SOL mates,
I went and saw that car Ken (KMNTR6@aol.com) was talking about, hoping to
find a crappy TR-4 with a factory hard/surrey top and overdrive that I could
snag for a thousand or so. Too bad.
The guy has owned it for 21 years and is getting rid of it because he's got
16yr old and a nearly 16 yr old who eagerly want to drive it. It is very
original (with a couple of creative extras like about 6 horns.) The interior
and spare tire cover definitely came with the car from the dealership. The
commission plate had an "O" at the end so the overdrive is original too.
108,000 miles according to the owner.
I couldn't find any evidence of even minor accident damage. Even the hood
and the trunk lid showed no signs of ever dinging the huge overriders that
4's have. And to top it off, the doors closed perfectly without any extra
effort, and lined up very well too. I can't say that for any of the four 4's
that I've had.
The floors are very rusty though. Seeing how I wasn't going to get the car,
I didn't bother jacking it up and looking at it real good. I think the rusty
floors are due to standing water caught and kept under the rubber mats under
the carpet. Real rusty on top, not so much on the bottom.
The insides of the rocker panels were very firm with no holes that I could
feel. He said, and I believe him, that he had the floors patched with heavy
sheet metal when he had the car repainted, but that there was nothing wrong
with the rockers then. (a decade ago I'd guess) The frame looked OK, though
the undercoating was finally peeling off in a few places.
Ken was right, not much useful left in the interior. I have never seen an
original surrey topped 4 before. It has an actual rear seat pad, and the
center top panel has a liner like you'd find on a regular car. (does that
make sense?)
My evaluation is that the car aint too pretty, but has lots of potential. If
I were buying a 4 to restore myself, this one would definitely be a
candidate.
Sorry to all you drooling 4 fanatics who want a factory hard top and a OD
like me. He won't part out the car. It is all or nothing. That's good
IMHO. Go ahead and keep this one original.
If anyone is interested, feel free to contact me and I'll pass it along.
Scott Tilton
3's and 6's are great, but I want mine to have a "power bulge" on the hood!
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