TR2/3/3A TR3 Serial Numbers

[luke44]

Does this s/n seem odd to anyone else given the listed year, or is it just me? Red flag? :confuse:

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Well, Much higher than my 2 and they are both 60s.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[luke44]

That's what I was thinking. An 80000 series was near the end I think. My '59 is a low 30's number....

 

[Gordon_Dedrick]

This car would have been built in 1960.......or at least the commission plate was! First car in year was TS 65124, and last one was TS 82030 according to Piggot. Also this car has the flat rear floor......but it has a nose badge with the black banded bottom that was typical of a small number of cars in "59 only. Looks nicely done, but i think it is a doubtful 1959 model.
Gordon

 

[Andrew Mace]

I'm guessing that some long-ago owner simply got confused(?) on the year of the car. Supposedly the very last 3A was TS82346 or possibly TS82347, and the very first TR3 built in 1961 was TS82030, so TS80897L would've been built probably sometime in the second half (or maybe closer to the end of) 1960. Regardless, production of the 3A had trailed off rapidly by the end of 1960; in 1961, only 408 were built, and a further 7(!) in 1962 (not counting the 3B series). [This information is from Bill Piggott's latest Collector's Originality Guide.]

Edit: The car looks nice enough, so long as the bonnet stays down. Inside that engine compartment it looks like a $500 special. How people can spend that much on the outside and interior and "cheap out" with a rattle can of flat black under the hood is beyond me. (Oh, and it's the wrong voltage regulator...which also is mounted wrong for a post-TS60000 car!)

Edit, part 2: Gordon, I must have been typing while you posted!

 

[NeilRogers]

For that kind of money I would expect the engine compartment to look as nice as the outside. Makes me wonder what the bottom looks like. The gauges are not all correct.

My car, TS80748LO was built on Oct 4, 1960 so that will give an idea of when the ebay car was built, assuming the commission number is correct for the car.

 

[HerronScott]

That's what I was thinking. An 80000 series was near the end I think. My '59 is a low 30's number....

Luke,

I don't think yours would have been built in 1959 with a TS31577LO commission number. Mine is TS51339L and was built May 4, 1959.

Looking at the other cars on the International TR Registry with BMIHT build dates I would guess around April 1958 for your car.

Scott

 

[HerronScott]

Edit: The car looks nice enough, so long as the bonnet stays down. Inside that engine compartment it looks like a $500 special. How people can spend that much on the outside and interior and "cheap out" with a rattle can of flat black under the hood is beyond me.

I agree! I can't believe the asking price with the engine compartiment looking like that.

Scott

 

[Don Elliott]

I bought my 1958 TR3A new here in Montreal, Canada in May 1958. It was built in mid-Februaty (8TS 27489 LO).

Note the "8" before the TS number for my TR3A. All cars imported into Canada had to be stamped with the year. In my case the "8" indicates it was imported and sold in Canada during 1958.

Since this car is in Toronto Canada, and if it was imported into Canada from UK in 1960, there should be a "0" in front of the TS number.

If the car was imported into USA it would not have a pre-digit. This would indicate that the car was imported into Canada as a used car from the USA.

TRA used to dock me part of a point because of this "8" on my Comm. No. (VIN) plate because it was not delivered from the factory like this. The stamping was done once the cars arrived in Canada.

 

[Andrew Mace]

TRA used to dock me part of a point because of this "8" on my Comm. No. (VIN) plate because it was not delivered from the factory like this. The stamping was done once the cars arrived in Canada.

Ha...Concours judges gone wild! Now if they carried that same philosphy to extremes, every Triumph sold in the US up to sometime in 1964 should be docked points for having headlamps...of any kind or brand. They were shipped from the factory without headlamps before 1964, since -- at the time -- Lucas didn't make a proper US-spec. sealed beam 7" bulb. Headlights were installed stateside. (Perhaps car should also be docked as they usually are no longer covered in Cosmoline, don't have any protective plastic on door panels, etc., etc.? :thumbsup: )

 

[TR3driver]

Not to mention having bumpers installed.

But I think you mean only headlight bulbs, Andy. Lucas made the rest of the lamp assembly, the bucket, wires, retaining rings, etc.; just not the US-mandated "sealed beam" bulbs.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

SO that brings up the subject of Lucas Headlights (sealed beam ones). Whats the story on them. I try to find and install Lucas headlights on all my cars.

Marv

 

[Andrew Mace]

Somewhere I've got a regional S-T service bulletin, from 1963 or 1964, that details the introduction of the Lucas sealed beam bulbs. If I find it or an online reference to it, I'll let everyone know.

And yes, Randall, I was referring to the bulbs themselves and probably could've made that clearer.

 

[luke44]

Luke,I don't think yours would have been built in 1959 with a TS31577LO commission number. Mine is TS51339L and was built May 4, 1959. Looking at the other cars on the International TR Registry with BMIHT build dates I would guess around April 1958 for your car.

Scott

Pretty good guess - my build date was May 21 1958. I was referring to mine as being <span style="font-style: italic">titled</span> as a '59. Based on that I was surprised by the 80000 series eBay car being a '59 - either build date or first title date...

 

[NeilRogers]

I bought my 1958 TR3A new here in Montreal, Canada in May 1958. It was built in mid-Februaty (8TS 27489 LO).

Note the "8" before the TS number for my TR3A. All cars imported into Canada had to be stamped with the year. In my case the "8" indicates it was imported and sold in Canada during 1958.

This may have been a requirement in Quebec, but it wasn't true in Alberta. My car was sold new in Edmonton, Alberta and doesn't have a prefix. It is an unrestored car and still has the original commission plate.

 

[vivdownunder]

Last night I just happened to be looking at some photo's of a batch of recently arrived TR3A's being readied for dealer delivery. They show the headlights fitted, probably because we are RHD the same as the UK, and timber bumpers front and back.

One pic shows the word CARS on the far left of its dummy front bumper. Wonder what the rest of the wording was ?.

Viv.