Triumph Inside: 1963 LaDawri Del Mar

This next piece of old fiberglass is a real oddity. A unicorn among pegasuses (pegasi?). It is a LaDawri coach built body sitting on top of a Triumph TR4 chassis and it exudes ’60s vibe like a Fender Stratocaster, floral print curtains, and Barbara Bouchet all mashed into a bakelite statue. We’ve featured one La Dwari before, but there aren’t many around. Find this 1963 LaDawri Del Mar offered for $3900 (with a new restored chassis) in Virginia Beach, VA via Triumphexp forums. Tip from Kester.

From the seller:
REVISED 07 July – 1963 LaDawri Del Mar (body only or body & chassis):
Body (only) New Price!, $1600 or best offer
OR Body & Restored Chassis, New Price! $3900 OBO.
From a 20-year slumber in a heated garage in Minnesota.
First plan is to sell the body, keep the chassis – but will consider selling as a package.
The Del Mar is the model for a small chassis (~88-92” wheelbase). Complete car only weighs about 1500-1600 lbs, depending on engine.
These bodies were produced in California from the mid-50s until 1965 by LaDawri-Coachcraft, started by Les Dawson; see:
https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/forgotten-fiberglass/forgotten-fiberglass-generations-1-2-3/generation-2-1956-1970/1956-2/ladawri-coachcraft/
Body Details:
· New, primed TR floor pans included, but not installed ($450 new);
· TR3 fuel tank in good shape;
· Like-New windshield glass (hard to find Vauxhall item) and trim included, but not installed;
· Taillights are ’50 Pontiac;
· Needs doors mounted up, has TR3 hinges and the hinge posts are bonded on to the body;
· Hood and trunk are hinged/latched;
· Needs some flat chassis adapter plates to bolt to the chassis of your choice;
· Only major holes in TR3 pan at the back of seat area (see pics) – about 4” square;
· Trunk and firewall and door pillars are all solid;
· Upon sale of body only, I will create a wood cradle with casters to easily roll it on to your flatbed trailer.

This particular example comes bonded to a TR3 tub, which definitely needs some work.
Chassis Details:
1963 TR4, solid-axle chassis has been fully restored, painted, and comes with:
- Rebuilt trans and driveshaft;
- New wheel cylinders, pads, shoes and lines;
- Rebuilt rack & pinion and front end; all new rubber bushings, tie rods and trunnions, king pins;
- New TR4 floor pans included, but not installed.
It was purchased coincidentally in Virginia Beach by the PO about 20 years ago, and was kept in a heated garage all this time, having been off the road. The fiberglass is in pretty good shape because the engineer had a two-car garage addition built onto his existing two-car garage; in the back portion he had in-floor heat added when they laid the cement.

See a better way to drive a fibercorn? tips@dailyturismo.com
All that time, expense and effort. Heated garage floor, ffs. And it’s only worth a couple G. SMH.
My uncle kept a Studebaker in my grandfather’s garage for decades, sure it would be worth bucks. Wrong model, garage too damp so it got rusty, and after all that fuss, had to pay to get it taken away.
Nice pull on the Barbara Bouchet reference. A rare intersection of my film and car eccentricities.
If this were within a couple of hundred miles of me I would have already bought it.
I have a TR3 that needs brakes and clutch hydraulics replaced as well as oh, attaching the seats to some sort of to be added floors, but I could probably sell it for what this would cost.
Darn COVID mess