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Story and Photos by Tim Suddard
In the world of ’60s British roadsters, the Triumph TR is a standout. However, even a well-sorted TR6 has a few weak spots, and the transmission is one of them. The …
Well, I have a terminally garage-bound '68 Spitfire. But I have learned a lot from it. And that's why I bought it originally. I definitely learned a lot. One of my desires is a roadworthy TR6, and my budget definitely permits this. I would definitely go for a 5-speed conversion. Then again, how do I want to maximize my available capital? I saw a beautiful 912 for sale in LA selling for about as much as I'd have to put into a TR6 to make it as nice. I'm not bragging, but it's good to have the financial resources to make these choices. I will have a great car.
Seems a retrograde step to take a car that had an optional 7 speed gearbox (or 'only' 6 speed, if you have the later J type OD unit) and putting a 5 speed box in it, although I agree about the scarcity factor.
Personally I much prefer OD stock box - if you are driving along a winding road in Autumn enjoying Fall colours, you can flip back and forth between 3rd and 3rd OD by flicking a switch, without touching the gearshift.
I've done both, and have a T5 in my rebodied MGA with V6 - the shifter ended up located just right; not sure how that would work out on a TR.
The shifter does come out in the right place and our TR6 did not have the overdrive. While I like the overdrives, they are delicate, heavy, and getting harder and harder to find and rebuild. When we moved our TR3 from overdrive to T5 five-speed, we knocked over 50 pounds out of the car.
Great article on the HVDA 5-speed conversion. I have a '73 with no overdrive and the Toyota trans made my car much more enjoyable to drive. The gear selection is more precise and slightly shorter, so even around town, it's much better. While it is an expensive upgrade, you will never regret the HVDA conversion. I am still considering the Nissan LSD swap - do you have any thoughts on that?
In reply to eastlex91 :
I need help in finding a replacement speedo cable for my HDVA tr6 to Toyota conversion. Any help would be much appreciated.
rayt@supplysourceinc.com
Tim Suddard said:The shifter does come out in the right place and our TR6 did not have the overdrive. While I like the overdrives, they are delicate, heavy, and getting harder and harder to find and rebuild. When we moved our TR3 from overdrive to T5 five-speed, we knocked over 50 pounds out of the car.
I haven't found the ODs to be delicate at all if treated the way they should be - I even raced with them in two of my MG based race cars (they use the smaller and theoretically more delicate Laycock). Definitely avoid holding your foot to the floor when you flick the OD switch, though. Have also used them on my TR2 through 4As and in my MGC.
No argument about either weight or using the T5 - I used that trans in another of my sports cars and it is smooth and deals well with a couple of hundred BHP - you want the later World Class version and you have to carefully pick your gear ratios - many cars that came with them had stupidly low gear ratios,
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