TR2/3/3A TR3 Body ID Numbers

[GBRandy]

Sorry to keep asking these seemingly simple questions....but I am trying to learn as much as I can before buying one these cars.

What do the ID numbers screwed to the firewall mean? (see below). Do all TR3's have them? I have seen cars with one or both removed....is that a big deal? I have seen others where the battery box covers the lower one and that certainly is not "stock".

Thanks again for the education.....Randy

 

[angelfj1]

Randy: I wrote an article about these tags and it had been available on the WIKI. I believe this feature has been discontinued. If you send me a PM with your email address, I'll send you a copy.

fja

Here is an exerpt from the article:

<span style="font-style: italic">"Standard –Triumph produced side curtain sports cars between 1953 and 1962. Although final assembly of TR-2’s and 3’s took place at Canley, components were supplied by many companies all over England. Body shells were produced by Mulliners in nearby Birmingham. Mulliners attached a brass identification tag to the bulkhead just above the battery box. These tags were made of brass and were embossed, not stamped. The ID consisted of a prefix, EB, followed by a series of five numbers. After the bodies were completed by Mulliners, they were painted their correct body color (including this brass tag) and then were trucked to Canley. At Canley, the bodies progressed down the line and were mated with the rolling chassis. Another brass ID tag was installed at the factory during final assembly. This tag was placed just below the Mulliners tag. Since the body was already painted, this tag should be natural brass finish."</span>

 

[GBRandy]

Excellent.....just sent you a PM. Anxious to read more.

I love this place.

Randy

 

[Andrew Mace]

And an additional FYI: there was only one body tag on the TR3B, whether TSF or TCF series.

 

[Don Elliott]

The tags in your photo look very original in that the screws look like the original ones. Many are taken off and lost or not put back on after a restoration. Often the bottom brass one gets eaten by the battery acid. I don't have a battery box to cover the bottom tag, but my original lower tag was eaten away by the acid and Frank Angelini made me the new one you see attached.

BTW, the top tag should be painted body colour and the lower tag should be brass. The later tag was put on at final assembly after everything else had been painted when the body was built and then sprayed.