1972 Triumph GT6 MKIII £22,500
It’s recently restored and almost like new, which explains why the asking price is on the verge of TR6 money, says Paul Hardiman
This early MKIII has had a full body-off-chassis restoration, completed less than a year ago. Originally in Saffron Yellow according to its recently issued Heritage Certificate, it had received new floors in 2008, and later a secondhand door, so was in pretty good shape. It just needed repairs to the front bonnet rail, headlight supports and sill front closing panels, plus new rear wheel tubs.
The chassis didn’t require any welding, so it was left alone, but new Rotoflex couplings, trunnions, dampers and brake pipes (fixed and flexible) were added. The bodyshell was painted before being reunited with the chassis, then the car was built up using lots of new trim parts. Minilite-type wheels finish it off, though the Landsail tyres were re-used because they had practically no wear, having been fitted in 2014.
The motor was rebuilt with new pistons and timing chain, plus there’s a £300 bill from Andrew Turner for rebuilding the carburettors and another from Burlen for £110 for the parts. There are lots of other new parts such as fuel pump, heater valve and temperature sender, and it wears Accuspark electronic ignition. The coolant is nice and pink and the oil is clean.
Bills from 2017 include £1200 for engine parts from TRGB, £740 for panels, £550 labour for the engine build, plus £600 from Hardy Engineering to rebuild the gearbox and differential.
Most of the interior is new repro too – seats, door cards, carpets and headlining, the latter slightly wrinkled at the edges. The dash timber is basically good, though with a few bubbles and scratches around the hazard flasher switch, and the wood-rim steering wheel is new.
The result is almost like a new GT6, with excellent door fits and very good panel gaps elsewhere, plus spotweld dimples still unusually well defined on the scuttle. The rear bumper has been rechromed while the front one looks like a new repro, and the trim strips are new. Only the filler cap shows blemishes – it’s slightly pitted.
The engine starts instantly, sounding larger and more powerful than it is through the stainless exhaust, and the car drives as you imagine a new one would – taut, with well controlled ride, and play-free steering. Gearchanges are slick with good synchromesh and the brakes are firm, pulling up straight. There’s no overdrive but it feels fairly tall-geared, so it’s not too buzzy. Temperature sat just over halfway, climbing a little at idle but soon dropping back on the move. The speedo didn’t work but the odometer was still counting at 86,631 miles when we left it.
Sold with an extensive photo record, period brochure, a sheaf of bills, spare key and MOT until November, plus the original (refinished) wheels, it looks all the money for a GT6. But the restoration will have cost more than the asking price, so in that respect it’s excellent value.