Tuesday, May 21, 2013

TR-6 Restoration (#1)


My cousin has a new project: restoration of a Triumph TR-6.  He's letting me blog the highlights; the pictures are his.  This is not a documentation or authentication of the restoration.  It's just a fun tour (I hope) through a TR-6 as it rises from "scruffy, running, but not driveable" to "ready for cruise night."

There are $4200 worth of parts on an Excel spreadsheet, mostly soft parts and consumables.  But stripdown has just begun.  The primary vendors will be British Victoria, Moss Motorsports, and The Roadster Factory.  "Add labor costs, stir, and season to taste."  (His intent is to restore the car to "factory correct.")


On May 11, money and title changed hands, a couple of tires were pumped up, and it was rolled out from behind a barn
and power-washed.  Triumph built about 12,000 TR-6's in 1972 and sold them for about $3500.  (Using Pilote's 10:1
"inflationator," it would be a $35,000 car in today's money.)  The body and frame are mostly straight and rust-free.

After sitting for five years, the engine started and ran fine with no smoke.  But it will be disassembled, and the rotating
parts checked and balanced.  Valves and seats will be hardened to run on non-leaded gas.  This is a restoration rebuild,
so the camshaft, carbs, and exhaust will remain stock or very close to it.  The radiator needs to be re-cored.  The tranny
will be disassembled, cleaned, and inspected.  It probably needs an overdrive solenoid.

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