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Triumph TR6 - If you were just starting out . . . ?

Hello to All,

My wife shocked the heck out of me last weekend with a surprise 40th birthday party, and a 1970 TR6 in reasonably good shape.

Supposedly the car had a "frame off restoration" and the paint looks like a 9 overall, but there is lots of work still to be done. The interior is in rough shape, the car shimmies badly above 50 mph, the engine hestitates as it passes through 2000 RPM, etc. etc.

Anyways, experience has taught me to seek the advice of those that have "been there, and done that" rather that try to reinvent the wheel by myself.

I am moderately mechanically inclined, and would like to do some of the restoration myself; I have a 3 car garage, and I am exceedingly fortunate in that money is not much of a concern. So where should I begin?

Thanks to all who have gone before me!


Joe

p.s. Is there a way to post photo's?
J Peck

Congratulations! I would be inclined to look at safety items first, brakes, steering, suspension.

Next I would replace all the radiator hoses, heater hoses, and belts, radiator cap and thermostat, keeping the old ones as spares if they seem good. Check the coolant, flush and refill if not good.

Change oil and filter, spark plugs and wires, distributor cap, air filter element.

Now you have the basis for a reliable car, and can diagnose the hesitation, or get a tune up by someone who specialises in these cars.

You will probably enjoy the car more in the long run, and be able to enjoy social activities too, if you join a local club, this will also help you find a shop to do stuff you don't feel confident tackling yourself.
Simon.
Simon Rasmussen

Congratulations on your wife - oops, I mean your TR6! She wouldn't happen to have a sister who is single? To post pics of your car and view members' cars go to the main page and click Members Cars. Just wait til Charlie's site comes up and View members cars. You can e-mail your pics to Charlie for posting. There are also a few previous threads detailing how to post pics to the forum and a search should provide the info you need. Good advice from Simon and in addition, a suspension upgrade with poly bushings, and uprated springs and shocks would make a nice difference after you get the running problem sorted out. Complete front suspension rebuild kits are available from Moss Motors and The Roadster Factory as are all the individual parts so you should not have a problem eliminating your shimmy. Pertronix Electronic Ignition conversions are also a popular and inexpensive modification eliminating the hassle with replacing and adjusting points. The archives on this forum will contain pretty much any info you think you will need - just do a search. Good luck!

Bob
1976 - TR6
Bob Evans

Hi Joe ,
and congratulations on entry into one of the most fun cars out there... the forum here is excellent and the archives are a good source for detail information and problem solving. All in all the whole game here is cheap therapy for the afflicted and unstable.. :o)


Re your car:

1. as stated, change out all fluids carefully inspecting them as you go... look for water or rust/discoloration in the brake and clutch fluids, metalic particle, sludge and water in trans, diff. and engine oils. Cut open the oil filter and again inspect for matalic particles. Correctly replace fluids both in type and quantity...api#4 75-90w for trans...NOT api#5

2. pull rocker cover and inpect valve tappet clearances. Also check for movement between the rockers and rocker shaft indicating excessive wear... a weekness in the top end of the engine is oil starvation to the rockers, inparticularly those to the front of the engine.

3. inspect for tire wear... scaloped edges most often are a result of deteriorated rubber bushings which should be replaced with polyurethane bushing. Ofen the first indication of this deterioration is shown in rear end 'squat' and in front lower a-arm loosness. Conversly, wheel alignmet can be the cause if some previous owner 'curbed' it while paking-by-brail. While you have the car on jack stands, inpect half shaft u-joints and rear bearing hubs for and slop or grinding under rotation.

Hope this is of some help. Send me a pic of your car (remove the 'dot'from my email)... and congratulate your wife on a very wise purchase in every respect.

Rob '76
com CF57639U0... in pieces

Rob Gibbs

Here's a picture of my two prizes . . .

http://members.aol.com/PeckJA/TR6.jpeg

Great advice all around! I was actually approached by a fellow in the hardware store parking lot today, who told me about a local antique sports car club; so I guess I'm "off to the races".

Biggest problem is just deciding where to begin.

Thanks again,

Joe
J Peck

Joe,

Congratulations. Both are beautiful! If you're ever in western NJ, drop me a note and we can get together.

Don
'74 CF19053U
Don from Jersey

Thanks Don,

My sister-in-law lives in Sparta, NJ. We go there all the time. I'll be sure to drop you an email first time I make it there in the TR6.

Joe

P.S. The sister-in-law even has an Austin Martin Sprite we could bring along as well :)
J Peck

Joe,
Is an Austin Martin, like an Aston Healey??
db
Doug Baker

O.K. so my rank ignorance is now apparent.

Hopefully everyone who reads the note will get a good laugh!

Thanks for the correction Doug.


Joe :)



J Peck

Joe- Since your new to this bunch ,watch out, there are a few sticklers for correctiveness (huh?) in this group.
don:(
DON KELLY

Don,
Yer absolootlee rite.
rOD
Rod Nichols

She seems as proud of the new toy as you are. It's nice to have a partner that loves to make you happy.
Tom

nice color, 2nd to sapphire blue
Paddy Kan

See Doug Baker....there is another that thinks paint code 96 is the best!

Joe. Since your lovely wife bought the car for you, you are one step ahead of most of us.
You can always blame her for the money you are spending on the car and she really can not complain when you do, spend money on the car.
Where to begin. That is simple...think safety.( I agree with Simon).
1:Entire brake system.
2: Steering.
3: tyres.
4: front wheel bearings/suspension.
5: rear suspension and drive train with particular attention to the hubs.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

Joe,

Congratulations, one thought, just in case the rear wheels look a little pushed out at the bottom, it can be easily addressed with "uprated" springs available from several sources. It really bugged be until I got it done.

Should be a lot of fun, look for some winding roads once you have it ready to go.

Walter
Walter Dobbins

Congrats Joe, I hope you have as much fun with yours as I do with mine. Have you considered joining a local club? I see you are from NY so there are three that you can choose from depending on where in NY you are located. There is the Adirondak Triumph Club for those in Northern NY, Brits of the Hudson, for the Middle of the Staters and for us "Flatlanders" there is the Long Island Triumph Assoc. Of course you couls also go to a club in NJ, but I can't imagine why. Lots of information and help from all of them. Good luck, Ab
Ab Crevoiserat

This thread was discussed between 01/04/2006 and 06/04/2006

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