LOT 175 - 1960 Triumph TR3A

ABOUT THIS CAR

“A real dual-purpose sports car that can work all week and win in competition on weekends.” Sports Illustrated, August 1955.

Into the ‘export at all costs’ post-war sports car market the Standard Motor Company launched the immediately successful Triumph TR2 in 1953 (the “TR1” having been labelled a ‘death trap’ by its development engineer), which ultimately spawned the similar looking TR3, Italianate (Michelotti) TR4 and 5 and Germanic (Karmann) influenced TR6 (we won’t go any further along the TR timeline…), all with broadly similar separate chassis underpinnings; twenty-three years with just a few tweaks proves just how good the original TR running gear was. Well-engineered and with good performance, the first two iterations of the TR range were perhaps visually a little ‘pre-war’ with bodywork showing the remnants of separate wings. However, with a little imagination, a low light, a squint and perhaps a pint of Landlord or two, it is surely not that dissimilar to a late 1930s BMW 328 (go on, try it, especially the Timmy Taylors bit), right down to the prominent headlights and aluminium stone guards protecting the rear wings and you don’t hear anyone complaining about the Germanic sportster’s looks.

As their quoted Road Test of 1955 ably demonstrated, Sports Illustrated certainly took to the two-seater Triumph, lauding the “sports/racing” car’s performance, versatility, comfort, finish and luggage space, though they were somewhat less flattering about its looks commenting, “When the TR's bug-eyed headlamps have been removed and the front slightly redesigned, it will also be a handsome car.” They seemed particularly impressed that as Triumph’s Competitions Director Ken Richardson pointed out, in a virtually standard machine at 120 MPH on the Mulsanne Straight during that year’s Le Mans 24 hour race one could “steer with one hand and light a cigarette with the other”. You could certainly choose which way to kill yourself in those days…

Evolving from the TR2 to TR3 the Triumph’s two litre wet liner engine’s output rose at first from 90 to 95 BHP courtesy of larger H6 SU carburettors with a further 5 BHP being added via a high port cylinder head and larger manifolding. Come 1956 ground breaking front discs were swapped in for the original drums, the first time a mass produced British car had been so equipped, just three years since they had made their competition debut at Le Mans on the Works Jaguar C-Types; these gave the TR3 a significant advantage over its rivals from the likes of MG and Austin Healey.

In 1957 the TR was treated to what today would be referred to as a ‘facelift’ which included a full width front grill in place of the original ‘jet intake’. While this certainly freshened up the Triumph’s looks, its practicality received a significant boost too with the addition of external door handles and a lockable boot. Though never officially named as such, these examples are commonly referred to as TR3As.

Even on a gloomy late autumn day this Triumph looks absolutely superb, resplendent in its Powder Blue paintwork and contrasting weather gear. Comprehensively restored by a gifted and experienced motor engineer for his own use in the early 2000s, it has stood the test of the next twenty odd years remarkably well; a testament to the quality of the work carried out and the care lavished on it since.

The body displays very good panel fit and the shut lines are amongst the better ones we have seen on a separate chassis car. There are absolutely no blebs or rust bubbles anywhere to be seen. Nit picking the seam sealant on the sills is slightly uneven but we are really looking for something to fault here.

The paintwork is smooth and even with a good lustre; it has clearly been expertly applied. Given it is some twenty plus years old, this is remarkable in itself given its condition today.

For the most part the chrome-work is in similarly lovely, blemish-free condition and it sits well against the TR’s high-quality paint. There is no pitting or oxidation and items such as the screen pillars and Lucas spotlights look box fresh. Being hyper-critical, the door handles have just the slightest spots of discolouration but could respond well to a polish.

There is a full set of top-quality mohair weather-gear including a zipped tonneau cover (complete with storage bag) and three window hood along with side screens, all in navy blue which offsets the paintwork superbly. Everything is in excellent condition and appears to be barely used. Again, really looking for areas to criticise, the Perspex side windows have a little light wear where the fronts and rears overlap.

Be they glass or plastic, the light lenses are crack and scratch free and the windscreen is in similarly unmarked condition.

Top quality Michelin XZX tyres with generous tread depth remaining are fitted to the correctly silver painted and unmarked wire wheels, sourced from renowned suppliers Motor Wheel Service.

Inside the bucket seats are clad in superb, soft, navy blue leather, piped in a paler blue. More ‘Vintage’ in shape than say a TR4’s they are very comfortable and supportive. The leather extends to the rear of the cabin, door trims and cockpit surrounds making this a surprisingly opulent environment. The good quality carpets are in a similar shade of navy blue with matching edging and as with the weather gear, the trim works very well with the pale blue bodywork. The Factory correct ‘banjo’ steering wheel is nice to see as is a full set of white on black instruments which are arranged on the neatly ordered dashboard below which is the stubby, short throw gear lever. To the right of the main dials is the switch for the overdrive which operates on the top three gears, the ‘O’ in the chassis number confirming its fitment from new. Inside the good sized boot (a benefit of the TR’s elegantly long tail) there are just a few marks to the exposed rear wheel arches but under the carpet the metal and paintwork are in very good condition. All is similarly solid in the spare wheel well.

Accessed by releasing a pair of twist fasteners with a chunky ‘T’ key, the engine bay is very clean, tidy and orderly as well as being refreshingly simple. The original brass topped carburettors, mesh air filters, hydraulic fluid reservoir, a full set of body tags and ‘commission’ plate are all in place while an aluminium rocker cover is aesthetically a nice after-market touch which has the practical benefit of keeping the tappet noise down too.

The TR’s excellent condition top-side is matched underneath; an arguably more important if less visible area. It is rock solid in terms of both body and chassis with no corrosion evident anywhere and pin sharp seams throughout as can be seen in the photo gallery. The various nuts and bolts are clean and oxidation free while the finish on suspension components remains intact. There is just the lightest coating of ‘protective’ oil from the various major mechanical units but for the most part it is admirably dry and despite a light smattering of puddle-water in the wheel arches, it looks as though the TR might have never been used in the rain. Well-greased trunnions, steering joints and so on point to conscientious maintenance.

With the choke out the TR’s rebuilt engine, now just nicely run in, starts on the first touch of the push button starter, intuitively sited adjacent to the ignition key - and you thought ergonomics were a recent thing. When stone cold the oil pressure reads a very healthy 80 PSI. After a minute or two the choke can be dispensed with and the engine idles smoothly at 800 RPM according to the cable driven tachometer, with 65 PSI showing on the Jaeger oil pressure gauge. The dynamo gives a good positive charge of around 10 amps just post engine start.

With the fly-off handbrake released and first gear snicked via the positive, close gated change, the Triumph moves off the line smoothly thanks in no small part to the exceptionally torquey engine. The cam and lever steering arrangement appears well set up and gives surprisingly little away to the rack and pinion arrangement of later TRs.

The well-stocked documents file makes fascinating reading and given a little time one can unravel the TR’s history from day one. A 'Green' logbook dates from 1968 but was issued to the original owner, Mr Attwood of Weybridge in Surrey, as a replacement, the Triumph having been registered on 17^th June 1960. It lists the next two owners as a Mr Lownes of Farnborough who bought the Triumph in 1969, and a Mr Paul Pinsent of Farnham who acquired the car in 1973. A computerised Registration Document picks up the story in 1982 when the Pinsent family still owned the car (Peter by this time) and it was domiciled in Lowestoft. By 1999 the TR was in storage at a coach-trimmers in Horsford that the Pinsent family were associated with. It was here that it was noticed by a Mr John Marsham, a motor engineer originally apprenticed at East Coast Motor Company just up the road in Aylsham, who had popped in to have some work carried out to his 1927 Rolls Royce 20/25. Though his initial attempts to purchase the Triumph were rebuffed, eighteen months later he was able to prise the car out of the hands of Mr Ian Pinsent and he embarked upon a full ‘body-off’ restoration. The engine was rebuilt including replacing the pistons, bearings and cylinder head while the rest of the car was mechanically gone through with a new clutch fitted and steering system overhauled. The bodywork was repainted and the interior retrimmed as detailed above. Once completed the TR was used by Mr Marsham and his wife primarily for touring around Norfolk and Suffolk and it was apparently never used in the rain. At nearly eighty years of age and with the Triumph being used less and less, in 2011 Mr Marsham decided to sell and it was bought by a classic car dealer who sold it on to its most recent private owner (three years later it should be noted, he was clearly enjoying the TR!), a Mr Robert Tunstall of Weston Super Mare. In September 2014 Mr Tunstall commissioned ‘Consulting Automobile Engineers, Assessors and Valuers’ Bessell and Partners Ltd. to provide a report on the car (copy on file) and they were suitably impressed with both the standard of the restoration work and its condition, with the interior being singled out for particular praise; they valued the car at £29,500. At this stage the TR was showing some 11,977 miles on its odometer, so one might surmise that this was reset when the restoration was completed.

Since then, the TR has covered just over 6,000 miles and purchasing parts from the likes of Revinton TR and Moss, Mr Tunstall has had it conscientiously maintained by Bridge Garage in Weston. The most significant work has entailed fitting of a new clutch with master and slave cylinders along with slightly uprated rear leaf springs and dampers. Most recently a new radiator was fitted in 2020 and in August last year Bridge Garage resolved an issue with the overdrive which they traced to a ‘lazy’ solenoid.

The Triumph’s MOT history can be traced back to 2006 and, 2012 aside, it has been tested every year since then with a perfect run of sixteen straight passes and only one ‘advisory’ in 2016 for a light misting of oil on the rear shock absorbers which have since been replaced.

Current and previous V5C Registration Documents are present in the file along with the earlier versions detailed above.

Also in the file is a letter from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust confirming the TR’s build date and location.

Having sampled this superb, very well sorted example of the last of the traditionally styled TRs, we have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. Looking perhaps older than the way it drives, the experience is different enough to be fun but not so alien that it is stressful - a proper cloth cap or headscarf bit of kit. The icing on this particular cake is the car’s outstanding condition; looking like it was restored two rather than nigh on twenty years ago reflects very well on both those responsible for the work and the owner since then.

• Registration number: 180 JWL
• Chassis Number: TS 77050-O
• Engine Number: TS 77246 E