Intriguing production TRivia

[Rodbr]

In the process of restoring my early TR2 and when stripping the centre dash instrument panel I discovered written in black on the back the following "352, RYI or (1) and Nil "

This number matches the body number of 672352 and Engineering build number EB353.

 

Given that the panel is covered in trim colour is it likely that these panels with wiring loom were built off the car and were built specifically for each car in the early production.

 

Has anyone ever found numbers written in yellow "Chinagraph" pencil behind the commission plate and did any number match the comm number?

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

Perhaps the fully built dash panel was allocated to a shell to meet the shell specification detailed on its build sheet ie LHD/RHD, trim colour and imperial/metric instruments, single/2 speed wiper overdrive.

Perhaps as the early car shells were not fully jig built, parts like that would have been fettled to fit its eventual shell when 'body in white' (unpainted) before being sent for trimming or instruments and switches fitting.

The story of when the shell build was fully jigged rather than by a hand held template and drill arrangement is probably in the EB notes - Does any one have access to a full and relevant set?

 

Cheers

Peter W

[Lebro]

Sorry, I think sand blasting may have removed any such writing on mine ! but did not notice anything at the time (it was very rusty)

 

Bob.

[Paul Down]

Yes on my TR2 under the Commision plate in yellow chinagraph:

 

R M H

Nil

 

Which corresponds to the original factory spec ( RHD, ? , Heater)

?

[TR 2100]

Paul,

 

MPH speedo, I think. I did used to know!

There is also a code for tyres (Roadspeed or standard crossplies).

 

AlanR

[Lebro]

Codes:

AS = Adjustable steering

CSA = Competition Springs & Shock Absorbers

H = Home built Specification

h = Heater

HT = Hard Top

HSC = Hood Stick Cover

K = Metric Calibrated instruments

L = Lefthand Drive

M = Imperial Calibrated Insruments

Nil = No Heater

ORS = Occasional Rear Seats

O = Overdrive

R = Righthand Drive

TC = Tonneau Cover

W = Whitewall Tyres

WW = Windscreen Washers

Wire = Wire Wheels

X = Export Build Specification

4:1 = 4:1 Axle Ratio

 

 

From my Standard Register records (courtesy of Bill Piggott)

 

Bob.

[Don H.]

Any additional detail on differences between H (home market build) and X (export market build) specifications would be appreciated. Especially -- were these simply equipment differences, of which there were many flavors of export, or were they related to to manufacturing tolerances and variability or some other objective measure of quality?

 

I'm in the midst of an ongoing discussion with one of our forum members around the subject of quality standards for export and home market cars, and specifically if the "export or perish" mandate led to two different standards in the past. We have our guesses, but facts would be good -- opinions are cheap and plentiful.

[Don Elliott]

Don - There is a TR3A owner in St. Louis. His is black with wire wheels and when we were at VTR in Breckonridge in 2001, I told him about my 1958 TR3A having an extra digit stamped on my Comm. No. plate. Officially, for license purposes, my TR3A is registered as 8TS 27489 LO. The 8 was stamped as the TRs were sold - indicating the year it was sold new. The day after, he came back to me and was so excited to tell me that his Comm. No. had been stamped with the pre-digit 9. This indicated that his TR3A was first sold by a S-T dealer in 1959 and it had been imported into Canada, before ending up in St. Louis.

[Alec Pringle]

Hi Don,

 

"export or die" was the expression of the times . . . .

 

It's not exactly that there were two separate standards of quality control.

 

Export cars were what really mattered, so of course they got the best shot ex-factory.

 

Home market cars had the benefit of a long-established, experienced and thoroughly competent dealer network, who could and did rectify what the production line might have left to be desired. PDI, pre delivery inspection.

 

Dealers on the other side of the water would be less experienced in terms of Triumph cars specifically, have less by way of spare parts on hand, and anything required ex-factory to rectify problems would be taking weeks (at best) if not months to arrive.

 

No car manufacturer could afford for problems to slip through the net on export cars - however hard quality control departments might have tried on home market cars, they inevitably tried a damn sight harder on export machinery.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[jdwtrxk]

My TR2 had written on the back of the instrument panel in pencil '227' 'LHD' and HTR. Never checked under the commission plate. Curiously, my commission number 227 was used rather than the last three numbers of the body.

[jdwtrxk]

I remember that a friend of mine had an early TR2 in the mid 1950s and broke the fragile rear axle. Had to order the shaft from the works and it was delivered by a Greyhound bus to the terminal in Baltimore. He had to pick it up there.

[Guest]

Don - There is a TR3A owner in St. Louis. His is black with wire wheels and when we were at VTR in Breckonridge in 2001, I told him about my 1958 TR3A having an extra digit stamped on my Comm. No. plate. Officially, for license purposes, my TR3A is registered as 8TS 27489 LO. The 8 was stamped as the TRs were sold - indicating the year it was sold new. The day after, he came back to me and was so excited to tell me that his Comm. No. had been stamped with the pre-digit 9. This indicated that his TR3A was first sold by a S-T dealer in 1959 and it had been imported into Canada, before ending up in St. Louis.

My Nov. 59 TR was sold to the US and has a small plate with 'S-T 60'. The Dutch DVLA guy who approved the car for Dutch roads knew his TRs... he told me that S-T 60 stands for 'Standard Triumph' and '1960': the year the car was sold to its first owner. Sadly, first on the road in 59 or 60 is the watershed between (59) MoT extempt or (60) bi-annual MoT. According to the new Dutch papers, my car is a 1960 specimen.

 

Menno

[Don H.]

Don - There is a TR3A owner in St. Louis. His is black with wire wheels and when we were at VTR in Breckenridge in 2001... his TR3A was first sold by a S-T dealer in 1959 and it had been imported into Canada, before ending up in St. Louis.

 

Interesting, Don -- I don't know that car. I'll have to ask some of the guys around here. (I'm a member of our local club, but I only go to the two shows in the year, not monthly get-togethers or other outings.)