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another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:57 pm
by graham1957
There has been lots of threads recently about minors which don,t seem what they are, eg a car being advertised as being a certain year but looks to be a much earlier or later model. The age of a cars glass is marked in code by dots over or under the word TRIPLEX TOUGHENED/LAMINATED, HAVE A LOOK AT YOUR CAR AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN.Then google "triplex date codes" and you can tell from that the date of glass manufacture, you would expect the most if not all the glass to be dated say a few months before registered date of the car.If a seller is selling a car of say 1958 year and all the glass is dated 1962 i would be a little suspicious of the cars true identity, the back windows and side windows are the ones to check, a car thats covered some mileage may have had a dozen or so windscreens fitted by now!Graham

Re: another way to identify the true age of a car

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:12 pm
by SteveClem
Most of my cars have a right b-ggers muddle of glass! Sherlock Holmes may be able to work it out :-?

Re: another way to identify the true age of a car

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:25 pm
by smithskids
My MM was built may 1951. windscreen is early1951, but side windows are early 1950. No rear windows as it is a tourer. Just imagine how many stock doors were built before production started in ernest!!

Re: another way to identify the true age of a car

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:07 pm
by POMMReg
Position of Triplex "dots" ONLY date the glass, not the car.

Same as chassis plates....

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:03 am
by bmcecosse
Good point - I had forgotten about the age dots on the glass. Would be interesting to see the age of the glass on that '1958' Traveller we all know so well.

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:53 pm
by Dean
I still have the sticker somewhere. When I stripped my rear door apart, it had a sticker on the glass dating October 1953. Fortunately I have the first log book which states it was first taxed on the 11th November 1953.

I have recently found out the house I live in was also built around November 1953 too! What are the chances of that...

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:23 pm
by trikertrev
Maybe, bmcecosse, you should go and see 'the traveller' and clarify the situation for yourself and then you could write a full report on the matter for the club

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:49 pm
by POMMReg
trikertrev wrote:Maybe, bmcecosse, you should go and see 'the traveller' and clarify the situation for yourself and then you could write a full report on the matter for the club
Are you referring to THE vehicle which was first registered around a decade before it was built?

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:51 pm
by trikertrev
You may think that but I couldn't possibly comment!!!

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 7:33 pm
by bmcecosse
Me neither - and it's far too far away for me. Just wish I had thought to ask at the time. But now I have agreed not to comment on it anymore.

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:02 pm
by les
trikertrev wrote:You may think that but I couldn't possibly comment!!!
Go on, everyone else does!

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:11 pm
by Trickydicky
While dating the glass is a feasible way of identifying the age of a car this is only applicable if the glass is original. :)

Re: another way to identify the approx age of a car

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:24 pm
by POMMReg
Trickydicky wrote:While dating the glass is a feasible way of identifying the age of a car this is only applicable if the glass is original. :)
I'm sure the glass on the aforementioned vehicle dated to 1958, same could not be said of the rest of it.