1956 Triumph TR3 Small Mouth

The time has come to let my '56 TR3 go.   I have used the car as a fairly regular driver and have set it up for such.   Mechanically. Electrically and Hydraulically the car is ready to drive.   I use it any time the weather is nice. and she always fires right up and runs. turns and stops like she should.   Plenty of power to drive in normal traffic.   I have no issues there.   My daily trip is ~65 miles round trip and she's never let me down.   The car is a '56. but it has had front monobloc disc brakes added from a ‘57 TR3.   This was one of the things that appealed to me when I got the car. as I felt it would be safer to drive in day to day traffic.   There weren't too many options in '56. but this car does have the optional rear seat. good for groceries or one person sitting side saddle.   It also has the adjustable steering wheel which means you can slide the wheel in and out as you like and the wheel itself is different from the non-adjustable type with 3 evenly spaced sets of spokes. and it has knock off wire wheels.

The person I purchased the car from had redone the interior and resprayed the exterior approximately 8 years ago.   (The original color was red as well. )  That being said the paint is probably 6 or 7/10.   I think it's very good for a driver. but if you wanted a show car it will need touch up in some areas.   The body itself is original to the car as the body tag closely matches the Comm No. (VIN #).

After I initially got her. I could tell the previous owner had not driven her in a while. so I started taking care of any mechanical or electrical issues to make it a reliable driver.   Here's the list:

The fuel system:

the carbs were sent out to be professionally rebuilt and refurbishednew fuel filtersall new flex linesnew fuel pumpnew petcockremoved the tank so that it could be cleaned. the interior lined then repainted

The brake system:

the original master cylinder was sent  to Apple Hydraulics to be rebuiltall new flex linesnew rear wheel cylindersnew rear shoesrebuilt the parking brake assemblynew pads up front (front calipers and rotors were fine)refilled and bled with ATE DOT 4 racing blue

The cooling system:

replaced all rubber hoses (including heater hoses) and clampsnew water pumpflushed and refilled with anti-freeze

The ignition/charging system:

added Petronix pointless systemnew Petronix coilnew distributor capnew rotornew plug wiresnew plugsrebuilt generatornew voltage regulator

 

The basic engine itself looks to have been rebuilt sometime in the non-too-distant past.   I don't have records of it. but it runs great. doesn't use oil between changes and has plenty of power.   The engine numbers show it to be from a later TR3A. and it has obviously been repainted.   It has great oil pressure. upwards of 90psi even when the engine is up to operating temperature (see pics).   Even on the hottest days it still shows 60psi when cruising; dropping to 30psi at idle.   The suspension also looks to have had some work done to it in the past with adjustable Spax shocks up front and some poly bushings.   The exhaust is a stainless steel Falcon assembly and sounds great.   A previous owner had already installed a spin on oil filter assembly.   I can easily get Napa Gold filters at my local store.   I do have a good number of receipts that date back to 1990 (so 23 years ago) which show that the owner prior to the guy I bought the car from took good care of the car and bought lots of common maintenance items indicating he kept it on the road.   Most receipts from the previous owners. as well as myself. are from The Roadster Factory.   There are some from Moss motors and a few individual receipts from British Victoria. Apple hydraulics. NAPA. etc. (see  pic).    All of the lighting work as intended: headlights. tail lights. turn signals. brake light. etc.

My morning commute to work on back country 2 lane roads is 35~40 mins one way. and I drive the TR3 when the days are nice with no issues.   Cruising along at ~60 mph on a cool fall morning is perfect in this car with plenty of power to keep up with modern traffic around town.  I only drive the car when the weather is nice (I have other cars if there's a threat of rain) so I never bothered to install the weather equipment. but I do have the top bows assembly. a new Robbins top and side curtains.   The side curtains could stand to be rebuilt if you intend to use them on a regular basis.   I also received a tonneau cover. but never installed that either.   The tonneau cover has some damage by the zipper.   I took a close up shot showing it as best I can.

The paint around the passenger side headlamp and the cowl vent are probably the worst part of the exterior paint.   I tried to take shots from different angles to give you a good idea of what it looks like.   The only place I found any rust through was inside the spare tire area.   The previous owner did some clean up and added a rust inhibitor and it has not changed since I've owned the car.   It's not structural so it wasn't on the top of my list as long as it didn't get worse.

I took multiple pictures (~100 photos) of all parts of the car so that you have confidence in what you are bidding on.  Here is the link: http://s183. photobucket. com/user/ericono/library/1956%20Triumph%20TR3  If I have missed something you'd like to see. please let me know.   Also. let me know if you have any questions. and I'll be happy to answer them.

Also published at eBay.com

Want to buy this car?