In an automobile market long, long ago and not so far away, British roadsters were among the choices available for Americans with sports car desires. Within these usually small, light, and agile drop tops was an outlier. The Triumph TR6 closer matched American desires for larger engines and a more substantial body than its competitors. If you are in the market with a classic British roadster with the oomph of an inline six-cylinder engine, then have a closer look at this 1972 Triumph TR6 for sale on craigslist in Norfolk, Virginia. At a $4,995 asking price, is this drop top a bargain? Thanks go to Chuck F. for the tip on this Triumph!
It is interesting to look back at different eras of automobile history to see what was available to consumers. Open cars were logically very popular as the country transitioned from horse and buggy days into the world of motor vehicles. As time wore on, soft tops accounted for an ever shrinking portion of sales. An exception to that trend happened in the world of sports cars from the fifties through the seventies. Open top sportscars with two seats were available from a number of manufacturers and logic would lead you to believe the segment was somewhat profitable.
The variety of two seat sports cars with convertible tops was amazing. From the diminutive Austin Healy Sprite and MG Midget to the thundering Chevrolet Corvette, making a choice in that marketplace must have been the automotive equivalent of wandering into an ice cream shop with dozens of different flavors. One of the most popular brands was Triumph, and they offered both the Spitfire and an ever-evolving series of cars under the TR banner. In 1969, Triumph debuted the TR6. This was an evolution of the previous TR4/TR250 family with a number of styling changes by the German house design house Karmann. This traditional body on frame sports car was a huge hit in the United States for the struggling company, with over 83,000 of them sold in the United States. Some called them the last steppingstone on the path to a Corvette due to their design and inherent brutishness.
The Triumph you see here may end up being quite the bargain. The usual tight lipped craigslist ad states that it was the recipient of an engine, clutch, and carburetor overhaul in October of 2017. Was this a complete rebuild of the engine? We aren’t told. What we do know is that it was parked in 2018 and brought back into service last year. It is said to start and run OK and may need some brake work. The brake work is likely just a bleeding of the brakes after long term storage. The runs OK can mean a lot of things, especially when combined with being parked a short time after the “overhaul.” Hopefully it just needs to be sorted out.
The pictures show us a car that is either run down or it has patina. This is based on the eye of the beholder. While the car has definitely not been the recipient of a high dollar restoration, there is hope that a good polishing and detail would make it presentable. The interior seems to have more patina than the exterior if the single picture is any indication. Speaking of the interior, we are not told if the floor pans have any rust in them. All we get from the ad is that the body is good.
The real shocker on this sale is the price. Asking just $4,995 for what could easily be a presentable roadster with a possibly rebuilt engine should have a line at the seller’s door. Is there something missing in the description? Have the prices of big Triumphs fallen this much? Hopefully a reader who is near the Norfolk area will stop by and have a look at this Triumph. If it is all that the ad says and more, this may be a great bargain.
Did you ever own a British roadster? What was the experience like? Please share your stories in the comments.
That’s a deal, still own my 74 bought it new when I was in the USAF. Somehow just haven’t parted with the car. Not extremely fast but quick, always a fun factor to drive. Been in the back of the garage but is all serviced and ready to go again. Never had serious issues with the car and repairs are simple compared to many autos, well if call pulling half the interior out to replace a clutch. This one needs attention but bones look decent. Looks like a buy.
I owned a Triumph Spitfire. I never even drove down to the corner store without a tool kit and emery cloth. But it was a hoot to drive, that was for sure.
Corrosion in the independent rear suspension, where thee swing arms attach to the frame is a known weak area to investigate.
To answer the question: MG Midget (2), Austin Healey 100 (2), MGTD, MGB, AH Sprite (4). Had a lot of fun with all of them. Nice car here.
6 Spridgets, my kinda guy!
Always thought these would benefit from a motor swap. Take out the boat anchor and install a Buick turbo 231 v6. Great weight savings, much lighter and more horsepower without being too much for the car. The Buick would probably fit behind the front wheels as well improving weight distribution.
WHY? – The stock 6 cylinder is a great motor,
& will run at 70 on the freeway all day long,& has
lots of torque for the winding back roads.Plus you
get that great-sounding exhaust note.
Boat anchor?? The Triumph 6 has one of the best exhaust notes out there… I’ve got two… the 2L version in my GT6 and the 2.5L version in my TR6. They’re rock solid dependable and easy to work on. Smooth and torquey. Not sure why one would want a different engine in there… besides, having a Buick motor in a Triumph would probably halve the car’s value…
I had a 71 tr6?The swing arms broke off??So I remade the frame and added torsion bar suspension??Plus a 9in rear and 350sbc;it weas fast as hell;loved the car;
I drove a 1955 Austin-Healey 100-4 for a short time. Never owned a car that was more flat-out fun, nor that gave me more problems – brakes, charging system, mainly. Still, I’d buy it back right now for a reasonable price:))
Repairing the rusted area where the swing arm is really hard. Better to find a car that was smashed in the front early in it’s life with a good rear part of the frame. You also will need access to a lift. If you have all of that, you lift off the body, weld the back half of the wrecked frame to the front frame of your car and you have a winner. Sounds like a lot of work but it really wasn’t that bad.I had $200 in the car with rusted swing axle and $100 in the car with crashed front. A weekend’s worth of work and a I had a great car. I sold the back half of the car with the crashed front for $100, so my net out of pocket was $200 + a weekend of work. Sold it 2 years later. Profit is NOT a dirty word!
Hmmm… this could be a seriously good deal. Although one would want to spend some time poking around the usual places these things rust.
Looks like a much better value for money buy than the TR3b listed earlier today. I have owned a TR3a, Herald, A/H 100/4, A/H 3000, A/H Sprite, and an MG TD. Great cars, all of them. You Americans are always on about the British electrics but I have never had more than a blown fuse or generator on any of the above. Well I did shorten the A/H 3000 by about 18″ via an Armco barrier but that was my problem, not the electrics!
I see you survived! When I had my BJ8 at speed, I couldn’t help thinking about that spear that started just behind the grille that was pointed directly at my chest.
Are you sure that wasn’t the result of a problem with the brakes?
This is the same A/H 3000 after a major, rotisserie, restoration, 15 years later and a LOT of money later!
When my buddy passed away he left me his TR6. He was the car wrangler for The Rockford Files. So he put a GM 400 in this TR6 with an automatic that had a floor shifter. No room for engine mounts the motor was welded to the frame. When you revved it at idle, the whole car tossed and turned. The automatic had Reverse aft so that if you pulled from low to drive you had to be careful to not pull too far or use a cabinet hinge that you could flip open and block the shifter. I forgot to do that once. It didn’t hurt the car but I crossed the oncoming lane and went up a steep bank backwards. A solenoid controlled a cable that moved the shifter with the right steering column paddle so you could keep both hands on the wheel when manually shifting.
Never owned one but one of my friends had the Bugeye and that was a fun car to drive but got scary when we went ouder a semi trailer at 55 mph just to see if we could. Had. Clearance sitting up in the seats and didn’t even take our hats off.
We never had any problems with the car and last I heard he’s still racing it. That was back in 1972
When I bought into a friends body shop by paying for a new paint booth I was in for a learning experience in body work and paint refinishing. I was the “mechanical guy” in the shop but I had to watch a lot of bodywork and frame machine work before I could do even minor bodywork. I was also told that I didn’t “drink enough to paint”.
I also managed a British Leyland parts department before that and owned a ‘74 TR6 before that…. And I loved my TR6 until I nailed an armadillo at 80 MPH in the dark and ripped the oil pan to shreds.
So….
Having initially had the hots for this car at a seemingly bargain price I gave the body a closer look…..
See the way that the passenger door fits properly at the top but the bottom 2/3 of the door is sticking out probably more than an inch?
That’s likely an indication that either the body was tweaked hard in a collision or the ass end underside has had some serious rot.
I’ve been under a few of these and they have a tendency to rust severely in several spots behind the seats and back.
I’d want to have an in person look see session with this before buying and crawling around on the ground or better yet getting it on a lift would be my first thought.
If it were closer I’d be all over it..
It’s also interesting that there aren’t any photos of the drivers side door fitment.
I own a 1500 Midget.
It has been the most fun car to drive that ivhave ever owned. The 1983 320i being a close second, but a completely different experience.
I always thought the TR6 was the best of the lot, but just too expensive for me to afford.
Hey, I have been driving minivans and hauling hockey bags for almost 20 years….
Pure impractical fun.