Disassembled Project Car: 1960 Triumph TR3A
I remember when I first saw a “Sidescreen” Triumph: It was 8th grade and we were watching an ancient 16mm film in black and white. The subject was motion and inertia and other Newtonian concepts. There on the screen was the coolest little car in the world, and I had no idea what it was. Immediately after returning home for the day, I raced into my bedroom to find my Consumer Guide to Sports Cars, where I figured out that it was a TR3A (or maybe B), and I was hooked. Thus, a TR3 always brings back memories of those classroom days, but this one will require some effort to put it back into motion.
Yes, it is clearly a disassembled pile of parts and is being sold as a project car. According to the advertisement, the chassis has been redone, and the engine, transmission, and seats are a part of the package. Judging by the boxes atop the car, the parts to reassemble it might indeed come with the car, but the advertisement is a little vague. If it’s the original engine, it is the trusty old Triumph four cylinder, which came in 1991cc and 2138cc varieties. The TR3A (which is its unofficial name, by the way – Triumph always called it a TR3) was the most popular version of the cut-down-door Triumph, with over 58,000 being built over its production run.
There’s no mention of rust or cosmetic condition, but there’s a possibility that this Triumph doesn’t need a full restoration. If the paint would clean up reasonably well, and if you could get it running, and if there’s enough of an interior to install…well, that’s a lot of ifs. Still, it’s a variation on the classic British Racing Green (nobody can seem to agree on exactly what color that is), and the yellow stripes and steel wheels give this temporarily-windshieldless TR3 a ’60s club racing vibe that might be up your alley.
Considering that decent, running TR3s are currently valued well into the five-figure range, this one may be worth the risk. It’s currently on Marketplace in Mississippi for $4,500, and it’s been listed for 10 weeks. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Chuck Foster for bringing it to our attention!
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Comments
10 weeks? No sale? 4500? What’s wrong with this picture?
Sometimes… many times… buying a disassembled car is a very good thing… you need to look at what the previous person did. If he/she was really caring, there is a good chance the parts are good, the disassembly was ordered and it simply comes down to a change in life and that project gets stalled. That’s a good project to pick up especially if you know the car. The hard work sometimes is just in disassembly. Basket cases scare many people and frankly I couldn’t blame them if they didn’t know what they were getting into. I have gotten lucky in my basket case buys, but I knew the cars. Seeing a picture of a bunch of parts piled up really doesn’t help the sale but sometimes you are getting a diamond in the rough. This one has a good feel to me however I have too many projects. I love these old TR’s!!
I like this project. I have done a couple of basket cases except there weren’t any parts in the baskets. It took me a year to track down the parts for one race car restoration, the rest came as a lump without enough parts to roll them on a trailer. The car l’m building now at least had wheels and tires but nothing else.
Bobhess….somewhere someone will be glad to buy all these mattresses if they could just get that old ‘bathtub’ piece underneath them!!!
Seller (good friend) tried that on me but I told him after I get the suspension and wheels it will be too high for my trailer. He agreed but forgot l brought an open trailer. Paid him $1,500 for the car with close ratio transmission and two engines. Did a little work on it and sold it to another friend for $15,000.
I had a TR3A before I got married in 1979. Last month I found a box of suspension parts in the basement, unseen for years. You never know what you will find when not looking for them. What a hoarder!
Worth more than that in parts and it’s not all that disassembled. Should have sold easily by now