A GT6 is often the forgotten Triumph sports car. After all, Triumph is known for it’s roadsters and convertibles in the United States, despite offering a much more complete lineup elsewhere in the world. The GT6 is the oddity here, being characterized as everything from a miniature Jaguar E-Type to a too-small MGB-GT competitor. This particular one looks pretty solid for the most part, is one of the last 2,000 built in the last year of production and is located in Fremont, California. It’s up for auction here on eBay, where the opening bid is $3,800, surprisingly with no reserve.
The AMCO bumper bar add on accessory is a nice touch on the rear of this particular Triumph. Unfortunately, based on the wrinkles in the bonnet (hood) the front one either wasn’t fitted or didn’t do it’s job. Speaking from lots of experience, it is difficult to get that large panel flat again, and you have a little bit of work to do here on the passenger door as well. Of course, you may be of the mindset that if you can’t see it from the driver’s seat, it doesn’t matter! The main spot to look for rust on these little cars is the floorboards and the rockers just in front of the rear wheels. The floors look great in the closeups without carpet, but I’d want to know for sure if the typical Spitfire/GT6 rust has appeared in the rockers.
Who says a sports car can’t be practical? Look at the room in this hatchback for hauling groceries home! Okay, I’m stretching it a little, but Triumph did do a decent job of moving the basic Spitfire platform upmarket with the GT6, and I find the Mark 3 lines the nicest of the bunch.
Unlike earlier GT6’s, by the time the Mark 3 came along the seats were the same as the current year Spitfire, which makes your interior choices a little wider. There’s not a lot original in here anyway (GT6’s didn’t have two-tone door panels or seats) so I would be replacing most of what you see here. I admit I was hoping for an overdrive switch in the cockpit pictures, but that shouldn’t stop you from considering the car.
The 1998 cc inline six is an extremely smooth engine. This is the same basic design as the TR6’s 2498 cc but without the longer crank throw. I have to wonder about the spark plug wires being removed like that. The seller tells us it’s been sitting in storage for a long time and will need restoring, but doesn’t tell us if the engine is locked or not. I’d want to know that, and would like to know the front/rear play in the crankshaft as the 1/2 circumference thrust washers are a known weakness in this engine family. That being said, I think the price is reasonable as long as there’s nothing stopping the engine from being rebuilt. If this were closer to me, I’d take a look; any GT6 lovers out there to go check it out?
Auction ended
We fit a dishwasher in the rear hatch, it just barely fit.
Every time we look at the storage space in the back of a car now, we ask “Can it fit a dishwasher in the back?” Then if it is a really big space we ask how many dead bodies it could hold, lol.
I had a Mk 3 with the Roto-flex rear during my college years. I played a lot of hockey back then. I was a goalie and it would swallow my gear, a defenceman and their gear no problem.
The car was great for learning how to wrench. Super simple and easy to work on. Great aftermarket support as well.
That car is hot and sought after today. I dig ’em!
Always loved the look and concept of these but have heard mixed reviews on the handling compared to a Spitfire.
If ever I was to get a small British sports car this is the one I’d want. It has great styling, simple to work on, and a metal roof. I have never been a lover of drop top cars they usually look off kilter when the top is up, and even odder when it’s down. Drop tops are also more often than not rust bucks from water leaking in through the top. So this little TR GT6 would be more to my liking.