Okay, put your trivia hats on...you, original TR4 owners, go out to the
garage and look...
I'm in charge of putting the TRA TR4/4A Judging Guidelines together, and
the initial draft is out to reviewers. We used the guide to judge this
years TR4 Concours entries with good success, but we still have a few
originality questions. We have all the normal sources (SPCEd2, Piggott,
Robson, personal experience, et al), but there are some questions still
unanswered:
At what commission/engine/body number did:
1. The identification plate start carrying the paint code and trim color?
We know it was before CT32818.
2. The engine lifting hardware deleted from the engine. We know it was
after CT925E.
3. "TR4" stopped being painted on the engine (like the TR2s & 3s). We know
it was after CT925E.
4. The oil pressure line change from steel to nylon? Again, before
CT32818, but after CT22083.
5. The hood safety hook discontinued? Before CT2966, but after CT584.
6. The hood latch lose catch for safety hook? We know it was after CT2966,
but before CTC50001.
7. The master cylinder caps switched from steel to aluminum? We're
assuming this was gradual, with a large range of cars which could have either.
8. The windscreen and rear cockpit capping switch from chrome plated brass
to aluminum? It was after CT2966, but before CT22083.
9. The cloisonné hub cap badges switch to painted? It was after CT2966,
but before CTC50001.
10. The radiator cap pressure rating change from 4 lb to 7 lb?
Some other questions:
Did color carpets come with the TR4A? TR4 carpets were a charcoal gray
(or light black depending on who you speak to!), but since the front
rubber floor mats were eliminated with the TR4A did color carpets become
available? Piggotts book shows what looks to be a blue carpet set, but
all I've seen have been black carpets.
Hood (Bonnet) prop rod color - All I've seen in perior photos are prop
rods painted body color, but close up and personal inspections of some
cars indicate that these also came in black. What do those who have
original cars have? I would think that if they were painted body color
the attachment hardware would be painted also.
Front valence support tubes (run from the inner fender near the horn mounts
to the front valence inside the headlamps) color - same arguement as the
prop rod. I'd say that they were painted body color.
The hood had padding between the panel and cross-members underneathe. I've
only seen this natural (black) implying that it was glued to the car
after painting. Anyone seen different?
Can someone tell me the difference (externally) between the early and late
TR4 cylinder heads? I used to know this, but the ravages of age have
eliminated those brain cells.
I got into a discussion about wheel color at this years Triumph Register of
America National Meeting. All the steel wheel cars we've seen have been
painted with the warm silver paint, or at least up until last weekend. A car
showed up with white wheels and the owner stated that was original for the
car. This doesn't make sense from a manufacturing perspective, especially
since silver wheels were standard since late TR2s! Several people stated that
they've seen ads with white wheels, another person stated that a run of cars
ended up with white wheels. I tend to believe this as much as the aliens that
are hanging around Area 51. So, what's the experience out there?
If it strikes you that the questions border on the trivial, you're right. But
these are the things that separate the boys from the men in this era of $20K+
(US) restorations.
Thanks for your inputs,
Bruce Clough
Head TR4 Judge
Triumph Register Of America
...yes Andy Mace, Art Kelly is in tune with what we're doing...
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