Hey folks...I just noticed our TR3A, TS68164L, celebrated some sort of
milestone today. Maybe the list can help me figure out what it is....could
it be a birthday for the car?
My certified copy of the factory record from British Motor Industry Heritage
Trust lists "Date of Build" as "February 1960 (not recorded)", and it
lists "Date of Despatch" as "19 February 1960". I'm just wondering what
"date of despatch" means? Could it be the date it left the factory? Or the
date it left the dock on the ship? I don't have a clue, but either way it
seems like an important date for this LBC, and a good excuse to uncork the
single malt for a "Happy 45th Birthday" toast.
By the way, the car was shipped to Los Angeles, and the record even gives
the port from which it was shipped and the name of the ship it was aboard.
Evidently it sat around in LA until it finally sold in 1962 because it's got
one of those little "STC 62" plates on the firewall, and both the
registration and title say it's a '62. I've always wondered if the owner
knew he was buying a 2 year old car? It just seems weird, even for
California.
Steve Ball
Lompoc Ca.
|