Clark,
>I have a philosophical question for the group. This car is unusually
>unaltered from its state as it came from the factory. What approach
should
>I take? Should I (a) try to preserve as much as possible of the
original
>parts and paint, (b) restore it to the condition it was in when it
left the
>factory, or (c) use the car as a base and add nifty modern parts to
make it
>a fun, racy, driveable car?
I agree with Andy Mace; my approach would be to clean it up and leave
it in as much original condition as possible. As Andy said, a 35-year
patina is most beautiful and takes a long time to achieve. Even if
I were to enter the car in a concourse, this is still the route I
would take; I see way too many over-cleaned over-polished over-perfect
trailer queens that will probably never again be driven the way they
were designed for. At any show, the car that gets my vote are the
*original* cars, not the $25K restorations that bear little
resemblance to the cars that left the factory.
Look in Piggott's "Original TR". There is an original-owner
non-restored TR3 in it that is a joy to behold.
Of course, if you wish to use it as a daily, I would replace the
perishables (suspension rubbers, tyres, mechanicals gaskets that may
be leaking) as these components do age and would be expected to be
replaced. If possible leave the windshield gasket and other seals
that are readily visible.
If I were you and wanted a fun and racy car, I'd buy another that the
work had already been done on. You would find that you would not be
out of pocket as much as you think....
Please preserve this car, it is certainly a very rare and valuable gem!
Having said all of this, "Rags" my TR6 sports a non-orignal DPO Signal
Red paint job over the original Carmine Red. I'd love to take it back
to Carmine, but the Signal has 15 years of age in it and looks
fabulous. I'm torn as to what to do! Otherwise the car is pretty
stock with the exception of "bolt-on" goodies that can be easily
replaced with the carefully-stored original items. Thats they way
I like it!
Shane Ingate in San Diego
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