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Location: Melton Mowbray.
Several Type R, Top Hat, saloons have an additional number stamped underneath the body number on the transmission tunnel. In the case of my car it is 8. Perhaps other models show this feature, I am not sure. This feature does not occur on all Rs.
I have never understood what this additional number refers to, but recently a newly found R, with the number 44 stamped on the tunnel, has been found to have 44 stamped on the rear wing- in the area that butts up to the body. I have never seen or found such a stamping on a wing. At present due to lockdown I'm unable to closely examine my own car which is in storage.
This wing stamping may hold the key as to the reason for the extra number on the tunnel.
Can anyone throw any further light on this? Comments / theories welcome.
Thanks.
Chris.
R type Registrar.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 2,928 Threads: 160
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Location: Sherwood Forest
Car type: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
First question, Chris, do these R-Types have a Body Number or a Car Number stamped on the tunnel? All the cars I have inspected from the late 1920s (admittedly not that many) have had the Car Number stamped here (if any number at all). If the latter is the case, then maybe your second number is really a body number. I know your car is one of the 'interim' cars with revised door, etc, so maybe these carried a body number starting with one and finishing at ??? whatever; there weren't that many built, were there?
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what were the other lower numbers found Chris?
didnt you say something like 2, 4 and 8?
Mike - we need to check out those cars if any of them are still around/traceable. Can you remember any?
Joined: Feb 2018 Posts: 120 Threads: 13
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my top hat saloon registered on the 26 nov 1926 has the number 300 and stamped directly under the middle 0 is a 2, I have no idea if its just a body number but I just took a look to add something to the mix stay safe all Rob.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 2,928 Threads: 160
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Location: Sherwood Forest
Car type: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Bang goes that theory, then!
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Location: Melton Mowbray.
No Mike. My car number is A7-3985 and body number 10191 ( 8 ). Yes mine is one of the late " interim " models leading into the RK, but this additional number(s) intermittently crops up across the whole production period, '26 to '28.
Jon, the numbers occur over quite a range, not just single.
Robert. Thanks for that info. If your car was built close to the date it was sold, a body number of 300 seems very low as R production commenced in May of that year. Something else to think about!!
Any other thoughts anyone?
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 3,247 Threads: 360
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Chris - Robert's car fits pretty well with the body numbers known in relation to chassis number.
Re the secondary numbers, there are only 2, 4 and 8s recorded on the register so far and they pretty much rise through the increasing body numbers with the exception of one car.
Can you give some of the others found with their body numbers and I'll look across the series to see if other patterns?
Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 149 Threads: 10
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Location: Brecon
Car type: 1932 4-seat Tourer, 1925 Pram Hood Chummy
Could these numbers be a reference to either the person or team in charge of fabricating the body, or the quality control inspection? Although if this were the case then you might expect to find a larger range of numbers, and to find them on bodies other than R-types.
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That's a good point. Would we perhaps say that they were the first coachbuilts and the Tourers were merely assembled? The full height doors, we know, were marked on the 28 onwards closed cars for when they were separate from the bodies. So perhaps stamping moved to chalk marks because it was easier?
although saying that, we have stamps again, on hinges, far later...
