Occasionally a classic car would land on my desk, and it’s challenging to determine its greatest attribute. That is the case with this 1976 triumph TR6. It presents well for its age and wears virtually all of its original paint. It is a one-owner classic and has been garage-kept for most of its life. It features a new soft-top, and the owner includes a factory hardtop. When you add this all together, it is a vehicle that ticks many of the right boxes. The time has come for this Triumph to head to a new home, so the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. It is located in Huntingtown, Maryland, and the owner has set a BIN of $23,995. However, he may consider offers on this British survivor.
When considering the entire Triumph “TR” model history, I have always felt that the TR6 is the best looking of the bunch. I know that’s a matter of personal preference, but I believe that the company managed to get the styling right to produce a car that looked refined yet aggressive. It is also one of the few classics that I can look at and know when and where I was when I spotted my first example in the flesh. That’s how much I like them! Our feature TR6 rolled off the Coventry production line in July of 1976. That makes it one of the last examples that the company produced before they phased out the model. Most of its steel is original, although the seller indicates that the trunk lid has been replaced. It is a similar story with the Inca Yellow paint. Virtually all of this is factory applied, except for the trunk lid. This car is not perfect, and the owner is candid about this. He admits that a section of the driver’s side front floor had rust, but this has been repaired and undercoated. With that work completed, the underside is now clean and rock solid. I have included a walkaround video at the bottom of this article, and it shows that the paint and panel have minor flaws and chips. However, for an original survivor, it still presents well. The paint holds an impressive shine, while the glass is spotless. The owner has recently installed a new soft-top, and a factory hardtop with a new headliner is also included. The chrome has some minor bubbling, but it still shines well for an unrestored vehicle. One of the defining features of a TR6 is the aggressive steel wheels with deep trim rings. The owner recently sent the wheels off to be media blasted and repainted in their original color and wrapped them in new tires. While there is little doubt that a cosmetic refresh would improve the vehicle’s overall presentation, it could be driven untouched with pride as an original survivor.
While domestic examples of the TR6 featured fuel injection, those destined for North America had their 2,498cc six-cylinder engine inhaling through twin Zenith-Stromberg 175 CDSEVX carburetors. The seller indicates that this engine should be producing 150hp, but I believe that to be a mistake. While early British cars met that figure, those bound for the US were rated at 103hp. The power gets to the rear wheels via a manual transmission with optional overdrive. Performance figures should be pretty respectable, with the TR6 capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds. For potential buyers, the news appears to be nothing but positive. The seller indicates that the vehicle has 86,600 genuine miles on the clock, and given its ownership history, there could be evidence to support the claim. The engine bay presents nicely for a classic of this age, and it doesn’t flatter to deceive. The walkaround video at the bottom of this article also shows the car running and driving. That engine sounds as sweet as a nut, and there’s no evidence of any vices or nasty noises. It seems that this vehicle is ready for some classic top-down touring.
There’s more to like with this TR6 when we turn our attention to its interior. Upholstered in Black, it presents beautifully. There is no visible wear on the seats, while the remaining trim is excellent. The carpet exhibits no evidence of wear, the markings on the gauges are crisp and clean, and the lenses are clear. The timber veneer dash looks pretty nice, although a crack and some lifting are visible on the glove compartment door. The owner has installed an AM/FM radio/CD player in place of the original radio, with flush-mounted speakers in the kick panels and box speakers mounted behind the seats. Otherwise, this interior is original and unmolested. It looks like a pleasant place to spend some time while the miles roll effortlessly under the wheels.
There’s a lot to like about this 1976 triumph TR6, mainly that it is a genuine and original survivor. It needs little and is ready to be enjoyed by a new owner. It is one of the last of the TR6s is to roll off the production line and shows all the hallmarks of a car that has been treated with respect throughout its life. While the owner is willing to consider offers, the BIN on this classic looks very competitive. I won’t be surprised if someone hits the button pretty soon, and I admit that I will envy them if they do.
The engine palsy with the mildly erratic tach is a bit unsettling…
I own a ‘75 TR6 and my tach does the wiggles too, that’s part of the charm!
Lube the cable my 74 doesn’t wiggle around.
the tr6 is surely my fav, GLWTA!
Factory hardtop and overdrive turn this into a British GT of sorts. Loose the God awful bumpers and replace them with the early style and you have a good looking one to boot.
I love the looks of my car with the rubber daggers. It’s a signature of the ‘70s and brings this kid back to the very first one he saw riding his Mustang bike at 8 years of age.
My favourite colour for these is the bright purple. Are you not allowed to remove the rubber over-riders these days?
Yes, the federal TR6 was officially only 104 bhp I believe, with Strombergs instead of the fuel injection and lower compression, softer cam too if I remember right. The UK and rest-of-the world TR6 were de-tuned to 124 bhp after while too. Only the earlier years came with the 150 bhp engine.
It’s not too hard to modify the 104 bhp up to a healthy 120-130 bhp without anything too radical or changing appearance… change of cam, compression ratio and tidy up the porting….
This car seems like a really nice example. Overdrive is always a bonus. This is not cheap, but in the end it’s a shorter route to a good car to just buy a nice one if you can find it – rather than buy a rough one and try to bring it up to same standard.
A previous owner had the engine rebuilt on mine, 12 years and less than 400 miles ago. With the SU carbs conversion and other mild mods, my car is probably « healthier » than it was in 1975.
I’m really surprised about the numbers on this. It’s beautiful for sure, but I’m showing my age in that I still consider these to be reasonably priced daily drivers. A buddy in high school had one, light blue and it was a blast to drive, he traded it for a 67 Mustang hardtop. Well, would love to have it at 9k, but those days are long gone and I’m sure it’s worth the price. People don’t pick the numbers out of the air, and it’s a turn key fun machine. Good luck!
By the way, my buddy’s car did not have overdrive. Okay in the northeast, lots of revs. But with overdrive this is a much better machine, not afraid to hit the highway.
You won’t get an 8.2 0-60mph time in this US carb’d model. That was the performance of the European fuel injected cars.
Still fun to drive, they sound amazing and this one looks to be well worth the money if it is clean underneath. They’ve been rising significantly in value over the last few years.
Never saw the battery holddown done that way!!!
I must have just woke up from a 5 year nap. When did they become that expensive?
They got pricey years ago when the dollar value fliped. Many motorcycles and British cars when back to the UK. You don’t see many British sports cars these days or motorcycles.
I really like these but it always puzzles me why most, if not all of them, have disk wheels in the States. They look so much nicer with wires – even better if they are chromed. If memory serves me correctly, they were only available with wires in Australia.
Those bumpers obviously have to go too.
Brian is correct. What happened to the hideous 66 to 77 Ford Broncos, ie stupid insane money, is going to happen to these cars. A friend, who had a green 72 TR6 in 1979, wrecked it and bought other cars since. He just picked up a 71 green TR6 out of Texas. Totally rust free. He knows they are going up in value, but he bought to drive. In a few years, the asking price of this yellow one will be cheap.
These are possibly the greatest still affordable roadsters around. A rich man’s MG / poor man’s Jaguar haha. Miss my Pimento red with chestnut interior 1975 every day. Even have dreams about it