VIN Numbers

[Tcraftdriver]

Hi All,

I have used what I learned here to find some of the critical numbers for the 1959 TR3a I have just acquired. I am hoping some of you will know what these numbers mean and how to decode them.

Vin TS57745L
Engine number: TS57357E
Firewall Tag: EB56010
Another Firewall tag: Triumph STC 60
Where can I find the rear axle number and the transmission number?

Any help with these numbers will be truly appreciated.

 

[TR4nut]

The STC plate means it likely was imported into the West Coast - Cal Sales in California perhaps. The plate was added in the US, I believe it shows what year the car was marketed/sold. So your car might have sat on the lot a little while possibly.

And I just posted a note looking for a spare STC plate like what you have - so if you don't want it in the future, please let me know!

Your engine number/eb number is close to the commission number which is good and likely means all is original. They don't have to match. Gearbox number I think is on the drivers side of the box, can't recall where the differential number is but I remember it being very hard to read!

 

[TR3driver]

It's curious that your engine number is slightly lower than your commission number. Usually they were somewhat higher, as some of the engines went into other cars (eg Morgan). Possibly that means your engine was delayed for some reason before being mated with the car; perhaps it needed some minor rework or something.

Don't be too surprised if you don't find a gearbox number. Some of them may have been marked, but all of the early gearboxes I have were not marked. Here's a shot of where it should be

The rear axle number is practically impossible to see with the unit in the car; unless you use a mirror or something. It's stamped into the topmost edge of the center casting, right next to the cover.

There has been some debate over the STC tags, but they do seem to indicate either "model year" or the year the car was first sold retail. (Not necessarily the same thing, my local dealer already has 2013 models in stock.) Note that Cal Sales was the west coast port of entry, they supplied the cars to other dealers throughout the western US. So it may have come through Cal Sales even though the actual sale was through some other dealer.

 

[BRSLimited]

The gearbox number can be in the location pictured or on the top of the flat oval area on the LH side of the gearbox. You may have to clean and scrape 50 years of dirt, oil, grease, and who knows what else off to get to it.

 

[mrv8q]

There has been some debate over the STC tags, but they do seem to indicate either "model year" or the year the car was first sold retail. (Not necessarily the same thing, my local dealer already has 2013 models in stock.) Note that Cal Sales was the west coast port of entry, they supplied the cars to other dealers throughout the western US. So it may have come through Cal Sales even though the actual sale was through some other dealer.

FWIW, my car has a STC60 orange tag, but it first sold in 1959, ( but just barely)...
My car was first sold on December 26, 1959, at Bruck Oldsmobile Volvo Triumph in Glendale, Los Angeles.