next »

[awschucks]

Hi,
I'm in the process of working on a later TR3 and am curious if any one has a dash like mine. There are 7 gauges in the center as well as the normal tach and sedo over the steering wheel column. The gauges include oil temp, vacuum, dwell, oil pressure, water temp, amps and fuel.  The choke is mounted up by the glove box and the start button is next to the spedo.  The turn signal switch is on the left side of the dash.  Only one wire running up to the horn button on the steering wheel. The car has no signs of being raced as there are no holes from a roll bar.  All of the wiring harness and installtion look to be factory.  All of the wiring in in the original harness, so I am assuming this must be a late TR3B.  It has a TR4 motor as well.  Is this a unique car or are all of the TR3B's laid out like this?
Thx,
Dave

[TR3driver]

Almost certainly, someone has modified your car.  From your description, it sounds somewhat similar to the mods that Bob Schaller recommended.

[TomMull]

That sounds owner modified to me. I'm not aware of any TR3 or 4 having more than oil press, water temp, amps and fuel gauges in the center cluster as standard equipment. You should be able to tell if it was a TR3B by commission number but I don't think there was any change to the dash. As for lack of racing equipment, after 50 or so years many cars have been pieced together from salvaged parts from other cars. I wonder if all those gauges are connected and if they work work?
Tom Mulligan

[charley fitch]

I agree with Randall and Tom, except I will go one step further.  Randall says "almost certainly" and I will say absolutely your car has been modified.  I owned a TR3B and did a lot of research on what was different and what was the same on the TR3 and the B.  As to the dash the only changes that I recall are the positioning of the speedo and tach.  On early cars the speedo was on the left and later cars they were swapped in position, this happened before the TR3A.  The other item, was one I never got a clear time change on was that the center plate where the guages are mounted on a few very early cars was covered with vinyl and on all later cars was painted in wrinkle paint.
 Charley Fitch 

[herald948]

I'm with everyone else here: someone "personalized" their car at some point. I will say I'd be very interested in photos of this dash!

[tr3bGeorge]

Yep, everybody is right.  The same 6 guages were carried right over onto the TR4 from the TR3A and B.  Your dash is HIGHLY modified.  Someone already touched on the speedo/tach swap.  The turn signals were usually moved to the left side (LHS) of the dash for one of two reasons, or both:  conversion to rack and pinion, which required a different steering column; or change of the steering wheel, which removed the control head and left you with a horn button.  [You know, of all the methods for turn signals, dashboard, steering column stalk, what-have-you, I still think that Triumph's control head was the best.]

I am not sure why R and P steering required a dashboard signal, maybe someone on here can 'splane it.  It may be coincidence, but all of the R and P TR3s I have seen have the turn signal moved to the dashboard.