The Redcoat Is Home!!!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Are you doing anything for mouse/pest control?

I was hoping that the lack of anything else in the building means mice won't explore and find their way into the car.

[HobieMarty]

The place has been cleaned out and I haven't seen any evidence of rodents around but I will definitely be putting something either in the car or around the car for peace of mind.

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[unclebilly]

How did you find it / know it’s your old car?

[HobieMarty]

It found me. A man named Tad Todd had the car and had listed it for sale on FB Marketplace back in September. Someone from this forum sent him a link to the thread on here discussing the Triumph TR6 and he saw my posts stating the VIN for the car and he messaged me telling me that he had my old car. The FB listing had pictures of the car and data plate. I didn't see his messages until a week before Thanksgiving but was able to connect with him. The car had been sold to a man, Jay Flowers, in Thomasville, Georgia. Mr Todd heard my story and history I have with this car and helped me get in touch with Mr Flowers. Mr Flowers and I were able to talk on the phone, he heard my story as well and sold me the car for what he paid for it, this took all of 5 days from start to finish.
The car was stored from 1998 until sometime earlier this year. There are bumper stickers, and a sticker from a Monza exhaust system I had installed, that are still on the rear bumper. I put those stickers there back in the late 80s. See the Union Jack front plate? My parents gave me that and I put it on the car a few weeks before I graduated high-school. The grill badge was on the car when I bought it. Anyway, hope that explains a bit. I knew the VIN, memorized it all those years ago and it helps that I have the temporary paper tag from when I purchased the car on April 28, 1984, and it also has the VIN on it as well. Yep, she's mine, no doubt at all!!!

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[911 Rod]

This is beyond cool Marty.
Hopefully it makes you feel young again, although it might have the opposite effect.
I took my first car to the wreaker, so maybe I've had a can of beer that was made using what was left of it.

[HobieMarty]

I visited the TR today. I checked out trunk contents and condition. The floor of the trunk is solid and looks good. The spare tire amazed me. When I bought the car in 1984 it had 3 Michelin X red line tires and 1 Firestone tire that someone had taken a red paint marker and made a red line on the tire to match the others. The spare tire in the car is that Firestone tire. You can see the remnants of the red line that was painted on.
The tire is mounted on one of the wheels that I had painted gloss black when I had the frame painted. I had black wheels on the car until I hit a curb and damaged one, then the silver wheels went back on.
Also pictured is the replacement passenger side door and driver's side fender. The door is very solid and I may use it. The fender on the car looks like it would be an easy repair, I can push dents. I will probably hang the replacement fender on a wall.

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[A930Rocket]

We are living vicariously through you, Marty!

I don’t think I would want my first car, a 69 TR6, but my second car, a 73 240Z. I sold a to a neighbor behind us for his kid. He wrecked it once within a few months and then totaled it within a year. I told him to be careful!

Last time I saw it, sections had been cut for repairs on other cars.

I did get the SU carburetors and linkage off it though… 😎

[HobieMarty]

Spent some time today with the TR, my son got to see her for the first time today. We took the seats out and I vacuumed the interior to see how bad the floors were, yep, pretty bad but it's okay, the floor pans will be replaced. The driver's side rocker will need to be replaced or repaired. The passenger side rocker wasn't as bad as the other but why not replace all of it with new stuff and be done with it? That is what will be done.
I pulled the plugs and was able to turn the motor a little by pulling on the fan belt. I will need to remove the radiator in order to get a socket and breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley bolt because it looks pretty tight in there. Hopefully when I get the bar on there I will be able to turn the engine completely. I removed the valve cover and things didn't look too bad in there, no sludge build up but just a little carbon. The engine has oil in it, it is black and exactly a quart low but at least it isn't milky or silver looking. The middle valve cover stud is missing which leave me wondering, why? The inside of the valve cover was pretty clean also. Anyhoo, baby steps are being made but as long as I keep stepping along, things happen. Everything on the car can be fixed, repaired, or replaced, just takes time. Lol. My son got to sit in the car and it reminds me of me!!!

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[HobieMarty]

More recent pictures. We wiped down the seats just to see if they would start to clean up. Anyway, more to come.

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[wdfifteen]

Too bad about the rust. Got a MIG welder?
I have totally lost momentum on my Speedster this summer. You are inspiring me to shift my attention from settling in to this new house to the important things in life - cars!

[wswartzwel]

Great thread! makes me wish I still had my old Fiat. Was there a back story I missed? Was the car in storage? Did you find it and buy it back? just curious how you used to own it but now are restoring it. I didnt see that story in the thread.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

Great thread! makes me wish I still had my old Fiat. Was there a back story I missed? Was the car in storage? Did you find it and buy it back? just curious how you used to own it but now are restoring it. I didnt see that story in the thread.

Scroll up to post 44… I had similar questions.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

Great thread! makes me wish I still had my old Fiat. Was there a back story I missed? Was the car in storage? Did you find it and buy it back? just curious how you used to own it but now are restoring it. I didnt see that story in the thread.

I originally bought this very car in April of 1984. It was my very first car and I was a senior in high-school when I got it. The frame under the car had a repair at the passenger side rear trailing arm so I bought a parts car and myself and an actual mechanic removed the frame from the parts car as it was solid and installed it under this car. In July of 1984 I sandblasted the donor frame myself on a hot summer Florida Saturday. I was 18 years old and worked at a place that serviced heavy equipment and my boss gave me the sand and the use of the equipment. I sandblasted the frame down to bare metal all nice and silver. I bought Rustoleum primer and gloss black paint and paid a mechanic a case of beer to paint the frame and an extra set of wheels for me. The body was put back on the frame and taken to a body shop where the rockers and rear valance were reworked also. We had the car totally taken apart at the time and I painted the engine block red and painted the valve cover and air filter housing black. When we got the body and frame back, we started the assembly process and had the car back on the road by the end of October 1984, I seem to remember my first drive was Halloween night.
The car was my daily driver from then until I sold the car in 1990/91. I moved out to the beach in the Sandestin area in 1987 and the salty air really started to take its toll on the car and I ended up parking the car in my dad's garage and bought another car to use as my daily driver. I ended up selling the car to a man in Tallahassee, Florida in 1990/91 and he sold the car about a week later and I thought that was it. There is a TR6 discussion thread in this forum and I was pretty active on there posting pictures and even posted the VIN from the car and a man from Lake Park, Georgia happened to see the thread and messaged me that he had my old Redcoat and that he had just listed it on Facebook Marketplace and wanted to talk with me about it. Well, I didn't see those messages until a week before Thanksgiving. I was able to connect with the man and although the car had sold, he helped me get in touch with the man who bought the car. So, now the car was in Thomasville, Georgia. After talking with the new owner, I was able to buy the car back and now I have it once again. She needs some work but she's mine again. The car has only been about 3 hours away from me all these years. It was purchased with a group of cars out of Monticello, Florida by the man from Lake Park, Georgia and had been in storage in Monticello since 1998. He only sold it because he didn't have time for another project and the car was sold to the man in Thomasville, Georgia, who then sold it to me. So, it has been quite the journey. I knew the car had rusty floors, that was one reason that I parked the car all those years ago. I got in the car one day and I felt my seat move a bit and when I looked at it, I saw the driver's floor was getting bad, so she went into dad's garage. Anyhoo, I hope this answered the backstory questions. I originally bought the car in Ft Walton Beach, Florida. We lived in Niceville, Florida at the time. I have always wondered how this car could've become so rusty in just a few years, I mean, it wasn't even 10 years old when I got it. Maybe it was a northern car and salty winter roads caused the rust? I have no idea. Anyway, she will be on the road again.

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[astrochex]

The pictures of your son with his perma-smile in the car are heartwarming.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

"I have always wondered how this car could've become so rusty in just a few years"

Anyone who's ever owned a Triumph has wondered this.

Fortunately, TR 2,3,4,5/250 and 6's are lovely, so they're worth the effort.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by astrochex

The pictures of your son with his perma-smile in the car are heartwarming.

Thanks, yeah he really likes the car and is just blown away at how I have it again. Lol.

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[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Anyone who's ever owned a Triumph has wondered this.

Fortunately, TR 2,3,4,5/250 and 6's are lovely, so they're worth the effort.

Definitely worth it!!!

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[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Too bad about the rust. Got a MIG welder?
I have totally lost momentum on my Speedster this summer. You are inspiring me to shift my attention from settling in to this new house to the important things in life - cars!

I do not have a welder, brother-in-law does, not sure what type though. I do not know how to weld so, it would be best for me to leave this for a shop to perform any metal work.

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[911 Rod]

How far do you plan to go fixing the rust? How much can you do yourself?

[wswartzwel]

Thanks for the back story. Thomasville GA was a gorgeous town back when I spent time there with my uncle in 1974. Looking forward to your coninued story with your son and your car.