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Build Sheet Changes

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DougF

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In reading NutmegCT's thread, it got me wondering about the changes our cars went through at the dealers. My 1960 TR3A came over on the boat black w/ black leather, white top, white wall tires on steel wheels, and adjustable steering column. When I purchased it in 1993, it was still totally original with 22,700 miles, with steering column delete, black top and side curtains, wire wheels with Michelin X's. It also has an occasional seat. It has the heater, hood stick cover, the tonneau was added.
My build date is March 10, 1960. And I forgot to have a party.
 
Removal of the heater was pretty standard for TR3s & 4s and other British cars shipped to the 'tropics'. I suspect this was done by the dealer who then put the heater on the parts shelf as my TR4 was shipped with a heater but has none & does have the correct blanking plates & plugs.
 
I bet that TR is handful to drive with that 'steering column delete'...hehehe
 
DougF said:
When I purchased it in 1993, it was still totally original with 22,700 miles, with steering column delete, black top and side curtains, wire wheels with Michelin X's.
Click to expand...

What does "steering column delete" mean?
 
Well, since it only occasionally has a seat, maybe the steering column isn't required. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
Seriously, I think Tony went through some of these dealer changes when he bought one of his MGB's new. I know that wheel and tire swaps were common, and I remember seeing quite a few heaters on the parts shelves of Arizona dealers back in the late '60s~early '70's.
I'd venture that Andrews' surmise is correct.
Jeff
 
Steering column delete...sometimes when driving the car, I have to wonder. They fortunately deleted the adjustable column since I don't really see an advantage to it. Maybe if it adjusted further away from you instead of closer. Especially when it is already a couple inches closer to begin with.
I realize that the dealers catered to the customer. I guess I was curious about the changes made on other TR's and to what extent the dealer was willing go to close the deal.
 
When they built these cars, they occasionally made mistakes. Maybe it is simply a case of a typo on the original build record. Or the person who typed the one recently mixed it up with another one.
 
Good point, Don. Also noteworthy (but probably not applicable here) is that most of these records, as legible or illegible as the typing or handwriting might have been to begin with, are now being read off microfilm copies. So now you not only have poor or faded writing or typing to blame, but also the skill of the person doing the microfilming and the quality of THAT equipment!
 
According to the build sheet I received for the '57 TR3 I had, it came beige with blue leather, disc wheels, heater, and white hood. When I got the car, the paint under the repaint was indeed beige, but all the interior was stone (beige), not blue. And it was the original interior - too dry rotted not to be! Can't imagine a dealer going to the trouble of changing out all the interior... especially to stone!

Beige with blue leather would be an interesting combination, as were many back then.
 
Just to add to the human factor argument, it would not be surprising for the mythical first or second owner to make a change as well. Seen any brand-new and tricked out Ford Mustangs lately? My experience in the museum field, collecting vintage gee-tars, and my life with Triumphs has shown that mistakes at the factory, dealer changes, and owner changes all contribute to the story.

That is what makes dealing with these old cars so great. It would be easy to see the build sheet as the only true "genealogical" document, but that overlooks the rest of the car's story.

My dream restoration would be to find a Cal Sales TR2 or TR3 and bring it back to the factory specs color and all and then respray it in a more American-friendly color as Dorothy Deen did to sell the cars.
 
You didn't hear it from me, but I heard that the records from which The TR Register Build Records are made were rescued from the trash bins when the plant closed. I don't know if BMIHT has a different set of records or if they use the same as The TR Register.

As for the "steering column deleted", maybe someone typed "adjustable steering column" by mistake and then realized his/her error too late. Since he/she was using a typewriter, it was easier to just write "delete" than to start a new build record.

Maybe?
 
Mickey Richaud said:
According to the build sheet I received for the '57 TR3 I had, it came beige with blue leather, disc wheels, heater, and white hood. When I got the car, the paint under the repaint was indeed beige, but all the interior was stone (beige), not blue. And it was the original interior - too dry rotted not to be! Can't imagine a dealer going to the trouble of changing out all the interior... especially to stone!

Beige with blue leather would be an interesting combination, as were many back then.
Click to expand...
Mickey,

My TS 1203LO is (or was) Ice Blue and geranium like Lou Metelko's. An unusual combo for sure.

I found a pic of a biege TR3A yesterday..not sure if it's the right color. The blue interior would be OK with that combo...
 

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CinneaghTR said:
Just to add to the human factor argument, it would not be surprising for the mythical first or second owner to make a change as well. Seen any brand-new and tricked out Ford Mustangs lately? My experience in the museum field, collecting vintage gee-tars, and my life with Triumphs has shown that mistakes at the factory, dealer changes, and owner changes all contribute to the story.

That is what makes dealing with these old cars so great. It would be easy to see the build sheet as the only true "genealogical" document, but that overlooks the rest of the car's story.

My dream restoration would be to find a Cal Sales TR2 or TR3 and bring it back to the factory specs color and all and then respray it in a more American-friendly color as Dorothy Deen did to sell the cars.
Click to expand...

I believe my car was a Cal Sales unit...TS 1203LO.

It was Ice blue...then red...then powder blue...now red again. perhaps one change was Ms.Deen's doing?
 
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