The Triumph TR6

[HobieMarty]

https://youtu.be/t7N2k5nCGs8

I know there is a thread somewhere but I couldn't find it.
I am going Monday morning to have a look at a TR6 for sale in my area and if the body and frame are as the seller says they are, then, I will be bringing it home.

In the spring of 1984 I bought my first car, a 1976 Triumph TR6, red with chestnut brown interior. I was a senior in highschool and it was pretty cool driving that car to school. From the outside the car looked fantastic but the frame of the car was pretty well rusted so I found a parts car, a 1973 model and it had a solid frame. A mechanic friend of the family and I took the car completely apart and performed a frame swap. While I had the donor frame out, I sandblasted it myself on a hot summer day, the place I worked at gave me all the equipment and sand and I had to wear a heavy canvas jacket and helmet thing , it was hot but I got it done. The frame was all nice and silver now and I bought Rustoleum primer and Rustoleum gloss black paint and paid a mechanic a case of beer to paint the frame and a set of factory wheels for me. While the body was off the frame we sent the car to a body shop to have the rockers and rear valance rebuilt from steel, I went up there every day after work to check on the progress. We also had the engine out of the car and I replaced gaskets and painted the block red, the valve cover and air filter cover I painted black. I also swapped the intake and exhaust manifolds with those from the 73 to remove all the performance choking smog equipment and added a Monza free flow exhaust system. I started all of that process in July and we had the car back on the street by late October. I enjoyed that car for a few years but found that living at the beach started taking it's toll and the car started having more rust issues, floor pans and the bottom edge of the passenger side door to be exact and then something broke or came loose in the transmission and I parked the car in my Dad's garage and bought something else to drive. I figured my Dad and I would work on the car together but I eventually sold the car and that was that.
I have always wanted another one. So, fast forward to yesterday, my brother-in-law finds this car for sale and, knowing my fondness for TRs, he messages me about it and now here I am about to probably pull the trigger on getting another one. The good thing is, my wife actually likes the car and that's a good thing, she told me to get it so...

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[Alan A]

If you don’t have the 6-pack buyers guide - and you should - pm me and I’ll send you a copy.

[pavulon]

Love the idea of an old car but worry about how expectations would color ownership. Hope the car is terrific and that it scratches your nostalgic itch!!

[Steve Carlton]

I love TR6s- hope it's a good one and you get it. What year? Color?

[A930Rocket]

I had a 69 and a 75. Lots of good times in both cars.

Good luck!

[LWJ]

Not sure what’s wrong with me. I dig the tr2/3, 4, and 250.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Not sure what’s wrong with me. I dig the tr2/3, 4, and 250.

I wasn’t a fan of the early cars when owning my TR6’s, but the 4 and 250 have grown on me now.

[Crowbob]

Way back before computers I went to a house to buy a lamp or whatever for sale I found in the want ads. In the garage were the eyeballs of a TR-3 sticking out from under a canvas tarp. So of course I ask the lady about it. She pulls the tarp. The car looked in beautiful shape, including the top and side curtains with sliding glass windows. The little adjustable glass wind deflectors that attach to the a-pillars were on the seat. ‘You want it?’ ‘Sure, I says, ‘How much?’ She says some ridiculously low amount, like under a grand. I says I’ll be right back I didn’t bring my checkbook. No problem, she says.

So I run home, return with my checkbook and knock on the door. Husband opens the door, ‘It’s not for sale. Sorry.’

[KFC911]

^^^^ LOL .... you got it all wrong CB .... the wife was going to pay you to take it away !

[Chocaholic]

Had a 71 when we lived in Oklahoma in the mid-90’s. Really enjoyed that car. Tulsa had an active Triumph club (Green Country Triumphs) that made it a great experience. Miss those days. Are you looking at the red one in Tuscaloosa?

Hope to snag another 6 at some point. Keep us updated.

[ZOO]

That inline six sounds so glorious with the right exhaust. There are a few around here running those old Supertrapp mufflers with the discs you could add or remove at the end, and they all have this deep baritone rich sound. So seductive.

[p911dad]

My brother and I had a TR3A back in the early 1960's, fun car. I broke 1st gear trying to jam into it while still moving, LOL. We bought a one owner 69'TR6 back in 2016 out of nostalgia for that TR3A, both green. Anyway it's gone now, had a lot of fun bringing it back from years of sitting in the OO's garage. Main problem points were radiator, distributor, carbs and some engine leaks. One fault of the TR6 is the carbs sit directly over the exhaust manifold, leading to vapor lock on hot days when the fuel boils in the carbs sitting at stop lights. I cured that with a heat shield. Other than those, it was just nits like bad grounds (TR6 has many) and little things. It was rust free and intact, all there in generally good condition body, paint and interior. Good luck!

[Nickshu]

My Dad restored a 72 TR6, finished about 5 years ago. In the 70s he was in the Army stationed in Germany, wanted a TR6, bought a VW Beetle instead. Always wanted a TR6 since then so finally got one. Pimento red over black interior. Mostly original restoration w/ some mods to improve driveability (heads for unleaded fuel, adjustable rear trailing arms, etc).

[Alan A]

Since we are doing pictures - it’s a car forum after all - here’s the last 6 I owned. I’ve had a couple. Also have a 250, but that’s a bit modded.

[Nickshu]

^^Cool.

[Rot 911]

I would buy the best one you can find. There are plenty of them for sale. And the cost between one that needs fixing up and one that is in great condition is not that disparate when you figure in the cost to restore one.

[Scott Douglas]

Neighbor friend of mine has one, '72 I think is what he said it was. He's been getting it into shape. He gave me a ride in it once. I found it to be kind of cramped inside, but that may just be me. Neat cars but I can think of others I'd rather spend time in on the road.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I love TR6s- hope it's a good one and you get it. What year? Color?

1973 Damson Red, which is a burgundy color.
The car is complete but not completely together, seller says all the parts are there to put it back together but just doesn't have the time to finish it. Paint and all look good in pics, we will see how it looks in person. He says the body and frame are solid, taking a couple of lights and a magnet with me, lol. The engine has been rebuilt as well as the transmission and there is an extra transmission included. The seller told me it has too many parts to list that are included with the car and says the only thing the car is missing is the exhaust, it has the exhaust manifold but nothing from there on back, which is fine because I would put a Monza system under it anyway. It looks like it would be a good project for me and my son to put the car together and enjoy.

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[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Had a 71 when we lived in Oklahoma in the mid-90’s. Really enjoyed that car. Tulsa had an active Triumph club (Green Country Triumphs) that made it a great experience. Miss those days. Are you looking at the red one in Tuscaloosa?

Hope to snag another 6 at some point. Keep us updated.

No not looking at one in Tuscaloosa.

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[Scott Douglas]

That sounds like a perfect father/son project, HobieMarty.