Triumph Sports Cars

I have been a member on here for a little while however haven't posted much due to not being able to work on my TR-6. Well the time has come for me to really start planning my project out and figure out what I want to do. I was hoping to get some advice from the people who have done it. I want this car to be an overall great car mostly for highly spirited driving and auto cross but occasional drag strip days.

I am starting out with a 1969 Triumph TR-6 that the original owner (father of a friend) had a 302 in it until he blew second gear out of the transmission. Since then the car has been sitting (10+ years) stripped. The car has body mods and seems to have been build fairly well by the previous owner. It has fender flares on the front and rear as well as a ford 8" or 9" rear end (unsure which).

Plans for the car include a Chevy 350 with a 383 stroker kit, Tremec TKO trans, 4 link suspension, new frame, new wiring, AC, PS, new suspension, Corbeau seats, 4 point harness, convertible top, power windows, door poppers, alarm system, and others.

I need advice on parts you recommend and any modifications you would recommend. Also does anyone have a picture of how the convertible top sits on the car when it is down? I am trying to figure out what I want to do behind the drivers seat because I'd like to put a decent stereo in there but am unsure what I have to work with because I have never seen a TR-6 with the top down. Actually I've never seen a TR-6 other than the one I own and in pictures. Currently I'm in school in Florida and the car sits in a storage unit my parents have in Oregon. I probably will not be able to do much if any of the work on this car myself and will probably have to have a custom shop take care of it. I have attached a couple pictures below. I really don't have a set budget for this car. It's a car I've loved since the first day I saw it and already know it won't be cheap.

Obviously I need a lot of dash pieces would it be best to try to find a donor car or purchase them from Victoria British or somewhere else? Also has anyone done an HID conversion on the TR-6?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2010 02:05PM by Tegguy.

Hey, I really like what I see in those photos! Especially those fender flares...

For parts, make sure to check out the vendor directory on this website (at the top of the page, in the Contacts pull-down menu.) You'll find that there are two main choices for uprated frames to put a TR6 on, and they're both outstanding. Ted at FastCars and Tony at RATCO are both very experienced with V8 conversions and with custom suspensions for TR6. Their products are pretty different from each other, because different people want different things from their cars. If I were you, I'd introduce myself to both of them pretty early on in the project and try to soak up as much advice as you can. GREAT guys! You mentioned Victoria British... I don't like to bash any vendor, but they're usually my least preferred source when I need general MGB parts. Apparently they get more parts from China than their rivals. I really like Moss Motors. Moss's website doesn't feature all the small parts and exploded-view illustrations that appear in their catalogs, so if I were you I'd make sure to request a printed catalog. I get really good customer service from Moss. If Moss doesn't have what you need, I'd try "The Roadster Factory" because they seem to put more emphasis on Triumph.

Need recommendations on a custom shop in Oregon? These folks have done some very nice V8 conversions:

(Joe doesn't currently advertise on BritishV8, but he has in the past. Please tell him I sent you.)

Thanks for the info. I have been in touch with RATCO and just sent Ted an e-mail today since it was the first time I had heard of his company. I have heard what you mentioned about victoria british before unfortunately when I was typing the first post that was the only name I could think of. I will get ahold of Moss Motors since I haven't been to their site before.

I will get ahold of the shop you posted and see what they have to offer.

Couple more questions to add the ones I previously asked.
1) Will the convertible top work with a roll bar or does it have to be modified?
2) What is the stock rim specs for the TR-6?
3) Is the wiring harness from Advanced Auto adequate for what I want to run? (Add power windows, door poppers, alarm to the list of what will be in the car)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2010 02:04PM by Tegguy.

Ted's TR6 frame is shown in great detail here: [www.britishv8.org]

Ted and Tony are both better reached by phone than by e-mail. For your wire harness question, Steve Carrick at Advance Auto-Wire will be happy to talk you through all the options he offers. He has add-on kits already developed, and I believe he can even whip something up custom if you require it.

I have attached a photo of the top in a folded position. You will see that I have given you a dimension of 14.5 inches across the middle of the top. I would not try and squeeze this any less than 14.5 inches as the top will be under tension and you might get into trouble.

Cheers

Byron

BWA Thank you for the picture. Is there anyway you could possibly include on facing the back of the car to see what is below it when it's folded? I'm trying to see if I can fit a couple speakers, sub, and an amp back there with a custom enclosure.

Curtis thank you for the link and have read through it. I honestly know nothing about frames so it's extremely hard to decide which one is best for my project. It seems that Ted's frame are geared far more towards the custom setup rather than one style. I do not know if the same holds true for RatCo or not and also I don't know how the prices compare. I might try giving Ted a call after the holiday break.

On a side note after looking through some of the photos of the meets and stuff it feels as if I might be the youngest guy(25) on here that owns a TR-6

I have a cloth top and it will roll up tighter but from what I could tell looking at your pictures you will have trouble with that roll bar.

Good point Dale I just realized that roll bar is right where the top would sit if I had one. I might have to decide which is more important the top or the bar.

It looks like a lot of the body panels and hood on that car might be fiberglass. Are the rear flares add ons to the stock fender or is it a full fiberglass fender?

The body panels that were added are fiberglass. I do not know if they were added on to the stock fender or not. I believe they were but I can find out for sure next week since I will be back in Oregon visiting family.

On second look i'm 99% sure they were molded into the original fenders but will still check. Also I will try to get more pictures while I'm there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2010 06:48PM by Tegguy.

I think you are the youngest guy because most of us couldn't have afforded this at 25!

I'm in the middle of a V8 build myself. I'm doing the wiring now and AAW can't be beat. I'm sure they would mod a harness for you.The stock rims are 5.5" X 15" with four 114.3mm holes.

Since you already have a Ford in there I would stick with a 302 (unless you meant the rarer Chevy 302). The two brands are about equal difficulty to install. The Ford is longer, lighter and narrower. The Chevy is shorter, cheaper, and has more aftermarket support. Your firewall has already been modified and the steering shaft probably is modified. If you switch to a Chevy you will have to find more room width-wise and you will probably fill in some of the firewall space to give back to the cabin. This is already going to be VERY expensive having someone else do the work.


George



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2010 01:55AM by motek.

How much difference is the fit from the Ford 302 to a Chevy? I am trying to keep the cost down as much as I can but know that it won't be cheap by any means. Luckily I found a shop that just finished up my dads 72 Camaro and they gave him a discounted labor rate becuase he's their MAC Tools guy and they said they would give me the same rate so I will be able to save a little bit there but I don't know how much.

I guess the ultimate question will be is it cheaper to get the ford motor or the chevy motor and modify the engine compartment?

Well I got quite a shock today when I added up the amount my dad put into his Camaro. It's well beyond what I am willing to put into my little triumph. Guess it time to learn how to do some of the work myself. I will probably have a lot of the body work and paint done by a shop but I will probably attempt most if not all of the rest on my own.

Good idea; that's what I did. Paint and body takes skill. Other than welding, everything else is just effort.


George

"I guess the ultimate question will be is it cheaper to get the ford motor or the chevy motor and modify the engine compartment?"

That's the least of your worries if someone else is doing the work. Trust me on this...

So I just visited my car. It seems like the fender flares are added onto the original fender but I can't tell if they are fiberglass or metal. They seem more metal to me becuase of the sound but i'm not 100% sure. I will have some pictures up in just a little bit

Here is a link to some more photos for those who are interested. I can also get some more if anyone wants specifics.

I did find a convertable top frame barried in the mess which was a good find so I can see if I can make it fit. Also one of the photos is of a spoiler I'm considering putting onto the car from what I was told it's off a Fiero.

Can anyone tell me an easy way to find out if there is an 8" or a 9" rear end under this car?

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Also I would like to try to do some work o the car and get it down to bare metal in spots while i'm home (Untill jan 5th) but the vehicle is in a storage unit. What would you recommend using to do this just so I can see what condition the body is in?

I heard aircraft stripper is good but am unsure if it will work or where to get it. I'm like to strip the hood down so I can get a good photo of it and possibly start to plan out my paint job a little bit.

The easiest way to strip it is to take it to a sand blaster that uses plastic media. I did this and it cost about $600 in eastern WA. You have to pick your battles. Manually stripping is a lot of work and it sounds like your time is limited. Given the state of the frame I guess you could make an argument that now is the time if you are worried the panels and tub are beyond repair.

I wouldn't strip at this stage though. Once it's stripped it needs to be primed. You will be putting the tub and hood on and off a bunch of times. You will also be welding on it. Why not leave it in a dirty state until you are ready for paint?


George

I want to strip it so I can see how bad the rust area is and how bad the blending is on the panels that were added I guess i'm really tired of seeing it sit like this with no change it's been there for over 3 years and sat many years before this in this state from the pervious owner.