Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hamish

Rolls - Royce Car Division. I worked for them in their 3 different guises for 19 years from 66 to 85 but that's only relevant to this topic in that as apprentices in the late 60s you were either an Austin 7,MG or TR man ( they were all clapped out!) so we learned a lot about non RR cars in the garages of the apprentice's hostel. My experience of the period and the last minute saving of the entire R-R chassis records during a cost saving cull (they were saved by two Directors and the RREC) informs my understanding of the challenges associate with archival material of the period.

Tom

Link to post
Share on other sites

THANKS TO ALL.

I'd just like to thank you all for telling me about a car I once owned. As one of you observed it was just an ageing sports car then with limited availability of parts. I have been put in touch with the present owner who says it is indeed a basket case.

I have a TR3A nowadays, which drives much the same as my old TR2. So I get the same enjoyment, albeit in a car that is just one of many. But I have an inner glow at the thought that I once had the first TR registered. Extraordinary!

Jock Low

Link to post
Share on other sites

Given all that has been said in the above thread, is anybody going to try and action some of the points!! As BP said the archives need a proper archivist to make a full history of ST and this needs doing sooner than later , also the saving of what is after all THE FIRST TR must surely be a priority . As this car is equally as important as TS2 and the jabbeke car and far more valuable

Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't imagine why MWK 950 restored should be " far more valuable " than the Jabbeke car . . . . similar value, perhaps. More talking up values to no good purpose . . . . .

 

The current owner of MWK 950, or what's left of it, will make his own mind up as to the car's future . . . . . as he did with the Jabbeke car, and as he will no doubt eventually do with all his other interesting TRs.

 

The thoughts of the Forum are unlikely to influence the man one iota, and in any case neither the TR Register nor the Forum membership have any legal, or even moral, claim to make any input to the future of his collection.

 

As to the archives . . . . what remains in there is, from all I've heard in recent years, nothing to get excited about. Lots of magazines and photos and relatively little by way of original documentary history. I can't imagine for a moment that it justifies the services of a professional archivist, any more than I can imagine the membership wanting to pay for such a specialist . . . . .

 

The former management committee and subsequently the board have endeavoured to rationalise the situation, but the small team who have been patiently digitalising photos for some years past have, as I understand it, stepped down from their labours. Advancing age has wearied them. No doubt volunteers will at some point be welcome, but I can't imagine that the archives, such as they remain, are the board's greatest priority.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

Link to post
Share on other sites

Firstly was not trying to talk up values, market forces will always take care of that , besides anything is only worth what somebody is prepared to pay. With regards to the current owner I am sure you are correct on that one, only pushed the archive one as B P seemed to think it needed attending to

Link to post
Share on other sites

Correction.......Mike Ellis has pointed out to me that copies of the Triumph Prototype Register, mine included, were incorrectly put together in that on page 2 the two A4 halves that went to make up the A3 whole page were incorrectly aligned before the page was phptocopied....as a result, the "Gearbox only" statement I made last week re ORW666 /X516 should have referred to X515 , which was the prototype Diesel Vanguard van.....

To recap, X 505 was the bobtailed 20 TS that was completed and ran, albeit unregistered, and which was on the stand at the 1952 ECMShow......it was later dismantled and parts used for MWK950 and MVC 575

 

X508 was (probably) the number allocated to the second, never completed 20 TS Bobtailed car. This was also dismantled with the parts re-used on both MWK and MVC....However, MWK950 took its X508 chassis number and became the first real TR2 and the first TR ever registered.

 

X516 was ORW666, the first RHD TR, which wasn't registered till Dec 1953

 

X519 was the Jabbeke record car, registered 31/3/53 (for some reason the X505 number wasn't re-used for either ORW 666 or for MVC 575) Bill Piggott

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archives......to go further with the Archive point, I went to Didcot at the end of October last and spent some time in the archive room....clearly nothing has been done there for a very long time...we haven't really had an operational archivist for about 3 years now. Alec, there IS a good deal of original and unique ex factory material there...a lot of valuable stuff as well as a lot of valuable original sales literature. You are right in that is doesn't need a full time paid archivist on a permanent basis, but it needs the services of one on a contract of several months to sort things out, get them classified and in good order and up to date.....no volunteer in my view will have the time, knowledge or skill to do this as things are so far behind......the committee seems to show no inclination to do anything, as evinced by Iain and others, who had no reply to their offers to help......as has been said, it is given a very low priority......BP

Link to post
Share on other sites

Bill

Many thanks for replying to this topic !!! And especially the archives, perhaps one of officers can take this forward and maybe we can raise some funds to pay a professional to do this for us . After all glen Hewitt managed to raise sponsorship from moss for jabbeke car perhaps we could get one of the others to do this????

Graham

Link to post
Share on other sites

Further to MWK 950 -engine nos.

The owner has sent me a copy of the logbook, which I'm pleased to see shows me as one of the owners. However of interest to others may be that the car was initially registered with engine no V175804, a vanguard engine, which was changed by Standard Motor Co to X571 in Jan 1954, and then later, in 1956 to TS31E (which apparently has a double barrelled thermostat). It was originally registered Blue and changed to British RAcing Green in 1956 before the last engine change, and presumably therefore while still owned by Standard Motor Co. By the late '60's it had reverted in the logbook to Blue. As has been reported in this chain earlier the chassis number is X508.

Link to post
Share on other sites

jocklow, do you have any photos of MWK 950 during your ownership? We love photos...

 

(This has been an informative thread -- thanks for it.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have had my question answered by the owner (aka 'you know who', aka 'a collector from West London') who said that the manufacturers description is simply Sports indicating that they had not arrived at a model name as this section is where TR2, TR3 etc appears normally.

 

He would also like to correct the information in post 37 in that the engine number should have an E suffix and that the original colour should state Ivory which was changed to Blue. The Ivory entry is crossed out and properly dated.

 

Mike

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have had my question answered by the owner (aka 'you know who', aka 'a collector from West London') who said that the manufacturers description is simply Sports indicating that they had not arrived at a model name as this section is where TR2, TR3 etc appears normally.

 

He would also like to correct the information in post 37 in that the engine number should have an E suffix and that the original colour should state Ivory which was changed to Blue. The Ivory entry is crossed out and properly dated.

 

Mike

 

It's good that the 'Collector' is open to an exchange of information with

both MikeE and a previous owner.

 

He has always been open with many TRR members but seems to have

taken umbrage with others, and perhaps the Register itself, for various

reasons and cut off contact. I don't know all the reasons why.

 

My only criticism is that, through his commitment to researching so much

of TR history, he has uncovered so much information that (currently, AFAIK)

is in his head rather than documented.

 

Long time ago, he came to visit me in Hong Kong. Had a wonderful two

days talking of nothing but TRs.

Can't remember what year - must be around 30 years ago.

 

AlanR

Edited by TR 2100
Link to post
Share on other sites

Bill Lynn has asked me to post the following contribution on his behalf. I’m just the messenger.


"This factory photo shows a car which I think is MWK 950 (X508). The photo shows a rather dirty bobtail prototype which I speculate was being extensively test driven after its debut. John Saunders was going to compare this photo against other factory photos he had, to make sure my speculation held up. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, John never completed his research before his stroke.


The reasons why I think the photo is of MWK 950 is that if you look at the photo of ORW 666, (which appeared earlier in this thread), ORW 666 has tripod headlights and for some strange reason, the windscreen wipers park to the right instead of to the left as would be typical for a RHD vehicle. Take a look at the two pictures and you will see what I mean. By the way, is that Ken Richardson driving in the picture of ORW 666?


Bill Lynn"


post-11074-0-56073500-1485018086_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.