Tweet
The Lobby
Enjoy the blog this week with Journey, Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin
Happy Fathers Day! Blog is a day late due to a lot of fathers day stuff yesterday. A busy Saturday. Busy week, and sadly, the passing of one of my best friends mother. The Brown brothers – all are very important to me – 2 of them were my groomsmen. Yvonne Brown was an amazing woman, leaving this world at 90. RIP Yvonne Brown. You left this earth better than you found it.
My regular chaos this week – summer time means the kids find stuff to keep them busy, including room remodels and table construction. Paint, then a new color, so 2 layers of wall paint. That was fun, but number 2 learned how to paint, and mud walls.
Whats new
Shop work has stalled so they can get caught up on the stuff that pays the bills. We are hinged on door jam and the cutting in finish, and after that, whole car in the booth, shoot, clear, and out to dry. I stopped by the shop on Saturday again – this is has been productive as the only guy there on a Saturday is the paint guy, which means, I get a more straight answer on what to expect. The cutting in and last minute body work on the car, and then the car goes in the booth. And while there, I see my trunk lids again. Now, out of the booth, dry, and with some dust on them. So, I touch the paint. Like a baby’s bottom. Religious. I giggled. Ive never run my finger down my paint and felt that. Wow.
I joined a wood turning group. So I can turn my gearshift knob. I have all my materials in for my new, unique dash. From the leftover dash top layer, 1/8th inch, I cut pieces to sandwich together to make a rectangle blank. And today at their open house, I show them the plan, all thought, very cool. Each had some suggestions. That took maybe 5 minutes, and then I say – what can I do to help? Before I knew it, I was turning chunks of wood, making I dream of Jeanie vases called “weed pots” for a giveaways. I mean, it was this – um, ok, are you sure you want to trust me with this? This crowd of experienced gents, if you catch my drift – from that generation of natural selection – less inclined to force 4 hours of safety on someone, more inclined to hit the power on that lathe, hand me a gouge and show me a few things. And by my second one, I got several thumbs up – how long have you been turning? Never. Hmm. Very well done.
What else – got some odds and ends in – the glove box strap – silver, like original, from England. My new hood release, which will be installed on the passenger side, with a straight pass to the latch, no loop. Not sure if I mentioned it, but I’ll need new tires – the fronts are cut up down to the metal wire.
Did you put gas in your car? Go do that, even if it’s a gallon.
The Wax
In my next installment of what still needs attention. Transmissions
Did I speak to whats right with this mark and gearboxes back a while back? If I did, I was running for office. Yeah, in my very personal opinion, this may be one of the biggest issues with this mark. Don’t get me wrong. My original gearbox with J overdrive is in very good order. But it took years to get it that way. Alignment pins, reinforcing fork pins, and clutch choices that seems to have no clear winner of which is better. Or good. I mean, this should be something like a vw beetle. Or a honda accord – some gearbox, clutch, pressure plate for a 200 hp car, with a nice gentle clutch pedal, and lasting 150K miles. But no, we have something that builds your left calf muscle, and might last 50K miles. That’s unfair. You might get 100K out of it. You and 5 other TR6 owners.
I’ve been around this gearbox since before high school, and I remember that original clutch being very hard to drive. A pressure point so narrow that the slightest little release, and you’re chirping tires, and dumping that rear end with those original springs, Armstrong shock oils. That nervousness at the light – horrified that you’ll get off the light without stalling. Even Ferrari F40 owners don’t have this anxiety.
Look – if you are test driving a 6, just check the normal stuff, and while leaks are fixable, don’t fixate on those with any potential car. Focus on the clutch function, and the gear noise – listen for whines on any gear. My first gear whines some – but that may be that way for another 20K miles. Or until I leave this earth – who knows. If it won’t shift, or is hard to shift, or even go into reverse, focus on the general function, but one day, this area will be improved. From design to today – with new service parts, it’s a sturdy box, just riddled with odd weak points.
In the meantime, we are improving the gearbox, with better fluids, better leak controls, and soon, better clutch solutions. And for those not interested in any of this original wizardry, there are gearbox upgrades – providing 5 speed driving, soft, simple clutch function, and lasting forever, or at least as long as your body takes in air. Imagine an aftermarket gearbox going in, and you never doing anything for the rest of your life regarding it. That’s probably what I spoke to when I was waxing on what is right with this car in that first installment.
Up next week, frame and alignment
Tech: flywheels
Aluminum head….
Throwback. Bootie’s TR3
Tech: flywheel
Throwing this out only because it came up a few times this week. We have great choices in flywheels now – and it is a general consensus that if you pull that gearbox, consider ridding the car of that flywheel. Not cause I am paid to say this by a vendor, but because but because an original flywheel may be dangerous today. Truth is – most are probably ok, but old steel has a tendency to be dangerous over time. Especially 30 pounds of it, rotating a lot, getting hot, cold, and going thru more pressure than we realize. 50 years, folks – that’s how long ago those rigs were cut up and bolted to the back of these motors. Some pulled and inspected have been found to have cracks. So, if you keep it, and might be thinking of lightening it – make sure you have someone who knows how to do it right, and make sure it’s a healthy donor.
Rather than get into this debate on which one is good, this segment is just a reminder to balance all of it. In other words, after you surface that plate, or renew it with one out of a box – balance all of it bolted together. Pressure plate and clutch, with the handy alignment tool, bolted up to that flywheel, and properly balanced by a good shop – indexed so that you can remove it, put it all in the car, and in the same order that it was balanced.
Good luck.
Hallelujah
I had an interesting week with TR6 R&D. Well, not that I was in a shop or desigining something in CAD, I surfed thru some cool stuff, some of it repeat. And then, there it was. A development project regarding an aftermarket aluminum head.
Most know of have heard of Ramin Mirshab from his EFI intake rail. This lovely modernized PI style intake system has been shared and marketed thru the US. I chatted with Ramin this week, and learned some cool things about him and this project. With access that none of us have, Ramin has now designed an aluminum head, to replace our existing cast iron versions. Think Chevy, Ford or Dodge V8, and all these popular powerplants getting love from Trickflow, Edlebrock, and other vendors. Aftermarket heads that bolt on. Better than original, but keeping the function – in our case, pushrod rockers. Think better domes, cleaner ports. Without having to port them. Bolt on. I mean, there is a great value in that from a, lets call it, first generation aftermarket head for a Triumph TR6.
Its early in the process, and with some funding, we will see a functional example. And down the road, a product on the shelf at goodparts maybe. Or Rimmer. I mean, if anyone was going to take this step, Ramin was the guy to do this. I encourage everyone to do their homework on him and his background – simply fascinating, and how involved he was with this stuff for the Detroit automakers. Cheers, Ramin. You have support all around you – and I’ll do what I can to help grow that.
Throwback. Fathers Day memory
Its fathers day, so I am going to dust off one of my favorite stories. After John D passed in 13, 6pack surrounded me and lifted me for a long time. And in the celebration of my dad, I hear from his old friends, sharing stories I had never heard before. Including the beach TR3 story from Bootie May.
My dad was complete extrovert, life of the party, very social, and very memorable. He left great memories in many people, and in his circle, was this group of friends and relatives that did everything from run moonshine to operate speakeasies in the back roads of the south. High school athlete he spent 1 year in college, before getting to work in sales. In that short period of his life, hair on fire, he spent a lot of time with man named Bootie May. I realize today that I don’t know Bootie’s last name. I don’t know that I ever did – not that I would ever need that info. I know where he is today, and if I needed him, I could find him. Bootie, in college, had a TR3, and its this car that inspired my dad to stop at that Goodyear tire store and ask Johnnie about the 72 TR6 for sale. The 72 that would become my high school and college car. I don’t have this blog or any TR6 history if it weren’t for Bootie.
I think I have a decent handle on this history, but when Bootie calls to give his condolences, we spend some time talking old stories, and he stops and says, “I’m going to tell you a story you probably don’t know about.” He was right. Dad and Bootie had loaded up that TR3 and headed to the beach for a big party – probably 3 hour drive to Nags Head, if I remember right. Cottages everywhere, and that was the normal stay for beaches back in the day – no high rise condos. Cottages full of college students, chaos that goes with it. Parties are in full swing, and they are out of mixers. Dad grabs Bootie’s keys, and leaves in the TR3 for the store. On the way back, traffic jams everywhere, Dad decides to cut thru some backyards. Somehow in this zig zag, he turns into a backyard with a pool, that he doesn’t see until its too late. Fortunately, all that goes into the pool is the front end of the car. Dad walks back, with the bags of mixers, gathers a group of strong guys, they walk back, and pull the have submerged TR3 from the pool. They let it dry for a bit, fire it, and drive it off.
To this day, a TR3 has a special memory for me. Have a great Fathers Day. I hope you have great memories of your father, and I hope it brings a smile to your face.
That’s enough for today
Thank you for caring for your Triumph TR6, and a special thanks to those considering one. Owning this car isn’t scary and you have an amazing network around to help you. Your TR6 helps people around you, without even knowing it. You bring happiness to the father and son at breakfast. Please start your car with it out of gear and foot off the clutch to save your thrust washers. Please pop your hood and have a good look around the engine bay. Please put fresh gas in your car each week, even if just 1 gallon. Please have good insurance, and review your policy regularly. And please drive your 6 defensively, as if it was a 4 wheeled Harley.
And remember. Smile when you drive, and whenever possible, take a kid driving.
See you on down the road,
L.O Guvna
You can find more of the blogs here:
and follow the local antics here in D6 https://www.facebook.com/groups/d6tr6
I am the steward of CF50460UO, born September 1975 with current paint code 19 and 11 black interior. Nicknamed “the school car”, is now over 100K in miles, in the paint shop, moving to Cayman Blue Mica 2 stage paint. I am the 3rd steward. Car was delivered with original hard top and factory overdrive. Current upgrades include Volvo overdrive gearing, Konig Rewind 16x7 rims, Falken 205s, 4Runner calipers and 7/8 rear wheel cylinders. Poolboy carbs, FlexAlite electric fan, Patton Machine Fan Eliminator, Pertronix ignitor ignition, TR5 cam, pacesetter header, 70amp Lucas direct fit alternator, Silverstar Halogen headlights, WBC blueprinted oil pump, Bastuck 9LB flywheel, Goodparts suspension on all 4 corners, Goodparts sway bar, Goodparts trailing arm brackets, Uprated Armstrong lever shocks with cycle fork oil, JVC audio with 4 speakers, high torque starter, solid state Rheostat, pending LED dash gauges. Adding Vietnam bumpers, flip up scuttle vent, hidden antenna, window tint, and several more bits
The to do list. r200B diff with goodparts cv joints and hubs, fresh head with roller rockers. At some point, a fresh motor with lightened crank, cam bearings, improved compression and roller rocker valve train. Oh, and AC.