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TR2/3/3A TR3 Commission Number

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White79MGB

White79MGB

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I have acquired what is supposed to be a '56 TR3, all the registration docs as far back as I can see list it as a '56 with vin number TS29824. This vin number is a TR3A according to the Moss catalog. My car is definitely a smallmouth and the registration is as a 1956. What has happened here?
 
Your guess is as good as mine. Any number of things can happen over 50 years. People can swap out tags, titles and and panels to get a car back on the road.
Unless you have what you positively can identify as an unmolested original car, you can only guess what it's history might be.
You can find somebody who will research your vin number to find out what the car was from the factory. Then thoroughly inspect your car to find out if there is any original paint or any other signs that may indicate that what you have is what rolled out of the factory. This is not always easy, since the dealers often altered some of the options at time of sale to please the buyer.
 
As DougF says, Who knows what happened!. But to put things in perspective a little more, below is some of the changes on the TR3 according to Bill Piggott, a TR guru.

TS8637 Oct 55 TR3 introduced. Egg crate grill positioned at the front of the grill opening. Still a smallmouth.

TS13046 Sep 56 Front disc brakes introduced. Rear axle upgraded. Still a smallmouth.

TS 22014 Sep 57 Full mouth grill introduced. Unofficially the TR3A. Some other items added. Door pulls inside door pocket. Seats changed, thicker backrests, pleats running horizontal instead of vertical. External lockable boot handle. Dashboard center now black krinkle finish.

TS 28826 Feb 58 Wedge type sidescreen sockets now fitted with dzus type fasteners.

TS 29824 Your VIN probably made end of Feb or early Mar 58.

Check to see how your car fits in with the above numbers, then you'll have a better idea on what year the car is.

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I'd have to agree that obtaining a heritage certificate MIGHT help clear up the mystery. It would likely give the "correct" engine and body numbers for that commission number. I'd also have to agree with "martx-5" that it likely really is a 1958 model, or at leaast the commission number plate is from a 1958. A very real possibility is that, sometime in the past, someone lost the original title or registration and managed to obtain at least paperwork that could be used.

Big question: What are the various numbers on the car? commission, engine and both body numbers? and is there any obvious evidence that front-end damage might have occured and an earlier but good small-mouth apron swapped in? which bumper does it have: the earlier-style "flat-face" bar or the later curved (in cross-section, that is) style, and what do the front overriders look like? Are there pressed indentations on the inner fenders that would've been there to clear the further-set-back headlamp pods of a wide-mouth apron?

Lots of ways to go here, and many of them might lead you to a less than ideal conclusion, I'm sorry to say.
 
I tend to agree with Andy and Martx-5 but the Heritage Certificate would only be as accurate as the commission number is. I agree something is not right. Either you have a 56 TR3 with a 58 comm. number or a 58 comm. number with a 56 apron and a 58 TR3A everything else. I would suggest you start scraping some grease and crud and check the 6 numeral body number (oval plate affixed to center of bulkhead under bonnet), Engine number prefix of "TS" ending in E or "FR" (probably swapped too), Gearbox number left side upper wall of gearbox casting with prefix of "TS", and the rear axle number which also has a "TS" prefix found at upper rim of the flange to which the rear cover plate is attached. Also check brake make, type, and size. With this info at hand you can find out what the car is mostly made up of and determine the approx. year of build. The other unfortunate (I guess depends how you look at it) side is that you may also find out that you have a car completely made up of parts from various years.

Harry
CT
 
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