Need advice on old cars inherited

[Freon]

Hey guys,

   My dad inherited some old cars and he asked me to sell them for him.One is a 1958 Triumph TR3 and the other is a 1929 REO.Nether have had any restoration done to them but have been in storage sense the 70s.The tr3 has no visible rust and seems to be complete with no alterations.The RIO has significant rust in some places and nearly complete.My biggest issue is I’m just a tractor tech and I have no idea what these cars are worth to someone wanting to restore them.If anyone can help me figure out a realistic base value for them or point me in the right direction in doing so I would greatly appreciate it.

[victorialynn2]

A good first suggestion is to post pictures of inside, outside, and under. Lots of close ups and detailed pics. This will help them give you a better idea. 

[nick8086]

Are you wanting to sell them non - running or running..

[Freon]

Thanks for the advice,I need to dig the TR3 out to get some picks.

[Freon]

They are not running,don’t know when the last time they ran.

[1935Packard]

The good news is that you've reached the right place to get some excellent answers to your question.  The regulars here are very sharp, very knowledgeable, and always happy to help. 

 

The less good news is that you may end up disappointed with how much you and your father might be able to get for the cars.  It's common for people to think old cars are worth more than they are -- especially non-running cars needing everything.   But at least the people on this forum can fill you in on how the market for these cars tends to work and what you can reasonably expect.

[padgett]

Where are they (just city is fine). TR3 color, overdrive, wire or disk wheels, complete or disassembled. (I don't know is fine). 

[alsancle]

The REO has little to no value.   As a parts car it may appeal to somebody but if you can get anyone to give you any amount of money to take it away then you did well.

[wayne sheldon]

The Reo may be a '28.  The '29 had smooth fenders, not the "double crown". I had a '29 Reo coupe many years ago. They are fine driving cars, unusually good performance and handling for the late '20s, however with a limited following. That one would cost more to restore than it would be worth finished. I would actually like to have another Reo. But I have reached the point where I do NOT need to take on any significant projects.

Hopefully you can find someone with a good interest and a desire to do a restoration. I would love to see that car done!

[mercer09]

If the REO were mine, Ild list it on ebay at 999. and see if I got any bids. The cost is minimal and if there are no bids, shouldnt be a cost at all.

 

Big target audience. The other option is Craigslist for 5.  but, you will deal with a ton of tire kickers. This car will most likely end up with a hot rodder.

 

as was said, take whatever you can get.

[ron hausmann]

Agreed. Late twenties sedans, even rare marques, that are in distressed condition as this REO seems, won't bring a lot of money except as parts cars or rat rod enclosures. They cost 2x to 5x more to restore as compared to what a finished car sells for. see what happens on ebay - some REO guy might be lurking there.

RON 

[RansomEli]

Freon, 

I once owned a '27 REO and agree with Wayne - your REO is probably a 1928.  Lots of very expensive rust problems, which significantly reduces the value of the car.

 

General consensus is that people don't want to restore project cars - takes too much money.

So you have to find someone who likes REOs and will pay a bit more for the car.

 

The value of the REO lies in the small parts: door handles, dashboard gauges, knobs, headlights, etc. I believe you could expect to get no more than $2000-$3,500 if the fenders are good, you have a complete engine, and have lots of small trim/dash pieces that are usually missing. 

 

Another option would be to advertise the car as a speedster candidate. The buyer would use the running gear but not the body (but make them take everything). 

 

 

 

 

 

[alsancle]

I’m basically the Reo guy here. There is no market for that car.  A similar condition Royale might find a home, but not this one.  I think taking any amount of money to find a home (good or not) is the only choice.

[jeff_a]

Advertise it in Hemmings Motor News for $2000 OBO. If someone comes in w/ more than $900, buy them all dinner.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

The TR might be a different story, they have a following and anyone with even a basic knowledge of those cars will put a premuim on a rust free example, even in need of a full restoration.  If it is complete, unaltered and undamaged, it could (bear in mind this is an educated guestimate only, pics of it would help..) be a $4,500 - 5,500 unit.

[Zimm63]

I may be able to offer some thoughts on the TR3- been fooling with them since the 70s.  

 

Where is it?  It may not look rusty, but they will rust out in places not easily seen unless you get the car up in the air and crawl under it.  Was it stored in a dry building?  That would help a lot.  Somebody will want it as a project if its not too far gone.

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

One more bit of Triumph trivia, I know the TR-6, and think the engines for the earlier cars as well, were derivatives of...tractor engines.  So maybe, as a tractor mechanic you want that one for yourself?  😁

[John_S_in_Penna]

3 hours ago, jeff_a said:

Advertise it in Hemmings Motor News for $2000 OBO. If someone comes in w/ more than $900, buy them all dinner.

 

Jeff, I'll have to make a counter-point, sorry!

The old-car world is full of optimistic pricing,

and if the Reo has little value, or $900 of value,

asking more than double its worth will just be

frustrating and futile for the seller.  It's going to

be hard enough to sell even at a realistic price, I think,

but we all wish him well.

[1912Staver]

 TR 3 's have a strong following. In almost any condition they will sell if priced appropriate to condition. I recently sold one that few on here would even justify as a parts car. But it still had intact { rolling suspension } and most importantly to the buyer the front of the frame had the parts he needed to repair a much nicer TR3 that had some very old , poorly repaired front frame damage.  Got $400.00 for something that would have been worth $50.00 for scrap. Also made a new acquaintance who is also very involved with vintage British cars. Next he wants the MG midget parts car I have out back for his son's MG rebuild. People are still very involved in restoring old British sports car's and although there are a lot of repro parts on the market many are very poor in quality. Nearly any old sports car heap has better than scrap value as a parts car. 

[edinmass]

I think the most important fact for the original poster to consider is this..........for two cars with such little value, the best thing is put both on eBay with lots of photos and a phone number to help out the bidders. Run them at no reserve starting at three hundred dollars. Make them go away as fast as possible, with as little work as possible. To try and squeeze an extra five hundred bucks out of either car isn’t worth your time. Just make them go away as fast as possible. 

 

I give this this advice to lots of families.........very few take it.

 

 

Any car with a value under 10k is just more time and effort than they are worth trying to sell in barn/garage find condition.

[28 Chrysler]

I bought a car in abut the same age and condition as your Reo for $600 as a parts car. I removed a few parts and got $600 for it from a "rat rodder".

Selling parts will take a bit of time. If you have a title you may get $1500, if not $500 - $600 on the H.A.M.B. or killbillet site.

[Marty Roth]

These are questions many Triumph folks would like to know before responding:

 

Is the TR-3 an early 1958 with the "Small-Mouth" grille and no external handles on doors and trunk?

or the later 1958 with the wide grille and external door handles?

Wire spokes or disk wheels?

Overdrive?

 

Having owned, repaired, restored, and raced these cars, be assured that these are important differences to many

[Freon]

Ok guys,

  Thanks for all of the good advice.I have been digging out the TR3 and in doing so I am starting to find some surface rust in places and some significant rust in the dash area.for whatever reason the car was partially disassembled and a work bench built over and around it so it is hard to see much.i think I have the windshield assembly,some dash parts,a hard top,and I think all of the fenders in the loft above the cars.the car is sitting on regular rims and tires however I do have a full set of spoke rims including the spare.i need to get the reo gone first so I have space to get the tr3 out and actually see what I have there.

[Freon]

Here’s more

[Freon]

I have a couple more picks but it says that they are too big to posts and I’m having trouble making it work so give me some time on that.someone asked what area I’m in-south Texas ,someone mentioned titles,I have them that is where I am getting the year from.

[MCHinson]

27 minutes ago, Freon said:

I have a couple more picks but it says that they are too big to posts and I’m having trouble making it work so give me some time on that.someone asked what area I’m in-south Texas ,someone mentioned titles,I have them that is where I am getting the year from.

 

Typically, if you click on the "edit" option on your post, you can load more photos. The software downsizes photos when they are uploaded so although it initially thinks you have exhausted the allowed photo storage, when you go to edit your post, the earlier photos are smaller and the software allows you to upload more photos. It does not make much sense to me, but that is how it works.

 

[padgett]

I *thought* the original '58 TR3 wire wheels had knock offs - those look like the later "safety" wire wheels.

[mike6024]

 

That's a '57 and a '59. I'd suppose the later with larger grill is of lower value.

 

[Freon]

[Freon]

[padgett]

One I wanted in my yout was the TR3B with an all synchro gearbox.

 

Have to agree, disassembled and not running it is basically a parts car.

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by padgett (see edit history)

[Freon]

I hear you Padgett,however a factory is only a parts wear house until the the assembly line fires up.

[nick8086]

If you inherited  the cars.. The courts would of put a value on them..  Any thing above that inherited  value is taxed..  FYI..

 

Your work and time and any cost you can take off any gains..

Edited July 8, 2019 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[victorialynn2]

1 hour ago, nick8086 said:

If you inherited  the cars.. The courts would of put a value on them..  Any thing above that inherited  value is taxed..  FYI..

 

Your work and time and any cost you can take off any gains..

Has to be over a certain amount and varies by state. Some 1 mil, some 3 mil, etc. consult a professional tax advisor for your state’s details @Freon

[mike6024]

 

There's the hardtop, and two windshield frames.

 

[A. Ballard 35R]

Hardtop looks like the only salvageable part on the TR3A. An overdrive transmission would have some value and it could be determined by the commission number. The ''58 cars usually have a five digit number and would be TSxxxxxL, the L denoting left hand drive. If an overdrive was original equipment there would be an O after the L. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

A picture or two is definately worth a thousand words, as they say.  My initial mental image was a complete old car that had been parked with no disassembly, etc.  After seeing the pics I suggest Edinmass has right approach on both cars.  One other quick effort you might make on the TR is check google for any local Triumph or British car clubs and see if you can run an ad in their newsletter.  Your best bet to find someone local and serious.  Anything over a grand I think, is a win.  Ypu have no way of knowing really, without a lot of invested time, how complete it really is.  Good luck with both.

[padgett]

"Anything over a grand I think, is a win." have to agree, wouldn't have bought some cars I've had if no just a few Benjamins and interesting. Like a Fiat 850R coupe than needed a clutch for $200. Problem is you can go broke on "deals" why I limit to the number of garage doors (could see moving to the hills on Lake County and find a small place with a barn on an acre or two high enough to be dry).

 

Agree the hardtop for the TR is probably worth more than the rest of the parts (could not see any SUs in the engine picture).

 

ps do I have the declension right ? TR2 - 53-55, TR3 55-58 (small grille) , TR3A 58-62 (wide grille), TR3B 63-64 (TR4 underpinnings)

[A. Ballard 35R]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

"Anything over a grand I think, is a win." have to agree, wouldn't have bought some cars I've had if no just a few Benjamins and interesting. Like a Fiat 850R coupe than needed a clutch for $200. Problem is you can go broke on "deals" why I limit to the number of garage doors (could see moving to the hills on Lake County and find a small place with a barn on an acre or two high enough to be dry).

 

Agree the hardtop for the TR is probably worth more than the rest of the parts (could not see any SUs in the engine picture).

 

ps do I have the declension right ? TR2 - 53-55, TR3 55-58 (small grille) , TR3A 58-62 (wide grille), TR3B 63-64 (TR4 underpinnings)

 

The 3B's came out in May of 1962 with final production in October 1962. Commission numbers with a TSF prefix were the TR3A engine (1991 cc) and the ones with a TCF prefix had the larger TR4 engine. Both had the TR4 all synchromesh transmission. This information is from a Moss catalog and I believe is correct.

[Zimm63]

Transferable title adds value, no question.  The wire wheels look to be MG, possibly.  The cover on the one pictured on the boot lid is not from a TR3.  Not sure where it came from.  They may have been picked up in anticipation of converting later.  Depending on condition, rebabbing them can be expensive.  

 

Big quesiton is what shape are the floors, rockers, trunk floor, and rear apron in?  If those need to be replaced, you need to find someone who has the skills to do the work.  Paying someone else to fix those problems added up in a hurry to the point that you are far better off simply buying a solid running car if you plan to drive it.  That does not take into account the satisfaction value of doing the work yourself..  

 

This from a guy who is about to start in on a TR2 that I purchased in 1986 and drove for 15 years.  Needs lots of metal work, but I think that the fun part.   Did the whole mess on my 61 TR3 about 20 years ago.   Please don't recommend psychiatric help, my wife already suggested that.