Lot Ended
Description
A TR4 with a genuine TR4 number plate; in the current ownership
for 45 years and yes, the TR4 plate is included and is transferable; a
great package that will really get you noticed!
Right, where to
begin with this Lot? To respect the vendor’s wishes, we will start with the car
because he has owned it for 45 years and loves it like one of the family.
However, if you are really only interested in the number plate, you can skip the
first few paragraphs and go straight to the ones at the end.
The
Car
Our vendor bought this TR4 way back
in 1980, the purchase invoice showing that he paid £1,950 after having the car
examined by the RAC, the engineer’s 4-page report being overwhelmingly positive.
It comes with a large and interesting history file which will take the new owner
many happy hours to digest and we can only give a brief summary here.
The Heritage Certificate confirms that this TR4
was built in February 1963 finished in Triumph Racing Green with a black Vynide
interior and a black hood. Extras included overdrive, 60-spoke wire wheels,
heater, windscreen washer, black tonneau cover and tubed Michelin X
tyres.
Supplied new via Parker & Son of Bedford, it originally had the
registration number 379 PJH which was still on the car when our vendor acquired
it. It came with a duplicate green logbook listing six previous owners since
1968 and our vendor, a lifelong TR devotee, wrote to all of them. They nearly
all replied, sharing fond memories of their time with the car, as recounted in
letters on file.
Another letter from the TR4
Registrar revealed that the car had been treated to a body-off restoration in
1975, including a fully rebuilt engine with new pistons, liners, bearings etc,
with the odometer being re-set to zero.
When our
vendor acquired the car it was showing 26,470 miles on the clock and he has
covered 54,000 miles in it since, the odometer now showing 80,627 miles. He has
kept it meticulously maintained, much of the early servicing being carried out
by Crown Classic Cars of Twickenham, and from 2010 by Rickmansworth Service
Station and from 2017 by Templar Classics of Bucks.
Expenditure of note includes: regular waxoil treatment; Kenlowe fan;
cylinder head rebuilt in May 1997; new carpets in 2002; overdrive gearbox
rebuilt in 2007 at a cost of £1,700; new pair of H6 carbs in 2022 which cost
£1,300 plus a new water pump, the tappet clearances all being checked and
adjusted at the same time.
The last visit to
Templar was in February this year when it got a new fuel pump; new distributor
and dizzie cap; HT leads; spark plugs; sports coil followed by a tune-up and
road test.
There are no fewer than 34 old MOTs
to chart the gradual accumulation of mileage and, although it is now MOT-exempt,
it has a current MOT valid until October 2025 with no advisories recorded – nor
has it had any advisories since 2009, always the sign of a good car.
Always
garaged during our vendor’s long ownership, it looks most attractive with a
nicely mellowed patina. It has been starting easily and running very nicely as
we have moved it around on site, with good 60psi oil pressure.
The Number
Plate
The TR4 number plate has an
interesting story too, which is covered in some detail in documents and
press cuttings on file. It was among a batch of TR numbers issued by the Borough
of Southampton commencing in 1925. TR1 was retained by them for use on the Lord
Mayor’s car (and is currently on a 2018 Tesla Model S).
Thanks to the
Luftwaffe, the early history of TR4 is unknown because the Southampton County
Records were largely destroyed in an air raid during World War Two.
The story picks up again in 1957 when it was
issued to a Mr T Morley of Notts for the princely sum of £5. He anticipated the
production of the TR4 (which came out in 1961) and there is a somewhat
incongruous photo in The Standard Triumph Review of his TR3 adorned
with the TR4 plate in 1962.
After his death, the
registration was transferred to another TR enthusiast, Tony Roach, whose
initials matched the plate, but because he considered his TR4 rather tatty, he
chose to put it on his brand new Honda 70cc motorbike instead, as he recounts in
a letter on file.
Our vendor acquired the plate
in 1976 via a series of fortuitous events. There was a lot of commotion at the
time about the sale of cherished numbers because Harold Wilson’s Labour
government viewed them as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme run by unscrupulous dealers
to serve the interests of a vain and wealthy few.
It was widely believed that corrupt civil servants were in on the
act, taking bribes to release thousands of unallocated number plates to dodgy
traders. The matter was hotly debated in Parliament, MPs being particularly
incensed by ‘obscene’ number plates being handed out under the counter to
unsavoury characters like porn baron Paul Raymond whose girlfriend, the glamour
model Fiona Richmond, famously drove around London in her Primrose Yellow Jaguar
E-Type V12 Roadster with the number FU 2 on its long, tumescent bonnet – much to
the delight of the tabloids.
This led
to speculation in the press that the cherished transfer trade was going to be
banned, or punitively taxed, which sparked panic among the number plate dealers.
Tony Hill, who owned Elite Registrations at the
time and was heavily exposed to any market downturn, halved his prices
overnight. Our vendor just happened to spot TR4 among his inventory in a
Sunday Times ad. He phoned Hill and managed to buy the plate for even
less than the price in the ad (he is reluctant to divulge exactly how much he
paid but it was a considerable sum nonetheless).
Shortly afterwards Neil Kinnock, who was then Minister of Transport,
intervened because he astutely twigged that the DVLA could make some serious
money out of selling number plates for themselves – money that was badly needed
to top up the government’s fast-dwindling coffers. The rest, as they say, is
history.
This assuaged the fears of the number
plate dealers and in no time, Tony Hill was back on the phone to our vendor in a
desperate attempt to buy the TR4 plate back. Despite being offered a substantial
profit, he politely declined and has proudly owned it ever since.
As an
amusing aside, our vendor had spotted TR2 on a car coming towards him in
slow-moving traffic on the Edgware Road in the late-Sixties. As the two cars
passed, he wound his window down and asked the driver what his plate was worth.
"More than you can afford mate" came the reply as he drove away, never to be
seen again.
Over the years our vendor has been
asked the same question on countless occasions. Many people assume it is just a
show plate, while others presume that our vendor must own the Triumph Motor
Company. When asked which is worth more, the car or the plate, he always replies
that the car is worth more to him because he has been driving TR4s continually
since the day the model was launched.
As you
would expect, this car/plate combination is very well-known and has made both
the car and the owner something of a celebrity over the years. It has been
featured in various books and magazines etc, a few of which are
in the history file. Although MOT-exempt, it does have a current MOT so
transferring the plate should be straighforward.
If this car was being offered with its original 379 PJH plate, we
would have been happy to give it an estimate of £18k - £20k. Add in the TR4
plate though, and it takes the whole package into another
dimension.
The burning question remains: "What’s
it worth mate?" Bid vigorously now, and it could be you who provides the
answer…
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970
309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com