A Triumph(ant) return for a TR3

I love car stories that have a happy ending, and I recently heard a great one while having breakfast with Bruce Williams in Ohio.

Williams’ first car was a Jaguar XK120 which he had to share with his brother.

As they got older, that sharing arrangement simply wasn’t working out so he decided to purchase a 1957 TR3 finished in black with a vermilion red interior for $210. Life was good and he enjoyed the car immensely.

Entering the phase of his life which involved marriage, he decided to sacrifice the TR3, selling it for $800 to purchase his bride-to-be a wedding ring.

Fast forward 40 years. Williams was reading the classifieds when he spotted a 1957 TR3 for sale that was just 20 miles away. The seller wanted $2,200 for the Triumph and two motorcycles as a job lot.

As a motorcycle specialist, Williams had no trouble selling the bikes for $1,400, which meant the Triumph TR3 stood him at $800, exactly what he sold his for 40 years prior.

Even better, the TR3 was the very same one he’d owned all those years ago, and had only covered 4,000 miles since he had last seen it.

Williams was proud to report the Triumph is in solid condition, needing just some cosmetic freshening up.

I asked if his wife still has the ring. The reply was that she now has a better one.