next »

[Dallas Whiting]

First and foremost I am real happy to find this site.  I have owned this car for a year and a half and have felt like I am out on an island here.  No one seems to know anything about these cool little cars.
I can't seem to tell if this car is a 64 or 65.  The title says 65 but when I looked up the serial number it says it was made sometime in 64. Here are the numbers, hopefully someone can help me to pin this down.  Under the hood, driver side, close to the brake and clutch master cylinders are these numbers.  CT31163, there is also a green tag that says STC-65.  On the other side in the same position is a tag that says 31390 CT.
The car is coming together, I am hung up on how to install door and trunk seals and will post those quesions later.
Thanks

[vila]

Many times the states would register the car by the year sold and not the year built.  Your car is a 1964 sold in 1965 and thus originally registered as a 65 by your state. 

The tag to the left by the brake master cylinder has the Commission Number and the number normally found on the Title. CT31163 is your Commission Number and the approximate numbers for 1964 TR4s run from CT28486 to CT40000.

The smaller tag on the passenger side with the number 31390 CT is the BODY NUMBER.

Bob Beers

[charley fitch]

I agree with Bob and will add that the STC plate came from California (STC =State of California) where it was put on by the dealer prior to the sale of the car in 1965.  The state of California mandated that the plates be added to the cars.  In some cases the STC## was added to the commission number to make up the registration number on the title.  As yours would be STC65CT31163.  If you are lucky it did not get added and your title only shows CT31163.

If you are interested in finding out exactly when your car was built and shipped you can get a Build Certificate from www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk .  It will cost you 39 British pounds ( I don't know what the conversion is today).  You will need to provide the commission, body and engine numbers as I recall.It might be a bit pricey, but well worth the money to find out about what accessories came on your
car as well as the build and shipping information.
Good luck,
Charley Fitch 

[Dallas Whiting]

Thanks Bob and Charley, very good information!  Interesting that you knew what the STC-65 meant.  Every day with this little car is another piece in the puzzle.  Thanks again.  Will get some pictures posted when I get home.

[Lou Metelko]

Restoring a TR4 (or any Triumph) without one of Bill Piggott's books or better yet the restoration & Concours guide from TRA has got to be a daunting task.  Piggott's book on the 4, 4A and 6 is out of print so that's out but you can go to www.triumphregister.com and go to the bottom of the "news & events" tab for info on TRA's restoration guide.  Another neat item is to order a "British Motor Industry Heritage Trust" certificate which will tell the date built, original color combination, optional equipment included with car, etc.

Help is always on the other side of the keyboard

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana

 

[lfew1]

I will pile on and strongly recommend the British Motor Industry Trust service.  I got a certificate for my 1966 TR4A IRS that was very useful for determining original configuration (and proved that the commission number, body number and engine number all match).  I also have the red STC plate, which I think shows that it was imported into CA, but not necessarily originally registered there.  My car's first reg is in Texas (without the STC in the VIN).

The exchange rate is currently about $1.52, so your BPS39 fee is about $59.

LF White

[charley fitch]

Interesting that your STC plate is red.  All of the ones that I have seen are some shade of blue.  I  do believe that they were put on by the dealers, so anything or color could have been used.  Have you ever had it off of the car and seen the underside of it?  Is the backside also red?
Charley Fitch 

[lfew1]

I have not had it off, but it looks original.  It is attached to the top of the passenger side foot well inboard from the body number plate.  It has two lines of text:

TRIUMPH
STC - 66

BTW, all the paint has come off my commission plate (brake fluid I suspect), which has never been removed as far as I can tell.  The VIN and color/interior codes are punched so no problem reading, but wondered if there is a way to restore the paint (and hence the headings).  Seems like a stencil might work ...

Thanks,

LF White

 

[charley fitch]

Most people do it the "other way" .  They buy a new plate ( from The Roadster Factory, etc,)and punch in the original numbers.  I have done this on two of my cars.  I had a jeweler engrave the first one that came out looking good and a Trophy shop do the second one. Both look good.  I then keep the original in the glove box just in case some one (Police) wants to make an issue of it. 
My STC plate was held on by screws as opposed to pop rivets.  How is yours mounted?  The original commission plates are held on by pop rivets and are easily replaced.
Charley Fitch 

[lfew1]

Thanks, Charley,

I was aware of the replacement plates, but not sure how people handled it.  Makes good sense.  Did you rivet the replacement plates back in place?

My STC plate is also attached with screws. The plate has slots at either end rather than complete holes.

LF White

[charley fitch]

Yes, I did pop rivet the commission plate in place.  I notice that there is some guy that sells special pop rivets for these plates( supposedly) on ebay at an overly inflated price. However, I used a regular pop rivet and it looks original.  Just check the size head on the pop rivet and try to replicate that.  As to the California plate, I believe that most of those I have seen have had actual holes for the screws.  But again they were put on by the dealers and I suspect that each dealer made up their own plates unless somebody made up a bunch of them and spread them around.
Charley Fitch   

[lfew1]

Thanks, Charley. 


LF White