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Triumph TR3A

Triumph TR3A

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Triumph TR3ATriumph TR3ATriumph TR3ATriumph TR3ATriumph TR3A
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Lot number 41
Hammer value £9,000
Description Triumph TR3A
Registration 664 YUJ
Year 1959
Colour Signal Red
Engine size 1,991 cc
Chassis No. TS61481
Engine No. 354719
Documents V5C; one old MOT expired August 2014; Standard Register data sheet

The Triumph TR range came about because Sir John Black, Standard/Triumph’s Chairman of the time, wanted to offer a competitor to MG and Jaguar in the lucrative US market.

A prototype was built using mainly Standard components – a modified 8 chassis and Vanguard engine. The first production cars, the TR2, used a simple and rugged ladder frame instead and were branded Triumph, it being felt that a ‘Triumph’ offered more buyer appeal than a ‘Standard’. It was highly successful, the TR2 running from 1953 until the updated TR3 came along in 1955

Great fun to drive, the TR3’s tough boxed section chassis featured independent coil and wishbone front suspension, a leaf sprung 'live' rear axle and latterly disc / drum brakes. Fitted with a 1,991cc four-cylinder ohv engine developing some 104bhp and 117lbft of torque, this robust unit endowed the TR3 with a 105mph top speed and spirited acceleration.

The car was updated as the TR3A in September 1957 (although never badged as such) with just minor revisions (wider front grille, external door handles and a lockable boot), before being replaced by the TR4 in 1962. Of the 74,800 TR3s made in total, over 85% found buyers in America showing just how prescient Sir John Black had been.

As the accompanying Standard Register data sheet confirms, this particular TR3A was built on 5th November 1959 in Signal Red with a red leather interior and a black hood and side screens and was destined for the American export market. Nothing is known of the subsequent history of the car until it returned to the UK in September 2012 since when it has had just two owners, the vendor acquiring it in June 2014.

Clearly restored at some point in the not-too-distant past, it appears to be in very sound order throughout although we are advised that it has been in storage for the last couple of years, the last MOT expiring in August 2014 with the only advisory being an ‘oil leak’. Said to be in good running order, it certainly started promptly and drove nicely as we moved it around the Brightwells yard for these photos.

Still in left-hand drive form, it comes with a V5C, the aforementioned data sheet and old MOT plus hood and side screens, all in good condition.

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