On Fri, 16 May 1997, Kurt Oblinger wrote:
> ...Dealer brochures are also very good because they usually have good color
>photos
> especially of interiors...
True, but sometimes the brochures are only useful for an "early"
production car and not one that came down the line much later in a given
model year. A couple of examples come to mind: 1. ISTR that one of the
very earliest TR2 brochures depicted the front badge that never actually
made it to production. Later editions of the same brochure changed that,
though. 2. I have several variations of early Spitfire 4 ("Mk.1")
brochures printed by S-T USA. Interestingly enough, they all appear to use
the same car (possibly the "412VC" prototype or a very similar car), a
Signal Red car but with a greyish-looking chassis frame. There is evidence
of airbrushing of some of the photography for various reasons, perhaps to
make quick changes without reshooting pictures. Also, some use of
"closeup" shots feature details that may or may not appear on the car as
shown "in full" (i.e. the U.S.-only "Air Flow" wheel covers). Some of
these economies in production of the brochures actually might help to
confuse someone 30+ years later. All part of the fun of researching
originality!
3. If you come across a non-U.S. brochure for a given Triumph model and
compare it to your U.S.-spec. Triumph, all bets are off! :-)
> It can be difficult determining what year a brochure
> is for but for an early TR4 it would probably have "All New!" prominently
> somewhere.
Many (but not all) the U.S. brochures have some sort of date/job code on
them.
> I have good luck finding magazines and brochures at swap meets. Back issues
> of Road & Track, Motor Trend, Sports Car Graphic and the like run about
> $2 - $5. Dealer brochures and ads run about $5 - $15.
And there are a few around on the "Net" as well!
> So far the best book on originality is Bill Piggotts "Original Triumph TR".
> I have heard that he is revising this book and that it will be split into
> two volumes, one on the TR2/3/3A/3B and the second on the 4 Thru 6.
I'll be looking forward to that!
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|