TR2/3/3A Tracing Vehicle History

As restoration of my '59 TR3A (TS52910L, engine# TS53112E) proceeds I am interested in piecing together the owner and driving history of the car. The right "bookend" documentation starts with the gentleman who sold me the car in 1991 and I'll work my way backwards. The left bookend starts with my British Motor Heritage certificate which indicates delivery from the factory in the summer of '59 to Cal Sales, San Francisco, the well known distributor of TRs in California and west of the Mississippi. So the car started out in California and ended up in Baltimore where I bought it. The process would likely involve a lot of interaction with various state departments of motor vehicle (archived records) in cases where I cannot first trace the former owners directly.

To anyone's knowledge, are there surviving Cal Sales records and/or possibly from the TSOA, the former factory sponsored owner's club to help establish at least the first owner?

Yes, I know there will probably be a lot of blank spaces..., but anything helps.

Regards,

Walter

Thanks Don for the Cal Sales POC. Have added the number, TS52910L and engine #TS53112E, to the posting. Much appreciated!

Walter

Please let us know if TR Householder is able to help with Cal Sales info.

My car (TS47905L) was also originally sold by Cal Sales but I don't want to bug Tom unless he indeed has something to offer. Thanks!

I would be very interested in this as well. I have the exact same starting info: British Motor Heritage Cert indicating car was imported at the Port of Vancouver then I purchased the car locally here in CT in 2000.

I've always wanted to document the full lineage of my car.

Bob

Gentlemen,

Unfortunately Tom Householder does not have any Cal Sales documents, although he did search the former headquarters buildings years ago. He suggested I contact Jon Korbin at VTR for possible information, and I have done so. We'll see if any luck!

Regards,

Walter

It is not for my Triumph TR4, but I have an interesting story about buying my 1984 BWM 633 CSi back in 2002.

This car was sitting, with a For Sale sign on it, in front of a house that I used to pass on the way home from work.

After seeing it for the first time I mentioned it to my wife when I got home and her response was to check it out the next time I went by.

After that I didn't see the car for around two weeks and then on a sunny Saturday we drove by and the car was sitting in the garage with the garage door open. With that I stopped and asked the owner if the car was still for sale. Her response was that she really didn't want to sell the car, but she wanted to buy a new Corvette and needed to sell it to buy the Vette.

After some negotiations we ended up with a deal and up to this time she knew me as Bob and I only knew her as Debbie. Since my wife was a notary, we completed the paperwork in Debbie's kitchen and at that point we figured out we were both in the class of 1968 at the same high school. Debbie proceeded to told me the first owner of the 633 was a doctor and the second an attorney.

Now zoom forward to December 2014. I was looking for some information about the car in the original documents and ran across the first owners name, Bill. Hmm, this was the name of one of my fight surgeons while I flew in the Air Nations Guard for 32 years, so I sent Bill an email to see if he was in fact the same person, since he has a rather common last name. Sure enough, Bill was the first owner of my 633.

This car was in great condition when I bought it. I have only replaced a few parts and done some basic detailing to this car and have won numerous Antique Automobile Club of America awards to include a 3rd Junior, 1st Junior, 1st Senior, and Preservation.

You can read more about this and my other cars on my personal website.