TR4/4A EARLY TR4 SWITCH PLINTH

[SCguy]

The original TR4 switch plinth is no longer available. Triumphs Only sells a cheep plastic repro. I've tried a couple of e-bay auctions and have ended up with two less than usable examples. Should I just buy the later version that came on the TR4a. Any thoughts on a sourse for the original? Rimmer has superseeded to the later plinth.

 

[NickMorgan]

It might be worth sending an e-mail to TR Bitz in the UK to see if they have a good second-hand one. They break quite a number of TRs.
https://www.trbitz.com/index.html
Are there no specialists in the USA who break TRs? British Auto Specialists in Texas used to have a yard full of TRs and other LBCs. They might be worth an e-mail, too.
https://www.britauto.net/

 

[Guest]

Larry, call Mark at British Auto in Macedon, NY. His number is 800-458-4575. He has gotten me a lot of odd-ball used parts in good condition.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi Larry,

A couple ideas...

Someone skilled with fiberglass or even plastic vacuum molding might be able to make you one using the samples you've got. That kind of custom project would probably be more affordable (although not cheap) in fiberglass.

I've also repaired a original with a couple layers of fiberglass and resin. That works pretty well on the earliest versions that were basically thin vinyl over cardboard. Working from behind, resin soaks into the cardboard and makes it pretty durable. The fiberglass helps reinforce things. (I did the same with the original gearbox cover and the radiator shroud and got an additional 10 years use out of them.)

I got lucky a few months ago and picked up one of the early plastic plinths for my car. These are a little sturdier than the cardboard ones, and it's in pretty good condition with only a couple small cracks to repair. Materials are similar to all the modern repros I've seen, but those are only made to fit over the wood fascia dashes. (I.e., they'll have approx. 1/2" gap behind, if used with original style painted-metal dash).

If, on the other hand, you are looking for the TR4 style plinth to use with the wood faced dash, The Roadster Factory had some decent repros last time I checked (granted, it's been a few years). The alternative might be the later TR4A "inverted" plinth as you suggested, but I've never tried that and there might be some other problems fitting it.

Cheers!