It appears that this 1959 Triumph TR3 was sidelined by a small fire under the hood. Now it’s running again and while you will still need to complete some work to drive it, this is a far better start than most post-fire projects. It’s currently located in Dallas, Texas and is listed here on eBay at no reserve. Bidding is just over $2,000 as I write, although I expect it to rise.
Yep, that window is too clear to be true. This is a factory hardtop, though, and Moss lists the window here although it’s currently on back order status. I’m not really sure at this point who’d use a hardtop on a TR3 anyway, but it’s there nonetheless. The body is pretty darned solid from what I can see.
This picture illustrates why I titled this post the way I did. The very first time I rode in a TR3 I let my hand dangle out the window opening–and got some skinned fingertips for my trouble! It really isn’t even as far as it looks in this picture. Try it sometime (but be safe)!
As you can see, the interior isn’t that great, but all the parts are available from multiple suppliers. The floors have been fiberglassed over by a previous owner, and I suppose that’s perfectly fine if you want a driver. That’s what I would start with if I had this car; get it running and driving and enjoy it while I slowly brought it back cosmetically. The seller also tells us it has an overdrive transmission — a necessity for highway cruising now.
The seller has included some matching paint that may still be good to cosmetically repair under here and the hood. The engine now runs if you fill the float bowls and a tune up has been performed. Obviously more to come, probably including a wiring harness. But the thing is, these cars are so bloody simple (to quote my very British father) that all you have to do is purchase a good manual and be willing to try. Plus there are many clubs around that have members that would be more than happy to help you. Honestly, if this car stays under about $6,000 I would call it a great buy, and it may well be worth more than that. Please let us know if you end up with it!
I know some people hear “small fire under the hood” and will immediately pass. When I was a youngster, my dad bought a Porsche 356 that had recently experienced a fire and the only lasting impact was that the repainted deck lid didn’t quite match the rest of the car.
It’s a TR 3a.
Ken, although you are correct in modern terms, the factory never actually called them TR3A (or TR3B for that matter).
SU s don’t have float bowls.
Uh, yes they do. There are actually two types, the later ones that have the bowl under the carb (ala Strombergs) and the earlier types that have them beside the carb body. If you are stating that it’s not called a float bowl, feel free, but the cylindrical items on the side of each carburetor body function as float bowls and contain fuel floats.
As a check, the Moss Motors catalog calls them both float bowls and float chambers. Same function in both cases.
Yes, they do.
I always liked the look of the hard top on TR3’s. This would be a highly functional and fun little car!
I see this thing with numbers in white shoe polish on the doors and masking tape over the headlights hot footin’ it down some short back straight somewhere. That’s how I was introduced to many cars like this. Thanks always to my dad and a track within bicycle distance. 3G’s, maybe?