Start the new year right with this chipper British roadster

BRING A TRAILER FEATURES A REASONABLY PRICED TRIUMPH TR3

    Want a Bugeye Sprite, but put off by the British roadster's toylike impracticality? Well, you can get in the slightly larger, marginally more powerful and substatially quicker (though speed is relative here) -- but very near as cheerful and equally topless -- Triumph TR3 for not a whole lot of money.

    The example featured at Bring a Trailer isn't the nicest one in the world, but it runs, and that's a start. Plus, the seller'sCraigslist ad is one of the most refreshingly honest classifieds we've ever seen. "Concourse quality--> NO," it reads in part. "Floors and front fenders have had patches welded in filled. I am getting better at this."

   Still, the headlights work "all the time" despite a "slight wiring problem." (We've heard that concours judges will actuallyknock points off British sports cars that have perfectly functional wiring, so we're counting this a bonus.)

    The "U" is missing from the nameplate on the hood, which now reads "TRI MPH." On a car we doubt can even hit triple-digit speeds, we think that's funny. The seat pans are patched but, per the ad, "once covered no one will know."

    Which is true enough. We wonder: are we, as enthusiasts, collectively transforming into obsessives enthralled equally by over-restored classics and untouched-to-the-point-of-absurdity guano-covered barn finds? Is there room in our hearts (and garages) for reasonably priced drivers that show their age and the scars of previous restoration attempts of varying skill, or do we all need to live under the illusion that, at any moment, our semi-collectible hooptie might any any moment be selected for Pebble Beach?

    If you have the confidence to drive a TR3 that almost certainly won't be the nicest example at your local Triumph meetup, this could be the car for you. At $5,900, it costs a fraction of what totally restored examples sell for -- and if it truly does run and drive, it's a great candidate for a long-term "sympathetic" restoration that won't involve spending long chunks of time off the road.

    With 2015 on the horizon, it's a great time to make resolutions -- why not resolve to jump headfirst into the world of British sports car ownership? Heck, you might even have it on the road by January 2019. Then it's time for a TR3/Bugeye Sprite street throwdown.