Today marked my first day of a summer-long internship at a local British restoration shop that specializes in classic MGs and Triumphs. In honor of this, I present to you a seemingly complete 1971 Triumph TR6 project located in Greenville, NC. Check it out here on craigslist.
From what I can tell, this car looks like an excellent candidate for a restoration. While there may be a substantial amount of mechanical repair and trim work required, the body looks more solid than one we have on a lift right now. The engine looks complete, and I have a feeling the air cleaner is located in the parts stash pictured below. No mention is made of the condition of the engine, but I’d assume it is at least a usable core for rebuilding.
Included with the car appears to be a complete exhaust system, new floor pans, a pair of clean seats, two radiators, the missing fender (along with two spares), a spare hood, and numerous other things. I would have to think that the parts value of this whole car well exceeds the $1,100 asking price.
While it is incredibly difficult to spot small rust areas from far-away pictures, this TR looks solid for an East Coast car. I believe I spot some cancer in front of the door in the rocker. If the damage isn’t too extensive, it could easily be fixed. I’d be personally tempted to see if I could get the car roadworthy on a tight budget and have some fun with the straight-six.
Congrats on the internship! You forgot to mention that upon completion of your internship you will receive a “Anglo-Franco-Italiano Master Mechanics Electrical Engineering Degree” which means you can re-wire anything the British, French or Italians could ever think of….don’t forgot your rosetta stone!
This kind of project is best embarked on by an enthusiastic amateur. Labor rates today having it done by a professional would drive the investment into the stratosphere. These are realitivley simple cars with plenty of experts available for advice and a good parts availability, so not a bad place to learn. When I was younger, I did many similar rebuilds. Always a voyage of discovery but with the right attitude and a lot of patients it could be rewarding.
It is truly painful for me to see a TR6 in this condition. Mine (repeating a photo which I sent earlier) shows what they can be if carefully taken care of and maintained from day one… and she is 82,000 miles young! Re your posted car, that object in front of the engine is the stock air cleaner. Your best source for parts is the Roadster Factory in Pennsylvania … they have almost everything, mechanical and physical, for this car … and Moss Motors is also a very good source. If this one doesn’t have OD, get one … this makes the car a perfectly fine freeway cruiser (by the way, the trick to making the OD trouble-free is to use the clutch whenever you click it to take the stress off the drive train). The TR6 is a fantastic car, fun to drive and up to contemporary use. I hope this faded example will have a full recovery.
Mike – beautiful TR6! And you’re spot on about TRF – they’re my number one go to place for all things Triumph. I enjoy getting Charles Runyan’s email every week to see what I just can’t do without. Unfortunately, with such an eye to saving for future repairs, I’ve got a rather full garage of parts. I suspect I might have more cars (6) than sense – 2 of which are TR6s: a 1974 and a 1975 (with O/D – thanks for your tip re: switching with the clutch).
Hi Jack, actually, that trick is nothing new ( with ADR to Mike) you really don’t need to push the clutch all the way down, just enough to take the “pressure” off the driveline. However, no clutch at all, does produce a “clunk”, although, those OD’s are tough. I rarely heard of one failing. I did that 1/3 clutch thing for years with 13 speeds in trucks( truck transmissions work on the principle as the OD) When you shift 80 billion times a day, you look for shortcuts any way you can :)
Nice cars, affordable Heally without the hassles & cost.
Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!! I’m not made of stone, you know,,sigh, so many plausible projects, so little money.( I made my decision with the used GoldWing, and I like the bike) I think this would test my limits of my ability these days, but for a project, it doesn’t get any better than this. It’s gone, so someone got it, you got to be quick, no hemming and hawing on these deals. Maybe Jamie got it?
Not me, Howard, I’m selling Triumphs right now, not buying them! But thanks for thinking of me…
The other thing you will learn at a Euro-Brit mechanical shop is the “Italian Tune Up” which basically means start the car, put the pedal to the floor and rev until all the smoke goes away and it idles properly.
That always worked for Corvairs, especially the 4-carb variety.
My old man did that with his Oldsmobiles. He’d hold it to the floor, with me and my brother holding our ears, expecting pistons and valves to come flying out the hood,,,but that never happened.
If it turns out the engine is junk, a 3.4 Camaro V6 makes a nice swap light, compact, and not too powerful for the TR rear drive….
http://forum.britishv8.org/list.php?3
Thatcthing would be GREAT with a Chevy LS type engine!
That thing would be GREAT with a Chevy LS type engine!
Always like the TR6,