Hi Carl,
Hey, I think the two of us are vying for the longest TR4 restoration project
in recorded history!
I also have two upper valances: The one that was on my '62 when purchased in
1977 and a spare I bought a few years ago (both are pretty beat up). Those
support brackets or "tabs" were removed (by me) from the "original" upper
valance years ago because the car was fitted with a later TR4A grill that
didn't use
them (Note: I'm not sure the upper valance truly is original because the car
had front end damage that had been repaired when I bought it, and I did
additional work on it back in the 1970s when I first restored the car.) With
the
TR4A grill, those bracket/tabs just protruded through the grill and served no
purpose.
However, it's obvious from the weld residue that the two bracket/tabs were
located at the 12 o'clock position to align with the upper mounting hole for
the
parking lights. I hadn't noticed before, but now looking at the spare upper
valance I see it has them in a different position... the one you have noted!
Supposedly this came off a TR4, too, if so then somewhere during the production
run something must have been changed.
Another clue. The original style TR4 grill I've got (intending to restore my
car to original) has all the spire clips still on it. On both the parking and
directional lights, the one hole (maybe slot would be a better description)
that aligns with the support bracket/tab does not have a spire clip, because it
is instead fitted on the bracket/tab itself. The top slot or hole on both the
parking light cutouts lack the spire, while the bottom ones have theirs.
So, based on these clues, I'd have to say the 12 o'clock position is the
correct location for the brakcet/tab on our cars. This puts the bracket/tab
sort
of "horizontal" and leaves its outer (most forward, right behind the grill) 90
degree bent tang pointing straight downward, while the 90 degree bent tang
that's used to tack weld the bracket to the upper valance points upward.
Now, if I only had a set of those parking light assemblies to fit TR4.
(Finally managed to get a good set of correct glass "beehive" directional
lamps!) Oh
well, I'm pretty sure decent repros are available.
Cheers!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
amfoto1@aol.com
'62 TR4 CT176092L
http://www.triumphowners.com/640
********************************************************
Your point is interesting so I went and looked at my 2 tubs. The original tub
has those brackets welded at the 12 o'clock position but the rebuilt tub with
a repro front valence has those brackets welded at the 9 o'clock position. So
I guess I've found exactly what you have found. I don't know what effect this
will have when I go to re-install the grill and the lights. I don't know if
this addresses your concerns or just verifies your findings.
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