BUYER'S BRIEF
How to buy one of the greatest British roadsters of all time…
Square-jawed profile ushered the TR range into the Seventies.
TR6 values may have plateaued, but they’re still quite high. As a result, you’ll be doing well to find anything decent for less than £15,000, while superb cars can command circa £22,500. TR6s with overdrive and a factory hardtop sell for a premium, with the best now as much as £26,000. All of these prices are for genuine righthand-drive cars; knock off around 15 per cent for US cars converted to right-hand drive. TR6s still to Federal spec are typically worth around 25 per cent less than an equivalent RHD examples.
Why you want one
Muscular styling, six cylinders, an indiscreet exhaust note and enough torque to make gear changing optional? That’s the TR6. It’s one of the true greats. Launched in 1969 as a re-skinned TR5, this was the last proper TR in the eyes of many and one of the last of the old-school British sportsters, too. It’s also technically intriguing because it was one of the first mass-produced cars to be offered with fuel injection. While the Lucas system would go on to gain the Triumph a reputation for being highly strung, it’s now easy to overcome any faults that the design originally highlighted. Supported by an army of specialists and catered for by numerous clubs, the TR6 is also an ideal way to enjoy many events throughout the year.
With alternatives such as the TR5 and big ’Healey now priced out of reach of most, it’s the TR6 that offers the most affordable traditional British sports car thrills – unless you move down the ladder several rungs and buy something with just four cylinders. A well-sorted TR6 is unlikely to ever be worth less than what you paid for it, which is a bonus.
BODYWORK Corrosion can be found where panels meet here, with bodyshell flex causing trouble in seams in the rear deck.
The inspection
The TR6’s bodyshell can rust badly, so you need to scrutinise the whole structure and all panels. Starting at the front, the wings can corrode along the top and around the headlamps but you need to lift the bonnet to see the true extent of any potential rot. The base of each B-post can rot where it meets the sill; the seatbelt mounting points’ proximity means that this is an automatic MOT failure. The doors rust along their base, as well as along the top edge, near the rubber weather seal. Also, check the sills and floorpan, which can both rust badly. Rot is also common in the rear deck; several panels meet here, and the multiple seams don’t help because the bodyshell flexes. The rear wings corrode around the wheelarch lips and aft of the rear wheels, while the spare wheel well is as rot prone as the base of each rear wing.
The TR6 has a separate chassis, so spotting poorly repaired accident damage is easy. Chassis corrosion is also common; check the area just ahead of the rear wheels where the chassis members meet between a pair of bracing plates.
These can rot so the trailing arm mountings are weakened. If there’s evidence of repairs here, check if the body has been removed for proper restoration. A seriously corrosion-weakened TR6 chassis will bend in the middle, so look for door gaps that open at the top. The only proper fix is chassis replacement or a body-off rebuild.
ENGINE Don’t worry about oil leaks or let rattles at start up put you off – these engines are tough.
Under the bonnet, the TR6’s straight-six will easily cover 120,000 miles with regular oil changes and proper servicing. Check for play in the crankshaft thrust washers by pushing and pulling on the bottom pulley. This is made easier by depressing and releasing the clutch – any detectable movement means that the thrust washers may have dropped out, which could scrap the engine. If the thrust washers are still in place, it’s possible to replace them with oversized ones, without having to remove the engine first. This engine is also famed for its oil leaks and rattles at start up. But these characteristics can be engineered out easily and cheaply. All parts are readily available and it’s an easy engine to re-build.
Black exhaust smoke under load suggests that the fuel injection metering is running rich, with attendant steep fuel bills and premature bore wear. Other well-known injection problems involve difficult hot starting, fuel vaporisation and misfiring on startup – all easily fixed by yourself with ease or at little expense with a specialist. Parts are readily available either on an exchange basis or outright, too.
All TR6s came with a four-speed manual gearbox… which isn’t always strong enough if the car has been driven hard on a regular basis. Worn layshaft bearings create a rumbling noise in the intermediate gears that disappears in top. It can also be identified when the car is stationary with the engine running by a hissing noise that disappears when the clutch is engaged. The cure is a gearbox rebuild. Overdrive faults are often down to easily fixed wiring problems. Look out for things like broken wires, dodgy relays or loose Lucas electrical connections. But it could be because the overdrive unit’s filter is clogged inside, or the solenoid has packed in.
CABIN Electrical system is pure Lucas, so many parts are common to other cars of the time.
The TR6’s interior trim is straightforward, with everything available to buy new if required. Seams can give way in the seat trims and there’s a good chance that there’ll be a tear or two in either the seat covers or door panels. If you need to replace the former, they’re available from £350 per pair while a trim panel set costs from £300. The whole electrical system is Lucas, which means that many components are common to other cars of the period. It also means that they’re all available, which is just as well, as looms and connectors will potentially be giving problems by now. Sometimes only cleaning is required, but most parts are still available to buy new.
Updating your TR6 has never been easier. Many owners opt to replace the Kenlowe fan that was a popular upgrade in the Nineties with a Revotec unit that sits behind the radiator, rather than in front of it. This has a much stronger mounting and has proved to be more reliable and efficient. Fitting drilled and grooved discs and four-pot calipers with uprated pads gives the pedal a much firmer feel and there’s less travel, too. Classic Driving Developments’s PAS kit includes a replacement steering rack and an extra pulley, which mounts onto the crankshaft pulley to drive the pump. It’s a pain to fit, but works brilliantly. The fuel system must be in good condition to get decent economy, so we suggest that you check and, if needed, replace the linkages, injectors, metering unit, fuel tank and fuel pressure regulator. You can also replace the Lucas petrol pump – which is prone to overheating – with a Bosch one. The original lever arm dampers are notorious for wearing. The key is to replace them with adjustable telescopic dampers. While you’re at it consider fitting adjustable front dampers.
Angular ‘Kammback’ certainly cuts a dash.
WHAT TO PAY
PROJECT £7000-£12,000
GOOD £13,000-£18,000
EXCELLENT £18,000-£26,000
TECH SPEC
ENGINE 2498CC/6-CYL/OHV
POWER 150BHP@5500RPM
TORQUE 164LB FT@3500RPM
GEARBOX 4-SPEED MANUAL + O/D
TOP SPEED 119MPH
0-60MPH 8.2SEC
ECONOMY 21-28MPG
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO OWN
Matt George on what it’s like to live with a TR6…
Always guaranteed to put a great big smile on our Matt’s face!.
My dad has owned TRs since before I was born, while I’m now on my second TR6, having bought my first one in 2010. So, although I might be biased, believe me when I say that if you’re looking for that classic British roadster experience, you won’t go far wrong with one of these.
I’ve been all around Europe in mine and, thanks to that combo of torquey straightsix engine and overdrive gearbox, the ‘6 is equally at home cruising down the peage or autoroute as it is when being hustled up and over a mountain pass.
While values have slowly risen over the past decade, the TR6 is still attainable, too. UK-spec cars with Lucas fuel injection will always hold a decent premium over US-spec versions running on carburettors, but the latter can also make a lot of sense if you’re on a tighter budget and are in a position to take on a project. I did the same back in 2017, buying a cheap ex-US example and slowly restoring it over two years, which spread the costs out and meant I could get back into a TR6 that way, whereas I would have struggled to get the money together in one go for a UK car that was ready to rock and roll immediately.
Club and specialist support is excellent, while most parts are relatively inexpensive and widely available, too. So, what are you waiting for!
USEFUL CONTACTS
TR Register, tr-register.co.uk
Triumph Sports Six Club, tssc.org.uk
Club Triumph, Club.triumph.org.uk
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