Sorry it has been so long. I have had a bad case of the "Don't give a damns." Just to recap what is goin on here, I am posting up the log Tim is keeping about my "restoration," if you can even call it that. This should get you caught up with the latest "progress."
8/14/10: It has been over a month since I spoke to Jeff Sloan, and he still hasn’t come to look at the car, I'm going to assume he’s never coming and am moving on. Today I ground off the last few bolts holding the transmission tunnel in place and removed it. We took some measurements and it looks like the 240SX transmission is going to fit. The shifter will be about six inches further back than stock but that will make driving the car that much easier. We removed the driveshaft flange, the bolts holding the transmission to the cross member, the front cross member in front of the engine, and the bolts on the motor mounts. Now the only things keeping the engine in place are gravity and pig ignorance. We decided to postpone the actual removal until an evening so we will be in the shade while working.
8/21/10: Engine is out and on the floor next to car. Rear of “occasional seat” removed to access fuel tank. Lucas sending unit secured with six screws. Autometer sending unit secured with five screws. Not sure what to do about that.
9/11/10: Fabricated a new mounting flange for the Autometer sending unit.

7/9/10: Mom and I had dinner with Nadine and Willie Park, the source of the car. My guilt kept me from admitting that I am considering a Nissan engine swap. I did admit that the Lucas wiring is going away. I assured them that I am making progress, albeit slow.
7/10/10: The Prince of Darkness has been exorcised from Nadine. The only Lucas wiring left in the car, as far as I can remember, are the big cable to the starter motor and a single wire from the fuel level sending unit. The dash is completely out. The heater core is out. The wipers are out. All but three of the transmission tunnel bolts are out. The last three are so corroded that they will have to be ground off. I didn't report it at the time but the car will need new bonnet hinges since the existing ones stripped out when removed. With that in mind, we are now thinking that we will go ahead and put a “ten footer” paint job on it at the very least. I'm thinking red but John is concerned that the nose is too beat up for a “dark” color. Therefore, “BRG,” black, and dark blue are out. Yellow has been discussed but we’re of two minds as to which yellow. I'm leaning towards “Fly,” whereas John is pushing for “Pale.” I can't get him behind “Plum Crazy” though. I'm not feeling white or “Magnum Vanilla” but John is. Orange might be in the running, but I'm not sure. Guilt keeps bringing me back to “Nadine bought the car in red for a reason” though.
7/12/10: I have not heard from Jeff Sloan about his coming to look at the car. I am about to decide that since I am not building the car to sell, not to mention I don't have the $20,000.00 needed to make this a potentially $30,000.00 car, I will build it how I want it to be. If it turns out to be only worth $2,000.00 when I'm through, at least it will be on the road and fun to drive. Yes, that does mean a Nissan engine. I also like the idea of going bigger for more torque. I think I'm going to push for a fuel injected KA-24. We have the bits and the know-how. John is now on board for “Fly” yellow. I think if we don't go red, we will go yellow.

7/1/10: The fuel level gauge and sending unit did in fact arrive yesterday. Today was a slow day at work so I cut out early and had a chat with Jeff Sloan at British Automotive Specialist about the car. He, as a purist, was not on board with me “bastardizing” the car with a Nissan engine. He did not however have anything to say against the Hot Rod Wires harness. Of course he did not have anything to say for it either but I’m going to take it as not-disapproval. I promised that I would not do any bastardization until he has had a chance to see the car ans assess whether it is worth more to him as a “restorer” or to me as a “renovation” (bastardized toy). He has my number and directions to the shop so hopefully he will come take a look at it soon.

6/29/10: Hot Rod Wires wiring harness arrived. Will look at it on Saturday to confirm it is the same as the one in The Seven. Will begin the installation as soon as the Prince of Darkness, AKA Lucas Electrics, has been totally exorcised from the car.
6/30/10: Received tracking confirmation that the fuel level gauge and sending unit are on a FedEx truck to be delivered to the house today. I still need to make the final decision on engine choice. I have no faith that the Laycock/DeNormanville overdrive unit will function. Also, we cannot make the shifter do anything. These factors, along with my familiarity with the Datsun engines, are strongly influencing my thoughts.

6/28/10: Ordered a Hot Rod Wires 12 circuit wiring harness, 2 1/16” fuel level gauge, and universal fuel level sending unit. The harness is identical to the one in The Seven so I know it pretty well. Had given some thought to wiring the headlights to run when the ignition is on but with this harness it is no big deal to wire it up “properly.”

6/26/10: Worked on removing more wiring harness. Got very frustrated and decided that the Lucas design has got to go. (Six wires for a headlight dimmer switch?) I quit messing with it to prevent further damage to irreplaceable and/or sell-able items. Test fit AutoMeter 2 1/16” gauge in dash. It fit nicely. An AutoMeter 5” tachometer and speedometer ought to fit in their respective holes as well. So we’re now rethinking the stock engine. I'm leaning towards an L-20b or perhaps a Z-20.

6/12/10: Removed driver’s seat and finished vacuuming cockpit. Began the rewiring process. Have the old harness out up to the dashboard. Engine bay and rear of car are un-wired. Removed water pump to see what’s what. Removed wheels and two spline-drive adapters. Test fit 14” Datsun 280ZX six-spoke alloy wheels. They fit nicely and look good. I think we will go with them.

5/16/10: Vacuumed out the floorboards and under the hood. There were piles of crap in the car, literally. Discovered the driver’s seat is on adjustable sliders but the shell is so rusty that it will have to be discarded. Found a significant rust hole through the floor behind the driver’s seat. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that one.

5/1/10: Drove to Oklahoma City for the Regional Vintage Triumph Owners Association Meet car show. Saw lots of TR-3s and got a few ideas. My excitement level is going up, along with the level of “whelm.” I think we are going to revive the car as a “survivor” and leave the patina it has gained over the years. It will be something of a “Rat Rod” resurrection rather than a restoration or renovation. Will it be pretty? Not likely. Will it be fun? I sure hope so. I wonder if Northside Upholstery could do an “Indian Blanket” style tonneau cover.

4/24/10: Took the nose off to get to the radiator. Took the radiator off to get to the crank pulley. Put a wrench on the crank pulley to see if the engine was seized. It turns over! Once the fan belt was removed and the drag of the crusty water pump was removed, it really turns freely. I'm quite satisfied with today’s progress.

4/9/10: The trailer is backed up against the door of the garage. I will be moving the Triumph to the shop and The Seven home tomorrow.
4/10/10: The Triumph is at the shop, finally. The move went well, better than expected. The tire held air long enough to get on and off the trailer. I will tear into the car soon and see what I have to work with.

4/2/10: Spent a few hours clearing out around the car and installing the wheels. One tire was flat and not even seated on the bead. Aired it up and set the bead. Audible leak from the base of the stem. Installed on car anyway. Lowered car off of stands and contemplated rolling it out for pictures. Decided against it because I would have had to roll it right back in. Leaking tire was about half flat again so jacked the nose back onto stands. Cleaned up and called it a day.
4/3/10: Tried to move cars. Got RX-4 off of trailer at John's house but did not attempt to move Triumph. We'll try again next Saturday.

3/29/10: It has been a while. The Seven is up and running again, finally, and the plan is to move it to the house and Nadine to the shop next weekend. I have Good Friday (4/2/10) off and plan to spend the day getting Nadine ready to move.

12/26/09: Bruce and Mel (my brother and sister-in-law) came over to the house and wanted to meet Nadine. I realized while showing it to them that I really am more excited about this project than I am letting myself believe. There is some jaded “been there, done that” attitude, but when it comes time to talk about the car, or show it off, I do jump up and rush to do it.

12/16/09: Outbid, with a $700.00 bid. That puts it over my $1,000.00 cap after shipping. While this engine might have put us a step or two ahead, losing out does not set us back any. Ray assures me that he has seen enough Triumph engines with stuck rings break free and run that the other engine was not necessary. We will see when we get the car to the shop. As an aside, I just looked up the bore and stroke numbers for the Standard Vanguard 1991cc engine: 83mm x 92mm. Using The Roadster Factory piston and liner set (87mm bore) would yield 2188cc. There are also 86mm (2138cc), 87.5mm (2213cc), and 89mm (2289cc) sets available from other sources. For giggles I did a little more math and found that perfectly square (92x92) yields 2446cc while over square (93x92) yields straight up 2.5 liters.

12/11/09: After much deliberation, I bid $690.00 on the engine in KC, MO. At last check, I was winning with a $399.00 bid.
12/12/09: Still winning with a $399.00 bid.
12/13/09: Still winning with a $399.00 bid.
12/14/09: Still winning with a $399.00 bid.
12/15/09: Still winning with a $399.00 bid.

12/09/09: Found an engine in KC, MO on e-Bay today. Starting bid is $399.00 and there is a $749.00 Buy It Now price. Shipping is guesstimated at $250.00 to $350.00 with a $60.00 pallet fee. I calculated that it would cost me $250.00, or so, and twenty-four hours for me and someone to go get it in Fifi. If the bidding goes over $590.00 ($690.00 if shipping is only $250.00) I begin to break even on the road trip. Under $590.00 it is still cheaper to pay shipping.
12/10/09: Received an e-mail from the seller confirming that shipping to Fort Worth will be $250.00 plus $60.00 pallet fee. Was also assured that the later (TR-4) engine would fit the earlier (TR-3) chassis. Was also told that the later engine is 200cc larger with a better intake port design.

12/05/09: Took wire wheels, “new” tires, and inner tubes to John's Kreblechistani tire guy. He was unable to finish installing them. Will return Sunday to pick them up.
12/06/09: Picked up wheels. Three were ready, one had the stem hidden somehow. Waited for that tire to be redone then went home. Unloaded them next to the car. Probably won't install them on the car until the day we go to move it to the shop. Outlay: $40.00 to mount tires and tubes on wheels.

11/26/09: Thanksgiving. Mom invited Willie and Nadine to lunch at Aunt Margaret’s so I will bring the laptop to show off pictures. Laid out main wiring harness in living room. Yikes! Will look at it again along side the wiring diagram and hopefully it will make more sense. Found out reason car was parked, they bought a new Rover and began using it as the daily driver.
11/27/09: Did not look at wiring harness along side wiring diagram as tentatively planned.

11/25/09: The rest of the wiring harness, I assume since I haven’t opened it yet, arrived. Still no immediate plans to mess with it. Oh, I may lay it out, along with the poster-sized wiring diagram Nadine gave me, and grok the routing and such on Friday.

11/20/09: Ordered four inner tubes so we can install Nadine's “new” tires on the questionable wire wheels and make the car roll. Outlay: $114.85 with shipping.
11/23/09: Part of the wiring harness and the inner tubes arrived. No immediate plans to mess with them yet.
11/24/09: Further investigation is turning up more evidence that the bolt pattern under the spline drive adapters is, in fact, 4x4.5” just like a Datsun.

11/19/09: Removed wheels today. They came off surprisingly easily. The car sits on jack stands at the moment waiting for me to have tires and tubes mounted so it will roll. It also looks like the bolt pattern holding the spline drive adapters on is 4x4.5, just like a Datsun! This will be a monumentally awesome development if true.

11/18/09: After researching conversion from positive to negative earth, ordered main wiring harness, two headlight sub-harnesses, front (turn signal & park light) sub-harness, steering column (turn signal & horn) sub-harness, low tension coil to distributor sub-harness, overdrive switch to relay sub-harness, and overdrive relay to solenoid sub-harness. These items should totally rewire the car. Outlay: $429.19 with shipping. Nadine delivered signed title and title transfer to mother today. She was pleased with the “Thank You” gifts.

11/17/09: Attempted to get together with Nadine to sign title and title transfer form. We were too late to get to a (superfluous) notary. Mother bought token “Thank You” gifts for Nadine for when the paperwork does happen. Still unsure if car is a gift or purchase. Leaning towards “probably a gift.”

After this post, I will stop making comments before the entry.

11/14/09: Space is made in garage by moving The Seven to the shop. John Roper and I take truck and trailer to Nadine’s house to pick up car. We discover, much to my relief, that the wheels WILL roll as the parking brake had not been set all these years. Once in the open, more pictures were taken. Car winched onto trailer with little drama. Once secured, and all spares loaded, car was taken to car wash where John insisted on hosing the dust off. In hindsight, I am glad he did. At the house, Gregg Gary helped unload and secure in garage. Spare parts taken to shop.
11/15/09: “Pickling Solution” (50/50 mix of Marvel Mystery Oil and Automatic Transmission Fluid) purchased and introduced into cylinders via spark plug holes. Spark plugs look good, slightly black and sooty. Oil on dipstick looks remarkably good, still clear and fresh looking. No viscosity check performed however. Decided to wait on jacking the car to stands for wheel removal.

I would like to point out that I am deleting the hyperlinks in the original since I do not know how to make them work. The previous post had links to some pictures. I just thought you might like to know that.

11/11/09: Nadine dropped off some letters to mother. These included the following. A letter from Standard-Triumph making sure she had made arrangements to have the car shipped to the states as she was taking delivery at the factory. A letter from the Cunard shipping line confirming the car was on board the RMS Britannic sailing from Liverpool, England to New York, USA on 11/11/58. (This information excited me because the RMS Britannic was the sister ship to the infamous RMS Titanic. Unfortunately, the White Star Line had three ships named Britannic over the years. This was the third and not said Olympic Class sister ship to the Titanic. Still pretty cool though) An invoice from Triumph of New York stating the car had arrived, had the Cosmoline removed, and was awaiting pick up. A copy of a letter from Nadine to Standard-Triumph requesting they pay to fix a scratch incurred in transit. A letter from Standard-Triumph stating that they would indeed pay the $20.00 to fix the scratch. And finally, an invoice from Earle Hays Triumph stating the scratch had been fixed.

I think you get the point. I am going to stop telling you what entry it is in the journal. If you feel the need to know, count the bloody things yourself! I think I will also combine the shorter entries into a single post. Like so:

10/31/09: Potential pickup day postponed by Nadine. Too much stuff in the way.
11/8/09: First viewing of the car. I made arrangements to come by and see the car in the garage on a Sunday afternoon. It was rougher than I'd hoped but not so bad that I was scared off. Took a few pictures.

Journal entry four:

10/29/09: First meeting with Jeff Sloan of British Auto Specialists. Was given some advice about the first things to do when taking delivery. Was admonished to NOT “bastardize” a car with this much history. Was warned of the few pitfalls I might encounter. Was given names and web sites for help and parts.

Journal entry three:

10/27/09: Have dinner with the Parks and talk about the car. I am informed of the following details. Nadine purchased the car new from Earle Hayes Triumph in Fort Worth, Texas in 1958. She took delivery of the car from the factory in Coventry England. She and her mother toured the British isles in it and shipped it back to the US. Willie and Nadine both drove the car all over the US accumulating just over 90,000 miles. The car was last driven July 4th, 1972 after which it was parked in their garage. Tentative plans are made for me to come view the car and take delivery.

Journal entry two:

10/23/09: Mother asks Willie Park (Nadine’s husband), “What are you all going to do with that old car?” Willie’s reply was to the effect of, “We were discussing that the other day. We were thinking of giving it to Tim.” They make plans for the four of us to dine the following Tuesday to discuss it. I am informed of this and am left speechless.

Here we go. This is the first entry of Tim's "Journal of the Restoration of 'Nadine,' A 1958 Triumph TR-3"

c. Thanksgiving 2004: While talking with Nadine Park about my building a Birkin replica of a Lotus Seven, she mentions having a Triumph TR-3 in her garage. We talk about it some and let it drop. In subsequent conversations, I ask about the car. Mother learns of the car at some point.

Test

Hello all. This is Tim's 1958 Triumph TR-3 coming to you with a more detailed description of what is going on than I was able to post on FaceBook. What follows is Tim's log of my life so far. I will continue to post his updates as I come across them.