I know that this is TR8 but it seems to have divided up a bit and I hope that no one will object to a TR6 being included.
In 1971 had a new TR6 which I thought was a nice design for a sports car and it looked the part. It was not without it’s problems though and, although it never left me stranded, the problems were unacceptable then and would be a joke today. Much of the trouble was design oriented I think, like the muffler support system (little rubber strap) that fatigued and broke in Baltimore whilst passing over the railway tracks. A temporary repair was made using some electrical wire that I had in the trunk. There were only a couple of thousand miles on the clock at this point. The rubber strap was replaced at the next dealership. I should have left the wiring on though…the replacement strap broke in a couple of thousand miles. One has to remember that the chassis, sans independent rear suspension, was dated; maybe TR2 era. Possibly a bit flexible so that IRS was not very effective.
There were other things like dated steering that was very heavy with the small steering wheel and no power assist. It felt like the front wheels were in charge sometimes. Oh yes the North American left hand drive version did not provide access for removing the cumbersome oil filter. You know the type with the bolt running up through the heavy steel replaceable container. It had to be forced by the steering shaft if you did not cut a hole in the wheel well behind the LH front wheel. I noticed at a local vintage show that most of the TR6s had replaced this style filter with an adapted normal N.American screw on style. Oil changes were dreaded. The engine was a bit of a clunk with the twin Stromberg carb’s (due to emission standards, UK versions had fuel injection). This meant that it was down 30 HP. and ran out of breath. I think the rating was a little under 100 HP. One of the engine push rod dashpots disintegrated which required a partial rebuild.
The rear suspension springs I think were challenged and did not last long before fatigue set in. This resulted in reduced ride height and the familiar cambered rear wheels. I cured this with rubber spring spacers so that it looked ok but probably was not good to do. I had an Isuzu Trooper years later with a wonderful free revving 4 cylinder OHC engine and often thought that this would have been a great motor for the Triumph with it’s 130 HP. and 5 speeds.
Oh it had to have 3 mufflers and those babies were not cheap.
In the days of the Datsun 240Z, the old Triumph was a bit anachronistic with it’s cumbersome soft top but on a nice summers day, with the top down and the engine on song (well the best it could do) and the wonderful exhaust note one could imagine that one heard the distant fading rumble of Pomp And Circumstance. Or could it be the darned exhaust hanger again. No it was Pomp alright!!! The rubber strap was replaced with my own hand crafted leather one…lasted longer…this being replaced with my original..own design…electrical wire. This lasted until I sold it but not before the heater element started to leak. I don’t know why I still remember this machine fondly, but I do. It had, in spades, the thing that modern vehicles seem to lack…character... and I do not regret owning it…it was the end of a different age. One that I frankly preferred.