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Triumph TR3 - Radio Installations

As a devout motorcyclist, I'm accustomed to long rides accompanied by only the sound of the wind in my helmet and the motor humming below. But cars seem to demand other opportunities for sonic entertainment.

What kind of radio/tape/CD installations have folks performed on their TR3s? What are the usual mounting locations? Are there options for hiding or minimizing the intrusive appearance of an antenna? What about speaker locations? Has anyone worked with or adapted the original hump-mounted radio/speaker bracket?

Or do we just throw a battery-powered boombox on the shelf behind the seats and call it done?

Thanks for any help getting "tuned" in.

Bill Stagg
1961 TR3A

Bill Stagg

Bill - My father was born in Scotland and you know how "thrifty" the Scots are. Well when my brother sold his 1956 Nash Rambler in about 1962, I swiped his radio and put it in the TR3A. Mine is an early one (TS 27489 LO) and on the side wall behind the carpet on the passenger's side foot well, there was a space for a 10" loudspeaker. Check your TR. Also mine came with a hole (covered with a smooth curved plug to cover the hole) in the RHS front fender (wing). This was where the antenna (aerial) was supposed to go. That's where I put it.

After spending a few days to install it with a bracket, I realised that I couldn't hear it - what with the roar (nice and sweet) of the motor and all the wind in my ears. So out it came.

I suggest you try the ghetto blaster first. If you can't hear it forget it.

On my way to Portland Oregon in 2000 for VTR, I was following about 75 feet behind Garry Altwasser across Nebraska, I think, also in his red/red TR3A. I was hearing strange noises that had me worried for a while till I caught up real close to Garry and he had his "blaster" on. It was the "boom - boom - boom" that I was hearing. He had put in twin 50 watt amps in cylindrical cans under his rear flat seat shelf panel of his "late" TR3A. I don't know what he used for cooling !

If you want more info on how he did it, email me off-line for his email address.

Don Elliott, The Scottish Canadian. That's why I bought, kept, and still have, the first car I ever bought, my 1958 TR3A.

Don Elliott

“Wow Bill you sure have liven this forum up :)” It's funny you ask about a radio and speaker location. I was at Paul Oglesby's place last week and he now has reproductions of the optional center mount radio and speaker. They look pretty good. At some point if you would like to make a Saturday trip to Madisonville, I’ll give Paul a call and see if he would open for us. If so I'll meet you in Evansville and introduce you to Paul. And by the way the forum is hopping with Don’s great commentary and info on side screen TR’s as well Mike, Berry, Scott and Chuck. We’re catching up with the TR6 Forum.
Russ Austin

Gents,

I'll admit to being ambivalent about putting sound into the TR. In the four good driving days since owning this wonderful machine, I've noticed it has more in common with my Moto Guzzi two-wheeler than any of my four-wheelers. One of the things I love most about riding bikes is that you are completely "out there" in direct contact with the environment and the machinery propelling you through it. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" really captures it. I get that same feeling in the topless TR, more than with any other convertible I've been in. I know I'm singing to the choir, here, but I absolutely love being in this car.

On the other hand, I enjoy being bathed in high fidelity music (no thumping subs allowed) when I'm relegated to my "regular" car. Without it, these closed boxes are sterile, boring voids. But as Don notes, the TR is not going to support a hi-fi listening experience very well, precisely because it's so openly (and loudly) tuned to the world outside and the sounds from under the hood.

But...there are going to be those times at slower speeds, in town, when some music or talk over a small speaker is just the thing. I'm not looking for audiophile quality here; I'd settle for something as basic as the TR itself, particularly if it blends seamlessly into the look and feel and era of the TR. Russ, I'd love to head down to Paul's one day to see the Madisonville Mecca of TR. Let me know if he's willing to open for us and we'll make a date.

My first car was a three year old '64 Ford Cortina I bought at age 16. It didn't have a radio, either, and my first act of automotive customizing was to throw a used Motorola AM radio (no pushbuttons) into the empty space on the dash and drill a hole in the fender to mount the antenna. Changed my life. Now I've come full circle back to another English car. Life is good.

Thanks, all.

Bill Stagg
1961 TR3A
Bill Stagg

This thread was discussed between 12/12/2002 and 13/12/2002

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