A car with an interesting history and (to be candid) is far better than I was expecting.

Purchased in Pennsylvania from the third owner, the title showed he purchased the car in 2001. AND he purchased it from his sister, also in PA, who owned it for twenty years. Title shows he put on less than 2,000 miles since 2001. AND, on the title, the code states the current 55,000 miles is ACTUAL. So, a car with extremely limited use and owned by the same family for over 45 years.

The car: excellent chassis and floors, excellent body with what appears original paint. We spent two days lightly wet sanding the exterior with 2,000 grit sandpaper and buffed the paint to an excellent finish. Only flaws are a few bubbles starting at two spots on the rockers, barely noticeable.

Interior appeals to have reupholstered seats, new panels and carpets, dash is excellent, all original (and correct) gauges work properly, steering wheel is excellent, entire interior is more or less spotless.

Has wire wheels with new splined hubs, all of the chrome seems to cover the area of new to near perfect. Nice and clean engine and trunk compartments.

Runs 60-70 psi oil pressure when hot, wipers, horn, and handbrake work properly, top and side curtains appear to be new, exhaust is quiet, and best of all, the steering is (in my opinion) in the top ten percentile for TR3s (and steering is often a TR weak point).

Overall, a car with a documented and validated 55,000 miles, no rust, incredibly good original paint, wire wheels, mostly new interior chrome, fairly new weather equipment, and runs and drives exceptionally well. Not a bad combination.

Curiously, the car has never had seat belts in its 65 year history and yes, we are installing a new pair. As a fun road car for seasonal use, virtues are the big torquey 2 liter engine, disc brakes, even has the provision for a back seat (well, room for two little kids). Reliable, easy to service, parts are quite plentiful, and they possess real late fifties/early sixties automotive style.