1963 Triumph TR4 - Great condition, runs excellent! No reserve.

Price: - Item location: Woodbridge, Virginia, United States
Description:

1963 Triumph Other

New parts installed (with receipts, most parts from Moss Motors) in the Spring/Summer 2017:

  • Ignition: Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, coil, points, condenser

  • New clutch and throwout bearing (of course new oil in the gearbox as well)

  • Ball Joints, front shocks / bushings, control arm bushings

  • New 15X4.5 60 spoke painted rims and Vredestein 165/80/15 radials

  • Brand new Carpet set (moss motors pre-fabbed, so fits really well)

  • Key / lock set for doors, glove box, and boot (I have the ignition replacement as well, but haven't installed it)

  • Professionally installed brand new black top from moss motors

  • LED tail lights (can easily switch back to old bulbs if desired, I still have them)

  • Misc. tune-up and replacements such as caps, gaskets, seals, oil change, tuned points, synced carbs, timing, adjusted choke, new oil in the rear-end, etc.


I bought this car in March of 2017 in Washington state (where I was living at the time) because I wanted a fun, unique car to drive across the country. It was already in pretty good shape, but I went through it piece by piece for several months on nights and weekends getting it all prepped for the trip. This car is a proven runner! I started driving it in mid-June in the Seattle area and have zig-zagged it across the country all the way to the east coast. Other than a piece of the throttle linkage coming unhooked while driving (about a 5 minute fix on the side of the road), I haven't had one problem with it. I drove it through 100+ degree temps in Nevada in traffic and the temperature never got above the high side of normal. I've driven it over mountain passes. On the freeway for 10+ hour days. Putting around towns I stayed in for a week or so. You could get in this car and drive it back to the West coast today.


The 15X4.5 60 spoke painted rims and Vredestein 165/80/15 radials come from Hendrix Wire Wheel in Greensboro, N.C. This guy is the wheel/tire expert in the US for old British cars. Read on his site about not only how he perfectly balances and trues the brand new wheels, but also preps, balances, and trues the tires! This helps give the smoothest ride in these old British cars that you'll ever have. http://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/serv_tour.html


Being a 55 year old car, it's not perfect. From driving it so much, I am very familiar with it and all of the little idiosyncrasies. I'd be happy to answer all questions and show you everything I know about it. Here are the current issues:

  • Crack in the passenger side of the windshield

  • The flasher for the blinkers jiggles around, causing the blinkers to not always work. At one point I had taped the flasher in place, which fixed it, but then I bumped it while I was doing other work under the dash and haven't got it back in the perfect spot yet, though I have tried.

  • The horn button housing falls out sometimes. It appears the brackets are just not quite bent right. I've tweaked it so it holds better, but it's not perfect. The horn does still work.

  • The driver side door handle doesn't work on the outside. This is due to a piece that was missing already when I bought the car, and unfortunately, moss motors doesn't stock it and I haven't been able to track the part down. I can show you in the diagrams exactly what is missing. If you know how to weld or work with metal, you could probably fab it up.

  • It leaks oil. If you just do freeway driving at 60mph for a full tank of gas, you'll have to put in about ½ to ¾ of a quart next time you fill up. If you are cruising around town with low RPMs, it'll want about ½ to ¾ of a quart every other fill up.

  • Sometimes it will run-on when shutting off the key (more so with high ambient temps). This is a common problem in these cars, that while I have attempted to fix, I haven't been successful. It's not a big deal, you just will have to get used to slipping the clutch out while your foot is on the brake at the same time that you shut it off. It's smoother than it sounds.


I have had a lot of fun with this car. Nothing beats cruising around town with the top down. You don't see these very often!


Why am I selling it? Well, I bought it for this trip across the country and that's it. I'm currently a nomad traveling around (I work remotely, so I have that luxury), and I'll be traveling to Europe in a few months. So, I will no longer have room for it in my life! Maybe I'll pick up a funky old Citroën while I'm over there... :)


I have a box of spare parts, the official Triumph manual, and the Haynes repair manual that I'll give you with the car.


If you are in the area, come take a look, and if you're seriously interested I'd be happy to take you for a spin.


Clear title in hand!


-Joseph Oppegaard