OUR CLASSICS
David’s father wants a TR6 – so his pride and joy bravely tests one for him…
David's dad gets a go in a TR6, Calum's Landie's on fifire and Murray's MX-5 isn't.
TEST MILEAGE 155
TOTAL MILEAGE 94,326
LATEST COSTS One potential TR6 purchase
THANKS TO Motorhub, Keighley, 01535 288640; Classics Central, Nottingham, 0115 975 4030
For the last few weeks there’s been this infernal racket I’ve been trying to deal with. It started as a dull drone but it’s gradually been getting louder, and despite asking my CCW chums for help, it won’t go away. It’s been something I’ve heard most weekends since before Christmas; the sound of my dad telling me how much he’d like to have a Triumph TR6. Every conversation about the MGB GT or Range Rover gets diverted onto the ones he’s spotted in
CCW’s classifieds and – as someone who’s prepared to do the miles to get the his dream classic car – he’s been clogging up my email inbox with cheap left-hookers he’s spotted on Dutch websites.
But here’s the rub: despite clearly thinking Canley’s six-pot sports car is the best thing since Warburtons set up a bread shop, he’s never actually driven one. The least I could do to thank him for all those MGB repairs is to let him know what he’s in for.
The auction house Classics Central came to the rescue, pointing me in the direction of this 1974 car. It’s selling it at its Bedford sale on 28 February, and. A quick blast up to Yorkshire later and Keighleybased dealer Motorhub, which currently owns the car, fired up the 2.5-litre straight-six, opened the nearside door and told me to enjoy it.
All I had to do was get it over the Pennines for my dad’s perusal the following morning – but no rush. TR6s are big fun and on the B-roads criss-crossing the bit where North Yorkshire and Lancashire meet, its sharp steering and that lovely, guttural exhaust note had me hooked. Even when the narrow, twisty stuff ended and the Triumph’s bluff nose got pointed onto the M65 it proved more than up to the task – even though this US-spec car won’t have had the full 150bhp the car in our big Christmas test did ( CCW, 16 December 2015) it felt it had usefully more in
reserve at 70mph than my ‘B does.
It also has something else in spades; the ability to hook other motorists’ attention. From the moment I got a ‘nice car, mate’ while filling up in Yorkshire to the Lexus-load of children giving it the thumbs up on the motorway, everywhere I took this Mimosa Yellow slab of sports car it picked up curious glances and misty-eyed bypassers who remembered them when they were new. The wider motoring masses obviously agree with what we always knew – the TR6 is a fine looking bit of kit!
If only it hadn’t been so attention-grabbing on the two occasions it rather publicly cut out – including in the middle of Southport’s promenade, on the sort of busy night where every other car is a Peugeot 206. I put it down to the damp weather, but another dab on the starter button got the Triumph on song again. It also appeared to be wearing Eau de Petrol as its preferred fragrance thoughout the weekend, so check if you’re thinking of buying.
I liked BSS 245M a lot – particularly once the weather finally started cooperating and I finally got a chance to get it al fresco – but it’s not me who’s thinking of buying one. Dad’s verdict didn’t take long to arrive; he loved the power and the noise, but the first thing he’d do with this one is get it converted to right-hand drive, and he looked a bit surprised to see three Weber carburettors staring at him when he lifted the bonnet. For him it’s got to be a right-hooker with the fuel injection system offered on the Blighty-spec TR6s – and they go for rather more now than the £10.5-12.5k guide price Classics Central is putting on this one.
So I suspect the sound of my dad going on about TR6s is going to continue for a while yet. At least until it’s replaced by the sound of a newly purchased one firing up in the Simister garage sometime soon!