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TR2/3/3A Mystery holes etc in TR3A bulkhead

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TR4nut

TR4nut

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Really enjoying my 59 TR3A project, but I am getting tired of buying cars that have already been disassembled as I don't know what went where on this car.

First, a question on something that wasn't disassembled. Does anyone know the purpose of the four bulkhead bolts on the right hand side as shown in the following picture? Are they something for a right hand drive car? They have captive nuts so I'm pretty sure it came from the factory that way:

mysteryboltssmall.jpg


Next, on the bulkhead I have a couple of mysteries:

mysteryholes.jpg


The hole in red is a very clean hole, looks factory - any purpose? Is it plugged normally?

Circled in green, there are 4 square holes spaced across the bulkhead. Any purpose? Plugged normally?

Finally, in blue, I see two extra rivets which look to have held the older, larger commission plate. Is this normal, or a sign my tub is not original to the commission I have (45000 ish).

Thanks!
Randy
 
Those 4 captive nuts have been the subject of prior discussions (usually in the dead of winter when few can drive and topics thin out) with (IIRC) lots of theories but no facts.

I have one of the green circle square holes (the one on the far left) and it is plugged, do not have the others.

I should note, though my commission number is near yours the body does not have the blanking plate so my answer is certainly not definitive.
 
I agree with George. My early TR3A has that blanking plate (TS 27489 LO) and somewhere about TS 43000, they no longer had the blanking plate. I think it's possible that your firewall bulkhead skuttle may come from an earlier TR.

But the two clips you show in the top photo (one within the red oval) are for holding the top of the carpet up into place. I can't say when these started, but mine didn't have them.

Take a look at the photo of mine. You can see two unused holes which have plugs it them. As for the square holes, these take clip type captive nuts to hold the starter solenoid, fuse block, etc.

As for the 4 holes for the Comm. No. plate, the TR2s and TR3s had a large plate with 4 retaining rivets. My 1958 TR3A has the original plate like all other TR3As which only require two rivets. But mine is like yours and two of the holes (the unused ones) are filled or blanked off by two extra rivets. That's another reason I think someone has used the front end firewall from an earlier TR.
 

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Don-

Thanks, great picture. I can see the you have the same hole on the blanking plate I do, just plugged off. Also answers why I was missing one bolt for the plate, now I see that it holds down the blinker unit which the previous owner had already removed.

The square holes, though, I don't think have any captive nuts as I can account for those for the solenoid and other parts. On my scuttle, I have the two you see the photo, and two more on the drivers side - they are all on the flat part of the scuttle. Don't spot any in your photo, but they would be covered I think with the wiring harness just below the fuse box. I was guessing rubber plugs for those as well.

Randy
 
Randy:
You definitely have an earlier tub. The red circled hole is for the wiper drive line. According to TRA's guide the wiper motor was switched to the left hand side at TS12568. The two blue circled rivets was for the earlier style of commission number plate. I looked at your photo and compared to my TS981 to verify. I plugged the square holes with plain ole rubber plugs.

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana
 
Interesting. Tub is in pretty good shape, really. Surprised it wound up being a donor to a later commission, but who knows? I need to get with one of my local club members who's commission # is about 100 or so off mine and see if there are any similarities.

Waiting on the heritage certificate to see if anything matches up - I see remnants of white on the frame, not sure about the original tub color.

Randy
 
Randy,
I wouldn't worry about your bulkhead being from an earlier car. The change from blanking plate to non-blanking plate wasn't definitive. Some much later cars had blanking plates and I guess that the bodies weren't used up in exact sequence. I have even heard that some TR3Bs have blanking plates.
Nick
 
The blanking plate you show in the top photo as well as mine are embossed. For a while after mine was built, S-T changed the blanking plate to a flat (not embosdded) plate. Then they eliminated the plate for left hand drive countries and changed the arrangement for the control box and flasher relay as shown here on TS 81551 L that I finished in 2006.
 

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Hi Nick-

Not worried about it at all - I think I read, or started an earlier thread on just that topic and was of the opinion those plates showed up quite late. Right now I'm just trying to figure out the various holes and make sure I know what to do with them. Looks like most of my mystery ones just need rubber plugs.

Still curious if bodies came with redundant holes for the larger style commission plates. Mine appears to have that, the upper two holes have what looks to be old rivets in them, could have been a previous owner thing but it almost looks like it came that way.


Don-

Just saw your new note - great picture again, I can see the scuttle drain for the first time. Now you have me thinking yet again if the cover is embossed does that guarantee it is earlier?

Randy
 
And another question- in the bulhead picture at the top I think you can see a push on seal on the flange - it looks old to me, but was something ever added by the factory?
 
Those four small square holes just onto the horizontal part of the bulkhead (green circled) are thought to be used somehow in the body manufacture process. A small blanking grommet neatly fills them.

Regards,

Viv.
 
My TR2 had a Radiomobile valve radio fit by the dealer on purchase by the first owner. This utilised what must have been a factory produced 'kit' to mount the two-box radio into the car. This kit permanently fixes the glove box cover in place. Into the cover is mounted the 200X 'head-unit' (incidentally standard 1-DIN size!). Two U-shape strips run between the base of the dash, on either size of the ‘head-unit’, and captive nuts mounted on the engine bay side of the bulkhead in the two square holes on the passenger side. Onto these brackets, the XA valve amplifier part of the radio is mounted, together with a support bracket to the rear of the head-unit, tuner, part.

Here is a picture of the U-shape brackets in position:
th_DSCN6682.jpg

U-Shape Bracket

I’ve uploaded other pics of the full radio setup to if anyone is interested!
TR2 Radiomobile Radio Kit Pics
 
apbos said:
Here is a link that should help Bulkhead holes
Click to expand...

That link was a godsend when I was putting my TR3 back together again. It's post 60k, but most of the holes should be the same as the earlier models.

My commission number is TS23677L, but I have a post 60k body on it, so it worked out real nicely. Talk about a real mish-mosh of stuff!! :laugh:
 
It must say something about me in that I like these closeup technical pictures as much as I do full shots of the cars in action!

Interesting pictures, Mr. WillE - explains one use of those square holes, also your blanking plate is flat instead of embossed, and I see now the answer to those four mystery bolts on the right hand side - they hold the bracket for the accelerator pedal on RH drive cars.

Thanks!
Randy
 
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