George Richardson's Triumph TR3 Restoration Page

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" BACKGROUND="images/cooltile.gif"> <CENTER> <TABLE BORDER="0" ALIGN="CENTER" WIDTH="640" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0"> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="180"><IMG SRC="images/tr_logo.gif" ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE" WIDTH="146" HEIGHT="181" ALT="Triumph Logo"></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="280"><IMG SRC="images/trweb.gif" ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE" WIDTH="288" HEIGHT="144" ALT="The Triumph and Tribulation"></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="180"><IMG SRC="images/tr3_roof.gif" ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE" WIDTH="283" HEIGHT="147" ALT="My car as it looks today"></TD> </TR> </TABLE></CENTER> <CENTER> <H2>(or How to Turn a Scrap Heap into Sports Car in 60 Months or Less)</H2></CENTER> <H2 ALIGN="CENTER">presented by:</H2> <H2 ALIGN="CENTER"> George Richardson</H2> <H4 ALIGN="CENTER">279 Harriman Heights Road</H4> <H4 ALIGN="CENTER">Monroe, NY 10950</H4> <CENTER> <P>Last update: 3/04/03</P></CENTER> <HR> <DL> <DT>This story really begins in 1972, when I first saw a TR-3A. She was black, with a rip in the convertible top, black tape on the sidescreens and a tattered interior. The owner wanted $150 and I wanted her, but my father refused to allow it. Instead he took my money and got me a nice beat up American car. Twenty years passed, and along the way I acquired a wife, 2 kids, a house and a business, but no Triumphs.</DT> </DL> <DL> <DT></DT> <DT>On a business trip to Santa Barbara in 1993, I met a fellow who had a TR6 and a few books about Triumphs. That night I called my wife. "Honey, I'm going to buy a TR3". Needless to say, she was less than thrilled. Nevertheless, I scouted about for <A></A>a few months, but found nothing locally (at the time I lived in northern New Jersey), and was unwilling to buy a car I couldn't look at. As it turned out, I doubt that I could have done worse if I had bought a car sight unseen.</DT> </DL> <DL> <DT>Eventually, we decided to move from our hometown. Business was good, but taxes were getting too high and the town was getting run down. The search for a house started. Then I saw the ad. "1957 TR3, runs good, needs work -$2000 firm".</DT> <DT></DT> <DT>I went, I saw, I drove it a bit. I liked it even though it looked like hell. The owner had done a lot of mechanical work on it and pointed out the blatant problems with the body. So, I bought it. As it turned out, the price was the only thing firm about the car!</DT> </DL> <P>A friend of mine stored the car on his lot while we found a house, went through the pain of selling our house, buying the new one and moving. We moved in in January. In March, I rented one of those trailers that carries the front wheels while the car drags behind, and moved the car to my new home. </P> <DL> <DT>Five years passed before the car was back on the road. I'm quite pleased with it and consider my investment of time and money well worth it. Because I've done every bit of work on the car myself, I don't worry about driving it, since any damage that can occur (short of total demolition) I've already repaired! I've also added a couple of other British cars to the stable. After suffering quite a few family fights about who got to ride with me, I bought a Triumph Stag that had been sitting in a garage for 12 years. I spent two years making a daily driver out of that. I've also picked up a 1975 Triumph TR6 that I won on an Ebay auction for $500. That one is primarily a bodyworking job, since it seems in good shape mechanically. We're about halfway through, and it'll go to my oldest son when it's dome. </DT> </DL> <P>However, none of them can hold a candle to the TR3. It's worth every minute I've spent.</P> <DL> <DT>The story of what I've done with the car is on the other pages you'll find here.</DT> </DL> <P></P> <P></P> <CENTER> <TABLE BORDER="2" ALIGN="CENTER" WIDTH="400" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0"> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/tr-car.html"> The Car: 1957 TR-3, TS15559L</A></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/partscar.html"> The Parts Car: 1958 TR-3A, TS30702L</A></TD> </TR> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/tr-car.html"><IMG SRC="images/car.gif" ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/partscar.html"><IMG SRC="images/wcarb.gif" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> </TR> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/welding.html"> The Bodywork </A></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/repairs.html">Mechanical Repairs and Trim</A></TD> </TR> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/welding.html"><IMG SRC="images/welder.gif" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> <TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="200"><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/repairs.html"><IMG SRC="images/tools.gif" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> </TR> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/partsale.html">Parts For Sale or Trade</A></TD> <TD><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/tr-status.html">Current Status</A></TD> </TR> <TR ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="MIDDLE"> <TD><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/partsale.html"><IMG SRC="images/carparts.gif" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/triumph/tr-status.html"><IMG SRC="images/clock.gif" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></TD> </TR> </TABLE></CENTER> <P>If you've got a question or comment about something I've done, or are interested in any spares I might have, you can send me E-mail me or US snail:</P> <CENTER> <DL> <DT><A HREF="mailto:gprtech@frontiernet.net"><IMG SRC="images/mailbox2.gif" ALIGN="MIDDLE" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100"></A></DT> <DT><A HREF="mailto:gprtech@frontiernet.net">Email: gprtech@frontiernet.net</A></DT> </DL></CENTER> <P></P> <P>Also, If you're interested, you can check out my business web pages:</P> <CENTER><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com"><IMG SRC= "../images/key_men2.gif" ALT="Merlin Group Inc" WIDTH="230" HEIGHT="100"></A></CENTER> <CENTER><A HREF="http://www.key-men.com/merlin/index.html"><IMG SRC="../merlin/images/mbutton.gif" ALT="Merlin Group Inc" WIDTH="230" HEIGHT="100"></A></CENTER> <P>Links to other Triumph sites:</P> <CENTER><A HREF="http://www.vtr.org"><IMG SRC="images/vtr-logo-small.gif" WIDTH="111" HEIGHT="103"></A> <P><A HREF="http://www.vtr.org">The Vintage Triumph Register</A></P></CENTER> <HR> <P></P> <CENTER> <P>You are person number <IMG SRC="http://counter.digits.com/wc/-d/6/-c/13/-rz/merlingroup" ALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="90" HEIGHT="20"> to view our attempts at creativity.</P> <P>This page copyright © 1996 Merlin Group Inc.</P> <P><SMALL>This Web Site was prepared with <A HREF="http://www.sq.com">SoftQuad HoTMetal</A> technology.</SMALL></P> <P><A HREF="http://www.digits.com/"><IMG SRC="images/wc.gif" WIDTH="216" HEIGHT="23"></A> </P></CENTER> </BODY>