One of the great subsets of our hobby is that of postwar British sports cars. Triumph, MG, Austin Healey, Sunbeam, Morgan, and others all came to market after the war with two-seat sports cars. Each accomplished the role in distinctly different ways but still managed to carve out their niche in the market. One of the most memorable was the Triumph TR3. With its excellent performance and low-door good looks, the TR3 is still fondly remembered and desirable. If you happen to be looking for a good project sports car, this 1958 Triumph TR3A for sale on eBay in Altoona, Pennsylvania is looking for a good home. While it is intact and complete, rust has visited the car. A previous owner has inexplicably also left a skim coat of fiberglass in the floor pans. Despite these distractions, bidding is currently at $4,950 with just two days to go. Is this a worthy project to take on to put the wind in your hair?
The story on this bluish silver TR3A is that it is an estate car that has been sitting in storage since 1984. In 1984, Ronald Reagan was finishing his first term as president, Prince released the album Purple Rain, and Michael Jackson’s hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial. Feel old yet? At any rate, the seller feels that this Triumph is a good candidate for restoration after all those years, as it is a complete car with several good body panels.
Some may feel that the seller is damning the car with faint praise. However, it is more of a realistic attitude. Triumph TR3s often suffer from rust in ways that make other cars seem made out of stainless steel. Not only is corrosion often evident in the bottom of the fenders, quarter panels, and sills, but it makes itself most insidiously known in the floor pans and the frame rails. When the seller states that the “Doors, hood, and trunk open and close easily,” then this is a sign of someone familiar with the TR3. Sticking doors is a big sign that the frame is compromised from rust. The hood and trunk, not so much.
On the subject of rust, the seller curiously says that the rockers were covered at some point and looked good. I am curious as to what that means and hope that a reader who speaks Triumph will share in the comments an interpretation. We are also told that the inner rockers have some rust that will eventually need attention and that both the trunk and the spare tire compartment are solid.
To the seller’s credit, there has been some documentation of the conditions underneath the car. The picture above shows some of the worst damage. Especially curious is the sheet of what looks to be galvanized metal over this section of the frame. Behind that section is a rather important spring mounting point that might need close inspection. We are told that the floors are solid, but they have been covered with a layer of fiberglass. The seller isn’t sure why that was done, because the floors underneath look solid. Perhaps this TR3 wasn’t the last owner’s first Triumph. Maybe they fell through the floors on the last one and didn’t want to relive the experience.
Inside is a mixed bag of good and bad news. The seller says that most of the electrical system works as it should except for the temperature gauge. While it is supposed to be a mechanical temperature gauge, a non-working electric one sits in its place. Another notable inconsistency is that the turn signals have an auxiliary switch. The car is equipped with a trafficator, which is a semaphore-type arm that pops out of the body to alert drivers that a turn will be made. It doesn’t currently work though. The seats were recovered but never bolted in and the side curtains and top are long gone. The seller does state that a top bow is present though.
Looking under the hood we see the standard 1,991 cc inline four-cylinder engine that powered these cars. The seller tells us that the engine runs well, maintains oil pressure, and starts easily. The transmission is functional and has benefitted from a new slave cylinder. The brakes, on the other hand, are described as “functional.” This may be an area that the buyer focuses on first.
In all, this TR3A is in good shape for an unrestored car. However, it is also the kind of car that you need to inspect on a lift to peruse the underside. You may also want to throw a magnet in your bag as well for the body panels. Rust is obviously a real issue with these cars. This one is not too far gone, but it will need some work in that area. Hopefully, it will find a good home soon.
That’s one rusty car. When the instruments look that bad the rest of it can’t be any better. Don’t see a trafficator and don’t remember one being on any of the ’58 British cars. What I did see was cars like the Sprites etc using a two way switch on the dash or on the steering wheel hub on other cars. Not sure that this car isn’t a parts car.
You are probably right, if you get enough parts together, then you too have a sports car.
This sort of reminds me of the 1923 Bugatti from barn finds of Oct 26, 2023.
I think the name plate letters on the front of the car are salvageable.
The tum signal switch is the chrome thing at the top of the bakelite? assembly also housing the horn button at the center of the steering wheel.
The rot hole pictured is the bottom front of a rear fender. The galvanized metal mentioned is actually the aluminum rock gaurds visable in the side view. TR3 never had semiphore arms. the chrome knob above the horn button is the original turn signal switch, prone to failure as the wires from it exit the steering column at nearly the front bumper. This car is salvagable but will require lots of TLC or an obsessed owner. Mine started out like this 24 years ago and it still puts a smile on my face when driving it.
Had one while in college, it was a chick magnet.
I had two in High School. Wrapped one around a telephone pole.
Laying in the Hospital bed was a chick magnet.
Boy, that brings back memories. Owned a 1958 TR-3 for a couple of years in early 60s. Loved it to pieces. Had a bit (?) of rust – it got interesting when you had to go through puddles and to put your feet up to avoid water coming IN through the floor. Lovely little car and would love to have one again. But not this one – too much to do on it (i.e. I would expire before the darned thing got restored).
Had one, in about this shape. had a absolute hoot driving it too. parts are easily available for these, so a home garage restoration with a family member or two could well be worth the time spent! When i sold it had no problem at all finding a buyer after a few years of fun at twice my investment. Enjoy!
A trafficator? It doesn’t have semaphores if that’s what you mean but it has signal lights front and back
Definitely a 1958 per the commission number. It appears to have the earlier one-piece steering, adjustable steering column, a rarety. Most of the original capillary temperature gauges failed due to damage to the capillary tube. Mine has been replaced with a very early TR 4 one which works fine (Didn’t have the $500 for a replacement capillary type). These cars never had trafficators. The signal switch on the center control head frequently had the self-cancelling palls wear out and folks put a double throw switch on or under the dash, as here. As far as I could see, the frame is in fair to good shape, not so the inner sills, which have the big holes in them. The “galvanized piece” is actually part of the aluminium stone guards on the rear fenders that you can see in the side photos. The inner sills are available from several sources although it is best to have a professional install them (ask the guy who did it himself, me).
This car is restorable. It is in better overall shape than mine was. The engines are easily rebuilt and it appears to have a nice new clutch slave cylinder in stalled, which may be the reason it was parked in that the new part didn’t solve the problem.
My insurance company tells me that mine is worth more than $35K now (stated value on a sixteen year old restoration) so there’s a lot of wiggle room on this one.
Gone for $7600. Good luck to buyer, this gem is probably full of surprises.