Factory production cert arrived!

[Geo Hahn]

...I wonder if anyone knows exactly when the blanking plate went away. I asked this question earlier, and it seemed it could have been a phased in change and meaning the comm number could be accurate?

Not exactly, possibly there is no exactly. I did an informal survey once to try to pin this down and it seemed that (from a commission number standpoint) there was some overlap. However, this overlap seemed to be in the mid to high 40000 range, not in the 20s like your TR.

It's possible that there was an exact change point that would be apparent in the Mulliners numbers (one of those tags above the battery.

Anyway, all this may be the least of your worries as the important business seems to be getting an DMV blassing and getting the car back on the road.

 

[vettedog72]

It's fun to trailer a car to a show but it is much more fun to drive, drive, DRIVE.

 

[TR3driver]

Not exactly, possibly there is no exactly.

I'm fairly certain there was no "exactly". Some bodies continued to be built "ambidextrous" all the way to the end of TR3A production.

 

[NickMorgan]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif
That is what I thought too!

 

[TR3driver]

and don't know where to look for that self-tapping screw.

My apologies, Jerry, I missed this line before. The screw I was talking about would be in roughly the area circled below.

 

[Don Elliott]

If it's the two holes in the bottom back edge of the battery box you are referring to, there are usually two flat head screws in these hole. The flat-head in mine was welded flush with the back wall of the battery box and the threaded ends go through to hold the relay for the overdrive.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

Randall, no worries, this whole thing is interesting, for the sake of knowing more than anything else. I'm sort of relieved now that I'm sure this car can never be concourse and I can rebuild it as I see fit.

The parts book shows an overdrive switch assembly, number 112474, pictured above a transmission. It has hole spacing that appears about the same as the ones in the back of my battery box (seen just above the circle in the exploded picture). These two holes are recessed so a flat head screw could be fitted facing inside the car, and flush in the battery box, as Don suggests. These holes were unoccupied. Are these holes not in all battery boxes?

Here is a picture taken while taking the car apart, showing the inside of the battery box, just in front of the heater. The right hole seems to have paint over it, because I'm sure I didn't take any screw out of it, and it's open in the other (above) picture.

 

[Geo Hahn]

The relay for the Overdrive was typically mounted along the bottom inside edge of the battery box... the relay has a tab for mounting.

If a car had no OD -- no holes there either I think.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

I'm nor sure I follow... by "inside edge of battery box' does that mean the front/leading edge when looking at the car from the front (into the engine bay) or "inside" meaning from inside the car (like the last picture)?

I can see no other use for these holes than possibly the relay for overdrive. But if that's the case, then this battery box is 'correct' for an OD car, and some VIN with the O is correct. The original color was red, but the lack of a blanking plate for this vehicle as well as the lacking O makes me curious. I don't want to spend another $80 to trace the VIN# from the engine number -and it may uncover more unknowns.

But it is interesting and I wish I understood it.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Sorry that wasn;t clear. By 'inside edge' I meant the edge that is inside the cockpit.