woodward Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hello My TR4 orginally came with a surrey top but somewhere between it being manufactured and getting to me the surrey diasppeared and was replaced with a regular hood and tonneau. To use the tonneau there are a couple of "poppers" along the top of the doors and on the dash top. As my plan is to convert the TR4 back to the surrey, I was wondering whether the car would have originally come with the poppers on the doors or not? The doors are currently stripped for painting so I can go either way. Any of you TR4 gurus know the answer...? Thanks Myles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Myles A tonneau'd car would come with the door mounted poppers, a surrey topped car wouldn't have, so in terms of originality they wouldnt have been there if the car had been supplied with a surrey top originally. They might not even be the original doors for the car. I had the opposite with my TR4 and just welded the holes up as I was fitting a surrey top. Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I had the opposite with my TR4 and just welded the holes up as I was fitting a surrey top. Me too. Now the secret's out There are plenty of Surrey top cars out there with the snaps atop the doors, a dead giveaway it wasn't factory fitment ( see Carroll O'Connor's [ aka Archie Bunker ] Valencia '250 in Bill Piggot's book ). In fact my beater '250 ( same colour as Archie's ) has 'em too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnny250 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Me too. Now the secret's out There are plenty of Surrey top cars out there with the snaps atop the doors, a dead giveaway it wasn't factory fitment ( see Carroll O'Connor's [ aka Archie Bunker ] Valencia '250 in Bill Piggot's book ). In fact my beater '250 ( same colour as Archie's ) has 'em too Bills 'Bible' also shows that the stainless door trims can be mounted with the trailing edge going down or up...... which is actual fact...ory? john Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Bills 'Bible' also shows that the stainless door trims can be mounted with the trailing edge going down or up...... which is actual fact...ory? john The trailing edge was always down when new ( Steve Rossi / Ian Clarke's TR250/TR6 COMPANION notes an upside-down one on a TR5 ). While we're picking on the particular example in Bill's Bible, the front wings are bolted on with hex-head capscrews, the Wingard mirror pedestal is the wrong way round, the Surrey backlight frame is missing the snap studs, the radiator overflow pipe is facing the opposite direction, the hardtop panel fit to the windscreen is atrocious, but other than that it's a fabulous example My favourite feature is its seats Wonder where it is now since Carroll O'Connor's passing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Hi Tom, if you'd seen some of the Triumphs coming in to dealers for PDI in the late 60s / early 70s, then absolutely nothing would surprise you . . . If there was a way to fit something 'wrong', or with the 'wrong' fixings, it could and would be done, and all too regularly. Just like the good old habit of sending out production line reject items as dealer spares . . . The miracle is that any of the cars lasted long enough to become candidates for preservation ! Originality is a flexible concept !!! Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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