Ronald,
All TR4s did ship with a dash support like the eBay one you indicated.
Very early TR4s had a similar looking one-piece brace. But most TR4s use the
2-piece version you saw on eBay. The (missing) 2nd part of this 2-piece
support on eBay is called a 'facia board' and it's approx 3" high, formed in
1/8"
thick sheet steel and extends the aluminum floor brace up to the bottom of your
dash (3" gap without it). In this small bracket you can put a radio or 3 extra
switches/knobs. There are two models of this 'facia board' (most folks call
them radio brackets) and for lack of a good technical term; one is an innie and
one is an outie. The innie seems prefered by racers (it's recessed and can
hold a few extra switches and knobs out of the way). The outie is prefered for
road cars because it allows a deeper space for fitting a radio.
I would highly recommend ANY TR4 bracket version you can get your hands on -
either style stabilizes the body tub tremendously. It also provides the proper
location for the fan switch, heater water-valve knob, heater-defrost flap
knob, whether or not you use the upper secondary bracket for radio or extra
switches.
Or you can install the much prettier TR4A-6 brace - it has slightly less
sideways knee space if you are especially tall but looks nicer (too modern for
my
'63 TR4?) - I used a TR4A brace in my TR4 for about 25 years just fine - but
now planning on reinstalling the less glamorous original.
Regards,
Carl
'63 TR4 since '74
<< Did the early TR-4's (CT1550L) use the dash support under the switch panel?
Ours doesn't have one, and I wonder if it was never there, or not replaced
when the interior was re-carpeted.
Ronald Griffing
62 TR-4 CT1550L >>
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