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Special tr4a from Belgium


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Found a new special feature !!!

 

The voltage regulator is not from Lucas ..but FD Japan LTD...

founded in 1936 this is a electrical component company :

Mr. Kintaro Furuhashi start a company "FURUHASHI DENKI FACTORY" at Shinagawa, Tokyo.

 

So a UK car - assembled in Belgium with French and Japanese parts for US market sold in Germany.. :wacko:

 

post-8401-0-93561800-1516402340_thumb.jpg

Edited by William Zimmermann
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Hi William,

that's interesting, and I also notice the location of the commission plate - Is that on the right side of the firewall shelf? My plate is still loose in the files and needs to be attached- the rivet marks on the RHS suggest that's where it should be. However I thought convention was for commission plate to be on the LHS firewall shelf near the Pedal bracket (for LHD vehicles), and the body serial number on the RHS firewall shelf? Could this also be slight difference between the Malines and Coventry assembly?

Cheers

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Isn't there a chance that voltage regulator is a later repair, William? It doesn't quite look like it's as old as the car to my eyes.

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this is an attachment of the reverse side of the key , with the French instruction

Never seen before a double language key...

 

attachicon.gifIMG_8366.JPG

 

 

 

I've seen this dozens of time on CKD from Maline.

Edited by Chris59
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Many years ago Patrick Van Houtven sent me details of a TR6 that he used to own, 1CP50003LP. Patricks TR6 was fitted with "Houdail" rear shock absorbers and heavy duty adapter brackets which he believed to have been fitted by the factory at Malines from new. Other differences which Patrick noted were a chrome plated rocker cover, steering lock, orange reversing lights and the earlier CP25001 series trim. It did however have the black painted windscreen and 1970 model seats

 

cheers

 

Derek

 

post-1290-0-05769700-1516439545_thumb.jpg

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As explained earlier in this post, Maline built cars were not assembled following the same "options", "colours" and others equipments charts/lists.

 

If you add to this some modifications bring during ownership, as some of the mods listed by WZ about his TR4, you can end with a car rather "special", but not more special than any other of the thousands of the Maline build Triumphs.

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Hi William,

that's interesting, and I also notice the location of the commission plate - Is that on the right side of the firewall shelf? My plate is still loose in the files and needs to be attached- the rivet marks on the RHS suggest that's where it should be. However I thought convention was for commission plate to be on the LHS firewall shelf near the Pedal bracket (for LHD vehicles), and the body serial number on the RHS firewall shelf? Could this also be slight difference between the Malines and Coventry assembly?

Cheers

Malines cars had the Chassis plate on the Right hand side as you can see from the rivet holes, They also normally had it stamped into the metal on the right hand top section of the foot well and on the top of the right hand rear lower inner wishbone mounting too.

Stuart.

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Isn't there a chance that voltage regulator is a later repair, William? It doesn't quite look like it's as old as the car to my eyes.

Could be... but my assumption is that nobody put that later ....as you can see everything around is original.

This car is a one owner -low miles car hence confirmation that everything on it... is stock...

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As explained earlier in this post, Maline built cars were not assembled following the same "options", "colours" and others equipments charts/lists.

 

If you add to this some modifications bring during ownership, as some of the mods listed by WZ about his TR4, you can end with a car rather "special", but not more special than any other of the thousands of the Maline build Triumphs.

it is special being original, unrestored, low miles, one owner , with almost no modification during ownership...hence i thought it was interesting for the community to share this special adjustment from the belgium factory....

 

here a picture of a number stamped on the Left side rear fender.- :

 

post-8401-0-07731200-1516570934_thumb.jpg

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This is for sure an interesting car, and I for one have come across very few original low mileage Malines-built cars.

 

Chris' reservations are valid though - the Malines factory seemed to revel in creating anomalies, exceptions, idiosyncrasies and plain old mysteries. A law unto themselves, and supposedly regularly at variance with Standard Triumph and latterly BL in the UK.

 

Some years ago, chatting in Belgium to former Malines personnel, I gained the impression that the proportion of local content was something of a variable equation . . . . . often enough, local content was increased simply by virtue of component shortages from the UK necessitating substitution by whatever the Malines team could fettle to fit . . . . .

 

Small is beautiful, the Malines facility was small enough to be able to achieve a degree of flexibility that a larger factory could not, so presumably played on that potential strength in terms of offering a degree of personalisation that Canley could not realistically have offered.

 

Mixo horns, incidentally, were also utilised to at least some degree as factory fitment in the UK, presumably a back-up for component shortages - they were fitted to some TR4As, as well as to saloons, and were still appearing occasionally when the Dolomite Sprints first came out, 1973.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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Thanks Stuart, William,

 

now I know where to put my commission plate.

 

Good background Alec. Based on comments at get-togethers, the most unique feature of my 4A is the metric gauges, As most cars in NA are using imperial and if required by law, using conversion stickies

 

It is my understanding that there were about 2400 TR4's assembled at the Malines facility, or does that include 6's as well? I was told that CKD's were shipped in containers of 6 at a time and assembly of each of the six could use any of the components in the container to complete...Anyway that's a bit of trivia, don't know if it's right though

 

Cheers,

 

Alf

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  • 3 weeks later...

I found another special think : The original spare Wheel was made in....Luxembourg !!! :)

 

post-8401-0-92887400-1518114007_thumb.jpg

 

summary of parts :

UK, France (horn, keys) , Belgium (Glass) , Germany (Mirror) , Luxembourg (tyre) , Japan (regulator) and the front belt put later made in USA !

 

also the original trunk panel has an inscription I cannot read...

 

post-8401-0-28288500-1518114052_thumb.jpg

 

 

the letter from the tyre mark the metal after 50 years...

 

post-8401-0-14518400-1518114129_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Hi William,

Quick question - can you check whether your OD wiring exits into the engine bay and then through the bulkhead along with the brake light switch wires behind the washer reservoir?.

Stuart advised that they exit through the hole provided in the GB cover into the cabin, and then I presume to the column switch - I want to clarify whether the Malines cars were different

 

(Ignore the brass fitting - that is the PO's attempt to overcome the drain inside the wings)

 

post-11018-0-69367200-1521494176_thumb.jpgpost-11018-0-86502400-1521494177_thumb.jpgpost-11018-0-34698900-1521494178_thumb.jpg

 

Cheers,

Alf

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