Triumph Sports Cars

engine swaps and other performance upgrades, plus "factory" V8s (Stag and TR8)

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gergstuff
Craig Herter
Ferndale, WA
(14 posts)

Registered:
08/15/2011 07:47PM

Main British Car:
1973 TR-6 Chevy 4.3 V-6

New aquisition '73 TR-6 with 4.3 Chevy V-6
Posted by: gergstuff
Date: August 16, 2011 01:20PM

Hello,
I am new to the group, I just traded a Porsche 914 for a '73 TR-6 that has a 4.3 Chevy V-6 swap in it. It is pretty rough around the edges but it "spoke" to me as I am more of a British car afficianado than a German one. No more Porsches for me.

I was able to fix the cobbled up alternator bracket and take the car for a drive, it is wicked fast but it was getting dark and the lights aren't working so I had to call it quitrs early.

My questions revolve around getting the speedometer and tachometer to work. It would be helpful to know how fast I am going.

What have others done to match the original gauges to something other than original powertrains? Is there some sort of adapter or ? The orginal tach appears to be mechanical according to the blow up drawing I found on Moss Motors parts blow ups. Will I have to switch to an electric tach? I like the look of the original gauges.

This car has a 5 speed, assuming it was original to the 4.3 V-6. Not really 100% sure what year the powerplant is. Might be a 1995.

At this juncture I need to sort through all the wiring and get things working it was all partially re-done by a prior owner and I have a wiring diagram.

Anyone else out there with this kind of engine swap? I did a search and saw a few referecnes to it but no one that has actaully done it, or so it would seem.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Craig


BWA


(344 posts)

Registered:
04/13/2010 08:13PM

Main British Car:


Re: New aquisition '73 TR-6 with 4.3 Chevy V-6
Posted by: BWA
Date: August 16, 2011 02:41PM

Craig welcome to the forum!! V6 conversions in TR6's are not that common, I am swapping a GM 3400 V6 into my 76 TR6. The gauge issue is challenging and you do not have many options. You can change out the speedo and tach to electronic units and keep all the other guages and live with the fact that they do not match. Some guys will take the innards from a modern electronic unit and use the body and face plate from the original mechanical unit. Doing this can be tricky and time consuming, but if you can do it then you will have a complete set of guages that match.
The other option is to switch out all the guages to a set of modern guages that look retro. I plan on going with Dolphin gauges as they look fairly retro and do not cost a huge amount. Just google their website. The photo I have posted was sent to me from a guy that lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada that has become a dealer for Dolphin. This guy is converting TR6's to GM 60 degree V6 (yours is a 90 degree V6) for customers and is using Dolphin gauges.
TR6 dash-Dolphin Guages.JPG
You have some options to consider so have fun!
Cheers
Byron


gergstuff
Craig Herter
Ferndale, WA
(14 posts)

Registered:
08/15/2011 07:47PM

Main British Car:
1973 TR-6 Chevy 4.3 V-6

Re: New aquisition '73 TR-6 with 4.3 Chevy V-6
Posted by: gergstuff
Date: August 16, 2011 03:26PM

Thanks Byron,

I had seen your other posts about your pending swap so sounds like you may be a good guy to keep in touch with.

Where are you located? I am in the nw corner of Washington State.

I will try to stick with the original gauges that, I like the look of them.

I think the previous owners of this car had given up becuase of all these issues. I like a challenge!

Craig


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: New aquisition '73 TR-6 with 4.3 Chevy V-6
Posted by: rficalora
Date: August 17, 2011 09:14PM

Can't help you with the mechanical gauges but depending on the condition of the wiring you might be better off replacing. Check out advanced auto wire for their triumph harness. If you have a bunch of add on's like alarms, power windows, electric fan, etc, you might also check out the hot rod harnesses like the ones from Painless Performance, Ron Francis, EZ Wiring and the like. 2-3 weeks completely rewiring can give you years of peace of mind!


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