Bob,
First off... all your questions are very interesting and right on
target for Triumph restoration. This a list of peers and
equals... no need for all the formality. Beginner or expert... we
all have something contribute.
The certificate is the BMIHT (British Motor Industry Heritage
Trust). It is issued by this organization that has retained as
much of the production records and tooling as possible from the
glory years of the British auto industry. I have one for my TR4
that shows the date of manufacture, commission number, engine
number, body number, body color, interior color, as well as
optional factory things like leather seats and overdrive. I
sorry that I don't remember the URL but Joe Curry always chimes
in with answer.
Some of the other facts your are looking for are very well
presented in the Bill Piggott "Original" series. There is a
TR2/TR3/A/B specific book that as appendixes with all that info
on commission numbers by year and month, export info and endless
other facts critical to a good restoration. Check out
www.motorbooks.com (search by author) or one of there catalogs or
one of the many LBC book dealers... or even www.amazom.com or
www.barnesandnobles.com
Brian Sanborn
'62 TR4 CT16260L so to be "O" - Groton, MA
My TR4 Restoration Web Site
http://www.net1plus.com/users/sanborn
E-Mail: sanborn@net1plus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Blubaugh
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000 2:28 AM
To: Triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Heritage Certificate? VTR Records on TR2s? (long!)
Hello again Triumph listers:
Recently, as a new list subscriber, I posted a HELP request with
numerous
questions about the engine and transmission overhauls I intend to
undertake
on my TR2 (#TS7690). I got a tremendous response with lots of
words of
encouragement. I can clearly see the great value of
participation on the
list. I tried to send a separate note of thanks to all who
responded
although I may mave missed on a couple of the later responses
(apologies)
and one of my letters "bounced." The one that bounced was to Mr.
Randal
Young who now resides in California but was once form the very
small
village in the middle of a very large, flat, cornfield (now my
hometown),
Rensselaer, Indiana. Thanks for your reply Mr. Young! I will
follow up on
the machine shop references you gave me for Rensselaer,
Lafayette, etc.
Now I would like to bring another question to the group. This
question
probably shows my lack of general knowledge about Truimphs and
LBCs in
general. It relates to something that Mr. Steve Thorton of
Bowling Green,
KY said about the TR3B on Ebay. He made reference to a "Heritage
Certificate." (Mr. Thorton, my original home town was Bowling
Green,
........ INDIANA.) Could someone please tell me more about the
Heritage
Certificate?
Actually, I think I may have seen one. At Auburn, IN at the
Kruse auction
this past Labor Day, there was a 55 TR2 that went through the
auction and
it brought (apx.) $24,000. The owner had some formal looking
papers that
told the date and even the hour of the manufacture of the car.
WOULD THIS
HAVE BEEN A HERITAGE CERTIFICATE? I was really surprized to see
the car
bring the price it did. (My TR2 is also a "signal red" '55
model, but it
will NEVER bring that kind of money!) The car at the Auburn
auction was
somewhat unusual as it was a right hand drive car. The owner
speculated
that it might be the only right hand drive TR2 in North America.
(Did a
serviceman buy it overseas and ship it to the States??) I think
the seller
was from Michigan but he did not seem to have any connections
with VTR.
The car was not a #1, but it was very nice. I rather imagine
that we'll be
seeing it at some future VTR events. I was showing "comparison"
photos of
the car since I had my digital camera in hand and I had several
photos of
my TR2 stored on the flash card. (The owner refused to believe
me that
some TR2s had a three quarter surround chrome trim around the
"mouth" of
the apron operning. My car had the piece and his did not. So my
digital
camera helped to support my claim.)
How would someone obtain a "Heritage Certificate" on their car?
Does
anyone with VTR have any estimate of how many TR2s surrvive? Is
there data
to show what engine numbers would have been been installed in
certain
commission series? I have a book which indicated there were apx.
8600 TR2s
made with almost 6000 produced for export. Does anyone know how
many of
the nearly 6000 made it into the United States? I think with a
commission
number of 7690 that my car must have been very late in the TR2
production
run. Other owners have pointed out that my "2" has some things
in common
with the early TR3s (air vent forward of the windscreen). Is it
possible
to find out what dealer may have sold the car? I bought the car
last July
from a man in Covington, Indiana which is about twenty miles from
Danville,
Illinois. In the glovebox of my car I have found a dealership
decal from a
Danville, IL dealership. I am wondering if my car has ever
gotten very far
from it's "home" dealership. (The agency has certainly long
since
vanished.) Would VTR have any records to show if any other owner
of this
car had registered with VTR?
I am sorry to write so long a letter to the list. I don't know
if my
inquiry is properly "technical" for the list. I know there has
been some
expressed concerns about list content of late and I surely do not
wish to
violate the list ettiquet.2WH8Respectfully yours,
Rob Blubaugh
Rensselaer, IN
TR2 (#TS7690)
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