Triumph TR3 A&B Front End Cowl Differences

Just a short video showing the three types of front-end cowls that were common on the TR3 A and B models. The main differences were the "lip" and the "mouth" opening. It's hard to find a grill to fit the smaller mouth openings.

[davehogye]

Hello, I appreciate your attempt to clarify what you see as differences in the front apron of a 3A or B. What I can tell you is that originally the aprons were all the same. Through time, it is likely that collision damage is the main reason for the differences. They are difficult to get the original shape back and unless someone was well aware that there should be a lip above the grill most repair shops were not aware of this important detail. When these cars had no real value and getting old and worn out, no one really cared either. The red car does look to have the original shape and an original grill. The white car looks to have been repaired and they went too far with the lip and it has an aftermarket grill. The pale yellow/ Primrose car has been repaired and the lip is now gone and the grill looks original, but is squeezed to fit. Moss used to sell two different grills. One was very close to the original and the other, and if I remember correctly was less expensive, was very obviously different with a shallow stamping and the opening slots are smaller. Original grills have a nice sharply defined stamping. I have multiple aprons and number of spare grills and have closely examined these details on 3As for years. To truly know if an apron is original, even one that looks original, you have to examine the back side for evidence of previous damage. Cheers and thanks for sharing the video.

[joeljeffcoat]

I have to say that I still prefer the small mouth version that was discontinued after 1957.

[Halekini]

Hey wait, on that first red 59, did you say it has a Moss reproduction grill?

[HamishRacing]

Finest 1950’s British engineering at its best 😮 - right down to the finest tolerances of “that’ll do”

[MarkBedford-ph]

Absolutely not correct, so many attempts at repairing front aprons that end up over beaten an loose their lip plus numerous aftermarket front apron panels reproduced all with their own version of