Would getting a TR6 be a terrible idea?

[Macleesh]

Afternoon fellow RR readers. I've been very fortunate that both myself and my Wife have been in work as normal over the recent unpleasantness. Refunds from a couple of cancelled holidays, lower discretionary outgoings due to not being able to go anywhere and a Daughter through Uni and now financially independent saw me looking around for somewhere to invest some spare cash, low interest rates gave me the answer quickly that savings accounts are a waste of time and my thoughts turned to blowing it on something fun. I'm a Triumph man for my sins, I have a Dolomite in bits, plans are already forming up to restore it but they are probably 2 Years away yet, so my thoughts turned to TR6s Always liked them, had a fantastic ride in one as a Kid, never driven one though. I'm thinking last of the hairy chested Sports cars,  a bit agricultural but can go well if properly sorted?

 Casually mentioned this to my Wife who embraced the plan instantly so, subject to clearing space in the garage there's nothing to stop me other than you lot 

Not really looking for comments about them being rust buckets and details of their many mechanical quirks, 5 minutes on Google tells me most of what I need to know. More interested on views from anyone who's owned or driven one and views on better contemporary alternatives.

Thanks

Sean

[colnerov]

HI, Yes, do it. There may not be a better time to pick one up from someone who is a bit more cash strapped than you and looking to release some capital. I can't speak to driving them but you're halfway there because of your rose tinted glasses for the marque and senior management approval.

Good luck.

Colin

[ferny]

I've done plenty if miles in one but can't say I'm a huge fan. The driving position isn't something I like, so I'd recommend trying one for size.

As to keeping them. There's loads of rubbish out there about unreliability but to be honest, it's normally due to a mixture of them not being used enough and people who don't know what they're doing fiddling when they shouldn't!

[Mercdan68]

Buy one ..asap!

[ChasR]

I echo ferny's comments.

One thing many things on Google won't touch on are

-Parts quality. Most are junk now, as you may know from your Dolomite. I've seen new rubber bushes have more play than what came off as well as them simply not lasting. SuperFlex would be my only choice now on bushes TBH.
-Seating position (as said).
-Driveshafts. Most driveshafts are are old and the original rebuilt 'shafts will all have shot splines which will all partially bind, even with them being regreased ; Chris Witor himself will say most splines are shot now as the parts are now old. Your only real choices are the Datsun 180B shafts, but these are now getting rare and expensive. Other choices include the Rislan coated shafts from Tony Hart (I think he does them for TR6s) or a CV conversion, where almost everyone I know with them has been happy. A chap Shipston-On-Stour does these.
-The PI system isn't anywhere near as bad as people make out. However, there are a few cowboys claiming to refurb these, who will happily take your cash. From personal experience, the only people I'd trust to rebuild a PI setup would be Prestige; I saw someone being taken for alot of cash on the metering head and pump from a known Triumph specialist. A Bosch pump isn't a bad idea, but the factory pump from Prestige can be fine.

An alternative would be a Triumph Stag. They drive alot more modern but still have that classic feeling. The engine woes are not as bad as people say. I had nothing go wrong with my Stag engine over the 4 years I owned it and put on around 15-20k miles as well in that time, if not more.

However, parts quality can affect them as well but there are good solutions out there. Water pumps for example are now hard to find with a decent hardness bar getting a factory refurbished pump, as well as the ceramic seal issue ; That's a Dolomite issue as well. But Steve Bell does the Capri pump conversion, and the Davis Craig EWP pumps work well when done right. Wards now use the EWP on all of their engine rebuilds for this reason.

I do miss mine a little to be honest! Buy a good one however. My engine was fine, but almost everything else consumed cash. Paintwork, trim, wheels, suspension, brakes etc.