The Costa Family

Trumpy

My '57 Small Mouth TR3 
Commission Number 17547 L

I purchased her on  June 5, 2006 ...Check out the Arrival Day   pictures.

My 1960 TR3a - a trip back to the old days     I was 19 then - 1960 pictures

The only repair she needed before driving was a new Exhaust system.   July - 2006

She ran great. I enjoyed driving her throughout the summer of '06, adding about 2000 miles.

Steel Hardtop Pictures  Summer - 2006

Pictures with windscreen removed. I must get some goggles. That would be fun - driving her like that. Summer - 2006

Fixing the leaky Petrol Valve      Fall - 2006 
 

At this point I got serious and started to really take stuff apart. . . . 
So, before you "click on", here's what it looks like now. . . . . 
 

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Let's proceed:

Front apron off  for radiator removal.     Fall - 2006

Rebuilt carbs - A must, for sure. Fall - 2006

Engine Removal - I decided to strip and paint the under bonnet area. Spring - 2007

Gearbox Removal - While I was at it...why not? September - 2007

Engine Cleaning and Painting    July - 2007

Chassis Repair - Repairing the chassis break found in the front end...BIG safety issue here. September - 2007

Chassis Build - Bringing it back to its original beauty...or...at least I think so.

Engine Re-assembly and Mounting to Chassis - Now we're getting to the fun part Summer 2008

Sandblasting the Tub - More fun stuff - Things are starting to look up...I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel Fall 2008

Paint Stripping the Body Parts - It was easier than I thought Spring 2009

Click here for a short video  Now at the welder's for three months, almost four years into the restoration, I'm wondering if I'll ever see her again.

Back from the Welder April - 2010

Fitting the Body Panels before Priming and Painting Summer 2011

Back from the Painter    October - 2012

Tub placement onto Chassis    November - 2012

Final assembly of panels, before going back to the painter November 24, 2012

Back to the painter, for her final dress-up

Home from the painter for the last time. Dec 29, 2012

All Finished...Finally. Or is it? Spring of 2014