1973 Triumph TR-6

Convertible

6 - Cyl.

Manual

CC82046U

Clear

Gasoline

While attending an auction for abandoned/towed vehicles, I noticed this TR6 sitting in the yard covered with snow. The towyard owner informed me he had obtained it when he wa the winning bid on an unpaid storage unit auction. He frankly had no interest in it and asked me what I'd offer him. It was a horrible day. The car was locked. I lifted the hood enough to see rags stuffed where the carbs should be. The gauges/dash were missing from the interior. I figured the engine had quit running and had been left. I had planned to finish up a 3 year TR6 project and could use the car for parts. It also had a rare factory hardtop. I bought the car and had it towed and put it in my garage to wait for the weather to warm up. I received the paperwork and keys a couple weeks later. I pushed the car out and started to wash the dirt off. Then I opened the trunk and found a goldmine of parts. A box of old engine bearings, the O/D, clutch, new convertible top with the silver strip, the carbs and dash switches, etc. There was also a box containing a new TR6 emblem. That's a $250 part. No one would spend that for a new one unnless they were doing a complete restoration. Once all the many years of dirt was cleaned off, what emerged was a true diamond of a TR6. I've worked on TR6s on and off for about 40 years and have never seen a true frame off restoration on a car before. You simply can't imagine the number of hours it must have taken to bring the car to this point. The body had been taken off the frame. The frame never looked that good coming from the factory. Its painted and rust free. The entire front end/steering/bushings etc are new and painted. The body is straight as an arrow. Same with the rear end/axles - every nut and bolt on the car has been cleaned and painted. The entire exhaust was new. It had a thin film of rust from the years of sitting but was unused as there was no soot in the tailpipe. The engine had been pulled out and the engine compartment painted. The engine itself looked new with the engine paint still shining. The interior was also very nice. The carpets are very nice and there are no tears in the seats. There's a matching convertible top cover as well as an almost new tonneau cover. I would rate the paint an 8 out of 10. There are some spider cracks where the hard top sits on the car. There is also a very small dent on top of the driver side fender by the headlight chrome. It's hardly noticeable because it is white. The hardtop is in very good to excellent condition. The headliner has two small tears. All the parts looked like they had just come out of the box but the lack of use made all the hydrolic parts unusable. I have put on a new fuel pump, both hydrolic slave cylinders for the clutch, a new brake master cylinder. I also put on completely new front brakes (pads/rotors/calipers $400). I put in an upgraded dark walnut dash which offsets nicely against the white paint. I put in a set of gauges I had from years of collecting parts. I also put in a new Nardi steering wheel. The true mileage of the car is unknown as the original gauges were missing. I've installed an electronic ignition as well as the most important upgrade you can make to any TR6 - the spin on oil adapter. I put a set of carbs from my TR6 - changed plugs - electronic ignition. I cleaned the fuel tank and replaced all the fuel lines from the tank to the carbs. I also replaced the choke cables. The engine fired up immediately, had oil pressure through the roof and was unbelievably quiet. No TR6 clatter. I put on a complete set of water hoses and thermostat. Its obvious that this was the first time since the rebuild the car had been started. I strongly encourage you to look at other TR6s on eBay. check where all the seams join in the trunk/engine compartment/firewall. They will undoubtedly be rusty. No so in this car. If the small TR6 details are important to you, then this is your car. The front turn signal lenses aren't clouded - still crystal clear. It has very nice original wheels with mounted Michelin Red Lines. It has a factory hardtop as well as a new convertible top with the silver stripe. The currrent top is still in very good shape except that the plastic has yellowed. The rear zipper still works. The engine/clutch doesn't have 50 miles on them. While all these parts are impressive - that's not the value in the car. If you paid $2000 for a car that's still worth restoring and spent every minute of every weekend for the next 3 years your car wouldn't be anywhere near this stage of completion. Forget the money you'll spend. The reality is that your life changes over that period of time - wives/girlfriends/kids/divorce/moving, etc. Suddenly that project you started off with such high hopes ends up on eBay. Buy the car, hit the Moss Motors catalog.....stalled.....sell car. Worst part of the car - during storage a mouse ate the map pouch on the passenger side door panel. Don't run out and buy a panel set. Wait for someone to part out a car and buy it on eBay. They come up often. Some of the small dash lights that light up the gauges have burned out. All lights/wiper/heaters work. The turn signals don't work - I think it is the flasher. If you've ever wanted a really nice TR6 to drive for years to come or continue on to a true show car - this is the car. The wire wheels do not come with the car. The 4 speed transmission shifts smoothly - no grinding or popping out of gear. Reverse is the same way. It does take some effort to get it in Reverse but is getting easier every time I use it. Another sitting unused issue. I also have an increasingly rare overdrive transmission I would sell separately for the $1,000 I paid for it. Please note this car is for sale locally and I reserve the right to end the auction at any time. Good luck bidding!On Apr-22-11 at 05:25:50 PDT, seller added the following information: I noticed in the photos thaat the pics of the undercarrage/wheelwells dint turn out that well. The underside of the car/framesprings etc look better than new. If your intrested in the car I encourage you to email me for more photos. I have alot showing the tannaue cover/convert top cover and more with the car without the wire wheels. In the photos of the hardtop on the car, it looke llike its not sitting on the car. I just rested it on the car, that why theres a gap. Also, in the pic of car without the wire wheels, the door wasnt closed all the way, thats why it looks like theres a gap. I would trust driving the car anywhere, but Im going to be as honest as I can here...these cars are great for bombing around country roads etc...The 4spd transmission/engine ratios are excellent untill about 65mph. After that, the car doesnt exactly feel like its over reving, but its not exactly comfortable either..If your plannong on alot of highway driving, look for a car that has the overdrive...Its going to cost you alot more for it but it makes the car handle 70 plus mph with no problems. Im not trying to push the overdrive I have...more that from owning these cars for years, its just something youd want..I had planned on putting the one I have in my current project...then in this one untill I decided to sell it. I truely tried everything to like this car..nardi steering wheel/wire wheels etc, but I just couldnt get past the color...white...thats the reason Im selling it..whites just a boring color to me...Id thought about repainting it the saphire blue I wanted but after all the hours put into keeping it original...well that would just be a shame..Again, the wire wheels dont come with the car. Ive spent about$2000 on the new parts...plus about 6 weekends of time (removing/replacing) and waiting on the parts etc getting the car up and running...Im mentioning this because look at what I had to start with...Imagine starting a restoration from the beginning...the time and money...When I was younger, I had the time and no money...Now Im old I have the money, but dont want to waste whats left of my free time working on cars...Life...At any rate, the value of this car is not the parts, but of the time your not going to have to spend getting it to look this nice..All those years of wasted weekends, rusted bolts/cut nuckles are worth an extra thousand or two...trust me...Its less than the money youll end up losing if you end up selling that dream project two years down the line...On Apr-28-11 at 05:38:14 PDT, seller added the following information: A kind reader has informed me that some of the early transmissions require a pulling up of the gearshif lever in order to get it into reverse easier. I went out and tried it and low and behold with just a bit of upward pressure it effortlessly goes into reverse. So there is no problem with reverse. Many thanks for that tidbit of info. Im passing it along for any of you out there who may have encountered this. I have been asked alot about the reserve and what I want for the car. Id like to get 10k.. thats what Im asking locally...the reserve is $8500. If I cant get the reserve, Ill start selling off stuff like the new convert top...the hardtop etc as they are worth some money seperately. It would be nice to keep the car complete though and thats what I hope to do. Having all the little extras (the factory steel hardtop/the silver striped soft top. etc is what makes this car so unique.