TriumphTR2

Triumph TR2 Chassis Numbers

Every TR2 carries a commission number, the factory's word for what owners now call the chassis number, from TS1 to TS8636. Where to find it and the engine and body numbers, what the letters after it mean, and why two production totals are in print.

A green TR2 seen head-on: a shield badge on the bonnet reading TR2, round headlamps and a deep open air intake with a mesh set well back, a chrome bumper with overriders.
A TR2 head-on at the Coventry Transport Museum in 2011, its bonnet (hood) badge reading TR2 over the Triumph globe.David Merrett, CC BY 2.0

Standard-Triumph gave every TR2 a commission number, beginning with TS1, completed on 22 July 1953, and ending with TS8636 in the autumn of 1955. It is the car's identity: what owners and sellers now call its chassis number, and the number its registration papers record. This page explains where it and the car's other numbers are stamped, what the letters after it mean, and how the production totals that rest on it disagree.⁠1​2​3

Where the numbers are

The factory's data gives each number a place; the commission and engine numbers, the manual says, can both be seen by lifting the bonnet.

NumberWhereWhat it looks like
Commission numberA plate on the bulkhead under the bonnet, on the right-hand sideTS, the number, and any letters after it
Engine numberA boss on the cylinder block, below the third sparking plugTS, the number and E, as in TS481E
Factory-rebuilt engineA new plate on the same boss, the old number erased; the plate also gives the crankshaft regrind sizesAs above
Body numberAn oval plate in the middle of the bulkheadSix numerals
Gearbox (transmission) and rear axleStamped on their casingsOnly partly legible in the copy of the manual read

The TR Register explains why there is no VIN:

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 Beware"

In Britain that commission number is what the registration document records as the car's VIN, and the TR Register advises checking that the two match. The British Motor Museum keeps the factory's build records for Triumphs and issues Heritage Certificates from them, which give the car's specification as built.⁠1​4​5

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Suffixes and examples

Letters after the number record how the car was built.

The L for left-hand drive is not spelt out by any TR2 source read, but every example fits it, as on TS299L, which left the works on 31 December 1953; the first car, TS1, had left-hand drive, but no source records an L on it. American cars all had left-hand drive. The N, stamped after the L, marks the Belgian cars, as Auto Zeitung and the Triumph Club de France both report. An O appears after the numbers of cars with overdrive in the race records, though no source read says what it stands for.⁠2​4​6​7​8​9​10

Number as printedCarSource
TS 1730.0Edgar Wadsworth's TR2, 15th at Le Mans in 1954racingsportscars
TS 5534/0PKV 376, a works car at Le Mans in 1955racingsportscars
TS 5691PKV 374, a works car at Le Mans in 1955, printed "TS56910" in its sale catalogueracingsportscars; the 2019 catalogue
C 55 82PKV 375, the third works car at Le Mans in 1955racingsportscars, which gives no explanation (it is not a TR2 commission number); the 2019 catalogue for the registration

TS4393LN

  1. TSThe prefix the factory gave the TR2's commission numbers
  2. 4393The serial, in the short-door range from TS4002
  3. LLeft-hand drive
  4. NAssembled by Impéria at Nessonvaux, Belgium
An example: TS 4393 LN, a Belgian-built coupé.

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Production: who gives which total

The sources print two production totals for the TR2 without saying what either one counts. The TR Register's page prints both: the smaller in its text, the larger as the total of its facts table, although that table's own home and export lines add up to the smaller. The Rimmer catalogue's table gives the smaller, with the same home and export lines. TR-Register Deutschland prints both too, the other way round, and Autoretro gives the larger as Bill Piggott's, from Original Triumph TR2/3/3A (1998), adding, in French, that the figures may vary appreciably. The production readings below set every figure out with its sources.

TR-Register Deutschland's guide has the one sentence that could explain the gap:

Bei der Produktionsfolge der TR 2 wurden nicht alle Fahrgestell-Nummern vergeben.

Bruno Dwinger, TR-Register Deutschland, 2008

In our translation: not all the chassis numbers were allotted in the TR2's production run. The larger total is the size of the range TS1 to TS8636; if eight of its numbers were never used, by our arithmetic, the smaller total would be the cars built. The guide names none of the unused numbers; the factory's build records might.

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How many TR2s were built?

Fact check

8628 cars

TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet), TR2 page, text⁠11

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. 6, "TR Production Figures: 1953 to 1968"⁠3

Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF), p. 3, table⁠12

8636 cars

TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet), TR2 page, facts table⁠11

Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF), history text⁠12

Xavier Audiau, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps, 1955: 22, v'là la Triumph !", Autoretro, no. 397, May 2015, pp. 12–19, no. 397, May 2015, production data⁠13

Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR2", 2026, introduction ("A total of 8,636 TR2s were produced")⁠14

Our reading. Both totals stand, because no source says how it was counted. We lead with the smaller, because every published split into home and export cars adds up to it; the larger is Piggott's, and the size of the number range.⁠11​3​12​13

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Dating a car by its number

A car's year of building can be read from its number in the Rimmer catalogue's table. TS305 was the last car of 1953 and TS306 the first of 1954, built on 1 January; TS5202 was the last of 1954 and TS5203 the first of 1955, on 4 January. The same table divides the cars into model years at TS4001, where the long doors end. TS8636 closes the table as the last TR2, built on 6 October 1955; Revington TR's change points stop earlier, in September. The long door page lists what a car of each year should have.

The TR3 followed at once, but its first number is printed two ways: TS8637 by Revington TR and TR-Register Deutschland, and TS8709 by the Rimmer table. None of the sources read says what the Rimmer table's numbers TS8637 to TS8708 were.

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How many are left

No reliable count of surviving TR2s was found. The TR Register's registrar for the model keeps the club's records, which are for its members. German Wikipedia gives about 2,500 cars left worldwide, citing a book by Williams of 2014 that was not read, and no club or register count was found to check it. Of the Belgian coupés, about 11 were believed to survive in 2016, by Classic Motorsports' count.⁠15​16​11

A dark green TR2 with two white-covered spot lamps, wire wheels and a maroon interior, on a dry lawn at a show, four-wheel-drive cars parked behind.
A surviving TR2, dark green on wire wheels, on show at North Parramatta, New South Wales, in August 2015.Jeremy, CC BY 2.0

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Production

Production: how far the sources agree

TS1–TS4001, Long Door, commission numbers: "TS4002 onwards. Short doors introduced"
Good sources agree.
4000, Long Door, "Until October 1954, the first 4,000 cars were produced with 'long door' body shells"
One good source.
22, Coupé Francorchamps, built and sold by Impéria, 1954–55
Good sources agree.
TS4002–TS8636, Short Door, commission numbers: "TS4002 onwards. Short doors introduced"
Good sources agree.
8628, TR2, the page text: "8,628 cars built"
Disputed.
8636, TR2, facts table: "Total - 8636"; its own home and export lines add to 8,628
Disputed.
2823, TR2, home market
Good sources agree.
5805, TR2, export market
Good sources agree.

  1. TS1–TS4001Long Door, commission numbers: "TS4002 onwards. Short doors introduced"

    Revington TR, "Technical Specification Change Points" (TR2)⁠2; 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 1⁠3

  2. 4000Long Door, "Until October 1954, the first 4,000 cars were produced with 'long door' body shells"

    TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet)⁠11

  3. 22Coupé Francorchamps, built and sold by Impéria, 1954–55

    Xavier Audiau, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps, 1955: 22, v'là la Triumph !", Autoretro, no. 397, May 2015, pp. 12–19⁠13; Dirk De Jager, "Through the Roof: The Hardtop Triumph TR2 That Held Promises of the Belgian Auto Industry", Classic Motorsports, Jul 2016⁠16; Paul Richardson, "Belgian Spaniard", Moss Motoring, 1 Jun 2002⁠17

  4. TS4002–TS8636Short Door, commission numbers: "TS4002 onwards. Short doors introduced"

    Revington TR, "Technical Specification Change Points" (TR2)⁠2; 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 1⁠3

  5. 8628TR2, the page text: "8,628 cars built"

    TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet)⁠11; 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 1⁠3; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠12

  6. 8636TR2, facts table: "Total - 8636"; its own home and export lines add to 8,628

    TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet)⁠11; Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF)⁠12; Xavier Audiau, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps, 1955: 22, v'là la Triumph !", Autoretro, no. 397, May 2015, pp. 12–19⁠13; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR2", 2026⁠14

  7. 2823TR2, home market

    TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet)⁠11; 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 1⁠3

  8. 5805TR2, export market

    TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet)⁠11; 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 1⁠3

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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
  • Databaseresults and listings, entry by entry
  • Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
  1. Standard-Triumph, Triumph TR2 Workshop Manual, with the TR3 supplement, "Commission Number"; general data, "Car number (Commission number)"; general data and "Commission Number": the plate, the engine number, the body number, the gearbox and axle numbers, factory-rebuilt engines. Primary
  2. Revington TR, "Technical Specification Change Points" (TR2), 22 July 1953; September 1955, TS8636; TS1, TS2; TS299L, 31 December 1953; October 1954, TS4002; December 1953 to October 1955; TS8637; change points, Oct 1954. revingtontr.com/the-tr-series/tr2/technical-specification-change-points Reference
  3. 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. 6, "TR Production Figures: 1953 to 1968"; p. 6; p. 7, commission numbers by year and model year; TS8709. rimmerbros.com/images/PDFs/TR2-5_Part1.pdf Reference
  4. TR Register, "Buyer Beware: TR6" (2 pp. PDF leaflet), p. 2, the commission number and the V5; p. 2, American cars. tr-register.co.uk/storage/Pages/tr6-buyer-beware.pdf Reference
  5. British Motor Museum (BMIHT), "Heritage Certificates". britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/heritage-certificates Primary
  6. Bernard Stibling (interviewer), "Triumph du mois: TR2 Francorchamps", Triumph Club de France, Nov 2014, TS 4393 LN. triumph-club-de-france.fr/actualites/triumph-du-mois/1740-2014-11-triumph-tr2-francorchamps Reference
  7. Klaus Rosshuber, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps: Classic Cars – Ein Traum wird wahr", Auto Zeitung, 7 Sep 2023, the "N" at the end of the number. autozeitung.de/fahrbericht-triumph-tr2-franchorchamps-69954.html Reference
  8. racingsportscars.com, Le Mans 24 Hours 1954, results, entry data, No. 62, "TS 1730.0". racingsportscars.com/results/Le_Mans-1954-06-13.html Database
  9. racingsportscars.com, Le Mans 24 Hours 1955, results and car data, entry data, Nos. 28, 29 and 68. racingsportscars.com/results/Le_Mans-1955-06-12.html Database
  10. Silverstone Auctions (now Iconic Auctioneers), "1955 Triumph TR2 – PKV 374" (lot 138), NEC Classic Motor Show Sale, 10 Nov 2019, lot 138, "Chassis Number: TS56910"; PKV 375 (car no. 29). iconicauctioneers.auctioneersvault.com/catalogues/nec-classic-motor-show-2019/138 Reference
  11. TR Register, "Triumph TR2 Buyers Guide" (the TR2 data sheet), TR2 page, text and facts table; TR2 page, text; TR2 page, facts table; facts table, "Manufactured August 1953 to October 1955"; registrars; TR2 page, facts table ("Home Market - 2823"); TR2 page, facts table ("Export Market - 5805"). tr-register.co.uk/resources/buyers-guide/triumph-tr2 Reference
  12. Bruno Dwinger, "TR 2 bis TR 3 B: Geschichte, Typen und Kaufberatung", TR-Register Deutschland, Nov 2008, 10 pp. (PDF), pp. 2–3, text and table; p. 3, table; history text; pp. 2–3; p. 3, the first TR3. tr-register.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Kaufberatung_Geschichte_TR2_TR3.pdf Reference
  13. Xavier Audiau, "Triumph TR2 Francorchamps, 1955: 22, v'là la Triumph !", Autoretro, no. 397, May 2015, pp. 12–19, production data, citing Piggott; no. 397, May 2015, production data; production data; no. 397, May 2015, text ("22 exemplaires"). beaulieumotorbe.ares.as35334.website/beaulieumotor/news/fichier/fichier_news_3_10012022161327.PDF Reference
  14. Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR2", 2026, introduction ("A total of 8,636 TR2s were produced"). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_TR2 Unchecked
  15. Wikipedia (DE), "Triumph TR2", survivors, citing Williams (2014). de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_TR2 Unchecked
  16. Dirk De Jager, "Through the Roof: The Hardtop Triumph TR2 That Held Promises of the Belgian Auto Industry", Classic Motorsports, Jul 2016, the coupés surviving in 2016; text (Wayback copy of 13 Jun 2025). classicmotorsports.com/articles/through-roof-hardtop-triumph-tr2-held-promises-bel Reference
  17. Paul Richardson, "Belgian Spaniard", Moss Motoring, 1 Jun 2002, text. mossmotoring.com/belgian-spaniard Reference

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