New member with no TA (yet!)

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17th August 2015 at 10:49 am #4410
Anonymous
Hi everybody. I joined the TOC this week, which seems a bit previous … as I don’t have a Traction. I’ll be buying one very soon. It will be my first ‘proper’ classic, although I’ve had a lot of modern classics over the years: Mercedes 190E 16V, Fiat X1/9, MR2 Mk1, etc. So right now, I’m looking through UK and European sites and trying to learn about them before buying the first one that I see. Looks like I should take a trip down to John Gillard.

The TA will be replacing something rather different, a Honda NSX. Perhaps it’s rather fitting that I’ll be staying with a mid-engined car. 🙂

Looking forward to finding the right car and meeting some other TA owners.

Barry
(Cambridge)
17th August 2015 at 10:58 am #6384
Anonymous
Barry,
Welcome to the forum.

If you do decide to visit John, be sure to ring him first and arrange a date and time, so he will be there!

Having a car is not a requirement to join the TOC!

There are a couple of “buyers Guide” articles in the technical forum that may be of interest to you here: http://traction-owners.co.uk/members_only/torque/articles_books.htm and scroll down.
NOTE: You will need to log in to the “members only” section of the website, with the username and password (provided to you by the Membership Secretary) to access these articles.
17th August 2015 at 3:24 pm #6385
Anonymous
Good luck with the search and remember the old adage ‘all that glisters is not gold’ especially in the world of classic cars.

Some very clean looking TA’s may have hidden areas you don’t want in buying a TA. One thing to certainly do (and may not be in the buyers guide) is pull up any carpets for a good look and if there ‘glued’ down be very wary as one long term member has found out to his cost in the past year.

Also, try and drive a RHD ‘Slough’ car and a LHD ‘French’ car to see the difference in driving position before committing yourself (to buying the car, not an asylum 😮 )
17th August 2015 at 5:02 pm #6386
Anonymous
Thanks for the friendly welcome, chaps. I’m finding my way through the site/tech info and other interesting stuff as we speak.

And, yes, I’ve seen some scarey blogs/etc on TA restoration, plenty in fact. I saw the one in Warwickshire where the whole car had to be temporarily welded to a huge jig while the whole floor was removed and rebuilt. I think that’s now 6 years and counting in the restoration… 😮

So I will definitely be going in with eyes as wide open as possible. I need to get familar with the biggest issues. Buying a car well known to the club might also be a good idea.

On the LHD issue, I’m presuming that some of the best preserved cars are those that have lived in Southern Europe?
17th August 2015 at 5:03 pm #6387
Anonymous
Also try a small bodied car and a large bodied car and see which one you prefer. The larger ones are a bit easier to work on.
17th August 2015 at 5:31 pm #6388
Anonymous
The very minimum TA that would warrant a rebuild like the Warwickshire one is a small boot model but even then it needs to be pre-war. Big boot models are easy to come by.
17th August 2015 at 5:58 pm #6389
Anonymous
But if you find a coupe or roadster cheap, just buy it. No wait. Don’t! Let me know where it is and I’d be grateful.
17th August 2015 at 6:31 pm #6390
Anonymous
@L.Lewis wrote:

But if you find a coupe or roadster cheap, just buy it.

Just make sure it’s a genuine pre war one, not a ‘copy’ especially a Vietnamese one but you will need very deep pockets the way things are going 😮
17th August 2015 at 7:09 pm #6391
Anonymous
Yes, but do you remember the late Red Dellinger? He bought a 38 11B convertible at an auction for $3,000.00. Apparently no one knew what it was, or so the story went. A while back, but still, you never know.
18th August 2015 at 9:03 am #6392
Anonymous
At the risk of getting myself kicked out of the club … I don’t really like the look of the convertible! 😮 So I’m more than happy to y’all know if/when I stumbe upon a cheapie.

At the moment, I’m leaning towards a late big-boot Normale. It’s the type I first saw and fell for.

I saw ‘JFO 709’ (red RHD Light 15 with small boot) at a recent car show in Suffolk and it rekindled my interest. Didn’t get to see the owner though; perhaps he’s a member?
18th August 2015 at 9:17 am #6393
Anonymous
Yes he is.
20th August 2015 at 6:05 am #6394
Anonymous
Welcome and have fun searching (best part)

My old banger was thrust upon me by my neighbour, had no clue, no choice but its of enthusiasm. Great cars to work on and I will be back in the workshop next week to get on with the jobs to make it “proper”

Any help needed with French sites, let me know.

Ian
20th August 2015 at 9:49 am #6395
Anonymous
Thanks Ian. I had found two French used car sites, plus mobile.de for Dutch/Belgian/etc sellers.

We’re doing a trip to Avignon/etc next June. We’d normally take the LS400, but for this one we’ll take the TA (assuming I’ve found one by then!).

So I’ll need to get a good ‘TA survival kit’ made up before we set off. Any advice welcome. (Perhaps there’s been one published in Floating Power?)
21st August 2015 at 6:55 pm #6396
Anonymous
How about this one?

1952 Citroën ‘Light 15’ Saloon (Big Boot)

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22724/lot/112/
21st August 2015 at 7:51 pm #6397
Anonymous
It’s not French and not a Normale Mick.
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