Buying a TR6 HELP !

[Daz]

I am a new member to this forum but I am an old hand when it comes to classic British sports cars, I know you lot are a friendly bunch and that at least some of you run or have ran a TR6. I have gained tentative approval from SWMBO to purchase a TR6, the problem is I know nothing really about them, so instead of making a fool of myself on a TR forum I am asking you.

Which TR6 should I buy? I don’t want a lhd cal import

An early one or a late one?
Overdrive on no overdrive?
What’s a CR chassis?
Rebuilt or original?
What problems to look for?
Should I buy a yellow one?

Price ….. £5k gets you chassis and a box of rusty bits, the ones £25K just appear to be well overpriced so I would think between 8 and 12K

[Stocky]

I bought a TR6 as my first classic car, and I knew next to nothing about classic cars, but luckily got a good one which I sold to finance the Stag.

instead of making a fool of myself on a TR forum I am asking you.

I always found the TR Register forum pretty friendly.

Which TR6 should I buy? I don’t want a lhd cal import

An early one or a late one?
Overdrive on no overdrive?
What’s a CR chassis?
Rebuilt or original?
What problems to look for?
Should I buy a yellow one?

Price ….. £5k gets you chassis and a box of rusty bits, the ones £25K just appear to be well overpriced so I would think between 8 and 12K

People will talk about the early 150bhp vs the late 125bhp cars but there isn't that much difference in reality; the 150bhp has a different cam and can be a bit lumpy. the later throttle bodies were different and not so good so you often find early throttle bodies on a later car.
Overdrive: definitely yes.
CR refers to a later 125bhp UK car; CP is the 150bhp chassis. Anything else was an export model.
Rebuilt or not: personal choice, I'd say, but most good ones will have had some work so buy the best you can.
Problems: rust! I'm not the best person to ask as I bought without much knowledge and got lucky.
Yellow: I don't think it's the best colour on a TR6 but again, personal choice!

[flying farmer]

A local TR club member recently rolled his TR6 bought only a couple of months earlier for well over 20K. With the insurance money he bought an equally good one for half the price. He was lucky, the club magazine hit his doormat the same day as his insurance cheque, and the car was only a half hour drive away. Deal was done there and then!

Early cars had a CP chassis no, later ones a CR, early were supposedly 150bhp but were nowhere near that, later were 125bhp. I had one with a 132bhp saloon cam and that was quicker in normal road use than a 150 due to better torque.

You would miss overdrive if you didn't have it, the J type fitted to later cars is more reliable in my experience. Mine was a non OD car, I used a cheap Dolly sprint OD box to supply the OD, but it is not a straight forward conversion, though you can buy the bits to do it these days.

You will be lucky to find an original unrebuilt example except at silly money.

Check everywhere for rust, particularly the rear of the chassis around the trailing arm mounting areas and diff mountings for cracking.

Neil

[Trigbush]

Yes the TR forum bunch are very good. If you ping a PM to Stuart or Alec Pringle you will get top-rate opinions and views - but try not to abuse their goodwill with vexatious questions.

Go for a PI definitely, and certainly with overdrive (A-Type). I have a CR. Get one that has been restored at least in the lat 20 years. Check the chassis is sound and solid - that's the main thing. Unlike Stags, the 6 bodies can be worked on easily and rusty panels and body bits can be easily replaced or welded. There are some good guides on what to look for when kicking tyres (see here for TR6 http://www.tr-register.co.uk/downloads.php). Take a friend or at least take a load of pictures and post them on photobucket and post a link to the folder. Then you will get a load of comments and opinions.

Yellow mellow man. Whatever floats your boat.

[87bor]

Buying a TR6

A local TR club member recently rolled his TR6 bought only a couple of months earlier for well over 20K. With the insurance money he bought an equally good one for half the price. He was lucky, the club magazine hit his doormat the same day as his insurance cheque, and the car was only a half hour drive away. Deal was done there and then!

Early cars had a CP chassis no, later ones a CR, early were supposedly 150bhp but were nowhere near that, later were 125bhp. I had one with a 132bhp saloon cam and that was quicker in normal road use than a 150 due to better torque.

You would miss overdrive if you didn't have it, the J type fitted to later cars is more reliable in my experience. Mine was a non OD car, I used a cheap Dolly sprint OD box to supply the OD, but it is not a straight forward conversion, though you can buy the bits to do it these days.

You will be lucky to find an original unrebuilt example except at silly money.

Check everywhere for rust, particularly the rear of the chassis around the trailing arm mounting areas and diff mountings for cracking.

Neil

I have owned TR6's since 1981. I was young and foolish and had just been paid out 1500 pounds for being knocked off my motorbike and breaking my wrist. I wanted wind in the hair motoring with stable four wheels and went out and bought the TR6. What a pack of sh--- it was. It had fibreglass front wings, the chassis was weak and I constantly had it at the 24 hour welders trying to repair the front suspension mounts. The gauges were illuminated by under dash fires and the chassis flexed so much the car rattled like a biscuit tin full of nuts and bolts. The way to test this is to put your fingers in the door gap while someone bounces the rear suspension. If the panels tighten on your fingers the chassis has had it. These cars can be cheap to buy and cost a fortune to fix so I strongly suggest you do a hell of a lot of research and build up a list of things to check when you test drive one.

Restored ones tend to be highly priced as the owner tries to recover the cost of the restoration....impossible. At the opposite end keep away from rust. This will burst the bank. Take a magnet with you and check all the panels for body filler. Lift the carpets and check for moisture, holes and rust. Go onto rimmerbros.co.uk and spend some time going through the cost of spares. Do a test case. Imagine you buy a car that needs work, i.e. two front wings and a rear valence (plus paint), new soft top, exhaust, injectors, fuel pump, master cylinder brake pads, a radiator and all the hoses. Just to give you an idea of the cost to get it back on the road in good condition.

Do not buy the first one you see, even if it is recommended. My stag was recommended by the NZ stag Spares Coordinator who said he knew the car better than his own over a period of 28 years. That turned out to be a crock. There was forty years of body filler over the thing that he never knew about and it took the panel beater two months to rub it down to bare metal. Someone had either dropped an engine or a tree on the front wing and filled it with bog. Ask if any of the drivetrain has been replaced with saloon parts. TR6 diffs are pricey and you can put the triumph saloon diffs in but the ratios tend to be different giving you higher revs at cruising speed. Listen for gearbox and diff whine. Vibrations from the rear halfshafts. I could not get rid of a vibration at 70 mph until I changed diffs. Once the Nissan LSD went in the car was as smooth as butter.

There are several types of TR owner. Mainly the ones who can do the work themselves, those that rely on the local garage and those that do a bit of both. If it is a DIY guy then check his garage out to see if it well kitted out and what bits have been taken off. Drive as many as you can to get a feel for a tight responsive one. You will soon know when you are in a sloppy sluggish car.

Mimosa is lovely. What ever you do....... DO NOT BUY MAGENTA....... unless you run a P lab.

If you need any specific help let me know. I live in Christchurch New Zealand so don't ask me to come test drive it with you! However, you should contact your local TR coordinator and engage someone's help in this regard. My car has been fully restored and built to a full race spec with jaguar style interior. You cannot imagine how much fun this car is to drive. If you buy wisely you won't regret it.

Good luck

Barry

[singapore stag]

what an excellent , educated and honest appraisal! (87bor)

sukh.

[Daz]

WOW ! I just knew you lot would come up trumps without making me feel like a complete numpty.

Anything else I should know ?

Thanks

[jleyton]

WOW ! I just knew you lot would come up tr(i)ump(h)s without making me feel like a complete numpty.

Of course

[DJT]

WOW ! I just knew you lot would come up trumps without making me feel like a complete numpty.

There are good days on the forum...........

[Stocky]

The clutch release fork tapered pin may shear, so check that the clutch disengages cleanly; there is a mod to correct this. The gearbox layshaft can be fragile and can be updated with a Stag one.
As previously mentioned, check the rear chassis rails, if the rails slope downwards the chassis is "hogged" and you should walk away.
The hood can be tricky to fold so check for tears or creases in the rear window.
It is a small car and I always felt vulnerable on the motorway. A properly installed roll-over hoop may be a good idea, but ensure it is bolted to the chassis and not just the rear floor pan.
A spring-over-coil rear suspension modification makes a big difference to handling, if you don't mind a non-original setup, as does polybushing everything (but you will get a bit more harshness in the ride; it's a sports car so I much preferred the tighter handling).

[Trigbush]

Speak to Marko at http://www.classicmarks.co.uk/ as I mentioned.

Here is a yellow one from Belgium. Entirely restored apparently. You could knock it down to below 17,000 GBP and then convert it...

http://fr.autoscout24.be/Details.aspx?id=242463874&asrc=st

[darrellprice]

On the engine check the crankshaft thrust washers, this can be achieved with a lever and a torch to illuminate things. Use the lever to push the crankshaft pulley backwards, towards the rear of the car, hopefully there is no movement, then have somebody put their foot on the clutch and watch for any movement of the pulley forwards, again there should be nothing. A small amount of movement means the washers are worn and a large movement means the washers are sitting in the sump, this is not good!
My car does not have overdrive and it has the North American diff ratio; I get by but it is not ideal. If you are not a purist and find a great car with everything but overdrive I would still consider it, overdrive can be added (a kit of parts to do this is available) or there are modern 5 speed gearbox conversions out there.
Rust is your worst enemy on this car. Virtually all parts are available.
A TR6 is quite different from a Stag, much more fun in the twisty stuff. We use the Stag for long distance drives, or taking the kids out. On a sunny day and by myself it is in to the Six for a blast along a winding country road, great stuff!
The Six Pack forum over here has been a great help to me: http://www.6-pack.org/j15/index.php/forum
And buy the colour that floats your boat!
I have both a Stag and a TR6.

[darrellprice]

Oh, and personally I would not get too hung up about the year and CP/CR; I would just go for the specific car that you like the most and is in the very best condition. A more expensive car initially can be far cheaper in the long run! These are quite simple cars to work on, as long as you are not dealing with rust of course! With so many parts available, both new and used, changes / upgrades / modifications are near endless.
Rebuilt can save you money if it was done properly, original .... hard to find original after forty years, my car is like Trigger’s Broom; all original, just six new heads and and four new handles

[Trigbush]

I know you don't want to pay more than 12k but Southwood car company off the M25 have an immaculate mimosa 6 fresh from a resto for 21k. Advertised in Thoroughbread & Classic Cars this month. 01883 344226.

No connection.

[Motorsport Micky]

Your price range should get you a good TR6 but you will have to check out the market. Although you'll see quite a few advertised at £20k plus what they sell at is another (and more realistic) mid to high teens.
The more desirable TR5 inhabits mid 30k area for those who want to burn their money, some good comments on here with knowledgable feedback, however if you go for an overdrive car I should avoid the A type. This overdrive has an almost instantaneous application, (mine on a TR4 will change before my finger has left the lever) and the independant suspension cars TR4/5/6 have a more problematical rear diff mounting as against the very robust TR4. The J type has a 2 stage piston which applies the overdrive in a more ssssslllluuurrryyy way to relieve the shock loadings.

The cars are easy to work on and repair well with robust mechanicals, once an item is repaired they mostly stay repaired, if you find one that's been reworked correctly(and many are) you'll spend almost all your time with a silly grin on your face driving it as against on your back trying to repair it. The local groups of the TR Register are full of helpful people who will be pleased to attend some car viewings with you for moral support and technical advice.

They drive great giving true period sports car handling, try and avoid going for extra wide rubber when you buy one, these cars work best when they have good handling and not necessarily extra grip ( not the same thing at all).

Micky.