My New To Me Ride.

[Martin Keller]

Hi All,

Well I parted with my 71 GT6 and acquired a 74 TR6 that has been well cared for during its lifetime as it only has 53978 miles on the odometer and I have been told that the factory hardtop has only been off twice while in the care of the previous owner who has had the car since 1984 and only added 4976 miles to it in that time frame from the service records that came with the car. The soft top from what the last owner has said has never been put up since he owned the car and it looks like it is new in the boot. I think I am going to have a lot of fun with this car for sure.
Need to reduce the photo file size to post the photos as I am writing from my IPad and I don’t know how to reduce the size of the phots on the IPad.



Martin Keller
Ventura, Ca.
Caretaker of a 74 Triumph TR6

[Steve Simmons]

One of the best sounding cars ever made.

[tannyo]

Select the photos you want to upload and email them to yourself using the email program on your iPad or iPhone. When it asks what size you want, choose medium.

When you receive your email to yourself save the photos in the email message and use the saved photos to upload. The saved photos will be reduced to the size you need to upload to Vintage Motoring.

[VWNate1]

So, when do we get to see it ? .

[Larry Kluss]

Can't wait to see it, Martin. Congrats!

[Martin Keller]

Hi All,

Ok here are some photos of my new to me toy, that I promised to post and a little background on the car's history.
The color is the original factory Mimosa Yellow, the drives front fender and door were repainted in 1981 from a minor accident (service record trail), the soft top and frame for the soft top which is stowed in the boot/trunk and has never been up from what the previous owner has told me and it looks like it from what I can see as it looks brand new when I removed it to look at it.
I was also told that the hardtop has only been off two times when in the ownership of the previous owner since 1984 to July 29, 2019, and he hardly drove the car during his ownership (just under 5K in all that time).
I am the third owner of this car that was originally owned by a gent in Compton, Ca. and then by another in Camarillo, Ca. and now me.
The mileage on the odometer and backed up by the service records that were with the car on the day of purchase was 53978 miles.
So far I have flushed the brake system, hydraulic clutch system, change the oil, checked all the brake flex lines, drained the old fuel from the system and have only driven the car 43 miles as of this posting as I need to get comfortable with the car and learn the vehicle.
It has some very minor things that I will address like refurbishing the shocks as they feel soft to me but that might just be the way they are as I am still adjusting to the difference in the ride as it is very comfortable, not as soft as a Miata but not as harsh as the GT6 that I had that now resides in Montana with a very happy new owner.
One of the best things is my wife likes the car and the color so life is good.

Update from the drive this morning. At 50 MPH in fourth gear, the tach is reading 2500 RPM and at 55 MPH it reads midway between 2500 and 3000 RPM ad at 60 MPH it reads 3000 RPM in fourth gear so the final drive seems to be good for touring. First gear is short and second gear and third gear seems good for driving in town traffic with third gear at 50 MPH it reads a needle width past 4500 RPM so I do not see the need for the overdrive. If for some reason this trans should need to be replaced I think I would switch to a five-speed gearbox at that time but not necessary at this time as this is one of the smoothest shifting Triumph four speeds that I have driven in a while, nice easy crisp upshifts and downshifts in all gears so far. Later today we will be taking it out to go to a friend's house so the distances of my drives are getting a little longer with each adventure away from the house.

[whitebuffalo]

That looks brilliant! Love the color. Congratulations

[Larry Kluss]

Excellent! I like yellow.

[VWNate1]

*VERY* pretty ! .

? Does it have overdrive ? .

If SWMBO likes it that's 2/3 the battle right there .

[Martin Keller]

Hello Nate,

No it dose not have overdrive and that is ok with me. Yesterday was the first time that I was confident enough in the car to go out for a drive after servicing the systems and checking it over and reviewing the service record history as this TR6 had not been driven very much for quite a while. One of my concerns were the tires that are on the car as I could not find any record of when the tires were installed until I removed the spare and found the paperwork for the present tires under the spare. The tires were replaced in 2016 so for the time being they are good enough for driving around locally as they have very little mileage on them so I am being cautious and learning the car and it sounds and feel. From what I have seen so far the gearing of this car is just right for touring and comfortable spirited driving depending on what gear you're in and how fast you're going. In the short drive from the previous owners home to my home I only drove about 10 miles on the freeway and stayed in the right lane and did not pay much attention to the RPM but more on the sounds of the car and the oil pressure and water temp and just how the car was driving plus the freeway was moving very slowly as it was at the end of the rush hour and the 101 North at 6 pm from Camarillo to Ventura the max speed was probably 35 to 40 mph at the time. Today I am going to go for my first real drive further than just around my neighborhood and local area as I have checked and serviced the car and feel comfortable about going for a drive with confidence and learn more about my new car.

Update from the drive this morning. At 50 MPH in fourth gear, the tach is reading 2500 RPM and at 55 MPH it reads midway between 2500 and 3000 RPM ad at 60 MPH it reads 3000 RPM in fourth gear so the final drive seems to be good for touring. First gear is short and second gear and third gear seems good for driving in town traffic with third gear at 50 MPH it reads a needle width past 4500 RPM so I do not see the need for the overdrive. If for some reason this trans should need to be replaced I think I would switch to a five-speed gearbox at that time but not necessary at this time as this is one of the smoothest shifting Triumph four speeds that I have driven in a while, nice easy crisp upshifts and downshifts in all gears so far. Later today we will be taking it out to go to a friend's house so the distances of my drives are getting a little longer with each adventure away from the house.

[VWNate1]

Sounds good ! .

Over 3,000 RPM shot=rtens the engine's life drastically but I;m sure you know that as well as I .

Don't forget to drain & fill the final drive and add a magnet to the drin or filler plug....

I put disc typ rare earth magnets on both filler and drain plugs, interestingly enough, I get larger SWARF on the draoin plug, the filler plug loads up with very fine SWARF tht's not on the drain plug's magnet..... go figure .

Harbor Freight sells tubes of five magnets for $6 ~ a pretty good deal IMO .

[Martin Keller]

Hi Nate,

Thanks for the tip on the magnets.

I will be adding magnetic drain plugs as I am going to change the oil again now that I have driven the car a bit, just to make sure that all the old oil and what ever else has might have accumulated from just sitting and not having been driven all that much.
I definitely have to replace the front shocks and rebuild the rear bucket shocks as they are very soft as compared to another TR6 that I was able to drive last night to compare cars. When I do the bounce test by getting the car to move up and down by pushing on a corner then letting go and counting the number of rebounds to stop the car from bouncing it settles in one an a half rebounds when sitting but driving it sure seems to roll and pitch more than normal. Oh well this is just part of the fun and ownership or should I say being the caretaker of one of these classic automobiles.

I still have a big smile on my face and my wife even stated on the way home last night that this TR6 rides well and dose not rattle and that you can read all the dials which surprised me as she normally dose not comment on my cars and tolerates my car addiction.

Again thanks for the tip on the magnets Nate.

[VWNate1]

It sounds like you're on the road to marital bliss, few ever find it .

I install magnets in everything, engine, tranny, final drive and once just for fun, in the cooling system, it grabbed quite a bit of reddish silt.....

SWARF is normal in machines, getting rid of it means things last far longer .

Don't panic if the first oil change after adding a magnet reveals seriously sharp shards or chunks ~ I do about 100 miles and change it, then go to regular service intervals .

It's far cheaper and easier to get the Harbor Fright rare earth disc magnets...

Always, NO EXCEPTIONS, do HOT oil & filter changes .

[tannyo]

At least the “stock“ shocks at $22.99 are inexpensive.

https://mossmotors.com/shock-absorber-f ... ock-type-1

I was surprised to find out that the rear shocks are lever shocks and on backorder. At least from Moss motors.

https://mossmotors.com/rear-suspension-5

[Martin Keller]

Hi Tanny,

Yes, the front shocks are very reasonable for sure when replacing them with stock shocks. The rear bucket shocks are rebuildable or can be replaced with a modern tube shock kit. My plan is to just replace them with new stock bucket shocks and rebuild the existing rear ones as spares. I also plan to add a rear sway bar and upgrade the front sway bar as from everything that I have read it is one of the best improvements that one can make and stay in a reasonably stock condition and not brake the bank modifying the suspension and still have a nice ride that dose not loosen your fillings. Sway bar kit for the rear, upgraded front sway bar (1/2” to 7/8”) and new shocks are already on there way. Only 38 days till the first major trip (Triumphest in Santa Maria in September) in the TR6 for me so getting it ready and sorted is a priority for me.

[VWNate1]

Don't forget to use Polyurethane bushings in everything you take apart, they make a big improvement in both ride and handling .

I *think* Apple Hydraulics will sell you the rebuild parts, don't ever trust them with your old ones as they invariably claim they're too rusty to be rebuilt and charge extra or return junkyard parts instead of yours .

[rally_x]

Congrats on the new purchase Martin! I was bummed to see the GT6 go but this looks like a great replacement. Looking forward to seeing it on the road.

[Martin Keller]

Well an update on my New to Me TR6.
First I have to say that this car is a lot of fun and much easier to get into and out of than the GT6 for me at least.
Well, my wife and I took the TR6 to Triumphest in Santa Maria for four days in September and had a great time driving the back roads to the event.
On the way, we stopped at several wineries and acquired a number of bottles of the grape juice for adults..... .....so we had a good time. While driving the last 10 or 12 miles into Santa Maria on this one curvy road I noticed that on very sharp hairpin turns the front tires would occasionally rub the inside of the front fenders, especially if there were any bumps in the curves. I pulled over to check out what was going on but could not see anything and figured that it was due to the size of the tires (205x70/R15) as the original size was 185x65/15 so I slowed up even more in the turns which also made the wife happier than I was doing and kept on going to the party/gathering in Santa Maria. The rest of the weekend was uneventful when driving the car at different events and going out to eat so life was good. On Sunday we left and drove the 101S with several others heading back to Ventura when I noticed that occasionally I would hear what sounded like a tire rubbing especially in turns and where the road was a little bumpy but did not think much of it as I figured it was the oversize tires and when we stopped for lunch the car looked ok and was sitting level with clearance above all the tires to the fenders so we continued on for home. Well by the time we reached Ventura the right front tire was rubbing with any turn more than just a gentle lane change which had me baffled at first until I looked at the stance of the car. Apparently the spring had given up and were going into low-rider mode due to having taken a set from sitting in one position for most of their life until I started driving the car more than just around the block and making them work as all four tires only had about a quarter-inch of clearance from the fenders and had actually rubbed the undercoating and paint off the inside of the fenders. I have not experienced this type of failure before so I was baffled to say the least and that is something that I am not accustomed to having occurred to me. So after several phone calls to different sources asking if this does happen to spring and confirming that it can happen, I ordered new front and rear stock height springs and replaced all four with new springs and spring boots (the rubber donuts that sit under and over the top of the springs). Now the TR6 sits at what the factory manual says is the correct height from the wheel arches to the ground and rides so so much better now that before. As of yesterday Dec. 1, 2019, the TR6 now has 56947 miles on the odometer [day of purchase was 53978 miles] (almost added the number of miles the previous owner drove the car in 30 years of ownership) and running stronger than ever. Also received a new rear swaybar to install on the rear of the car but that will have to wait for a while as it takes drilling four holes into the frame and messing with the rear springs as I just want to enjoy the car some more before fitting the new rear sway bar to the rear of the car. Still, have to eventually remove the hardtop and fit the soft top to the car which should be interesting as it has never been put on the car and most likely will need replacing because of its age and being folded for it entire life.

[Larry Kluss]

Thanks for the update, Martin. It sounds like you've got a keeper there!

[tannyo]

On my MGBGT the rear springs had sagged so much every time I went over a bump the tires hit the top of the wheel well, taking off the undercoating. Once we got the correct springs for my car from Moss the car is much better.

Unfortunately, all parts wear out.