[TR] build date of TR3A

[Chris Kantarjiev]

> David Lylis writes:
>> Which raises and interesting question.  My 60 was titled  as a 59 which I 
>> thought was odd, but since have met others who's cars are  titled in the year 
>> before they were built.  Anyone know why that  happened?
> 
> My first Triumph was also oddly dated, titled as 61 and built in 60.
> 
> As I understand it, this wasn't just because things were built at
> the end of the year to be prepared for unveiling in January.  I believe
> the practice (at least for Triumphs) was to title the car based on the
> year it was sold, not built, so the owner didn't feel like they were
> getting an old car.  I don't think it mattered much back then since
> the distinctions between two different TR3As are not based just on
> the production year.  A 2008 Honda Civic may be entirely different
> from a 2007 Honda Civic, but that's not really the case with Triumphs
> (at least not in the same sense).

This wasn't a Triumph practice so much as a state DMV practice. The car 
is titled as of the first sale date. Some dealers/states went so far as 
to add small embossed plates to the VIN tag (such as they were) to 
indicate this.

For most cars, this isn't a big issue, because they sold within 60 days 
of being built.

My Morris Minor Traveller was built in '59, but apparently sat on a lot 
until someone bought it ... in '61. It's titled as a '61.

chris