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This 1963 TR4 is listed here on craigslist for $4,500. It’s supposedly a barn find, but the the seller doesn’t provide any more information. Imagine a stuck engine and lots of rust (it’s in the Detroit area). It does look complete except for the top though. It would be interesting to know more about this TR4. What if the engine turns and it’s not rusted?
Some “barn finds” just aren’t worth what their sellers expect, and this looks like a perfect example: bad photos, no details, and what can be seen doesn’t look particularly enticing. Just guessing, but I’d say this car has had a rough life.
I’m sure TR4 fans will be much more forgiving, but I’d expect a runner with much less rust for $4.5K. You’d have to have some kind of special connection to this particular car — or a garage-full of body, interior and mechanical spares — to give it a chance.
This is, at best a $1000 parts car. I don’t see a single area in the car that doesn’t require lots of work. There are no pictures of the problem areas, ie. Rockers, frame, rear deck, trunk, and floors. The hood has taken a hit, and the interior looks like a war zone. Maybe another couple of decades in a garage will see desirability catch up with inflation.
Could be worth a look if you’re in the Detroit/Windsor area and you really crave a Triumph. But with these bad cellphone photos what you know at this point is that it’s a TR4 that has most or maybe all of its main components and a messed-with interior.
Agree with RayT that unless the body, frame, and drivetrain are good—which seems unlikely—it’s overpriced.
seller is not putting much effort into selling this. needs a lot more photos/text. i too see just a parts car. interesting find
I’m looking to take on a TR4/4A some day. TR250? My grandfather sold them when new, so I’d like to get one some day. This one is too far away for me to consider, and I guess I have to agree that it may be too rough to be anything more than a parts car. Nice to see them come around. I’ll watch to see how it sells.
I restored my own TR4 which was probably not a lot better than this at the start, but it was a real labor of love and it took many years. I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand it does appear to be largely complete and reasonably original which is obviously a good thing. Looking at the shot under the hood for example, it seems to have the original carbs, air filters etc. On the other hand, you know that every soft perishable component, every seal, fabric trim, sat covers, carpet, dash pad, will all be ruined and will need replacement and that is going to add up very quickly – and that’s in addition to the obvious bodywork and paint, probable mechanical overhaul, etc etc. I’d say it is a little over-priced for what it is.
So, economically this one is a poor bet. You’d be better off spending more and starting with one that is in much better condition. Yet, for the right person with good DIY skills to work on this at home, and the time and patience to see it through – this is still a viable restoration candidate and it would be a great shame to see it parted out and lost forever?
This car is reminiscent of the TR250 I’ve tried to buy off my neighbor for the past, literally, 20 years. Having sat outside on a stone driveway in the NE for that entire time and with only a succession of cheap covers to protect it from nature’s wrath, you can well imagine its present condition. Absolutely ZERO maintenance has been performed on the car during this entire time, not even spraying a little oil in each cylinder nor rocking it back and forth in gear to spin the engine a bit, so needless to say the engine is now frozen. The floorboards are completely rusted away as is half the trunk and I can only imagine the shock towers are in a similar condition. I’ve offered him a VERY fair price on numerous occasions for his entropy project, but apparently the car is the major portion of his retirement plan as he wants ridiculous amounts of money for a non-running car. I’ve stopped offering him anything for it as it has degraded beyond the point I would consider it a candidate for resurrection by me in my dotage.