On Fri, 23 Aug 1996 fellow "HardlyBoy" Rik Schlierer wrote:
> I have a '56 TR3, Commission # TS11871LO that has disk brakes. It might seem
> from the installation that they were not installed on the assembly line.
> OTOH the installation is VERY neat and professional.
>
> There are three possibilities: 1) they were installed by one of the POs, (I
> doubt this one) 2) they were installed by the dealer, or 3) (this was
>suggested
> by none other than Ken Richardson) some cars were retrofitted by the factory
> prior to delivery as special orders i.e. Cars destined for racing or rallying,
> or as special orders for important (read: wealthy and/or famous) customers.
> (I like this one. Surprise, surprise. Actually this is the best candidate as
> there are several other features on this car that were "special".)
Having been there when Rik first purchased this car, TS11871LO is a
rather special car. It's still the only factory Beige (vermillion trim,
fawn top, etc. -- right, Rik?) TR I've ever seen. And the installation
of the disk brakes is indeed rather well done. Rik and I were especially
impressed by some "spliced" brake pipes (not an epoxy-and-foil job for
you long-time SOLers, but nicely soldered connections) and the otherwise
near invisibility of the conversion. Indeed, it does seem likely that,
at worst, this conversion was done quite professionally; at best, a
possible factory or factory-authorized upgrade likely done very early in
the car's "life".
I would tend to agree, though, with Bruce Clough's assessment of the
usefulness of upgrading an early car -- all the better for stopping
short of running over those Concours judges. ;-)
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace e-mail: amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* *
* Mrs Irrelevant: Oh, is it a jet? *
* Man: Well, no... It's not so much of a jet, it's more your, er, *
* Triumph Herald engine with wings. *
* -- The Cut-price Airline Sketch, Monty Python's Flying Circus *
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