Edward Woods wrote:
> The car has a white top
> and side curtains and one original Dunlop whitewall tire. The certificate
> says "black top" and "Michelin" tires. I was told that the car's been in
> storage for over 20 years and, judging by the documents in the glovebox,
> have every reason to believe it.
For a TR3, that still leaves 20 years, which is still an
eternity for a car. It could have had 5 sets of tires and
three tops in that time. It could have been driven into
the ground and restored again twice.
It's sometimes hard to beleive how old these cars really
are in "car years".
I bought a 1958 MG Magnette that had been parked in
a barn for 30+ years, it still had 1967 license
plates on it, the glovebox was full of 1967 store
receipts, coupons, small change, and so on.
Even though this would normally sound like a "magical
find, a true time machine, a restorers dream", the car was
clapped out and I used it as a parts car.
Even though in the first 9 years of it's life it
didn't get an insane amount of mileage, it was "just
a car" for somebody and showed it. The floorboards were
tin-roof sections, the engine was knackered, etc...
I don't know your car in particular, but for every
dozen people who beleive they have a really original
car, likely at most one of them really has a claim when
the details are analyzed.
Simply, 4 decades is a really long time in car years,
even it's been parked for 2 of them.
Considering tops and tires are only really good
for a couple of years... I would be very surprised indeed
if your gear was original and still serviceable.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"It is the nuclear missile Harrod's would sell!" - Sir Humphrey Appleby
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