PeterSchop@aol.com wrote:
> Last week I purchased what I was told is a 1964 TR4A. From what I understand
> from reading Bill Piggott's book, "The Original Triumph", the first TR4A was
> not made until January of '65. I will not get the title to the car for about
> another two months so I thought I would try to find out just what I bought.
>
> After bringing the car home, I found that there was no VIN tag on the
> firewall. Only the body tag.
The VIN tag would be on the driver's side if it was there. The body
tag on the passenger side.
>The car had an electrical fire in the engine
> compartment and the VIN plate was destroyed. I checked the body number and
> found that it is 24422CT which means the car had to be made in '63.
That sounds about right for a TR4
> I then
> checked the engine number and found that to be CT58007E. That would be from a
> '65 TR4A but it has SU carbs, not Strombergs.
Replacing an engine with a newer one would not be unusual at all.
> I then found the number 301603
> on the diff. I have no idea what means.
Nor do I.
> My question is, is there any other place on the car that I can find the VIN?
> If not, would I be correct in assuming that my VIN would be STC 63 24422 L ?
The STC was something that apparently was done in California.
The comm number (assuming the body number is correct)
would be close to, but probably not exactly the same as: CT24422L
The L indicates Left-hand drive.
> Other clues as to what I have, the hand brake and seats are TR4 but it has a
> wood dash.
Wood dash, as others have noted, came out on the later TR-4s.
Other telltale differences:
The TR-4 has no side lamps and chrome trim strip. The 4A
has the side lamp with a narrow chrome trim strip which
runs near aft of the side lamp.
The TR-4 grill has the a tun lamp and a small marker lamp
above it on each side. The grill has three distinct verticle
connections between the headlights while the 4A has none.
The TR-4 roof is not permanently mounted to the car (you
can remove it completely and stow it in the trunk the same
as on a TR-3 when you put the top down). The front of the
soft top is slide into place under a lip at the top of the windscreen
on the 4.
The 4A top is permanently mounted to the front
bow of the roof framewaork and to the rear deck (when the top is put
down, it is not removed from the car.)
Hope this helps.
Bill Sohl
Vintage Triumph Register
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