Triumph GT6 Resto
A quarter of a century after spotting one, John Heath took the plunge. Was it worth it?
The unrestorable – restored. GT6 now as good as new.
Bloomin’ classic car magazines have a lot to answer for: ‘My desire for a GT6 started the moment I saw one featured in Practical
Classics back in the Eighties,’ admits John Heath. ‘It was to remain at the back of my mind for the next 21 years.’ He finally took the plunge in June 2009 when he saw a 1971 MKIII up on ebay, which he secured with a winning bid of £700. It was advertised as having had a new driver’s side floorpan, inner and outer sill fitted, as well as having a new walnut dashboard and a spare engine. ‘The car was in Wales so I hired a trailer and headed off with my dad, Ernie. The owner and his own dad met me in the hills above Pontypridd, with a shovel!’ The car had
resided there untouched for a while and extricating it from the lock-up proved to be tricky, as the weeds had grown up the doors. ‘After a bit of a dig, my dream car was revealed. Well, my heart sank as reality set in; what a mess. Never mind I thought, I’ve got what I wanted, something with no secrets. I didn’t want to pay for a pretty car, only to find years of bodges and filler under a recent respray.’ On the journey home Ernie suggested he just sell it on, but after a long and tiring day John decided to leave any decision until the morning.
Cold light of day
It’s amazing what difference a good night’s sleep and a cup of tea can make. ‘When I got started I was soon in my element.’ He reckons that just about every body panel that’s available was needed. ‘I had wanted to chemically strip the body tub but it was far too fragile so I left it in situ, completing all the metalwork using the chassis as a jig.’
John is particularly proud of the front roof area, as no repair sections are available and he had to improvise; making up three smaller ones, shaping them and working slowly along to avoid distortion.
It took roughly a year, working only on Saturdays, to complete. After which he couldn’t resist painting the bonnet. ‘I wanted to see what the finished job would look like, but it was a bit foolish,’ he recalls. ‘I then had to store it in the already small workshop, and tiptoe round it for the remainder of the project.’
Once finished it was unbolted from the chassis and sent to Chisbon Restorations, to have any metal bits he hadn’t already replaced sandblasted. John then got on with the chassis and mechanical parts.
‘The chassis needed lots of welding. It then followed the body to Chisbon for sandblasting and coating in epoxy primer, before I painted it in my dad’s garden.’ John completed all of the more manageable suspension and steering components at home, converting the workshop using polythene sheets and halogen spotlights. ‘I had all the gear and blasted away,’ he says. ‘Oh, the noise and the grit. What a mess. Six years later there’s still some in the garage – never again.’
Upon return the body was mounted on a rollover jig and primed, then the underside sprayed in white – replacing the original Saffron Yellow – before being set aside on a homemade trolley. Now the rebuild could commence properly, and John began putting it back together from the ground up. ‘Endless parts were ordered as, and when, money permitted; to replace the original worn engine – the spare turned out to be an earlier unit, I still have it if anyone’s interested – I bought a freshly rebuilt one on ebay for £750. It had been rebored, had new pistons and valves but required a camshaft and assembly. The carburettors were rebuilt by Turner Carburettors and a few little general upgrades arrived, too.’ Once the rolling chassis had been built up he turned his attention back to the body.
A galvanised camping trailer was converted into a flatbed in order to accommodate it and, with the invaluable help of ‘macho’ Hungarian strongman friend Dusan, lifted and secured onto it. ‘I’m lucky to have all the facilities I need at work, so transported and painted it in Two-pack there. Once I got the body back on the chassis, and fitted the bonnet, I finally started to believe that I was going to finish the restoration.’
The final furlong
The wiring proved tricky. The loom was sound, but the colours had faded and a MKIII wiring diagram didn’t seem to equate to John’s car. ‘Yellow wires had faded to white, while a MKII loom had been fitted for the overdrive; it took me quite a while – on my hands and knees – to work that lot out.’
With no valve timing marks on the fresh engine he had to do some research, then buy a dial gauge and learn how to use it. ‘It was quite fiddly but I got there in the end. And with the loom and lights in and working it finally felt alive, especially after a trial start up; this was the first time I’d heard my Triumph GT6, as it’d always been a non-runner since I’d had it.’
By May 2015, it was time for the final fit out. John tackled the interior, something that took him out of his comfort zone. ‘I ordered foam, seat trim kits and a carpet set from Newton Commercial. My skills weren’t fantastic, it was daunting putting hob rings and things I’d never heard of in, but I got there.’
Cool runnings
There were a few mishaps before the car was up and running, including poking a hole in the radiator when fitting an electric fan. Recored, he found it ran warm anyway and had to refit the original enginedriven unit. The differential also whined terribly. ‘I’d taken a chance not having it rebuilt,’ admits John. ‘But funds were tight and the main objective was to get the car running; still when it came time to first remove, and after a rebuild refit, it, I cursed myself as it’s a real pain of a job.’ Finally, the smell of fuel in the workshop turned out to be a leaking petrol tank; in September with a new bottom soldered on, it was ready for an MOT and it passed first time.
‘I came straight back and took the missus Sharon out for a drive, promptly conking out up the road. It was my own fault though as the low tension wire was bare and had earthed out, but a bit of insulating tape and we were away.’
John’s spent the past year or so fettling the car and enjoying trips to TSSC events and the odd local classic car show. ‘I always knew about the Spitfire, but not the GT6. I’m a sucker for that fastback shape, so all those years ago I wanted one as soon as I saw it. When I finally did get it, as an old Triumph I knew it was going to be bad but it was that old cliché… I wanted something to prove myself on.’