The British have always taken a certain pride in their motorcars…though we don’t know why. Besides being too-small and often underpowered, only a handful of British cars are really worth any money. So unless it’s an old Aston Martin or a classic Jagaur, we aren’t interested in British cars…unless it is powered by something special.

That is the case with this 1957 Triumph TR3, which Carscoop found on eBay. Gone is the 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine, in favor of a hot rod Chevy 350 and plenty of other American car parts.

If you’re familiar with old Triumphs, you may be saying to yourself that this doesn’t look like anything like an original TR3. That’s because it is not. Rather, about 40 years ago, the original body was ditched in favor of an aluminum skin over a tubular chassis. The one-piece front end tilts forward to reveal the engine compartment, and what we actually have here is a one-off custom car that looks much better than the original did.

Beyond the obvious aesthetic improvements though, the owner took this old Triumph to the next level by dropping in a  Chevy 350. This replaced the 2.0 liter tractor engine that Triumph originally placed in the car…yet the 350 only weighs about 50 more pounds than the original engine. A TH350 transmission backs the engine, with a Ford 9” rear end out back. As an added bonus, there’s even a Ferrari “prancing horse” on the front end.

It’s a cool looking car if you ask us, though alas it has already sold for just under $20,000. So tell us, after seeing this custom TR3, would you ever consider owning a British sports car, just to drop an American V8 in it?