Pelican Parts Forums - Triumph TR-6

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I had a TR250,, loved it!! leaked oil like a sieve !! would love to have one again some day..

I've owned a TR-3A, a TR-6 and a TR-8.

The one of these that I miss the most was the '6.

If you've got the itch - scratch it!

Relatively easy to work on, and still able to get parts for (thanks to The Roadster Factory & Moss Motors) It had good performance due to the torquey engine and good handling. And was probably the last of the breed of "real" Brit sports cars.

The '3A was fun, but definitely more of a old classic (antique) in looks & feel, and not as easy to get parts for.

The TR8 could have been great, but it was woefully underpowered for a 3.5 liter V8 (blame late 70's emission controls).

The TR8 was "modern" and despite having all of the early TR7 problem fixed, and being a good looking convertible, it suffered from not being modern enough to avoid being overshadowed by the early RX-7's and other affordable performance cars that came to market around the same time. Heck, the Porsche 944 came out the year TR8 production ended.

Quite a thread! 3 pages filled up real fast here.

I drove my 72 TR-6 as a daily driver from 1980 - 1984. It was always a blast to drive. I had an Ansa exhaust on it, and it sounded great. The late night summer drives down to the Jersey shore on the Parkway still bring a smile to my face.

I never had a visit from the Prince of Darkness, and yeah, I'd tinker with it on the weekends, but I think that's the secret of successful British car ownership. It never left me walking in the years I drove it, and it was dead reliable.

The only time that I had it towed, was when I was coming home from a bar, with a full bag on, (yeah, it was the 80's and I was a lot more stupid then), and hit a railroad grade crossing at a respectable clip. Big bang, followed by lots of grinding sounds emitting from the rear for the next 2 miles. Discretion being the better part of valor, I pulled into a closed gas station, found a pay phone (remember them?), called my girlfriend and had her come pick me up.

Got the car towed next am. When it arrived, I noticed the extreme negative camber on the left rear wheel. Exploratory surgery revealed that the bump had ripped the studs for the carrier bearing assembly out of the aluminum rear trailing arm. Picked up a used trailing arm, put it back together, and put many more miles and smiles on it. I miss that car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 6791180)

I worked at a British Leland dealer in the mid-'70s as a teenager when the TR6 was new. I was there when the TR7 arrived. The TR6 was always considered one of the best and most reliable British sports cars, (a relative thing, I know). They are decent cars, lots of torque compared to the 4-cyl. sports cars.

The TR7, I'm pretty sure, won the International Society of Automotive Engineers malpractice award for the entire 20th century and the presumptive award for the 21st and 22nd century. Beating out such worthy contenders as the Chevy Chevette, Ford Pinto, Mustang II, AMC Pacer, Renault Alliance and Jeep Grand Wagoneer, ownership was described at the time as "like paying monthly for some bizarre, untreatable disease that has one spending all waking hours in the waiting room of a car dealer listening to men in white coats explain how they 'think they got it' this time."

I don't think that anyone ever got 1000 miles on their new TR7. I saw one take a schit in the dealer's driveway during new car delivery. Really inspiring. They made the worst V-12 Jags look like Toyota trucks in comparative reliability. And they were almost purposely ugly and non-functional looking, the Brit's attempt at faux aerodynamics instead looked like it was meant to hold a giant door open.

British leland was having huge organizational problems in the mid-'70s that resulted in labor strikes and plant closings. We always surmised that maybe the managers recruited their gardeners and maybe street hookers to assemble the TR7s. In the entire automotive POS Hall of Fame, you would be extremely hard-pressed to find a more hideous and defective vehicle. The absolute worst of the worst.

Other than that, I guess they're OK.

Ha! Yeah, the TR-7s look odd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgeinhere (Post 6791639)

I love the TR6s and a friend's father has a Bug eye in his garage...he's moving to a much smaller place due to age, my understanding is that it is a somewhat original car and it's "almost" running. Wonder if I were inclined to make an offer, what would that offer look like?

I was thinking $1,000 to $1,500 would be a good # to get into a solid bug eye. That would be with out serious rust, and a running or clean rebuildable engine/ running gear. They are simple fairly inexpensive cars to work on, and small so prep for paint should go quickly. Starting there if all goes well should end up with a nice driver for 5K to 7K.

Then I had a look around at current prices :eek::eek: Seems that they have attracted collector interest , the prices go from 10K to mostly 18K up to over 30K :eek::rolleyes:

As was mentioned earlier it may hinge on the sentiment of the seller. Show up in a clean old 911 and let him know that you will bring his car back to life, that may help swing him your way. Or convince him you are a fat cat, driving the price up?
Its hard to say. could be a fun project!

Cheers Rich

I had a 69 GT6+, then a 69 TR6, followed by a 75 TR6. The two 6's were great, but needed constant attention. Wouldn't mind another 6, but there are other cars I'd get first.

I sure would like to have my old '69 TR-6 back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan1437 (Post 6791731)

one of the fears i live with, on a daily basis, is that i'll have too much to drink one evening, and will wake up the following morning with an email from ebay confirming that i purchased a bugeye sprite, tr4a or mgbgt the night before.

having owned a brit car in the past (for 6 months), i should know better, but too much beer often prefers passion to reason.

i've printed some of the posts above and taped them to my monitor, and hopefully they'll help keep me out of trouble.

You are a funny man. :)

There's a '75 TR6 for sale in Long Beach Ca. It looks like it has it's original paint in 95% condition. Mid Blue with light blue interior It claims rebuilt motor (SC) engine. Overdrive. has a few minor dents but is a nice driver 10' car.