Vehicle Model: TR3 Year: 1956 Commission Number: DTR 9377
State: ACT Owned since: 2008
My TR is an Australian assembled TR3. It is a 1956 model assembled in Melbourne. It was the 38th TR3 assembled, hence body number 038. The car’s VIN/chassis number is DTR9377 038.
I am not sure who purchased the vehicle originally, but at some stage in the late 60’s/early 1970’s it was owned by Dr Ross Benger. The registration number on the car when he got it was SA12031. He said the vehicle had black vinyl on the dash when he bought it and that it had been converted to disc brakes on the front from the original drum brakes. The car had a rear seat fitted (I still have the rear seat although it is not in the car). I have a photocopy of a South Australian registration slip that shows that the car was registered in 1978 as SA RDH636.
The car was driven to Laurie Cousins workshop around 1970 for some restoration work to be done. I am not sure why that did not happen, but after some 25 years Dr Benger asked for all of the pieces of the car back. Dr Benger did not recognize the vehicle when he got it back as many parts were missing, including the engine so he could not be sure that it was actually his car that he got back.
In 1995 he took all of the pieces that he had to Terry Goodall, when Terry was at the Binalong car museum, to be put back together. In 1996 Dr Benger was still waiting for missing parts to come from Laurie Cousins but they were never forthcoming. Terry put new floors in the car and then took it to a panel beater in Yass for the remaining body work to be done, including fitting of the right hand door which did not originally fit. The car was then painted red (around 1996), which is still on the car today.
Nothing further was done on the car for some time. When Terry left the museum in Binalong and relocated to the NSW highlands, he took the car with him where it remained with nothing further done as he was still awaiting further instructions from Dr Benger.
In 2007 Graham Brohan approached Terry about the vehicle and subsequently purchased it from Dr Benger.
Graham commenced a ground up restoration, although the paintwork (red) and leather seats (brown) were not touched.
I purchased the car from Graham Brohan in March 2008 and had it registered on full registration in September 2008 (ACT TR356) in time for the Thredbo Concours. The car was awarded Best TR3 and received the Rookie award at this Concours. I subsequently changed it to historic registration number ACT 1148 in September 2009.
Since that time I have had a steel hard top, rack and pinion steering, an alternator conversion and a spin on oil filter fitted. It also has MX5 seats.
