This part of your story speaks the loudest to me.
I have a friend at work who is a 74 year old Polish immigrant, and is truly a renaissance man. He has taught me more than any other human being I've known. As you say, it has been my gift knowing him, and learning from him over the years. To me experience is the best teacher, and there is nothing like learning from someone who has experience.
I am someone who is very rarely satisfied with anyone else's work, and unless I find someone that I can be sure is an expert in a particular area, and is something I need help with, I try it myself

Your story is inspiring, and good luck with your TR's second chance !

Scot

Scot,

You are so right! I learned this from my Dad. He rebuilt a restaurant in the late 60s. It was a popular place and he purchased it from the original owner's son...total greasy spoon...great hamburgers and fries and beer. Over two years he turned it into a beautiful place. Brought his tools home and told my mother it was finally done! Two weeks later, it burned to the ground. He was gone for one day and the electrician (used loosely) installed a romex electrical line and stretched it agains the exhaust fan from the kitchen....burned through and that was that. He tore it down and built a new one...totally to code!

I see you did a number on a '76...and you have a 3. Always wanted a TR GD 3! Both are great cars.

The TR has been the one constant of my life. I bought it the first year of dental school and now headed toward retirement. It has always been there in various states of repair....just like me.

Happy New Year,
Jim

Do you have any pictures from back in the day of you and the 6? How about pictures of it now?

---

1972 Sapphire Blue TR6

1959 (Registered '60) TR3 TS61635 L

Came back from South East Asia, during the Vietnam War and was expecting to purchase a new 240Z. I only had a couple of weeks to arrive at my next duty station and I sold my 64 Impala SS just before I left for overseas. I wanted the 6 cylinder, so I went to Hayward Auto Imports, in Hayward, CA. They had a few, but the white one had spokes, but and OD. I really didn't want white so I chose the Brunt Sienna with out the OD. I still have it, but my next duty station was Nellis AFB, Las Vegas NV. 120 degree heat played havoc with the brown car and the black convertible top. Not to mention the below freezing, 10 degrees, temps in the winter time. I had a TR3 and TR4, so I was familiar with the ins and outs of the TR's. I was disappointed that the clutch went out after only about a year. When I reinstalled a new one, I was that the mechanical linkage was not adjusted correctly. Didn't have any issues for another 6 or 7 years. The paint took a beating while down in Vegas. Looking to get a repaint and interior hopefully this year. It's been sitting since I have a couple of German sport cars. Keep the faith, still one of my favorite cars I've ever owned. I'll sell them all, but keep the TR!

Aaron,
I will post some recent pictures....have to dig the old ones out of a box somewhere.

I bought the TR new when I was 23 and now, I am 71....long time. I know I have some good pictures of when I was in the Army, stationed in Germany...and of course the TR had to go as well!

As I reflect back on all of those years, the TR has been the one constant. That is along with my profession and now that phase of my life is changing....there is the TR! Crazy isn't it, the attachments we have for machines.

When I sit in it, I remember so much....both of my kids rode in it as a baby. Now they are 40 and 43. I think the best memory in the TR is in Germany. The duty station was Hohenfels Training Area, and I was the dentist. Hohenfels was Rommel's training area before and during WW II....40,000 acres of mud! You thought the war was still going on with the artillery shells going off...rockets, helicopters....but the tanks were the best! Many days they were on the road...ever try to pass a tank? They take up a lot of the road! The size of the TR helped!

The best thing was that the turns on the road had to be cobble stones to keep the tanks from tearing them up. There was this downhill series of 3 tight "S" turns that was all cobble....I drifted the TR every day going and coming home from work. Sometimes it was dry, but much of the time it seemed to rain...."black ice" and visible ice was always a problem in the winter, and I saw many cars off the road on the S's! Care had to be taken during the winters or you would be one of them. Germans did not use salt on their roads...probably saved my frame. German winters are long....gets cold in late fall and warms up in early spring....during that time was always ice and snow. The TR actually goes well in the snow with new tires, if you are careful. So, "drifting the TR" was always a possibility....and I took full advantage. The other fun part was this long hill with a long sweeping curve at the bottom....it was a bit hairy in winter because of the curve and you had to be going 35 MPH or you could not get up the hill. Keeping the TR out of the ditch or worse was a real challenge....you had to be on the edge of losing it or you would not make it up the hill. Fun, real fun...actually thought of taking the TR back to Germany just play around again on that road, but I would probably lose it. I practiced every day on the 15 Km drive.

Germany was fun for me....being in the military, I had more time than when I was in private practice. So, what did I do...tore the TR apart down to basics and had it repainted!!! Miracle of miracles....the house we rented had a grease pit in the garage!!! That is where I added the PI...now that was a job. There was a slight design flaw in the grease pit…if you wanted to close the garage door. I had to get down in the pit and have my wife pull the car completely into the garage….so, I was down there until she wanted to let me out! I started taking a sandwich and a couple of beers with me into the pit. The floor of the pit was dirt, so the other was not a problem.

I actually considered buying a new frame for the TR but mine is good after the trailing arm section is repaired....having a new TR with all the parts available today is a possibility.

Happy New Year,
Jim

Love this car have the same same color orig owner