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TR4/4A TR4A - VIN Number vs Year Model

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aerospike

aerospike

Freshman Member
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Greetings, My TR4A has a VIN number that indicates it was made in early 1965 (first 1000) but the previous owner and paperwork say it's a 1967 model. He certainly didn't buy this car new and it looks like several parts have been swapped out over the years. I don't think anything's gone on with the numbers though. Did somebody make a mistake somewhere in the car's past or could this be for real? I've read that they can be off a bit but by two years!
 

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Hi,

No mistakes. It was very common in the 60s for these "imports" to be registered one, two or even three years after they were originally built. My car was built & shipped from England in 1962, but wasn't registered until 1964. So, the title says it's a '64.

Regarding swapped parts, that does happen. But engine numbers, body numbers, gearboxes, diffs or any other parts with a sequential serial number are also not matched on TRs. Various sub-assemblies were built in different factories, then those parts came together and were stockpiled, eventually pulled from the shelf during final assembly. Numbers are relatively close, but not exact matches.

While your VIN plate should have a little more info on it than my earlier TR4's, more detailed build and shipping records were kept. A certificate listing the configuration of the car when it came out of the factory can be purchased from BMIHT at https://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/archive/certificate/default.htm

In some states, the DMV might accept the certificate to re-register the car for the actual year of manufacture, if you wish.

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L
 
My '64 (build) was registered as a '65 when new. When I purchased it a few years back I got it titled as a '64.

It may not matter much now but some states (including the one I live in) have emission testing for '67 and later... making pre-67 cars more desirable. Could affect resale not to mention future emission regs in your state.
 
I don't know about what was done in the USA but here in Canada the car was not "registered" until it was sold. So if a car built in year X did not get sold unitl year X+2 then it was registered as a "new" car with X+2 as the year on the ownership. They actualy went one step further and added a number infront of the commission number on the VIN plate. That number was the last digit of the year it was first registered.

So for example, my TR4A has the commission number 8CTC68...L I assume the L was for left hand drive. I find this interesting because of course they did not make TR4As in 1968, but some how I own one (on paper at least).

My TR3 on the other hand is more confusing and I can't figure out what happened to it over it's life. It is registered as 2 years before it was made and the extra number on the VIN plate is for the correct year of manufacture. This one must have had an interesting past. Though I know the history from 1970 to now.
 
I bought the car in Alabama (no title) and had it titled in Tennessee so I took the opportunity to "fix" the year. The car had not been tagged since 1981 and Alabama had no records of the car. Not even tag receipts. Tennessee requires a minimum of a tag receipt and a bill of sale so I wound up getting the previous owner to tag the car in Alabama before I bought it. Easier than any other way I could think of. Thanks for the info.
 
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