qkingston Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 I noticed the picture attached on a Pinterest post, clearly showing Heralds with 5VC and 6VC number plates, does this suggest that Standard Triumph had a whole series of these very distinctive plates (incl the TR4s), were they moved around Triumph vehicles? Were there more of them? Regards David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tr graham Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 David it is not unusual to see the same number plate on different cars that where being used for promotional purposes back then. graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
qkingston Posted December 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 Indeed not, I hadn't seen other 'VC' numbers other than the race TR4s, just wondered if Triumph had a bigger set of them? I've not heard of that being documented previously.. Rgds David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim T Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 Without being pedantic, those are Vitesses. When I had a Vitesse back in the 70's I got very upset if somebody called it a Herald! As Graham says that photo is purely for promotional purposes and I suspect not on a 'highway' hence distinctive plates and no tax discs. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
qkingston Posted December 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yes OK, you're right, Vitesses. My point was that is it a coincidence that the VC number plates were used (on the road) on the race Tr4s, did Triumph have a series of them?......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 My dad was head of PR etc at Rolls Royce motors from the mid 1970’s and he introduced PR plates on the fleet of company and press cars. He used the TU crewe registration typically 1800TU 1900TU ETC ETC it didn’t age the publicity material and they were constantly transferring the registrations. to the extent that a shadow 1800TU took him to crewe station and a Bentley 1800TU picked him up from Euston on the same journey !!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Forey Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 My late father in law had a number of 1930's Rudge motorbikes at one stage, all with the same number plate. Just moved the one and only tax disc onto the right bike before taking it out for a run. His logic was brilliant: he could only ride one at a time and nobody but a real Rudge enthusiast could tell the difference between them. Mick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham Robson Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 Here is the definitive answer : January 1962 : I asked our Fleet Managers to get me four distinctive numbers - they came back from the licencing office with 3VC, 4VC, 5VC and 6VC. March 1962 : As was their usual 'system', they made up the plates and sent them across to us to fit to the cars. When I told them that we would use plastic stick-on plates instead, they were not best pleased. The redundant plates went into storage in their (not our) workshops. April 1962 ; We correctly applied the stick-on plates to the 'works' TR4 cars, as and when they were completely ready. May 1962; The Triumph PR machine needed to get brand-new Vitesses ready for the launch, did not want to use real numbers, asked for 'some plates' to be fixed before photography and - Lo and Behold - 'Fred' found these unused plates in a corner. 1962 - 2020 : I have been explaining this cock-up ever since, but it refuses to lie down Hon. Pres. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
qkingston Posted December 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 Thanks Graham, fascinating background, apologies for digging it up again Best Regards David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Harbottle Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 Is Vitesses a proper word?, or is it 2 Vitesse? Not that it makes much difference unless your a Mongoose Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Graham Robson said: Here is the definitive answer : January 1962 : I asked our Fleet Managers to get me four distinctive numbers - they came back from the licencing office with 3VC, 4VC, 5VC and 6VC. March 1962 : As was their usual 'system', they made up the plates and sent them across to us to fit to the cars. When I told them that we would use plastic stick-on plates instead, they were not best pleased. The redundant plates went into storage in their (not our) workshops. April 1962 ; We correctly applied the stick-on plates to the 'works' TR4 cars, as and when they were completely ready. May 1962; The Triumph PR machine needed to get brand-new Vitesses ready for the launch, did not want to use real numbers, asked for 'some plates' to be fixed before photography and - Lo and Behold - 'Fred' found these unused plates in a corner. 1962 - 2020 : I have been explaining this cock-up ever since, but it refuses to lie down Hon. Pres. Love it Keeps the story alive as I didn’t know that. H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
qkingston Posted December 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 Interesting that 4, 5, 6 VC all show as TR4s, 3VC just states 'Triumph' but the engine size might also suggest a 4 given it was issued in 1962? Are they all known? (I know 4VC is) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham Robson Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 2 hours ago, qkingston said: Interesting that 4, 5, 6 VC all show as TR4s, 3VC just states 'Triumph' but the engine size might also suggest a 4 given it was issued in 1962? Are they all known? (I know 4VC is) All four cars were ordered with the optional 2.0-litre engine, all were delivered with the 2.0-litre engines, and all of course were assembly-line-manufactured TR4s. 'Are they all known' ? Of course - all are currently in the UK, with owners known to us in the TR Register. Move along please .... nothing to see here.... Hon. Pres. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 (edited) All are 4's and all are extant. Edited December 9, 2020 by iain Posted at the same time as Graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham Robson Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 Number plate swapping was never carried out by us. But if you want to see where that was practiced as an Olympic-standard art, look at my friend Robert Young's new book about 'works' Mini-Coopers ! I bet he had a real headache sorting them out Hon. Pres. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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