TriumphTR3

Triumph TR3 Chassis Numbers

A TR3's identity is its commission number, the factory's term for what is now called the chassis number or VIN: TS for the TR3 and TR3A, TSF and TCF for the TR3B. What the numbers mean, where each version's range runs, and what a title year can and cannot be.

An aluminium plate on a red bulkhead reading Triumph Sports Type 20TR3, with a stamped commission number and the Standard Motor Company's name.
The commission plate of a TR3A that its photographer dates to 1961, reading "Type 20TR3" above the stamped number.The Car Spy, CC BY 2.0

Before cars had VINs, Triumph gave each one a commission number, stamped on an aluminium plate, and that number is still a TR3's identity. The TR Register puts it plainly:

TR's originate from an era prior to VIN's (Vehicle Identification Numbers) and used a number identified as the Commission Number.

TR Register, "Buyer's Guide"

In Britain the commission number is the "VIN" on the registration document, and the two should match. The TR Register's model registrars, for its members, can help to authenticate a car from its commission, engine and body numbers, and the British Motor Museum's Heritage Certificates give the factory's own build record for a Triumph of these years.⁠1​2

The commission-number ranges

The TR3 and TR3A carried on the TR2's TS series; the TR3B had two series of its own. The ranges are the Vintage Triumph Register's, with Rimmer's and Dwinger's where they differ:

VersionFirst numberLast numberBuilt
TR2, for referenceTS1TS86361953 to October 1955
TR3, drum brakesTS8637 (Rimmer's first production car: TS8709, 7 October 1955)TS13045October 1955 to September 1956
TR3, disc brakesTS13046TS22013September 1956 to August or September 1957
TR3ATS22014TS83572 (Rimmer: TS82347; Dwinger: TS82436)September 1957 to October 1961, or January 1962 by Rimmer and Dwinger
TR3B, TSF seriesTSF1TSF5301 March to 19 September 1962
TR3B, TCF seriesTCF1TCF28048 May to October or December 1962

A range of numbers is not a count of cars: the spans in print run past the production counts, for the TR3A and the TR3B alike, and the counts, with their sources, are in the production figures below.

The letter after the number tells something too. Left-hand-drive cars carry an L, as in the "TS 60,001 L" the American newsletter printed in 1960; cars assembled in Belgium by Impéria carried an N, according to the French magazine Autoretro. The sources read confirm no other letter.

The engine has its own number, in a separate series ending in E (TS12606E, for example, where the high-port cylinder head came in), so the engine and commission numbers of a TR3 never match, even on an untouched car. In 1957 Motor Sport saw TR3 engines on the line with "a large 'TR3' marked on the crankcase". The body carried a number of its own as well, and in 1959 the American newsletter used it to say which TR2s could take the TR3's hard-top.⁠3​4​5​6​7​8​9​10​11

TS60001L

  1. TSThe prefix: a TR3 or TR3A, in the series the TR2 began
  2. 60001The serial: about where the body changes for the 1960 model year came in
  3. LThe suffix: left-hand drive
An example: TS60001L, the number Standard-Triumph's American newsletter gave in January 1960 for the cars of the 1960 model year, on a left-hand-drive car.

Contents

Year markers

The Vintage Triumph Register gives the first commission number of each year; Rimmer's catalogue gives the first car built in each January, and for 1962 the last TR3A; for 1957 and 1959 the two differ. Take all of them as approximate:⁠3​4

YearFirst number (Vintage Triumph Register)January (Rimmer)
1955TS8637, from October–
1956TS9666TS9666
1957TS15014TS14999, built 1 January
1958TS25633TS25633
1959TS41630TS41668, built 1 January
1960TS65124TS65124
1961TS82030TS82030
1962TSF1, from March; TCF1, from MayTS82347, the last TR3A

Contents

Model years and the 1963 TR3

Many TR3s are described by a year, often in America, where the factory announced its cars by model year: the facelift for 1958, an unchanged car for 1959, an improved one for 1960. What a car of each year can be:

YearWhat it can be
1953 or 1954No TR3: these are TR2 years
1955A TR3, from October; most cars of 1955 are TR2s
1956A TR3, with drum brakes or, from TS13046 in September, discs
1957A TR3, or a TR3A from September
1958A TR3A, sold in America for the 1958 model year
1959A TR3A, with the bigger engine as an option
1960A TR3A, with the body changes from about TS60001
1961A TR3A
1962A late TR3A, if the last ones were built that January, or a TR3B
1963 or laterNo TR3

Contents

Change points

Most of the changes below are from the Vintage Triumph Register's change list, Carl Musson's; a number ending in E is an engine number. The American newsletter adds several:

NumberChange
TS8637The first TR3: SU H6 carburettors; the grille nearly flush with the front
TS8471E to TS9349EThe original TR3 cylinder head
TS9350EThe Le Mans type head, with a new inlet manifold and gasket
TS12567The wiper motor moved
TS12606EThe high-port cylinder head
TS13046Girling front disc brakes and a new rear axle: Lockheed gives way to Girling
TS18230EA chrome-plated rocker cover
TS22013The last TR3
TS22014The first TR3A: full-width grille, outside door handles, overriders (bumper guards), a lockable boot handle
TS26656 and TS26704Speedometers corrected for Michelin X tyres, with the 3.7 and 4.1 axles
TS26904Handed rear springs, left and right
TS28826Dzus fasteners on the sidescreens
TS40104Air deflectors behind the grille as standard
About TS41000SU H6 carburettors with push-on connections
TS41878A blue and white bonnet (hood) medallion
TS42400A pull-out ashtray under the dashboard
TS50001A new flywheel and gear knob
TS56377Smaller rear brake drums
About TS60001The body and trim changes of the 1960 model year
TS83572The last TR3A by the Vintage Triumph Register's list; Rimmer gives TS82347, Dwinger TS82436
TSF1The TR3B: the TR4's all-synchromesh gearbox (transmission)
TSF219, TSF265, TSF284Disc-brake caliper mounting; rear dampers (shock absorbers); front suspension
TSF530The last car with the TR3A's engine
TCF1The first car with the TR4's engine
TCF2804The last TR3B

The American newsletter also dated a new soft top to about commission number S52000L, as it printed it.⁠3​9​15​16​17​18​7​4​5

The boot lid of a white car: chrome TRIUMPH letters above a T-shaped lockable handle.
The TRIUMPH letters and the lockable boot (trunk) handle that came in at TS22014, on a TR3A at the Fox Island Car Show, Washington, in August 2016.Thorsten Lindner, CC BY-SA 4.0
A dark green sports car straight from behind: the boot handle, TRIUMPH letters, round tail lamps and the dashboard over the folded hood.
A TR3A from behind among other classics: the boot handle and TRIUMPH letters of the facelift, and round tail lamps.Usien, CC BY-SA 3.0

Contents

Spotting the versions

From outside, the grille and the doors tell most of the story; underneath, the number settles it.

In late 1955, the TR3 "small mouth" was introduced. This model can be recognized by its grill: the opening is still small, but the grill itself is no longer far recessed, but nearly flush with the front valence.

Ken Streeter, "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register

  1. TR2 or TR3?

    The TR2's grille sits deep in its mouth, the TR3's well forward in it. Many TR2s were later converted to look like TR3s, so check the number: the TR3 began at TS8637.

  2. TR3 or TR3A?

    The TR3 has no handles outside its doors and no handle on its boot lid; the TR3A has both, overriders and a full-width grille set back in the mouth, with TRIUMPH spelled across the bonnet.

  3. Drums or discs?

    A TR3 numbered TS13046 or later left the factory with front discs.

  4. TR3A or TR3B?

    From outside they look the same. The TR3B has a TSF or TCF number and the TR4's all-synchromesh gearbox, and a TCF car the TR4's bigger engine.

  5. The engine.

    Its number ends in E and differs from the commission number.⁠3​19​12​1​6

A black open two-seater with its hood up and a small flush grille, photographed from low down on a gravelled car park.
The small mouth, its grille close to the front of the opening, on a TR3 with later alloy wheels, in October 2011.Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK, CC BY 2.0
A dark blue sports car head-on, with a full-width grille carrying a club badge and TRIUMPH letters across the nose.
Head-on, the TR3A's marks: the wide grille recessed in the mouth and the TRIUMPH letters above it, photographed at Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France, in June 2014.PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ, CC BY-SA 4.0

Contents

Production

Production: how far the sources agree

4409, Drum Brakes, "4,409 with drum brakes"
One good source.
4408, Drum Brakes
Not yet confirmed.
13377, TR3, 1955-57: 1,286 home market, 12,091 export
Good sources agree.
13337, TR3, the guide's own text; its split, 4,409 + 8,968, adds to 13,377
Disputed.
nearly 17,000, small-mouth TR3s
Disputed.
8968, Disc Brakes, "8,968 with front-wheel disc brakes"
One good source.
58236, TR3A: 1,896 home market, 56,340 export
Good sources agree.
58309, TR3A, "58309 cars built from 1957 to 1961", the guide's own text
Not yet confirmed.
2804, TCF1-TCF2804: commission numbers; no separate count is published
Good sources agree.
3331, TR3B, all export (UK market none)
Good sources agree.
530 + 2,804 = 3,334, TR3B, the two commission series TSF1-TSF530 and TCF1-TCF2804
Not yet confirmed.
530, TSF1-TSF530: commission numbers; no separate count is published
Good sources agree.
about 500, TSF, "The first five hundred cars"
Not yet confirmed.
13,377 TR3; 58,236 TR3A; 3,331 TR3B, TR3, TR Production Figures; the three add to 74,944 (our arithmetic)
Good sources agree.
about 74,800, TR3, family total, no basis given; the article cites Harvey (1983)
Not yet confirmed.

  1. 4409Drum Brakes, "4,409 with drum brakes"

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1

  2. 4408Drum Brakes

    Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR3", 2026⁠20

  3. 13377TR3, 1955-57: 1,286 home market, 12,091 export

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1; Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠5

  4. 13337TR3, the guide's own text; its split, 4,409 + 8,968, adds to 13,377

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1

  5. nearly 17,000small-mouth TR3s

    Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  6. 8968Disc Brakes, "8,968 with front-wheel disc brakes"

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1

  7. 58236TR3A: 1,896 home market, 56,340 export

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1; Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠5; Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  8. 58309TR3A, "58309 cars built from 1957 to 1961", the guide's own text

    TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide"⁠1

  9. 2804TCF1-TCF2804: commission numbers; no separate count is published

    Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  10. 3331TR3B, all export (UK market none)

    Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; TR Drivers Club, "Triumph TR3B" (updated March 2015)⁠6; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠5; Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  11. 530 + 2,804 = 3,334TR3B, the two commission series TSF1-TSF530 and TCF1-TCF2804

    Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  12. 530TSF1-TSF530: commission numbers; no separate count is published

    Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register⁠3

  13. about 500TSF, "The first five hundred cars"

    TR Drivers Club, "Triumph TR3B" (updated March 2015)⁠6

  14. 13,377 TR3; 58,236 TR3A; 3,331 TR3BTR3, TR Production Figures; the three add to 74,944 (our arithmetic)

    Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1⁠4; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠5

  15. about 74,800TR3, family total, no basis given; the article cites Harvey (1983)

    Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR3", 2026⁠20

Contents

Sources

Every source the site cites is on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  • Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
  1. TR Register, Buyer's guide pages (group): "Buyer's Guide" (general), "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide", "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide", general guide, "Commission Number" and the model registrars; TR3A guide: the bigger engine; 1961; TR3 guide, conversions; "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide" page, text; "Triumph TR3 Buyers Guide" page, "Production Figures"; "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide" page, "Production Figures"; "Triumph TR3A Buyers Guide" page, text. tr-register.co.uk/resources/buyers-guide Reference
  2. British Motor Museum (BMIHT), "Heritage Certificates", Heritage Certificates. britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/heritage-certificates Primary
  3. Carl Musson (production dates and numbers) and Ken Streeter (spotter's guide), "TR3 (1955-1962)": the history, "Production Dates and Numbers" and "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide", Vintage Triumph Register, "Production Dates and Numbers"; "Production Dates and Numbers", the first number of each year; Ken Streeter, "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide"; "The TR2-TR3 Series Spotter's Guide" (Streeter); "Production Dates and Numbers" (Musson). vintagetriumphregister.org/tr3 Reference
  4. Graham Robson (essay "15 Years of Evolution"), Triumph TR2 – TR3/3A, TR4/4A – TR5, TR250 1953–1968 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.1 (source code TR2512), Part 1, p. 7, "Vehicle Identification – All Models"; p. 7, the first car built in each January; TS82347, January 1962; p. 7, TCF2804; p. 7, TS13046, TS22013, TS22014, TS82347; p. 6, "TR Production Figures: 1953 to 1968"; p. 7, "Vehicle Identification - All Models". rimmerbros.com/images/PDFs/TR2-5_Part1.pdf Reference
  5. Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF), p. 3, the production table; the unused numbers; p. 3, TS82436; p. 3, production table. tr-register.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Kaufberatung_Geschichte_TR2_TR3.pdf Reference
  6. TR Drivers Club, "Triumph TR3B" (updated March 2015), the TSF and TCF series; the TR3B, 1962; the TR3B's gearbox and engine; text. trdrivers.com/articles21/triumphtr3b.html Reference
  7. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, January 1960, Jan 1960, p. 3, "TS 60,001 L"; p. 3, the 1960 model year. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAJanuary1960.pdf Primary
  8. Xavier Audiau, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps, 1955: 22, v'là la Triumph !", Autoretro, no. 397, May 2015, pp. 12–19, Impéria and the "N" suffix. beaulieumotorbe.ares.as35334.website/beaulieumotor/news/fichier/fichier_news_3_10012022161327.PDF Reference
  9. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1959, Dec 1959, the cylinder heads by engine number; the three cylinder heads. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOADecember1959.pdf Primary
  10. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, January 1959, Jan 1959, the hard top and body number EB5591. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAJanuary59.pdf Primary
  11. Bill Boddy, "Sports Cars of the 'Big Five'", Motor Sport, May 1957, p. 15, p. 15, the crankcase marking. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1957/15/sports-cars-of-the-big-five Primary
  12. Len Griffing, "SCI Road Test — Triumph TR3", with the Standard-Triumph Motor Co. Inc. advertisement in the same issue, Sports Cars Illustrated, Mar 1958, pp. 30–31, 58, "the TR3 for '58"; pp. 30–31, the 1958 front. Primary
  13. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1957, Dec 1957 (vol. III no. 12), p. 1, "a face-lift for 1958". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOADec1957.pdf Primary
  14. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1958, Nov 1958, p. 1, "the 59's are out". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOANovember58.pdf Primary
  15. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1959, Sep 1959, speedometers for Michelin X tyres. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOASeptember1959.pdf Primary
  16. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, April 1959, Apr 1959, the grille deflectors. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAApril59.pdf Primary
  17. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March 1959, Mar 1959, the ashtray. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAMarch59.pdf Primary
  18. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, October 1959, Oct 1959, the new soft top. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAOctober59.pdf Primary
  19. Karl Ludvigsen, "Triumph gets a going over", Sports Cars Illustrated, Mar 1956, pp. 36–38, 56, the grille. Primary
  20. Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR3", 2026, production. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_TR3 Unchecked

Contents