because the design is so simple. cool. and reliable. They didn't come on the market until the car was a few years old. so they're really not period. but close. All the seat belt hardware is genuine too (nothing from the hardware store on this car). and the webbing was replaced with new fabric maybe 20 years ago. and is still really soft.

Services and repair work has always been done by qualified British car specialist garages. No backyard mechanics have “practiced” on it. No Quicky Lubes. no Joe's Garage. Major service work as follows. at various times within the past 20k miles or so: the clutch was replaced with all Borg and Beck parts. new cross-shaft upgraded with second taper pin and new bushings. gearbox overhauled with all new European-made bearings and new (genuine) Stanpart hard parts. including first gear; rear axle overhauled with all new top-quality bearings including hub bearings; front suspension overhauled with all genuine parts and upgraded with more grease and oil passages; front wheel bearings replaced with – you guessed it – the best; cylinder head overhauled with full-pressure lube pipe improvement. and at that time we found it had already had had newer 2138cc TR4 Hepolite P&Ls fitted; carbs. overhauled with new silicon-bronze type shaft bushings and butterflys. still has original type bullet-proof SU all-metal needle valves and Petroflex fuel lines; original Lucas Type DM2 distributor overhauled by the best builder in the country with breaker plate mods and all NOS new toggles; original generator and starter have been preventatively gone-through (no white-box "rebuilts"; original greaseable water pump resealed preventatively; original windscreen replaced with a new genuine (NLS) Triplex within the past 5k miles.

All lamps are still original Lucas. except the headlamps which are fitted with Carello halogen reflectors. perhaps the best of era. The TR2 third brake lamp was added for safety. but is a genuine Lucas one (not a repro). and wired-in with genuine soldered Lucas wiring. The wiring harness itself is the original and in excellent condition inside and out. The switches are all original. The key is the original too. not a modern reproduction. fits all 5 locks. nice and tight. not worn out (by being asked to haul a load of 32 other keys down the road for years).

Tonneau cover is a white Robbins. perhaps five or six years old. Top is also a Robbins (black) but has only been put up a couple times ever. Hood-sticks (top frame) is white with white cotton webbing. Side curtains are the originals (black) in perfect condition (not alloy repros). We had bags made for the side curtains and top so they don't get damaged in the boot when traveling. Speaking of traveling. it has it's original (tired of that word yet? Sorry) luggage rack. but we don't usually leave it on. The rack fits to brackets under the boot lid hinges and has no drilled holes for mounting.   Has a car cover too. The wind wings are invaluable. In a TR3 without them. you take a bear of a beating from the wind in your face at highway speeds. where these cars are happiest. The crank handle is not original (the “armstrong commencer”. to start the motor if necessary) but it works fine (radiator still has a tubular core with a hole for it. unlike so many others); the jack. however. is original.

Instruments all work fine. of course. and are all . original. Paint in them. glass. and bezels very very good. The blue main-beam jewel is from a Euro-spec car.   As you can see from the video the hot cruise oil pressure is around 50psi. the stable coolant temp runs about 90C in summer. The engine fan is a green Triumph TR5pi fan. not original. but British-made. and necessary for good cooling in our climate. Charge rate stabilizes around 3amps because the battery is pretty new. Fuel gauge is the typical period instrument: full and empty are correctish. and in-between presume that 3/4 indicated = ½. that ½ = 1/4. and that 1/4 = 1/8.

The rubber stone guards on the front of the rear wings are a lot quieter than the metal ones the car came with. and are not original. but really nice on fast dirt roads. Obviously the wheels have been stripped completely and re-painted from silver to colour-matched. The machine screws holding the rear wings. those that you can see when the boot lid is open weren't looking too good. and you can't get real ones. so we had some custom stainless ones made up and put in.   Let's see. there must be other bad stuff to say. Did I say it needs paint? Still does. The leather belt that holds the spare tyre down broke a few weeks back. and we've not had a new one made-up yet. The steering box is original and has never been overhauled. and the time is near. It's over ten years since the last change of master and rear wheel cylinder seals. and brake flexi hose change: they'll be due before too awful long as well. but work fine. The inside rearview has a little failing mirroring. but is safe to use. The tyres are Michelin XZX. all five. and have no apparent flaws. separations. or nasty wear. but they are a bit long in tooth. It has that fuzzy red door rope trim you can't get any more. and there's a worn spot at the bottom front of the driver's door from dragging-boot. getting in and out. Oil consumption is within reason for cars of the period. and the engine is unapologeticly and typically seapy: expect a quart top-off in 500 to a thousand or so.

Thing is. you can get a new-looking TR3. inside and out. so why buy a used one like this? In fact. you can almost buy a whole TR3 worth of parts from Moss. Roadster Factory. Victoria (the usual suspects). They are all reproduction parts though. most made in China these days. and as poorly as possible to make sure the prices are the most competitive. To put it kindly. they're cheap parts. So all you really need is the remains of a chassis and engine block. and you too can build a Triumph. just as good as the factory did. or . er . similar . or. well . it looks like one. from a distance. But even a professional restoration only results. at a huge cost. in an interpretation of what a TR3 might have been like; an amateur “restoration”. which is mostly what you see here on ebay. are assembled largely from the Ace hardware and a liberal imagination. Most don't even have such detail parts TR3s came with such as dashboard and column steady-brackets. flocking in the doors and glovebox. exhaust mount sleeves. jack-hole grommets. or side-curtain brackets in the doors. What if it rains? Oh. right. never rains at the show. Thing is. would you buy a Volkswagen bug with a Rolls Royce grille and wire-basket hubcaps . how about if the paint is really shiny and the car has never been driven on the road?

So the best way to an honest experience of a real English sports car – the smells. sounds. and feel – is to drive one. Say. up the Pacific Coast Highway. across US Route 66 through Peach Springs. and the Blue Ridge Parkway in fall are perfect in a British Roadster. just for a few examples – I know these personally from many trips in my big Austin Healey. my MG. Austin Healey bugeye Sprite. and Jaguar – of ultimate classic sports car roads that are everywhere to enjoy. But you'd need to find a good used car. not an interpretation. and certainly not a show car. One that has been continuously loved. maintained. and never gone under the knife would be good. They aren't all that common. but like this one. still come around.

We reserve the right to end this auction at any time.   Car is sold as-it where is (it is in Tucson. Arizona. USA).   No arrangements for shipping car will be made by seller.   Pick-up times will be limited to 9-5 Arizona time. weekdays only.   Payment will be in full. paid by cashier's (US bank) check. within 10 (ten) days of the end of the auction.   Once payment is accepted by a local financial institution. clear Arizona title. as well as all financial and insurance responsibilities will be transferred immediately to the buyer. and the vehicle and sundries released per the instructions of the buyer.   While the buyer is solely responsible for the safety of the vehicle. he may take possession of it as late as 45 days after the auction.

I am the son of the owner of the Triumph. and in possession of the car.   If you have further specific questions. please do not hesitate to call me. 9-5 weekdays at 520-294-3572. and ask for the guy selling the TR3.   Cheers!

Also published at eBay.ca

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