The Roadster Factory · TR2, TR3 Mini Web Catalogue
Page 26
B O D Y S H E E T M E TA L
There is very little mass-produced body sheet metal available for TR2 and TR3 models.
Floors, sills, battery boxes, and a few other popular components are made on tooling. Most
panels are made by hand from flat sheet metal using simple jigs, hammers, the English wheel,
and the planishing machine. The work is done by the men who have always done it as long as
there have been metal car bodies. They learn their trade by working with their fathers, uncles,
and older brothers, and cars are built by hand in a time-honoured tradition. The man who
makes TRF's body components for TR2 and TR3 makes body panels and body shells as a full-
time business where he works with his father and his brother. Together, they have made many
TR2 and TR3 body shells in steel and in aluminium. They also make new body shells in
aluminium for AC Cobras.
You need to realize, as I am sure that you do, that TR2 and TR3 models were largely
hand-built cars originally, and when fitting hand-made body panels to these cars, a certain
amount of fitting must be done. This is the skilled work of the traditional body man or panel
beater, as he or she is known in England. This means that fitting body panels may require a
little cutting, bending, hammering, and welding. That this work can be done to a high standard
is illustrated clearly in the body shell photo included here. We are not currently listing body
shells, but we can supply them made to order for specific TR2 and TR3 model variations.
Complete body shells as photographed can be supplied in steel or in aluminium. If you have
an interest in a body shell, please phone to speak with John Swauger, and we will get you a
price quotation. Body shells are normally shipped in sea freight containers, and variables
include the cost of crating if required and the cost of shipping from The Roadster Factory to
specific US destinations. If the shell can be picked up at TRF on a flatbed or a car trailer, the
need for crating can be avoided as well as the cost of shipping.
We have been selling the individual TR2 and TR3 body panels for some time, and it has
been our experience that they are of very good quality.
