Any Triumph TR6 nerds around here? Will it work for me?

So, I've been in love with the Triumph TR6 ever since I was a kid. In the early '80s they were everywhere. I especially love the wilder colors: French Blue, Java Green, Magenta, Mimosa, and the like.

Something about the boxy lines, small (but not tiny) size, rorty exhaust, and weirdly oversized tires strike a chord. And there's the racing history, Paul Newman connection, etc.

My driving experience is almost 100% German cars: VW, BMW, and Mercedes. All very reliable and kind of boring, with maybe a couple of exceptions. Never spent any time with a British roadster. Only ever had one convertible: an '88 (R107) 560SL panzerwagen.

I guess my questions are:

(1) can I fit my 6'2" and 220 lbs body in one? I'm not against fitting a lower-profile seat, or even a race bucket if that helps.

(2) can I drive one fairly regularly in the northeast? Will it stand up to traffic, rain, potholes, etc? Do the heater and wipers actually work?

(3) how bad is the reliability in real life? Is all the talk of Lucas lord of darkness electronics hyperbole? Can it be improved with aftermarket wiring harnesses, updated relays/fuses, etc.?

(4) how weatherproof is it? I wouldn't winter drive it, but it would see rain, wind, and highway speeds. Do the soft-top, windows, and door/trunk seals actually keep the weather out?

(5) what about roll protection? I've seen cage kits from Safety Devices and Autopower. Is there an off-the-shelf rollbar that's both functional from a safety standpoint and also clears the standard soft-top?

(1) Height wise, you might be staring into the windshield header unless you lower the seat. There's decent leg room, but the pedals are fairly close together. A TR6 is pretty narrow inside, but worst case it will be snug in terms of width. Edit: I just remembered that Alan Alda drove a TR6 during his MASH days, and he's 6'2". So it's possible.

(2) They are fairly robust cars with a few exceptions. The stock rear hubs would need to be replaced with something beefier. Crankshaft thrust washers are a known weakness. They wear thin and drop out causing immediate wear issues on the block and crank. It's OK in the rain, but they all seem to take on water from somewhere. Mine soaks the carpets. I stay mostly dry, however. Heater works well, but the wipers are marginal at best. Driving in winter with salt on the roads would be my big concern.

(3) Reliability is good for a 40-year-old car. It largely depends on the condition of what you start with. Expect some things to be worn out that will need repair/replacing. In a completely stock car, you will be fiddling with the ignition system (e.g., lubing the distributor, adjusting points) more than a modern car. The carbs are probably worn and can be a headache if too far gone. I occasionally clean and lubricate fuses and connections with dielectric grease, and that keeps many of the electrical gremlins at bay. And you can always ditch the carbs and ignition for modern EFI.

(4) Highway speeds aren't a problem except for the safety technology from 40 to 50 years ago. With decent all-season tires, I've never had a problem in the rain. I wouldn't recommend the original Michelin Redline tires in a heavy rain, however. They do not channel water as well as a modern tire. Since the transmission tunnel cover bolts to the floor pans, it needs to be carefully sealed to prevent water flooding the floor. The top seals fairly well, but I will get an occasional spray from the window tops. Honestly, a TR6 isn't the best wet weather car, which is ironic considering where it was built. The trunk, while not terribly deep, is a decent size and stays dry. If you don't want to drive with the top down every day, consider finding a car with a factory hard top. It's heavy, but makes the car stiffer, safer, and less drafty. It also looks really good IMO.

(5) In stock form, you do not want to roll a TR6. We put an Autopower rollbar in an autocross car, and it was too tall to fit a top even after cutting it down 2 inches. It also doesn't mount directly to the frame, but mounts to the floor pan in front of the rear wheel arches. That's the big weakness of most bars for the TR6. If they only mount the the body shell, you lose stiffness and risk the bar ripping loose from the body-gauge metal. I took one that mounts to the differential shelf and added extra mounts on the frame to bolt the bar to, then ran forward braces to the rearward floor frame mounts. The body shell needs to come off to do this properly, so not really an option unless you are completely rebuilding the car. Check out my build thread for more details.

One of the nice things about the TR6 is there is a huge community supporting these cars. Triumph guys always want to see more of these cars on the road, so they are very nice folks usually, and eager to help.

They are pretty basic cars, with known flaws (and known fixes for those flaws) I'd recommend getting a good one, as you'll be way underwater if you buy a rat and decide to restore it. Nice examples are bringing $10-$20K these days, and prices have been heading up. I've seen folks asking $25K-$35K for very nice examples, but I'm not convinced they are actually selling at that price.

Your best bet it to find a rust-free example, as there are plenty still out there. Overdrive is also extremely nice to have, as it enables the car to cruise comfortably at 75mph or so on the highway. I find them more comfy for a long drive than an NA or NB Miata.

I've had a few--- finally purchased a very nice one recently. My first I purchased in NH and drove to FL through a big snowstorm, and then driving rain. No it wasn't totally waterproof through the heaviest of rain, but it kept us pretty dry, the heater worked, and the wipers.....well.....they wiped most of the rain off. They can be reliable as long as you stay on top of them.

Most of the "Prince of Darkness" problems come from owners hacking into the wiring harness to install fog lights, or radios, or CB's, etc. These are older cars now, and you sometimes pay for the previous owner's sins.

Here's mine--- I'm not crazy about the stripes, but I am crazy about the car!

FWIW (not that anybody's asking for my opinion), I actually like the stripes, except for the part below the front grill. (Hey, PO: if you REALLY feel you have to do that, at least do it on the back too. Jeez.)

But that dark blue colour looks sweet on TR6s.

Joe covered it well Nice looking cars, some design weaknesses in the suspension and engine but nothing really serious and a straight 6 always sounds great. Living where you are, you might want to consider a hard top for winter driving.

No 1950s-1970 sports car has any significant roll over protection. If you fit a roll bar do it right. I've seen several Triumphs where they just bolted it through sheet metal rather than to the frame - useless.

I have a GT6 which mechanically isn't much different. As mentioned, reliability is more car-specific than anything to do with any particular brand. A well maintained car that is driven regularly will be fairly reliable. The TR6 runs a fairly large tire (at least compared to the tiny 13" wheels on my GT6 & Spitfire), so it should handle normal road hazards well and probably better than a lot of modern cars with ultra low-profile tires.

If you want to try on a car for size, check out the NJ Triumphs chapter of VTR (Vintage Triumph Register) and sort of covers the NYC area as well (I know a couple of guys in NYC and LI who mostly hang with the NJ folks). I know there's a couple of TR6 owners in the area who would be more than happy to accommodate you.

Lastly, the VTR National Meet will be in Princeton, NJ this coming July. There will be plenty of TR6's there as it seems to be the most popular club member car.

Stealthtercel wrote: FWIW (not that anybody's asking for my opinion), I actually like the stripes, except for the part below the front grill. (Hey, PO: if you REALLY feel you have to do that, at least do it on the back too. Jeez.) But that dark blue colour looks sweet on TR6s.

Thanks--- actually the PO did do it correctly, and painted the rear apron as well. I'm glad they didn't paint the rear panel (by the tail-lights) as that panel should remain black on a TR6. IMHO that panel always looks funny and wrong when it's painted body color.

wspohn wrote: ...some design weaknesses in the suspension

That's something that concerns me, considering how poor the roads are around here. Can the suspension be made compliant enough to handle that? I've seen people swapping in KYB and Koni dampers, as well as converting the rear to run modern dampers.

wspohn wrote: Living where you are, you might want to consider a hard top for winter driving.

I wouldn't drive it in winter. I've got a 335xi commuter and a 190E Cosworth racecar. This would be a second car for fair weather drives, weekend fun, and maybe occasional track use in an HPDE setting.

wspohn wrote: No 1950s-1970 sports car has any significant roll over protection. If you fit a roll bar do it right. I've seen several Triumphs where they just bolted it through sheet metal rather than to the frame - useless.

I definitely wouldn't cut corners with roll protection. If there's no off-the-shelf kit that works properly, I'll take it to a cage-builder to fabricate something that attached to the frame. I'm thinking 4-point rollbar (with x-brace and harness bar) plus two front stays extending down to the lower front corner of the doorframe. Something strong enough to be safe, but without making ingress/egress too big of a deal.

Joe Gearin wrote:

Damn your infernal pictures! (in Plankton's voice)

I finally got to a place where I don't have any race cars and can spend the racing money on travel and "other things". I have always loved the TR but could never see bringing one into the saltopia of PA without a hermetically sealed bubble to drive it around in.

But that car fills me with overwhelming want. Stripes and all.

Ian F wrote: A well maintained car that is driven regularly will be fairly reliable.

That would be the plan. Except for the deep winter, I would like to drive the car at least once or twice per week. The E90 335xi turned out to be substantially less fun to drive than I had anticipated, and I don't manage to get the racecar out very often. I want something that I can enjoy driving on the street fairly regularly.

Ian F wrote: The TR6 runs a fairly large tire (at least compared to the tiny 13" wheels on my GT6 & Spitfire), so it should handle normal road hazards well and probably better than a lot of modern cars with ultra low-profile tires.

That's one of the weird things about the TR6: huge 205/70-15 tires on a 5.5" rim. No decent tires in that size. I was hoping I might be able to fit a 225/50-16 tire on an 8-9" rim. That's a common Porsche size, so I could use some of the great new summer tires out there. That would involve fitting fender flares, which would probably make the TR6 guys puke.

Ian F wrote: If you want to try on a car for size, check out the NJ Triumphs chapter of VTR (Vintage Triumph Register) ... Lastly, the VTR National Meet will be in Princeton, NJ this coming July.

Those are great ideas! Thanks so much. I'll definitely reach out to the local Triumph community.

I "think" a 225/50-16 is what Richard Good runs on his car with 16x8 Panasport. Could email him and ask: GoodParts TR6 Pron

Ian F wrote: I "think" a 225/50-16 is what Richard Good runs on his car with 16x8 Panasport. Could email him and ask: GoodParts TR6 Pron

I believe you are correct. Richard said this was the size he is running and that it just fits inside the wheel arch. We run this size tire with a Panasport Racing 16x7 wheel. The lower front suspension arm is pushed out to increase camber and we have 3/8" wheel spacers, so the tire sticks out at least an inch. Lots of good tire choices in that size.

The TR6 came from the factory with rear springs that were too soft at 280 lbs/in. This makes it prone to squat under acceleration. I'm running Good's 470 lbs/in springs in the rear, and they are fine on the street with the shocks tuned properly. This also reduces camber and toe changes along with suspension bottoming.

Do some research before converting the rear lever shocks to telescopic. Many of the kits put too much stress on the frame mounts. I'm using uprated levers. You can tune the valving and hydraulic oil to suit your needs with these (not as easy as turning a knob). Koni single adjustables work great on the front. If tracking the car, you'd want a matched set of front and rear sway bars to avoid excessive understeer (there is no rear bar stock).

The wheels on Joe's car are beautiful. If you wanted to run 15s, you can use 205/65-15 and at least have a better selection of all-season tires for the street.

Thanks! My TR6 runs VTO "LeMans" wheels size 15x7. I've always loved the way these cars look on "Panasport" type wheels, but they are so common, I wanted to go with something different. I'm glad I did.

I run 205/65/15 tires, which were easy to source through Tire Rack. I ended up getting fairly cheap Sumitomo tires, as this is a street car, and I wasn't concerned with track days, or autocross. (although I'll probably autocross it for fun) I love the way the wheel-tire combo looks--- I can't park the thing without giving the "look-back" over my shoulder.

I'm very happy with the selection. They do rub a little--- but only if I'm turning at full-lock in reverse. (getting out of a tight parking spot) This can be eliminated by slightly shaving a bit of material off the front control arm. Honestly it doesn't bother me, so I probably will leave the car alone. Otherwise, they are perfect. The Sumitomos are actually much more grippy than I would have expected, and the cornering grip of the car is impressive. (it also has Richard Good springs / Konis / sway bars) I'd +1 on the Richard Good springs. My car doesn't squat, and the ride is compliant and comfortable--- if a bit firm.

A good resource for these cars is the Triumph Six Pack club:

Six Pack

I also can't recommend VTO wheels enough:

VTO Wheels

Aren't they 4x114.3 just like many Japanese cars? Should be a fairly limitless choice of old-school, 2- and 3-piece wheels that will fit.

I couldn't remember so I looked and TR6 is listed a 4x4.5 / 114.3 which as you noted is a common Japanese size. Datsun and Toyota for sure, possibly Mitsubishi. Honda and Maza I believe use 4 x 100.

I'm 6'2" 180 lb and fit in my TR6 just fine with stock seats. I have headroom left over with the top up. Unless you have unusual leg/torso heights, you should be OK and you won't be looking over the top of the windshield . My experience with my TR6 and other British cars is that they are never completely water-tight. Even with a new top and seals I get a little water dripping inside when it rains. Part of the 'charm' I suppose.

I have no experience with body-on-frame cars. From what I've seen, the body lifts off when you need to work on the chassis.

Let's say you wanted to add a 4-point rollbar. How do you tie that to the chassis? Would you lose the ability to lift the body off the chassis for future maintenance/repair?

How are people managing this?

Bolt in plates and stubs would be my guess. Its how we cage trucks in the pro-touring world.

The body mount points are not in a good location for the rear hoop unless you're 5'2". Proper plates above and below are fine. Even better if tied into the sills.

For a TR6, I like this approach (not my car, though).

For my car, I put the hoop on top of the differential crossmember while tying into the rear floor frame mounts with diagonals as above. The downsides are that this bolts to the default body mounts which only use 5/16" bolts (could be upgraded with a welder). I added an extra 3/8" bolt behind the rear floor mounts to firm this up. I also added extra mounts to the diff crossmember.

On another car, I welded boxes with studs to the back outer corners of the floor pans so that they are attached to the floors, sills, and wheel arches to mount the main hoop (Autopower bar). But as noted, this limits seat travel and the bar needs to be tilted back at an angle. To make this secure for the track, I'd want braces running back to the rear part of the frame. We braced on the wheel arches, but this is for autocross only.

You CAN install a roll bar to body metal (assuming the body metal isn't rusted out) using wide mounting plates and backing plates to spread the load, but attaching to the frame is better. Problem is that unlike other cars that have perimeter frames, the TRs use one that is inset from the sides of the car so if you wanted to mount to it you'd have to bow the bar out like a mushroom right above the mounting point to get it wide enough to protect occupants at head/shoulder level. Real PITA!

wspohn wrote: Problem is that unlike other cars that have perimeter frames, the TRs use one that is inset from the sides of the car so if you wanted to mount to it you'd have to bow the bar out like a mushroom right above the mounting point to get it wide enough to protect occupants at head/shoulder level.

That's exactly what I was worried about! How to make it work? I like JoeTR6's solution ... but then you're essentially building half a tube-frame chassis. I'm not qualified to pull that off (a man's got to know his limitations).

My brother has a TR6 and has zero problems with all your questions, but can't answer #1 since he's 5"9'. That would be no problem with a TR8 however as the cockpit is a lot more spacious.