At 6:30 on Friday night (my wife is a banker and gets off at 6 pm) my wife
and I started out from Troutman, NC to Cincinnati, OH to purchase our second
1968 TR250. We arrived in Cincinnati around 1:30 am and found sleep at 2 am.
Up at 5:30 am, we started to our 8 am appointment. Once we arrived and
eyeballed our TR250 for the first time, we were both let down and felt that
the car had been well over advertised. It drives - but it is a 'rust
bucket'. The wife said, "NO!" I said, "But, Mama, look how far we have
come - only to go home empty handed." Well, after much discussion, we
decided to buy the car - What the heck! After the Title/cash transaction
and the completion of a couple if VTR's forms, we were off and on our way
back to NC, around 9:30 am.
We soon learned that we had a defective U-Haul Car Dolly. That cost is about
an hour. But, finally on the road and limited to 55 mph, we had a leisurely
trip back to NC. Arrived about 7 pm tonight, flat worn out. Not bad for to
50-something folks!
I may have made a bad deal. Time will tell. The engine, Tranny, Drive train
seems to be very good. I probably could have driven the car to NC if it had
a good set of tires.
I am going to part-out everything that I do not need for my restoration
project.
Bottom line - I paid $2000 for my rust bucket. It probably should have been
another $1000 TR250. Mama ain't too happy but, at least, we ain't divorced
yet. I guess the seller caught me in a weak moment. Man, to drive 450 miles
to see a rust bucket and to drive 450 miles back empty handed. I just could
not do it!
Anyway, I now have three (3) TRs in my stable:
1966 TR4A IRS with 4k miles on the restore and two (2) 1968 TR250s that may
make one. Several folks suggested that wasting a TR250 to make one good one
was a crime and I almost agreed - until I got my rust bucket.
BTW, BEWARE!!! I have rented two (2) U-Haul Tow Dollies over the last month
and both were defective. Neither had working lights - I used them anyway and
today's dolly also had a defective ratchet (that holds the tires securely to
the dolly). Twice we checked to find only one tire secured to the dolly. We
called their 800 number and were directed to a dealer who made the repairs.
I ain't gonna' be the Quality Control for U-Haul! They gotta' do better!
For those that would like to see the photos of all three (3), I will be
building an addition to my genealogy web page, http://www.iredell.com. The
addition will be http://www.iredell.com/triumph. It ain't there yet. Maybe
in a week or so.
--
Thomas P. Winslow
1966 TR4A IRS - CTC57665L (The good)
1968 TR250 - CD4783L (The bad)
1968 TR250 - CD5272L (The ugly)
189 Hicks Creek Road, Troutman, NC 28166
h704-528-5868 * f704-528-5868 * p704-878-1157
E-Mail: winslow@vnet.net * tom_winslow@msn.com
Iredell County GenWeb Home Page: http://www.iredell.com
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