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Unusual TSOA Badge - Have You Ever Seen This Before?


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When posting the cover of the Olyslager book (https://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/78998-tr3-badged-tr3a/&tab=comments#comment-747779) I noticed that the TR3A on the cover photograph has a TSOA badge on his front bumper. Close examination shows, that this badge is quite unusual with an additional chromed part.

The car is VYM 429, TS 38141, a Standart Motor Co. (London) demonstrator car (Piggott, Triumph By Name, p. 272).

Because TS38141 is not far away from my TS40###L I bought an original Standart Triumph press department photograph of this car.  On this picture one can see, that the badge is the usual TSOA badge in black/red (like in the color pic), but with an additional badge with - on the left - LONDON (?); the letters on the right are unreadible...

Does anybody know this kind of badge?

Cheers

 

Christian

VYM 429 - 01.jpg

VYM 429 - 05.jpg

VYM 429 - 10.jpg

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I don’t believe this badge is uncommon. I recall seeing one for the first time on a scruffy TR3 in the snow in the High Wycombe station car park in the late sixties/early seventies. I have seen a few more since then

Others, more knowledgeable than I, will tell you more of the origins of the TSOA

james

Edited by james christie
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23 hours ago, Malcolm Tatton said:

The badge says 'LONDON SECTION' and appears to be an add on. Apparently made by J Fray Ltd of Birmingham, who are no longer about.

 

Hello Malcolm, thank you very much for this information! Yes, obviously it's an add on. As it fits on the TSOA badge perfectly I agree that it's probably made by Fray.

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23 hours ago, Lebro said:

20211213_155357.thumb.jpg.f566fe2a64d058b05aa99af02875dfe5.jpg

I have this one, but no information about it.

Bob

Hello Bob, this is an early example, and the badge shown by Ade is a late one (well, an early late one).

I have a collection of these TSOA badges (some are shown in the pic), and in my view the pic shows all the different types (casting and/or color) that existed.

Main differences are:

Smooth surface (early; end of 50ies and 60ies, perhaps 70ies) to rough surface (late 70ies and 80ies until now)

MADE IN ENGLAND on foot:

without: early, black/red (up to January 1959). Black/red badges (not repainted) are ALLWAYS without MADE IN ENGLAND (as far as I know).

without: early, blue/white (from January 1959, only a short time); very rare!

with: ALLWAYS blue/white, 60ies, perhaps 70ies; if it's white/blue: repainted.

Rough surface, MADE IN ENGLAND on foot :

Later, second series, produced by Fray. Allways white/blue (or unpainted). If black/red, red/black, blue/white: repainted. Codes on the back of the Badge, not on the back of the foot. I think it's not contemporary to the "real" TSOA.

Badge 5 in the pic is a copy of the second Fray series: slightly bigger, back is totally different. I know only this one. If someone has any information, please let me know...

So even if there's only the foot left, you can tell which casting the missing rest was B)

 

 

Bild 1.jpg

Bild 2.jpg

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Just found this lot in ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/384480403381?hash=item5984d15fb5:g:vfYAAOSwKmphggnk

If it's genuine and the three items (badge white/blue, handbook with white/blue, newsletter of October 1973 with blue/white) belong together, the second series was in use by 1973 and the sign of the TSOA was either blue/white or white/blue...

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When I worked for BMH we were required to rescue pressure die cast tooling that was deemed to be relevant or property of the marquess we controlled from Fray, when the business went into administration.  I recall saving the tools that made that badge ( along with many others) from the scrap dealer.  Where those tools are now or who has ownership of them I do not know.

 

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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The man at Fray said they shipped the badges chrome only.   The paint colouring was done locally in USA.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Joseph_Fray

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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I believe this to be an original early TSOA handbook for my 1955 TR2.
It also contains all the cars service history, hand written in the back from 1955 onwards; including rotation of tyres, warranty work etc.

I love the history of these cars.

Thanks for starting this great post Christian :)

Ade

14B2E9D4-3CE0-498F-9550-7E7C7FFC728E.jpeg

8DE8666A-C5A9-4D9B-B90F-39E3CC5662B6.jpeg

5E7A198F-24CB-4283-A625-A62018A2A452.jpeg

 

 

Edited by AJ2014
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Hello Ade,

nice papers! :)

I have a TSOA handbook from the U.S.A., from 1960 or 1961. It gives very usefull informations!

BTW: It states "TR-3A", like the Olyslager book.

Perhaps interesting: It has hand written information of TS67242L: engine TS67426(?), EB 65462, Comm. 107298

TSOA Handbook small 01.jpg

TSOA Handbook small 02.jpg

TSOA Handbook small 03.jpg

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A great handbook Christian, thanks for sharing.

Here’s a taster of the life of a brand new TR2 in 1955 in the hands of it’s first owner.

The gearbox didn’t last very long lol !!

Ade

387DAF1F-A452-4E99-AF0A-2CD226D5F044.jpeg

 

 

Edited by AJ2014
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17 hours ago, AJ2014 said:

A great handbook Christian, thanks for sharing.

Here’s a taster of the life of a brand new TR2 in 1955 in the hands of it’s first owner.

The gearbox didn’t last very long lol !!

Ade

387DAF1F-A452-4E99-AF0A-2CD226D5F044.jpeg

686620EA-8C76-421A-A7A9-1D7A8BF6C492.jpeg

366F073E-6749-49CD-9ECF-856B63D14128.jpeg

Some very interesting notes in the service book especially replacement gearbox very early on!

Stuart.

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6 minutes ago, stuart said:

Some very interesting notes in the service book especially replacement gearbox very early on!

Stuart.

I thought you’d like that Stuart.

There are pages and pages of it, bits failing and very regular servicing at approx 1000 mile intervals.

I think this first owner must have been a boy racer haha!

Ade

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Just now, AJ2014 said:

I thought you’d like that Stuart.

There are pages and pages of it, bits failing and very regular servicing at approx 1000 mile intervals.

I think this first owner must have been a boy racer haha!

Ade

Engineering wasnt that good for the early cars hence why they changed so many things through the sidescreen car era.

Stuart.

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On 12/17/2021 at 7:18 PM, AJ2014 said:

A great handbook Christian, thanks for sharing.

Here’s a taster of the life of a brand new TR2 in 1955 in the hands of it’s first owner.

The gearbox didn’t last very long lol !!

Ade

387DAF1F-A452-4E99-AF0A-2CD226D5F044.jpeg

686620EA-8C76-421A-A7A9-1D7A8BF6C492.jpeg

366F073E-6749-49CD-9ECF-856B63D14128.jpeg

If you wish, Ade, I could upload all the pages into Bonanza (permanent resource) in TR Technical General. Then it becomes part of the TR Archive there. It seems very useful as a document.

Kindest regards,

David Brancaleone (aka DavidBee)

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1 hour ago, DavidBee said:

If you wish, Ade, I could upload all the pages into Bonanza (permanent resource) in TR Technical General. Then it becomes part of the TR Archive there. It seems very useful as a document.

Kindest regards,

David Brancaleone (aka DavidBee)

No thank you David but thanks for asking.

Regards

Ade

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