As a kid growing up in the 60’s, I vividly remember seeing my first Triumph TR3 (and a red one at that). I fell in love with its classic British roadster looks and its low-slung styling that made it appear to be moving even when standing still. I especially liked its small doors and how your bottom was just a few inches away from the road (some jokingly called it a car for knuckle draggers, because you can literally drag your knuckles on the pavement if you want and are near a Minute Clinic). It just looked like a really fun car to drive. The seller doesn’t give us many details or history about this 1960 TR3 or even how the windshield and bonnet/hood got damaged. Nevertheless, it looks like a solid car, is currently in Abington, Maryland and is for sale here on eBay. As I’m writing this, 7 bids had pushed the price up to $8,200.
Signal Red is my favorite color on the flowing lines of a TR3 and the paint on this one looks presentable and shiny. I’m not seeing any rust and the bumpers, grille, shiny stuff, trim, and lights look very good. The seller shares that the roadster has new tires and chrome spoked wheels and comes with a new top and tonneau.
Inside, the simple black cockpit looks pretty good, not show quality, but pretty good. It looks like it could use a cleaning, but I’m not seeing any rips or excessive wear on the bucket seats and I’ve always like the TR3’s large “banjo” steering wheel. When introduced in 1955, TR3’s had standard four-wheel drum brakes but were upgraded to front disc brakes in 1957, a first for a U.K. production car. The seller states “The brakes have been renewed, including front rotors, calipers, and pads with braided lines. The rear brakes have new drums and shoes.” Photos of the brakes are shown in the ad.
Powering this “bonnet-less” TR3 is a 1991cc 4-cylinder engine that delivered 100 horsepower when new. Not impressive by today’s standards, but since the roadster only weighs 2,090 lbs., I’ve read that its performance will surprise you (with a top-end speed of over 100 mph). The seller shares that the TR3 has a CSI electronic distributor with new wires and plugs along with a new coil. For nearly 70 years, these charming TR3’s have remained popular for their attractive styling, reliability, economy, and performance, and will probably continue to do so. Hopefully, the next owner can get the bonnet and windshield issues fixed and get it back on the road soon. Driving a red TR3 with your butt inches off the pavement has to be a fun way to enjoy the open road. Just keep both hands on the wheel and don’t drag your knuckles on the pavement, you knucklehead…
10 to 1 bonnet left unlatched and came up at speed as windshield is raked back to far. Too bad so far away as I have a spare bonnet and windshield :)
I was wondering the same thing.
I did that once. Just HAD to drive it before I had it all back together. And it was a new windshield.
looking for a wind shield for a 60 TR 3
I ran a restoration shop that specialized in TR2 thru 6 cars, and I’ve always been amazed at the large number of TR3 owners who forgot to properly secure both of the hood latches prior to driving. The biggest problem is that if the hood latches are in the “ready to tighten” position, the hood drops down into place and it looks like both of the latches have been turned tight.
The early TR3 had similar latches on the boot lid, but in that case it just meant the lid was loose!
Hoods are fairly easy to find in good used condition, and REALLY easy to find in “post flipped open” condition! The hinges and windshield parts are also available, even NOS or repro.
Hey does anyone make fiber hoods for triumphs?
Trent,
It’s been a long time since I was involved with the TR series of cars, but I doubt much has changed. I’ve never heard of a TR-2 or 3 fiberglass hood [bonnet]. I do recall someone out on the west coast offering a TR-4 & 250 fiberglass hood for racing purposes, but I’ve never seen one. As TR-6 hoods are readily available, I doubt anyone has made them.
If anyone else knows better, let me know.
Fiberglass front fenders [wings] have been around for the TR-3 thru 250 cars for years.
Several people have tried to make the fiberglass front grill and headlight panel for the TR-2 & 3 cars, but the original stampings vary in fit sizes so much in steel, that they require modifications to fit, even the factory made ones. Those front panels were very difficult to fit even on the original assembly line.
Ha! My TR3 was a red 1960.
The hood flying up and crashing into the windshield must have been a regular occurrence—it happened to me!
I had a great time with that little rig!
That would have been around 1966 (when in in high school).
The countershaft gear (in the tranny) was a weak point. I pulled the gearbox on a couple of occasions to replace it—!!!!
A great car that I still have fond memories of (I’m 71 years now!).
The hood flyover into the windshield was a common occurrence inTRs. The Dzus fasteners would wear resulting in reduced tension holding them in place. You would hit the right pothole and suddenly your view of the road was blocked by the flying hood. The hood hinges weren’t particularly strong, so it would often part ways with with the vehicle, sharing your surprise with following motorists.
The steering wheel is large because it needs to be, and yes they are a LOT of fun to drive. I enjoyed mine for quite some time and I miss it every day
Yep, that’s what happened. I was trying to get mine started back in the early 70s by pushing it with a van and the hood flew off. Luckily it went over the hapless driver/volunteer but there ever after it had a tire tread mark on its underside.
Why push, did you lose your crank? There is one for sale on Ebay for $250.00!
This car is a TR3A.
And the grille is aluminium so fairly easy to straighten out if not too seriously damaged in the future. The windscreen is flat glass as far as I remember so only problem is the screen supports and fixings.
Windscreen glass is not completely flat, it has a very slight curvature to it. I had to replace mine once and the supplier had had the new one stored flat, face down, for several years. Since glass is a “fluid”, not a solid, the curvature had settled out of it and no amount of finagling by the expert auto glass installer could fit it into the frame. After much arguing, I got a refund and ordered another from a more reputable source and it went in as slick as can be. There’s a reason that you see windscreen glass stored standing up, even in reclamation yards.
I almost had the opportunity to replace it again when a gust of wind at a car show blew my bonnet towards my windscreen. Fortunately, a spectator admiring my engine grabbed it before any damage occurred. His stop, however, caused one of the dzus fasteners to launch out of its hole. It was found days later in the cockpit.
Yes, I see it is a TR-3A.
Triumph TR3A-TR3B Hand Crank, engine starting handleOpens in a new window or tab
Pre-Owned
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The title of this article should be “Needs a Bonnet and Windscreen […]”.
Windshield is American English, so if you decide to use bonnet instead of hood….
Guess the boot is fine?
I have a 59 that I’m currently restoring, they’re great little cars. This one looks like a nice driver, find a bonnet and windscreen and enjoy.