UPDATE – Bryan emailed us that a local individual has just purchased his TR4 for $20,000 CD, so we are ending the auction. Our apologies to those individuals who were bidding on this Triumph.
UPDATE 5/29/2019 – Time is running out on this beautiful TR4! So be sure to take a closer look and if you have any questions for Bryan, leave them in the comments and he will get back to you ASAP.
Reader Bryan S is ready for this lovely TR4 to be moved along, so he’s decided to list it as a Barn Finds Auction! How often do you get the chance to purchase a 1964 car from its original owner? After all these years, he wants to see it go to a new home where it will be cared for and enjoyed. So, if you are interested in making it yours, be sure to bid and if you have any questions for Byran, please leave them in the comments section. The car is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It isn’t in perfect condition, but it’s a nice driver as is and would be a fairly simple project to put back into pristine shape. If you are looking for a British sports car you can enjoy right away, with just minor things to work on while you go, this TR4 is a great option! Honestly, a new carpet set and some detailing is about all it would take to make it show ready.
A closer look at the photos shows lots of shiny red paint. Bryan tells us that the “car drives well and runs well. The paint, tires, and brakes are all done… It’s all here. Original interior. Once in a lifetime find from the original owner. Still, have touch up paint in can hermetically sealed from 1964! The most intact car you’ll ever find. Comes with brand new royal Robbins white vinyl top. Also comes with a tonneau cover from 1965. The undercarriage was oil sprayed. No rust. Its all coated nicely.
There are very few cars that are the perfect blend of vintage and modern; this is one of them. The rugged wet-liner four-cylinder engine provides sufficient power, the roll-up windows provide sophistication (okay, that’s a stretch, but as someone that has dealt with side curtains many times in the rain, I do have a point) and the Michelotti-penned lines are both evocative of vintage beauty and old enough that you won’t blend in with the Miata/S2000/Z3 crowd (nothing against those fine cars).
This really is a beautiful machine and should prove to be a very fun warm weather driver. Be sure to take a closer look at the photos below and leave any questions in the comments below! So, will you be enjoying this TR4 soon?
- Mileage: 68,000
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Title Status: Clean
Bid On This Auction
Peter bid $13,000.00 2019-05-29 11:52:57
stephen bid $11,300.00 2019-05-26 13:46:43
Mark bid $11,000.00 2019-05-26 09:20:59- Peter bid $10,000.00 2019-05-25 13:30:25
- stephen bid $1,000.00 2019-05-25 11:29:59
If you have a beautiful survivor that needs a good home, please consider listing it here on Barn Finds.
Wow. Had to be a tough decision to part with it after so many years.
To have a one owner car this long tells me it is a good car. I wonder if the fog lamps cause overheating by blocking the radiator?
This owner is someone who doesn’t like change. Can you imagine what his bedroom closet apparel looks like?
What an odd comment.
If I did not already have a garage full of cars, I would buy this! I have fond memories of my TR4, also a 1964. The first time I saw a TR4 I knew I had to have one. My wish came true several years later. It was used but I loved it.
I used to have a TR250. On my bucket list, that is, but the more I read about how the 6 was more of a lump than a transformative heart transplant, I moved it off and replaced it with a TR4.
Still on the bucket list.
Did any shop ever make a worthy twin cam head conversion?
I have a 72 TR6 here in Ohio that I bought new Feb 2, 1972. New paint, all new clutch, brakes, master cylinders. radiator rebuilt engine, and more. I have 71,000 miles, and I love it more now than ever.
how much $ where they new?
I think around $2500 in ’64.
I’m not much of a foreign sports car guy, but this one looks really nice. I wouldn’t mind having it. A lot of folks, years ago, complained about Triumphs not being a good car. But, they were only focused on American muscle.
What’s up with the Stomberg carbs? I have had 6 Triumphs including 2 TR4’s. I prefer the original SU’s and still have my SU tools.
I had two cars for many years with Strombergs; a 1970 Triumph GT6 and a 1970 Jaguar XJ6. Low maintenanace but the emphasis was on emission control.
If I recall, they switched to Strombergs from the H6 SUs for emission reasons in ’63 or ’64. Triumph had a habit of making changes when they felt like it, no specific timing involved.
My TR3B has an engine with “TR4” painted on the side of the block with a brush, by what I assume was Coventry’s ’60’s version of inventory control. Then they painted a slash through the TR4 and painted “TR3” right under it. Must have changed their minds during the tea break.
Recall Triumph dealers were nervous about the new model, TR-4
and if it would sell…so Triumph built both TR-3’s AND the all new TR-4 for awhile. (The original TR-4’s did not have the wood faced dash.)
I owned a ‘1962 TR-3B and it was a great car, the last of the series,
and it had a non-synchro 1st gear. Triumph was apparently clearing the parts shelves. Likely why your 3B had a painted slash through the TR-4 block.
That is a good story!
I also owned a 1964 TR-4. I sold the TR-3B because I liked
the styling of the new TR-4…and it had roll-up windows, and the front seats were a bit more comfortable for road trips. I liked the solid rear axle too. I did not care for the IRS suspension cars.
I owned a TR4A which had the dual Strombergs, and the live rear axle. (yes, some TR4A models did have the live axle instead of IRS). I owned it for less than a year, bought and sold in Greensboro NC. I ported the head and reworked the rockers to get a little more lift. Likewise the under carriage was oil sprayed, but that was because it could have used new rings and those slinger rear main seals cannot fight much blow-by. What looks different to me is the valve cover vent into the air cleaners. Mine vented into a port on the manifold balance tube. They are a lot of fun, great low end torque. However that car turned me into a hater of wire wheels.. heavy, and expensive to rebuild if needed (granted mine were abused before I bought it).
A TR-4 IRS Is one of the cars I miss the most. It went away when a large Buick decided to push and pin me into the side of a bridge and narrowed the car by 12″ inches. But roll the windows up on a cool fall early morning. Put the toneu up on the passenger side and enjoy a morning drive as all the warm air from the heater goes over your body mixing at your head with the fresh air of the morning.
One of the top smiles per miles cars in my book. I wish I could afford another right now but too many projects. Good luck who every get it and take good care of it. Make great memories.
Is this original paint?
I would absolutely love to buy this 64 as I miss my first brand new 1963 TR4 so much I can just taste it. @#$% Fantastic fun machine. I’m going to buy a lotto ticket.
I had a 63 TR4 I bought in 71 for $200 from the padre of the local army camp. It was a good, solid car, and very forgiving in the handling and maintenance departments (lots of oil in the sump). I had a friend with an Alfa, of about the same age. It was lovely, but considerably more fragile. These prices don’t reflect the true value of these cars. They are driven by a commodity type market. I have very fond memories but a Miata is far better suited to present day roads. I wouldn’t trade the memories for $25,000, but you can never go home.
@Howard….have owned many TR’s and fewer Alfa’s, but three anyway. You’ve detailed out the paper specs, but in real world driving a TR4 will blow doors off any of the 750’s and 101 series Giuilietta & Giulia’s. Far more lower end torque and, especially with the overdrive tranny ( giving 7 speeds) is far bettered geared for track use. The 105 spiders – yes including the Duetto – are just cruisers – lacking any sort of lateral stiffness, they twist and wallow thru cornes. So much so that the “fix” is to bolt a boxed iron frame to teh bottom of the car (seriously, theres an aftermarket kit that does that…doesn’t help much)
Now as far as design quality – Alfa wins hands down. Small things like interior lights, remote trunk opener and an overall more solid feel, and certainly less rattles
Dollar values today reflect scarcity not performance.
As to value….this one is probably close especially if it had overdrive. Bummer it was repainted, no matter how bad the original paint was. I don’t believe there is a survivor category class for 1 owner, with original interior but repainted cars.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d take a Triumph any day over an Alfa, or anything Italian, for that matter. I’m just saying, for a 17 year old punk, driving an Alfa was quite a thrill.
Incredible car, Bryan. It can’t be easy to part with an old friend like this one.
Completely agree, Howard, RE: British over Italian; had a friend with a ‘69 Fiat 850 Spider-it was fun but always needed work so we would take my ‘62 Midget to get the parts.
He sold his after dropping the trans onto the asphalt while on our Main Street in the midst of 5 o’clock traffic
Second time around for this one. Check my previous comment on May 11, 2018. I wish I could buy this one. It is a very good looking car and seems to be running quite well. Apparently, the seller needs the money. He/she might be willing to accept a lower offer, within reason. Best of everything to seller and new owner. I hope it goes soon.
what happened to this? This shows comments from 2018 and now comments from March of this year and auction is at a $1.00
No bids? relisted? I am confused.
I keep an eye on TR4s when I see them to assess values,, I have a 1966 TR4A that I am never going to get to. Could be a BF listing, but is there no interest on them?
Hi Sluggo,
There is definitely interest in TR4s! Bryan really needs to get this car moved along and has slowly been lowering his asking price. He finally decided to list it as a BF Auction with a reserve that’s considerably lower than his last asking price. As a matter of fact, the current bid is real close to reserve!!! It will be interesting to see what happens as we get closer to the end of the auction though.
Send us photos of your TR4A (mail@barnfinds.com) so we can check it out!
I understand now the scenario, and its a current auction but when I first saw it all I saw was 2018 posts and a current listing with no bids. I understand it was relisted and a current listing. (IMHO the current bids are still well below market value, depending on what reserve is that is one heck of a nice car for that price/current bid)
I would be happy to list my TR4A (1966) sometime soon but need to sort out some things. Paperwork/title and I have to take it to the DMV to complete that, And I want to make sure it starts and runs, Brakes need work but if it at least driveway runs that answers many questions. Starter quit, and seems remanufactured ones are in short supply so rebuilding mine. FIL will sort the carbs as he is a whiz at them, can make them purr like a kitten. So look for a submission sometime in June.
** I did email about listings, And IMHO I think the prices need to be tiered, For example on a higher value car like the TR4 your prices are reasonable, However on lower value vehicles it might need to be lower, but still ensure quality listings. eBay and other sites have the same problem.
Secondly, I think listings both buyer and site hosts should incentivize listings and drive traffic to your site (win-win) so, while maybe listed elsewhere, Buying or orchestrating a deal thru BF has incentives such as “I bought my car from BF.Com” Tshirts, bumper stickers or magnets, hats etc.. Or things like “If you use BF promo code# I include the factory manual, spare parts, and these tools at no extra cost.”
We want BF to be viable and a player, But there is other marketplaces and many are coming on strong so you need to position well. Mercari, Offerup and others are giving FeeBay and CL a run for their money and BF can be an important niche marketplace but you need to carve out a useful niche. Just my $0.02
I look forward to writing up your TR4A! I’ll have to look up your username/email address. We get so many emails that I simply can’t keep track of all the vehicles that have come through anymore!
You make some good points sluggo, but tiered pricing is a bit of a challenge. Don’t worry though, it’s something that Jesse and I have actually been discussing and working on. It’s just hard when you want to offer every seller the best level of service possible!
I love the ideas for offering buyer/seller incentives! We will brainstorm some ideas on how to integrate that into the site!
Thanks for the input sluggo, I’ll be in touch!
Nice number plate – not sure it would make it past the censors here.
This is the third time I have seen this here on BF and I just can’t get my head wrapped around why it hasn’t sold. It’s good looking. It apparently runs well. So, it isn’t American. Big deal. If I had the money and place to store it, I would bid. I really like it.
Any underside photos. Can we contact seller directly?
Any tips/cost estimates for getting it across border?
Thanks.
Although this is not my auction, getting the car to USA from Canada no big deal. Are you going to drive it or ship it?
If you are interested in contacting Bryan directly, send me an email at mail@barnfinds.com with your contact info and I will get it to Bryan ASAP!
Since the car is in Canada, is the auction in Canadian $$$ ? Somehow I seriously doubt it!
I live in Toronto – is there some way to see the car?
Nice little car never drove the tr-4 but have driven the tr-6. I’m sure both it small stature and being as close to the ground as the 6 is it would be a blast!! I think if you are going to have a reserve you should have the buy it now price as well!! I might just hit the button on something like this!!!
Crossing the border is very easy if you drive across yourself. You need the ownership and a bill of sale then you fill out a form and pay a 2.5% import tax and you are on your way home. If you ship it you will need a broker to do the paperwork for you
@sluggo This car was offered for sale here in 2018 but did not sell. Now relisted as an auction. Not sure but I think the asking price last year was around $25K. Clearly my $10k bid will not get there. That’s why I asked if it is possible to see the car but no response so far.
At current bid, thats an exceptional deal. Crossing the border is not hard, But FYI, try and SCHEDULE the crossing if you do it yourself. (Depending on which crossing) But the main gate off of Interstate 5 North of Bellingham Washington can be a PIA,, I prefer the one a little east Sumas I think it is..
But if you call ahead, make an appt, and often times fax or email the paperwork it expedites things. But that being said, we did that for a Norton Motorcycle, the buyer got there and someone had lost the paperwork and had no idea they were coming so a slight delay. However usually really helps to have it sorted out before you get there.
Also, Just MY experience… NEVER tell them you own a lot of vehicles. This is your one and only and a dream you had. Say as little as possible, NEVER run your mouth and tell them you have a collection,or owned a lot of vehicles. They have done this to me and friends and try to say you are crossing with stuff commercially and will ding you for taxes. Go stand in a line over there, get interrogated, and they insist you must be a dealer. I had material for a museum I volunteer at and the vintage club I am a member of and they insisted that proved i was a commercial vendor.
Importing from the US to Canada is not much more difficult except that they insist the paperwork arrive a minimum of 72 hours before you arrive at the crossing point. I haven’t imported or exported that many vehicles, but have yet to encounter anyone who could find the paperwork when I arrived, so always carry a minimum of two extra copies of everything!
Nice but twice what it’s worth. I sold my Red Spitfire with a GT6 hood, Crane cam, Holley carb, headers, performance clutch and brakes, GM alternator, it made 90 HP , and in better condition than this car for $6,000.
You can’t really compare a Spitfire to a TR4. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve owned a Spitfire and really enjoyed it, but they don’t fetch what TRs do.
Looks like buyer paid $20k…. I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn I can sell him.This is a not a XKE, a Healy 3000 or even a MG TD
MB your comments are out of line, you cant compare a spitwad to a TR, and yes,, I too have had multiple spitfires, and I own 2 BSA Spitfires as well, The Spitfire car was at the low end of the spectrum and a entry level market car. Priced to match and the quality, at times matched the price. Great cars if you sort out their known issues.
TRs escalate in value. TR4s are a step up and the TR6 seems to be top of the Triumph line in those years.
*IF* the buyer got that car at $20k,, that in my opinion is a very good deal, no bridges or shade need be casted.
If you follow certain vehicles in the market, you know Blue book or NADA values dont reflect reality. However bookmarking similar vehicles on FeeBay or using search tools for other markets like Craigslist will give you a reasonable window of fair market value.
While slow movers at the upper end,, I see top quality TR4s often advertised at $30k plus and a few at $40k. Do a completed item search on ebay (Adv search) and it will show you the last few months listings, which sold which did not.
While I dont expect to milk the marketplace for my TR4A which will eventually be listed here,, I have been watching for the last few years and a restorable core TR4 depending on completeness and condition sells typically between $1800 to $5000 based on comparables. Spitfires not so much. I paid $250 for my last one and sold it for $2250.
If you got $6,000 for a Spitfire,, you did well my friend, you did exceptionally well.
I bought my first car in 1975, it was a 68 TR-250, with a roll bar, paid $ 1100.00 for it…couldn’t keep up with the repairs so I sold it. Still love that car, wish I didn’t sell it.
You should be ashamed Bryan, flipping a car to make a quick buck! JOKING ;^)
If I had the dough, this would be mine. What a cool road trip that would be-Toronto to Oregon in a TR4!
Good luck with the auction. The seller and the car deserve it!
Hey, i’m from Milwaukie, OR!
Do you know my good friend Juan at Affordable Classic Cars on McLoughlin?
Hi Peter,
So your bid would have put you right at the reserve, but we had just put the auction on hold. Bryan didn’t tell us that he had listed the car locally and that someone was interested in buying. As soon as we found out, we paused the auction and called him to see what was going on. We’ve since canceled the auction.
I just spoke to the owner. Due to a back injury I’ve been stuck at home the last few days but wanted to see the car tomorrow. He told me his customer bought it today for $21k Canadian. That just under $16k USD. I think that was a bargain!!