Subject: [TR] So there I was

From: "TeriAnn J. Wakeman" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 19:25:50 -0700

I decided to get out today and take advantage of the fourth of July 
grocery sales.  I went through the sales papers. I looked for the best 
buys and planned a route that used the least amount of petrol.  I got 
into the TR3 and off I went shopping.  As usually I got the occasional 
thumbs up from other drives and people walking on the street.  At two of 
the store parking lots I got to hear the stories of the TR3 that someone 
had had as a young adult and some adventures they had. Several folk said 
"Nice car" & per usual the car attracted a number of kids in the parking 
lots who are fascinated by such a small car.

My TR3 has a TR2 single muffler exhaust, four tube headers and a cam so 
it has a very noticeable sweet roar.  On the way home I was keeping the 
revs around 3500 RPM just listening to the sweet tone and I was feeling 
pretty full of myself.  I stopped at the last light on the way home, 
still with a self satisfied smile when a bright yellow Lamborghini 
pulled up alongside me. The driver did not glance my way but he did burp 
the V12 and when the light changed was long gone before I got out of the 
intersection.  Sometimes when you are feeling really good someone just 
comes along and takes the wind out of your sail. And I was feeling so 
full of myself and the TR mystique before I heard the V12 sing.  Sigh

TeriAnn

** [email-masked] **

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

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From: "Randall" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2014 08:53:33 -0700

>  But the one thing my TR can not do is take my Irish 
> Wolfhound 
> to and from the dog park 

That's too bad.  We had a Collie/Shepherd mix that just loved to ride in the back of the TR3A.  The occasional seat was just barely
big enough for her to lay down; but usually she would sit up with her head in the wind.  And although she would get in uninvited;
she never got out until told to.

One of the benefits of driving an unrestored car; I never worried about damage to the rear seat (which had cheap carpet instead of
upholstery).

Randall

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From: "Andrew Uprichard" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2014 12:04:40 -0400

My Australian Shepherd does the same - sits up with his head in the wind.
The other day my wife and I were stopped at lights and we heard some people
by the side of the road say "Oh, how cute!"  I was going to tell my wife
they were obviously referring to her and not the TR3 (which invariably
attracts the word "cute") when the pedestrians continued "what a lovely dog"
!

"Cute" is very much an American word which I adopted with my citizenship.  I
was once asked what the Irish or English equivalent was and I was stumped.
Any suggestions from across the water?

Andrew Uprichard
Down to one driver, 1962 TR3B
2 smallmouths undergoing restoration

-----Original Message-----
From: Triumphs [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Randall
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2014 11:54 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [TR] So there I was

>  But the one thing my TR can not do is take my Irish Wolfhound to and 
> from the dog park

That's too bad.  We had a Collie/Shepherd mix that just loved to ride in the
back of the TR3A.  The occasional seat was just barely big enough for her to
lay down; but usually she would sit up with her head in the wind.  And
although she would get in uninvited; she never got out until told to.

One of the benefits of driving an unrestored car; I never worried about
damage to the rear seat (which had cheap carpet instead of upholstery).

Randall

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/triumphs/[email-masked]

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From: "TeriAnn J. Wakeman" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 05:51:06 -0700

On 7/5/14, 5:16 AM, [email-masked] wrote:
> It takes somebody special to appreciate a vintage car.
>
> It takes somebody even more special to keep it on the road when it's 55 years old.
>
Since my newest car is a 1960 I sometimes think it takes a special kind 
of idiot.  But once I find a car that suits me I never saw a reason to 
get rid of it and replace it with something that would suit me even less.

With both of my vehicles people keep telling me that they had one years 
ago and still regret selling it.  I decided that if I keep it I will 
never regret selling it.  Besides I think it is foolish to spend a lot 
of money on something that is worth less everyday.  Both my $1000 TR3 
and my $350 Land Rover still gets me where I want to go even after 
owning the TR3 for 28 years and the Land Rover for 36 years.  Of course 
I have had to put money into maintaining them but since I never plan to 
sell it is all just imaginary profit or loss anyway.  The important 
thing is the smile on my lips and the other idiots who own these cars 
that I have met and become friends with over the decades.

TeriAnn

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From: Randall Zempel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 06:04:03 -0700

A couple years ago I found myself driving the TR3 up Rodeo Drive in Beverly
Hills.  Stopped at a red light with a super exotic supercar to my left.
Just as the light changed, a young man with a camera ran into the
intersection to our left...and waited for the exotic to move out of the way
so he could photo the Triumph.  Exotic is in the eye of the beholder and
TR3s are a bit rarer in that town than the italian imports.  :)

RandallZ

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2014 22:03:25 +0000 (UTC)

> On 7/5/2014 9:24 AM, John Macartney wrote:
> Some years ago now when out in my 2500PI, I found myself being tailgated by
> a 'yuppie' in a BMW.

When the top is down, I've found spitting straight up as I drove in front of a tail gater had good effect.  Unfortunately I showed that to my son when he was eight years old.  Spitting straight up became more popular than fart jokes.  

At that point I figgered I'd "bottomed out."

Terry Smith, '59 TR3A
New Hampshire