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My own journey and love affair began a few years ago when my wife, Linda, was looking for the perfect project and 60th birthday present for me. With some helpful advice from a few friends, she found her way to Ragtops and Roadsters in Perkasie, PA. (www.ragtops.com). There she met Dave Hutchison the general manager of the shop. Dave did not have a current project but is so well connected and had a few in mind. There was a TR5, owned by a friend of his in Richmond Virginia, that had been partially restored. As any of these projects can go it seems easy to get overwhelmed and under water. There had been a, frame-on, body and chassis restoration as well as brake and suspension upgrades. The project had stalled at that point and was in the way at his mechanics shop. I had worked on many British cars growing up with my buds but never a Triumph. I did my due diligence and made an offer. It was well below what he thought the car was worth and what he was asking. Any of these car restorations are a gamble so I felt confident but alas, I probably upset the gentleman and he did not even come back with a counter. I kicked myself a little as I knew it would have been the perfect car for me. I sent an apology for my low offer and went about looking for the next car.  I could not shake the TR5 out of my thoughts but kept looking. 6 months went by with no prospects on other cars and no word from Richmond. I had found a few barn finds in the Philadelphia tri-state area but they were scooped up with in hours of being listed. Then suddenly talks were back on with Dave's friend in Richmond and the price closer to what my due diligence had indicated. In the end he came down a little I came up and after a visit to see the car in person we closed the deal. I was super happy but now had a new challenge. I really had no space to work on the car and had intended to build a new shop, but that's a whole other story. Picture to the left is the car stuffed snugly in our old two car garage with all of my tools, welders and probably a bunch of things that should have been tossed years ago. But here she is and I am stoked!

We had an old run down garden shed that had to go. In its place I imagined a beautiful two car garage with high ceilings, lots of light and even a twin post lift. My wife and I have always worked well together and with the addition of an attached "She Shed" to the design, and the 5 waiting patiently in the over stuffed old garage, we began the project. Little did my wife know that we needed a backhoe as part of the build. She has already earned her angel wings for putting up with my crazy ideas, but I was pretty sure I was pushing the boundaries with my large, orange, 4wd, Kabota L39 backhoe.  Every man should have one, at least for 6 months or so. 

It turns out that the initial footer pour was not level, not even close. The job foreman thinks he might have accidentally kicked the laser level....... After parting ways with the first contractor and over a cold few months of winter, rain and snow , the trench sidewalls had pretty much collapsed. With Spring came a new plan, new contractor and the big dig out. Footer was fixed and level, foundation walls built and slabs poured. Time to start building. 

Next came backfill and gravel( 20 tons). This was followed by 2 inch foam insulation and radiant heat pipes in the 5 inch slab. Not hooked up yet but easier and cost effective to put the pipes in at this stage. I did measure and leave pad areas for a 2 post lift, should that be an option down the road. (Bad to accidentally drill through the pipes so why not plan for it).  

Even my wonderful wife jumped in to help work on the project. Not only was this going to be a two car garage but also a new garden shed. Aptly named her "She Shed". With the framing done my friend Chris came to help with the roof and before we knew it we were under roof and basically dried in. We decided to side the entire structure with reclaimed barn wood. The TR5 was moved into its new home to make way for the delivery of 7200 square feet of rustic barn siding, salvaged from a barn located near the New York - Pennsylvania border. (Found locally on FB marketplace). With the siding up and the garage door installed it was finally time to start work on the TR5. First job was to pull the engine, which was dropped in place for transport, and deal with the messy oil leaks and to check the thrust bearings. Additionally, this is a non-overdrive car so some thought and effort had to go into finding an overdrive transmission or  sourcing a suitable conversion. 

With nothing in the way and the interior out it was very easy to pull the engine and transmission. Once again, FB Marketplace to the rescue and I secured a 2 ton engine hoist and engine stand, both in great shape and the pair for under $100.