Choices, choices! Today we have three Triumph TR3’s to choose from in three very different conditions. The yellow one is a typical barn find car, said to have been stored for over 40 years and in the same family’s ownership for 50. It’s located in Novi, Michigan and is listed here on eBay where bidding is below $2,000 but the reserve isn’t met yet. The car looks basically complete but quite unoriginal at this point, with rust in typical TR3 locations. It’s titled as a 1962, but according to the chart on this page it’s actually a 1960. I wish the seller had included more pictures in this ad. The black (primer) car and red one are being sold by the same individual. Both are located in Boise, Idaho (Jesse? Josh? Want a TR3?) and are advertised here and here on eBay. The 1958 black car is a disassembled project car that has a lot of work already completed, including lots of welding in of new panels. The car is somewhat incomplete, although as the seller notes, the items not present are not difficult to obtain. No information is given about the condition of the drivetrain other than the engine being from a TR4 and the transmission from a TR3. A full black leather interior comes with the car but we aren’t told it’s condition either. Current bidding on the black car is at $2,500 with reserve not met.
The red car is also a 1958, and has been refurbished to a #2 or #3 condition, with many new components including paint, chrome and interior. It is described as a nice driver with some imperfections in the paint. The red car is opening at $7,500 with a reserve. I’m interested in which one you would choose, and why–the barn find that you would control everything about the project but that would need a lot of work just to drive, the one that has some of the heavy lifting done but is missing components, or the one that is almost finished but isn’t restored to show standards and costs more? I’ll share the one I would pick in the comments after some of you have weighed in.
I prefer “driving” to “working on,” whenever possible, so would go for the red car, even though bidding is getting close to $10K and I’m not a major TR fan.
Some may have had other experiences, but partial restorations seem to end up requiring the new owner to redo all the previous owner’s work. Why pay for what you can’t use? My second choice after “clean and ready to drive” will most often be the neglected, unrestored original/semi-original car that needs everything done.
i too will take the red driver but only after i have a good look at the underside. that seller has more tr’s in the background of some of the photos. nice finds
Me, I’d take the black one. Why? The hard welding’s been done, and well from the looks of things, and that way I can choose the color…I’m tired of red TR’s!