Now this is beautiful!

[kombu_kid]

Would you believe me if I told you I've been trying to get this car for 15 years? I first asked this guy to sell me his '67 Triumph TR4A back in late '91 or early '92 when it was just sitting in his driveway. He said no. One day, the car disappeared. Fast forward to now, I noticed from a sidestreet that it has been sitting in a shed in his backyard since then. Of course, I was back at his door ASAP.....he has obviously gotten a bit older now and realized he'd never get around to restoring it. I threw out a number and he accepted. So it's now a new member of the fold. Made my freakin' YEAR!!

These pics are the car in the shed as I found it. I think to dyed-in-the-wool car guys, this is what it's all about. Barn finds!:thumbup:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b276/MyCammer/P1000757.jpg

[DoctorP]

Congrats! I know how you feel. I've been trying to talk an old guy out of his Celica for years! He's not budging though.

[DocTurtle]

Awesome! Persistance pays off again :p
That's really cool bro. Congrats.

[okisteve]

Nice! A guy I worked with bought one new and we used to switch off commuting from Berkeley to Palo Alto in his　ＴＲ4A or in my '63 Alfa Giulia Sprint. Have fun with the resto. I bet parts are easy to get.

[Muku]

Congratulations! I wouldnt mind driving a car like that around here in Okinawa. Be great for going back and forth to work.

Just out of curiosity,and if you dont mind, because I have absolutely no idea what a car in that condition would cost. How much did you pay for it? Or a ballpark figure?

[kombu_kid]

I don't mind at all....I paid $1750. The guy said that the engine was rebuilt just before he stopped driving it in '89, but the carbs were acting funky so he stopped driving it. I changed all the fluids, belt, & hoses, and put some good carbs on, and she fired up nice! I drove it up & down the street but the brakes were scary! Needs a master cylinder next. Yes, parts are very reasonable from Victoria British in Kansas. They even sell new bumpers, fenders and trunk lids in steel...(among other things)

If you look on Ebay, these cars aren't very expensive at all in this condition....about $3000~$4000. If you want to see some nice high-dollar beautiful sports cars, check out these guys.....

http://wilsonmotorco.com/

Here's another pic of the interior.......it was so bitchin' opening that door and seeing all those cobwebs!!! Like opening an old vault! (BTW, that's an 8-track player stereo):scared:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b276/MyCammer/P1000765.jpg

[DocTurtle]

Looks like a lot of work needs to be done. I hope you post final product when you are done fixing it up. Oh, do some in progress ones too!!

[P_chan]

Cool and congrats! I'd love to find me a nice old car and restore it someday. Of course, I don't have the know how to do that. It would be nice to have a little weekend driver.

[Tanimaga]

Looks like it's still in good condition..how about some engine bay pics?

[Oxmix]

For you old car buffs.

http://thefiftiesandsixties.com/CarsWeDrove.htm

Regards

Ox

[kombu_kid]

We've got Weber DCOE 45 power now!! I've had these beautiful Italian carbs sitting on my shelf since around 1992......just because they're that awesome to look at. So I found an N.O.S. TWM intake manifold to fit the TR.....complete with CNC'd aluminum throttle lever arms, heim joints and stainless throttle shaft on nylon bushings. Just a work of art. Installed them, and she fired right up and idled perfect! Pretty amazing after sitting on a shelf for 15 years. Now I've got a helluva lot of work to do on the asthetics of her.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b276/MyCammer/P1001477.jpg

[NotSoAverageWife]

congrats! I'm happy for you. Good Luck with the work ahead.

[okisteve]

Nice job with those Webers, and it's amazing they fired right up because I'm always hearing about problems with them on old Alfa Veloces. Yours must have been in fairly new consition.

[kombu_kid]

No, they WERE basically new when I bought them......the guy told me they had about 3 hours of dyno time on them from a Ford 2.3 OHC "pinto" motor. I think lousy or misadjusted linkage is usually just as much a culprit as the carbs themselves.....you know, when problems start happening.

[okisteve]

You got lucky to get them. The old Alfa guys are usually dealing with 30-40 year old DCOEs. Lots of little stuff inside that corrodes, wears out, and gums up.

[Tanimaga]

First thing I thought was garden hose for fuel line! Nice color!

[perfect10]

Wow KK it looks pretty good how much rust does it have? It doesn't look like much. And original paint? Not to bad either. Someday I will get another toy. The price was right also. You are one lucky man.....:first::first: It doesn't look like it is going to take much to get it in mint condition good luck and I hope you keep us posted.:thumbup1:

[kombu_kid]

Hey, thanks P-10.....the rust?....pretty much zero, except for a silver-dollar sized area on the front fender behind the R/F wheel where I guess mud and leaves had accumulated over the years. Man, the floors, trunk, doors and frame are just as nice as when it left the factory, thanks to being in a shed out here in the desert all those years. Unfortunately, though, it's got at least 4 paint jobs on it......so it'll hafta be either be chemically stripped or media blasted.

The desert can be nice to sheetmetal, but it's brutal on interiors, so that will have to be redone as well. Not a big deal, everything's available, right down to the last screw or wiper knob.

The trickiest part will be funding, as usual. But it is driveable just like it is, now that I rebuilt the brake master cylinder, clutch master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder......and there is something cool about driving a ratty old british car with the top down.......at least for the time being.