I've followed this thread with interest, since I was looking for tips to get
more detail for my own LBC's history. All of it was good advice and opinion,
personally what worked for me was following the trail of POs. Let me relate my
experience:
In June, I purchased my 65 TR4A from owner C, who lived in Birmingham, AL and
had purchased the car in '93 from owner B, who had moved to AL from NY,
bringing the car with him. Owner C knew very little about LBCs, and nothing
about this particular car's history. He thought it was 'cute' but never
bothered to do anything with it except let it sit on his lot neglected.
However, he was able to provide me with the name and number of owner B.
Owner B proved to be a very invaluable source when I contacted him. He was
able to provide me with details of the car's history and also shipped me a box
of parts (at no cost!)that he still had from when he began a restoration that
he never completed. Turns out that he bought the car from owner A in NY back
in the '70s when he was a teenager, and drove it until the motor seized
sometime around 1980, at which time he started a rebuild that was interrupted
by marriage, homeownership and the like.
The most fascinating part of the history occurred while the car was in the
hands of owner A(who is now deceased). I will mention his name in hopes that
maybe someone form the other side of the 'pond' will recognize his name and
maybe fill in some remaining blanks.
Mr. Crawford Morton purchased the TR4A new while living in England and
registered it there. Next he took it to SAH Associates and had the car
modified for rallying, apparently doing so for several years before returning
to the US and bringing the car with him. There was no mention of him
continuing to rally once he returned to the US.
So, this is the payoff of trying to discover the trail of ownership for these
vehicles, a way of making these cars seem alive, with a sense of their history.
Learning all of the above greatly changed my original plans for the car, which
had been to extensively modified it to be a daily driver, including putting in
a V6/5-speed tranny. Now I feel an obligation to preserve this unique piece of
automotive history.
Thanks for listening to me ramble, I'll shut up now .... ~g~
Raymond Lucas Hatfield
65 TR4A IRS, O/D, SAH Tuned .... and who knows what else?
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