Car
#Triumph-TR3A
Year of manufacture
#1960
Recorded mileage 16,297
Asking price £23,750 Vendor The Motor Shed, Bicester Heritage, Oxon;
WHEN IT WAS NEW
Price - £991
Max power - 100bhp
Max torque - 117lb ft
0-62 mph (0-100km/h) - 11.4 secs
Top speed - 106mph (170km/h)
Mpg - 26
Mark Elder has formally taken over the long-running family business from his father Malcolm, renamed it The Motor Shed and moved from a chicken house at Middle Aston to the burgeoning Bicester Heritage.
This
#Triumph TR, first registered on 26 August 1960, is an older (’90s) home rebuild that’s still in fine fettle, with a big wadge of old bills for parts and services. The paint is still shiny and attractive, but if you look closely you can find a few slight ripples and bubbles, notably at the bottoms of the front wings, and a couple of small touched-in chips around the front. Door fit is pretty good, the grille pressing is smart, the bumpers are straight with excellent chrome and the aluminium wing protectors are only lightly dinged. It has H4 headlights and sits on
#Michelin-XAS 165 tyres with a slightly narrower 155 MX on the spare – nothing fatter fits in the slot.
Inside, there’s a Moto-Lita wheel plus new hood, bag and sidescreens. The leather is lightly creased and could be original; if not, it’s settling in attractively. All of the instruments and switchgear are present and correct. It’s all standard under the bonnet – except for the chrome rocker cover – with standard air filters on the engine. The oil is cleanish and to the top level, and the coolant full in the radiator neck with plenty of antifreeze. As Elder’s ad implies, this classic British sports car does exactly what it says on the tin – it starts easily, idles sweetly with no mechanical noise and drives really well, with good gearbox synchros, firm brakes that don’t pull and overdrive that works promptly on second, third and top.
TR3s are comfy old things, and this one doesn’t disappoint, so you quickly feel that you could get in and drive it anywhere. Its oil pressure is 50psi at warm tickover and 60psi with any revs, with coolant temperature steady at 185ºF, so the motor seems healthy. The MoT runs until July 2015.
SUMMARY
EXTERIOR
Not concours, but rather nice.
INTERIOR
Hide is holding up very well, taking on some attractive patina.
MECHANICALS
Handles just as it should, and all of the numbers are right.
VALUE ★★★★★★★✩✩✩
For + A gorgeous sidescreen TR.
Against - Minor paint blemishes, though overall appearance is good.
SHOULD I BUY
#Triumph-TR3 ?
A tidy example that drives well, the price isn’t too greedy and it’s gagging to be used. So that’s a yes!
