tr3b by Don

May, 2004:

Hi Folks - As you may know my tr3b came back from 7 years of storage / repair on 04/30/2004. It is still fun to drive and I can remember the day as if it were yesterday that I first drove it on Labor Day weekend of 1962. It was the first car I ever bought - $2,600 and I was afraid I never would be able to make the $65.49 monthly payments for three years. I did and over 40 years later it is nice to have this toy. There are only 139,679 miles on it.
It needs lots of basic work - such as a floorboard, etc. As I work on it, you can click here to see the progress so check back now and then.
The main work done during the 7 years was a complete rebuild of the carburetors - to stop the gas leaking on the ground! Also, the overdrive did not work and that made it hard to drive on the highway. That was fixed. Brakes were redone in the last 100 miles (though over 7 years ago).
Looking at it now can scare you to think I often carried two of my children - and sometimes all three - in it with the top down and no seat belts. Julie learned to drive in this, or was it Sally, or both or maybe Buz?
Seats belts ar not required on a car this old. Nevertheless, in 1963 the JC's in Raleigh were encouraging use of seat belts, and I bought a set and used for years. They long ago rotted away, and I doubt they would help anyway if needed.
I drove it

on a skiing trip to Conn once until the snow in New York forced me to turn around and come home.
to UNC football games in Atlanta, Clemson, Columbia, Richmond and of course locations in NC.
to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, when I taught at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
the mountains of NC often and nothing lets you see the views as a convertible. I want to get it back to the mountains soon, after I get it updated some.

For years it gave over 35 miles to the gallon but I have not checked it lately. It needs unleaded gas but none is around and I have to add a supplement if I remember when filling up.
It never had any trouble keeping up on the highway with a tough 4 cylinder engine originally designed for Triumph tractors. It has a top speed faster than any of us want to see in it.
I am pulling together the old pictures I have of it and will put in the picture section below and also in a scrapbook using Sally's Creative Memories products (hint - check her products at www.creativememories.com/sallyhanchett)
Links of tr interest are below and on my main left hand web site menu.
If anyone has pictures of the tr with my family or friends in it, please let me have copies.

dsr 5/16/04

Good tr3b links: