1962 TR3B

In January of 2009, I purchased a pretty solid 1962 Triumph TR3B. The TR3 has been my favorite car for a long, long time. I bought the car from the New England Classic Car Company, and had them handle the restoration.

Triumph TR3's were built between 1955 and 1962 by the Standard Motor Company in the UK. The original TR3s came with a 1991 cc 4 cylinder engine that could generate 100 hp at 5,000 rpm. It had a 4-speed manual transmission with optional overdrive. In 1956, the front brakes changed from drum to disc, making the TR3 the first British production car to have them. Although the car was usually supplied as an open two-seater, an occasional rear seat (which mine has) and a bolt on steel hard top were available as extras. 

From 1957 to early 1962, Triumph offered the TR3"A", which was a minor update from the TR3. The updates included the new wide front grill, exterior door handles and lockable boot handle.

The Triumph TR3"B" was only produced by Triumph in 1962. The TR3B was a special short production run that had the body of the TR3A, but the 2,138 cc. engine and the all synchromesh 4-speed transmission of the TR4. The engine could generate 105 hp at 4,650 rpm, with a top speed of around about 110 mph.  The TR3B is a special car because it combines the styling and disk brakes of the TR3A, with the larger engine and smooth shifting transmission of the more modern TR4.

The one flaw in the design of all TR3's was the handling. The combination of its archaic "worm and peg" steering system and limited wheel travel caused severe over-steering during hard cornering--especially when compared to MG's and Austin Healey's of the same period.

For this reason, I had the steering converted to a rack and pinion system which, when combined with radial tires, should improve the handling quite a bit. Other modern enhancements include a solid state ignition, a backup solid state fuel pump, a modern reduction gear starter motor and a high output shrouded electric cooling fan. Other mechanical work included having the transmission rebuilt and the clutch assembly replaced, All this work will address the most common sources of breakdowns in TR3's over the last 50 years and should make the car a lot more reliable.

In additional to the mechanical work, I also had the old paint is stripped from the car, and any rust on the car removed. The car was then painted Triumph's authentic British Racing Green. In the interior, the seats were still in excellent shape. I just needed to have them cleaned, have the red vinyl parts dyed black and a new high-quality carpet kit installed. Someone previously mounted a stereo in the dash where the glove box door used to be, which was removed, and a new glove box door installed. The dash was then repainted black to clean it all up. I had the interior finished off by installing seatbelts in the rear seats so the kids can squeeze in back there. I also had a Moto-Lita wooden steering wheel installed.

Once all the work was complete, I had the wire wheels cleaned, a new top and tonneau cover installed, and the whole car detailed. It was shipped out to me in November of 2009.

1/09 - Pre-Restoration Pics

Ugly 2-tone paint job	Almost no rust	No bondo in body	Seats are good	Rare rear seat!!!	No rust in trunk	Clean engine bay

2/09 - Stripping the Car - Stripped the windshield, lights, trim, etc. from the exterior. Then removed the seats and rest of the interior. Only surface rust was found inside on the floors and trunk (awesome!).

Let's get started!	Interior removed	Trunk rust free	Floor boards in good shape!

3/15 - Mechanicals - Transmission and clutch/flywheel removed. The transmission was rebuilt (4 speed synchro) and installed with a new clutch + balanced flywheel. Radiator was boiled, cleaned and pressure tested. The engine runs great. Compression is excellent etc. and so we are leaving it alone. The rack and pinion steering conversion has been completed and currently the suspension is being checked and the brakes are being rebuilt.

Rack and pinion steering conversion installed	Rebuilding the breaks

4/24 - Bodywork - All structural repair to the body has now been completed.  Wherever rust was found, it was removed. The car now has new floors, footwells, sills, and rockers from Victoria British. The car is now completely rust free and ready for prep and painting. .

We ended up replacing the floors, footwells, sills and rockers

6/7 - Prep, Priming & Paint - The car has been all prepped and primed and has now been sent off to be painted. It will be painted MG GN29, which was used on the MGB.

Rust in fenders repaired and getting the body ready for paint prep					Heading off to paint!

7/21 - 8/15 - Assembly and Accessories - Clean and detail engine bay, install chrome pieces, new wooden steering wheel, seat belts, driving lights, etc.

Back from being painted	Engine bay	Wiring in new  heater, fan and ignition.	Chrome pieces reinstalled	New bumpers, brackets and overriders	Installing Lucas Driving Lights

9/15 - Interior & Finishing Touches - Restore dashboard, die red interior pieces black to match the rest of interior, reinstall seats, fit new top and tonneau cover, clean wheels, and mount new tires. Test drive car.

Restore dashboard	New wooden Moto-Lita steering wheel	Seatbelts for the rear occasional seats	Fitting new tonneau cover	Pretty much done!

11/10 -  It's Here! It arrived with a couple of problems that needed to be worked out: The hand brake was jammed and something was wrong with the shift linkages, but after my brother did a little tinkering, he got the kinks worked out and we it's now up and running just fine.

Auto transport truck	The TR3 fresh off the truck

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