• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR4/4A Rear view Mirror

Share this page

C

carpecursusII

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
Can someone post some pictures of TR4A mirrors. I read the parts book and see at least 3 part numbers but no commission numbers to align them too. I have a plastic mirror with a flexible base and the edges of the glass covered. I think this is original to the car but I'd like to be sure. CT59xxx ~11/65 build date.
 
Sounds very like what my late 64 TR4 has - not that that answers your question.

I recall for years being impressed with the design as the slightly convex shape (curved outward left to right) made everything look skinny but gave a wider field of view.

I finally figured this was not by design -- the plastic had warped so badly it had actually bent the mirror!
 
You are apparently looking for originality. In case that is not the case, I bought a mirror from TRF that is the duplicate of the original except that it has a night driving "switch" on it. The only outward difference in appearance is the "switch" on the bottom. As TR 4 and 6 use the same windshield ,I believe this comes from the later TR6.
Charley
 
For what it's worth i think Jay's is original, I've seen a couple of styles installed on 4s and 4As.
 
TR4nut said:
For what it's worth i think Jay's is original...
Click to expand...

Me too. The original on my 64 says;

WINGARD​

MADE IN ENGLAND
PAT. No. 909769​

On the backside below the fitting. Can't see this specifically in the one pictured but I fancy I can catch a glimpse of some raised lettering in the correct spot.

The replacement (from TRF) looks good to the casual observer and works fine, but could never be mistaken for an original.
 
carpecursusII said:
Can someone post some pictures of TR4A mirrors. I read the parts book and see at least 3 part numbers but no commission numbers to align them too. I have a plastic mirror with a flexible base and the edges of the glass covered. I think this is original to the car but I'd like to be sure. CT59xxx ~11/65 build date.
Click to expand...

Looking at the TR4A SPC, there are only 2 part numbers, 614090 and 614173, and the first one matches the part number for what was listed for the later TR4's in the TR4 SPC.

I checked my 2 TR4A's and it looks like I have one of each. The mirror appears the same with both but the base is different. The base on the earlier car is adjustable at the frame end as well as the mirror end while the base on the later car is fixed at the frame end and only adjustable at the mirror end. The base in the earlier car also has a cover over the screws.

1966 TR4A rearview mirror (CTC69123L)




1966 TR4A rearview mirror (CTC72159LO)




Scott
 
Interesting, my car a 66 4A CTC69150L which is 27 units newer than Scotts CTC69123L has the mirror that his later car has. Have we found an approx. change point? I believe mine is as supplied originally as I've owned the car since 1969. These cars still have mysteries to be discovered.
 
FWIW - the replacement I have from TRF is similar to the later design (exposed screws, movement only at mirror end) but is a metal shaft and the shaft and the mirror back have a black crinkle finish.
 
JerryVV said:
Interesting, my car a 66 4A CTC69150L which is 27 units newer than Scotts CTC69123L has the mirror that his later car has. Have we found an approx. change point? I believe mine is as supplied originally as I've owned the car since 1969. These cars still have mysteries to be discovered.
Click to expand...

Jerry,

The reproduction SPC has a space to document the cutover but no commission number is given. I'm pretty confident that the one in my later car is original to it as well. I can't be so confident of the one in my earlier car though since I restored it and would have picked the best used one that I could find at the time (and there were lots of used parts available then in the local British car wrecking yard and swap meets at the car shows). Jay has the earlier one on his 1966 so it would be interesting to see where his commission number compared to ours.

Scott
 
I just got home to check CTC58457L TR4A IRS which has the double hinge like Geo's
WINGARD

MADE IN ENGLAND
PAT. No. 909769​
 
sail said:
I just got home to check CTC58457L TR4A IRS which has the double hinge like Geo's
WINGARD

MADE IN ENGLAND
PAT. No. 909769​
Click to expand...

Note that the mirror part is the same between both types with the same information on the back including the same patent number.

Scott
 
HerronScott said:
Jerry,

The reproduction SPC has a space to document the cutover but no commission number is given. I'm pretty confident that the one in my later car is original to it as well. I can't be so confident of the one in my earlier car though since I restored it and would have picked the best used one that I could find at the time (and there were lots of used parts available then in the local British car wrecking yard and swap meets at the car shows). Jay has the earlier one on his 1966 so it would be interesting to see where his commission number compared to ours.

Scott
Click to expand...

Scott, while I have changed my mirror to a TR6 style for the headlight dimming feature I still have the original in a bag. I believe it to be original to the car as the car was pretty much untouched in June of 1969 when I bought it. So I guess this will remain a puzzel to be solved if anyone really wants to dig into this minutia. Cost savings perhaps was the reason for the change.
 
Back
Top