Fellow listers,
I've been on and off this list for several years now, in constant
search for a smallmouth '57 TR3. Lo and behold, I open up my weekend
paper, and there's a local ad for one staring me in the face. 30
nanoseconds later I'm on the phone arranging a visit for Easter
morning.
The car is listed for $4000. It looks good from a distance, in a very
thick fog. However, closer inspection revealed problems. All of the
body seams that would have fender beading have been filled with bondo.
Inspection under the car shows that the holes in the floor pans have
been covered from the inside with large squares of sheet metal pop
riveted in. The rear valance is full of bondo, as is the bottom of
the doors, the fenders, and the rocker panels. Suprisingly, the spare
tire compartment and the trunk floor show no rust or bodged repairs.
Looking up inside the wheelwells at the top of the fenders reveal rust
covered with bondo.
The car drives quite well. The engine fired immediately and ran with
no problems, and the trans and clutch worked just fine. The brakes
pulled the car up straight, I didn't hear any howls from the rear end,
and all of the accessories worked (lights, turn signals, windshield
wiper motor, heater, etc.)
I picked up the April issue of Hemming's, and found that TR's of this
vintage are either in the $10,000-$20,000 range, or they are contained
in several boxes of various shapes and sizes. Interestingly, I
couldn't find any cars of this type/year in the driveable-but-nasty
category.
I am just finishing a body-off, bare metal restoration of a TR4, where
I replaced at least 50% of the sheet metal. I have the
knowledge/equipment to do this sort of thing, but I'm not sure if this
the right car at the right price. I'm sure I could drive it this
summer and probably next before I started to tear it completely apart.
The burning question is, should I pursue it, and if so, how much is it
really worth? Any and all advice on this subject would be greatly
appreciated. Please respond directly to me as I only get the digest
version of the list these days, and I would like to move fairly
quickly on this car if it is worthwhile.
Thanks to all,
Dave Rupert
Dave_Rupert@codl.com
Rupert@oakland-info.com
1967 TR4A
1980 TR7
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