Maregratia Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 I Have been looking for last 4 months for a project tr6 without much luck they seem to be either falling to bitz or in show room condition fetching high prices. has anyone got any tips for a beginner to the classic car world on how and where to buy a tr. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest davidferry Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 There is an 'abandoned restoration' on ebay at the moment. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws....y=29760 or this may be worth a look http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws....y=29760 or even this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws....y=29760 or this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws....y=29760 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest harry dent Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 A project TR if properly done will cost you upwards of £15000 and more.If you can find an abandoned restoration with a lot of work done to a very high standard then this will save you money.Remember that figure when you look at projects.Been there,done that,still doing that so,I know what I am talking about.If you spread it out over years it does not seem to bad. Good luck. Regards Harry TR5 nutter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim_trinda Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 A similar topic was posted recently, click this link to view it. Viewing TRs can be expensive in time and cost, before travelling hundreds of miles to view a TR described by the seller as 'in excellent' condition and turns out to be a complete heap, ask the seller to e-mail you pictures of the car. Get the usual picture front, side, back but also ask for pics of both sides of the engine, interior, under the carpets, inside the boot, etc. If you have any queries ask for more pictures or close ups, a genuine seller should be quite happy to provide them. There are usually quite a few TR6s for sale in TR Action, a genuine seller and enthusiast may have done a lot of the hard work for you, as Harry said starting with a basket case can be very expensive and the car would probably not be worth what you spent to restore it. Having built a couple of kit cars over the years I find my enthusiam starts to run out after 6 months or so, for that reason when I bought my TR I looked for a 'rolling restoration' i.e. one that I could use in between short renovation projects. As well as the money aspect of a restoration there is also the time involved and this, for me, was a significant factor. As far as eBay goes be very, very careful!! Good hunting Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Wyer Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Maregratia, before giving any advice beyond what has already been posted, it would be helpful to know where abouts are you based ? UK or abroad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maregratia Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I live in Bangor N Wales.thanks for the results so far all advice taken on board had a look at ebay bid on a couple of cars around christmas but advised by tr bitz in warington to be very careful the problem is being able to see the cars if they are more than 4 hours drive away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Wyer Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Before I bought my car I went along to the local tr group meetings. all the members are very knowledgable and tend to know where decent cars are for sale. the lads also came along with me to look at various cars and it gave me an insight into what to look for. it took a year to find a good one but was well worth the wait. I guess it depends what level of car you want. i am very ham fisted with a spanner so i needed a well restored one that could just be pampered. good luck in your search Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Buy the cheapest complete car you can for a full restoration. everything is available so don't worry about rot. otherwise buy the most expensive showcar you can find. There is no middle ground with these cars unless you are very lucky. The tarted up 4-5k cars if restored properly will cost exactly the same as a basket case. My opinion only. I wonder how many agree or disagree? Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jean Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Neil, I have seen people that did not worry about rot, they bought a car that after disassembly ended up to be beyond restoration. What they had left were all the mechanical parts, which in fact are the cheapest items to rebuild, and so they had a considerable amount of cash thrown away I'm a seconder to what what Harry said, as rebuilding a body and chassis is very, very expensive compared to the mechanical parts ??? Should you wish to go for a TR, join the local group and get advise, you will be able to make the best deal by far Jean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ron Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Neil I agree with you, either go for a basket case or a showcar, to restore a tatty motor costs as much as a basket case. It is also worth looking for a 'rust free' ex US car, restore it mechanically and convert it to RHD but be aware that some ex US cars are anything but rust free. Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Crawley Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 rebuilding a body and chassis is very, very expensive compared to the mechanical parts It all depends on if you are doing the work your self or farming it out to a professional. I found it to be the opposite, i.e. restoring the chassis & inner bodywork work on my car was the cheapest part of the restoration as it only cost me a few sheets of steel plate & rather a lot of my time & patience. I did have to replace the front end, outer wings & rear deck though as these were beyond repair. I also did all the outer panel prepping & paint work myself to show standard so, I guess, that must have saved me around £4k. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I stand by what I said earlier. Ten years or so ago you could pay a little more and get a car that was rust free from a USA dry state. I think that most of these are now gone and the stuff coming in from the states is definitely not as good as it used to be. You may hit lucky however. In my opinion a proper restoration means a full strip and re-build, IE Body off chassis. If you are not doing this then you are not carrying out a restoration. When purchasing a project, you are buying the sum total of useable parts for your re-build. As Jean says the mechanicals are the easiest to repair. a rotten bodyshell is not. All I am saying is that generally why pay 4-5k for a car that needs the same repairs when you can pay 1k? if a sill has a hole in it 2" around or 18" around it doesn't matter, IE the sill still needs replaced. A lot of people look for something that on the surface looks OK and will often pay more. I would sooner buy a complete basket case for a grand than a £4k car because simply you are £3k on your way to a restored car. A new chassis is a grand and a heritage shell can be had for £4k (don't get hung up on originality) The car that is complete is the most important issue because its the little trim clips etc etc that really bump up the cost of a restoration. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can restore one of these cars on the cheap. you can't. A very well restored car will make £10k. You will pay 12-14k for a dealer show winner or a club car known around the club circles. You will spend 15k restoring a TR6. perhaps 10 if you can paint it yourself. Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmac Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 To reinforce some of the comments already made.... Unless you are very experienced or have unlimited time and patience, the chance of rebuilding a rot box is very unlikely. If you have previous experience in body work then OK but for the first time novice be prepared for a lot of work and untolled patience. I would suggest 2 alternatives: 1. If you are wanting to do a lot of work try and pick up an abandoned restoration where the body and chassis have been done. A good body and chassis are worth £5-6k. Some of the abandoned projects are missing bits so an additional doner car may provide you with many of the missing bits and you can trade the rest to get some of the money back. 2. If you want to drive rather than restore then find a restored car which has photo evidence of good chassis and body restoration. The rest will be fairly evident assuming you can test drive it. The better condition the less likely the owner will be able to recover the costs and the more you will potentially save. To give you some other figures: To have a typical chassis restored will cost £1k+. Mine was really bad, having been in an accident, and cost £1300 about 10 years ago. If you have to pay to have the body painted it will cost between £3-4k unless you can find someone with very low labour rates (sub £30/hour). It all depends upon the panel fitting and preparation time which knocks up the price. I do think it is very hard to restore a TR6 for much less than a total investment of £10k. A basket case restoration could well end up between £12-16k depending on how much work you do yourself and the cost/condition of the car you start with. I have found that a total rebuild to a high standard is the hardest to cost control as most of these cars have had a very hard life and virtually everything needs extensive work or replacement. As you work your way through all the bits you end up replacing many small items with good second hand ones or new and this pushes the cost up enormously. Last tip.... talk to club members, look at their cars, ask lots of questions, and don't rush into buying something without being absolutely sure. Good hunting, and let us know how you get on. Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maregratia Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Thanks to everyone for taking the time to give their advice. I plan to visit tr bitz in warrington next weekend to have a look plus maybe view a car on sun. As soon as i have one in the garage i have no doubt that this site will be of great use to me. I am confident about doing all mechanical and welding work on the car. I have a friend down the road who is currently restoring a tr3a so i have a fair idea about the work involved. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted March 22, 2004 Report Share Posted March 22, 2004 You won't go far wrong dealing with john sykes at TRBitz. he will not be in any hurry to sell you a car and it will be exactly what you need. Dont be afraid of letting John steer you in the right direction. Just make sure you are clear when telling him of your own abilities regarding how far you can go on your own. he will always have a good selection of cars in stock from projects to concours and although not the cheapest you will find that they are very good. neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maregratia Posted March 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 Thanks everyone having looked at a few cars i have now bought a tr6 from John at tr bitz so i now look forward to delivery next week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 so what have you bought then? a runner or a project or an expensive showcar?? Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maregratia Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 I ended up buying californian car but I already have a cp engine which I purchased a few weeks back off ebay.The car looks to be very good, body and chassis. First looked at the car five weeks back and seems to be best buy for me.Plus the service and advice I have had from TR BITZ is excellent,I would certainly recommend anyone looking at buying a tr for first time to have a chat with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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