Based on the owner's recollection and some records, this is a three owner car, always in New England. The second owner had her from 1970 to 1982 and in 82, the current family purchased her. The owner was an engineer and kept meticulous records. There are 39K miles shown on the odometer, TMU.
In around 87 the car was pulled apart and fully restored, engine rebuilt, new suspension bits, new paint, etc. The family enjoyed and drove the car regularly and as the kids grew, he also started getting into driving in a more sporting manner. In 2002 he purchased a Zink and started racing in SCCA club races and later would buy a Formula Ford PRS (separate listing for the race car).
In 2016 it was decided that the TR3A was getting tired and needed to be gone through again. He started pulling her apart and as an engineer, EVERY THING was labeled, tagged, bagged and organized into plastic bins, with many of the new bits still in their original packaging/boxes.
Unfortunately, health issues pulled him away from the project and by 2018, he was looking into having someone else tackle the restoration. More health issues continued to plague him and the entire project was at a stand still. Worse still just a year ago, he passed away.
The car is disassembled, so to speak. The engine and transmission are out and the engine is apart (all bits for it ARE present and tagged and binned.) He had purchased a new header and some exhaust pieces along with a lot of small electric items, new rubber weatherstripping, new top. The seats are placed in the car but are not bolted in, the bonnet is not attached but is on the car, the front nose, grill and bumper are not on the car (it was placed on the car for photos) but all come with the car.
The car also comes with a bunch of extra parts from a previous TR3A he had. Grill, rear axle, door skins, fender, bonnet. A new tanneau cover comes with the car as well.
The way I see it, there are two primary options:
One would be to rebuild the engine and transmission, color sand the body, clean up everything, install the new bits, and reassemble her with a new engine and trans and then enjoy her. The car is very solid, no rust, so going this route would be wholly acceptable and would shorten the time between purchase and driving enjoyment.
Second option of course, is to complete the tear down and create a brand new car, by blasting and coating the frame, suspension pieces, axle, etc. Doing the same with all the red body pieces and going with your own choice of pigment or staying with the original red.
With every aspect of the car rebuilt and/or new, reassemble and get out and drive her as she was built and designed to be.
This is 65 year old technology. No power anything, disc brakes in front and drums in the back, not even rack and pinion steering. The 2L 4 cylinder is powerful enough (about 100 HP) to move her with the assistance of the 4 speed manual transmission, the included header may help bump that a hair. An old saying is that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
The Triumph TR3A is the epitome of British sports car driving and heritage.
This is a great car to get into for a winter project and have ready for the road in spring/summer.If you're anything like the last owner, rebuilding her is part of the enjoyment and getting her out on the road is extra special as you did most of the work yourself.
When complete, you'll have car worth 4-5 times the current purchase price of $6500.
Any questions, for many more photos and a video, to schedule an inspection or to make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
