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tr meditative havens

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sp53

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Hi all I uploaded one of the pictures from the body shop of my 61 tr3. I chose this picture because I figured I would be spending a lot of time in the engine compartment. That little, but serene and tranquil view of the universe has been one of my safe meditative havens for over 35 years, so I would like it clean and freshly painted. It is more than a compartment; it is a portal to a world of accomplishment and self-realization. I would up load more pics, but cannot figure out how to do a group of pictures. Is there a way to compress a file and load that? Peace out.
 

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The photo answers the question if there is an opening for the brake and clutch on both sides on all side screen cars. All 2s, 3s and most 3As had an opening on both sides with a plate bolted in on the side not being used. My mind is chock full of important stuff like that!!

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana
 
Really? I'm not sure about that. My mid-numbered (41XXX) TR3A has no opening on the passenger side. I do have nut-serts on the passenger side floor well/firewall where brake/clutch/accelerator pedals mount though.

Also note the orientation of the holes for the control box. They're vertically oriented rather than horizontal. This was done when Triumph switched from screw terminals to lucar. I know that my car originally came with screw terminals, which means the one pictured is later than mine.

Horizontal Holes:
https://xjguy.com/triumph/dec11/800x600/00005.jpg
 
I thought only the TR3B versions were built without the two firewall plate easy conversion system.....
 
As some point when so many TR3As were being made for the North American market, S-T stopped putting the panel on the passenger's side. Bill Piggott's book makes no reference to the change point, but I believe it may have been around TS 40000.

I assume that they continued to make both holes on some TRs, so they could still supply the UK market.
 
I can vouch for at least two post-TS60001 cars without those plates (as well as my now-sold 3B). I'm surprised it's as early as 41xxx, but that could well be not long after the change was made. I don't see anything mentioned in a quick glance in Piggott's "original" <span style="font-style: italic">Original Triumph TR</span> (2-6).
 
I agree, but there were apparently some cars bound for the NA market that did have the RHS cutout; all the way to the TR3B. I've not heard of a TR3B with the cutout (tho no doubt someone has added it to at least one car).

It also seems surprising to me that they would bother with such a cost-cutting measure before TS60000 (when many other cost savings were implemented); but I guess there must have been significant labor involved in cutting the holes and adding the captive nuts.
 
My threepence is Mulliners made those (right/left) panels either cutout or blank early on (around 40XXX) If the work order specified North America they blanked the right panel; If it wasn't specified, they didn't use blanks. If it was a home order, they blanked the left panel, etc. In either case if they ran short of blanks, they used what they had. I saw an original (so the owner said) 3A in the 69XXX range with cutouts on both sides. This is all speculation, but we all know this is how S-T did business.
 
In Bill Piggott's book "Triumph TR: TR2 to 6: Last of the Traditional sports cars" (ISBN 978-1859609972) he says that at roughly TS60001 the body tooling that had been used for the TR since the start were 'life expired' after pressing about 60,000 body's. Triumph needed new tooling and that's when they took the opportunity to begin phase in the body's with new revisions like no hole on the passenger side firewall for the clutch & brake, the squared of section behind the seats, the rounded edges for the door framing, etc.. but he goes on to say that these changes weren't all done at the same time but were phased in through late 59 & 60.

Probably a case like with other changes the factory continued to use up their existing stock of parts and only started to use the new panels when they ran out of the old stock. That would explain the differences in why some cars have the newer stamping and others don't.
 
In Piggott's later book "Original Triumph TR2/3/3A" published in 1991, he qualifies his earlier remarks re the RHD/LHD cutouts by deciding a definite "I don't know"
 
I believe there are a lot of tr3s with disingenuine titles. In the day, you only needed a title, a couple of license plates, and a comm. Number to turn a 58 into a licensed 61. I often see ones on EBay that are listed as a 58 but are actually later and visa a versa.
 
That is a problem. My TR3 is a perfect example. I have the body that is post 60,000, but everything else is TS23677L. I could register it as either the original number, or as a TS75xxxL, because that's the commission number on the body. Since it will be easier to go through DMV with the original number, that's probably what I will do. But anyone looking at the car that has any knowledge of TR3's will know that somethings out of whack here! Since I made so many modifications to the car, I really don't care. Let the guy who gets it after I'm pushing up daisies worry about it. :laugh:
 
When I bought TS39781LO, neither I nor anyone else noticed that the paperwork actually had an entirely different commission number on it (41xxx). No idea what happened, but the discrepancy didn't come to light until years later, when CA started requiring auto insurance companies to file statements of insurance directly with the DMV. Mine never matched up and I had to keep showing the DMV my insurance policy every year to renew my registration; until I finally realized that the numbers were different.

So, I told the DMV and they just changed the paperwork! Issued me a new title and everything. Only cost about $15.
 
One might argue that since, at one time, complete bodies were available for replacement from the factory either "in white" or completely painted and trimmed, that there's reason enough right there to keep the original commission number (since the replacement body would NOT have come with a new commission number).

Could be a lot worse, Art: I've seen "clip cars" where the back end of a pre-60000 body was grafted to the front of a post-60000 body, and vice versa.
 
TS51006L has no blanked-off hole for RHD pedal installation. Nor a hole for a RHD steering column. Clearly an export version.
 
TS14502 L was originally titled TS14562 (the motor number) in the State of Washington even though the number plate was always on the car. The second owner (in Calif.) had it properly titled.
I've always wondered about those that make a car out of a few donors...there was a car on ebay a few years ago that listed my build number as the vin number.
I contacted the Gent and he said he misread the plate and TS 14507 L materialized. Made me wonder as the plates are so readily available.
Anyway, just read the Piggot note and he says late TR3a's at some point had the access plates deleted. Again, point unknown.
Actually I like the 'unknown' about the cars, you can argue just about anything and we know concours guys love to argue.
 
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