Your Project, Your Story: Pat Boyle’s 1960 Triumph TR3-A

This sports car was a “barn find” in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, in 1998. After owning and partially restoring two other TR-3’s over the years, I decided to take this car completely apart and put it back together to new factory condition.

The car is a 1960 Triumph TR3-A and has a 2,138 cc straight OHV 4-cylinder engine. This 100-horsepower, 100 mph affordable production sports car was produced in Coventry, England, between 1957 and 1962. Most were fitted with left-hand steering and shipped to the U.S.

Fortunately, most of the parts were light enough for me to handle during the restoration, which helped move the timeline up. Working on cars in your garage, whether as a high schooler (which I did in the ’60s) or as an adult, creates an opportunity for all your buddies to help and enjoy the process as a social event. This restoration took five months, and I enjoyed the help and daily visits from my next-door neighbor, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. John McCanlies, who gave tips from cars he owned and kept me updated on his son Tim’s career

Patience is important when disassembling rusty car parts. Every bolt had to be sprayed with a rust treatment to free it up. Sometimes, several days went by before bolts broke loose. Rusted body parts, such as floor pans and rocker panels, had to be cut out and replaced with new aftermarket pieces, which for some reason never just fit right in. A certain amount of metal work was always required. I restored the bodywork, primed all metal and painted the enclosed surfaces. Final paint was applied in the controlled environment of a paint shop.

Engine work was minimal. I took the cylinder head to a machine shop for cleanup, ran all the hoses, wiring harness, belts and electric components. A local brake shop handled the suspension upgrade — all new bushings, rubber spacers and brake work. I gave them instructions to rotate the front coil springs 180 degrees so that the relaxed side of the spring was now giving the A arm assembly more lift and the car was taller on the road.

After reassembling the frame and body components, the body was dropped back on the frame (with new tires), leveled and shimmed for permanent operation. An upholstery kit was installed. All chrome was replated, and a new aluminum grille, rock shields, emblems, mirrors, luggage rack and wire wheels were installed.

The car drives fairly stable and fast. Driving the TR3 at high speeds requires that you be aware of a steering characteristic that causes the inside rear wheel at a hard turn to usually lift from the road, causing an “Oh, wow!” feeling for the driver.