TR6 Shooting Brake
Owned for thirty years, this TR6 wasn’t just restored – it was beautifully transformed into a unique shooting brake by its faithful owner.
A spectacular home-brewed one-off, but done so well it could have come out of the factory.
Unique is an overworked adjective but unquestionably applies to Bernd Amling’s beautiful TR6 shooting brake. The recipe for this distinctive conversion sounds simple. Take one well-used TR6 and an old hardtop, then contemplate possibilities, accompanied by a few good friends around the campfire of a balmy summer’s evening. Allow creative instincts to have free rein.
Bernd explains: “I'd restored two Triumph convertibles already and didn’t need another. This time I decided to build a TR with a roof and enough luggage space for comfortable international touring with my wife.” With a little help from his friends at the TR IG Südwest club in Germany, the shooting brake concept was born, based on his tired TR6, owned since his student days in 1983. All mechanical components needed attention, the body was rotten and the chassis had been subjected to ‘budget repairs’ earlier in its life. This TR was ripe for total restoration.
The shooting brake 'look' was tested first with a computer animation; next an old hardtop was placed on the boot of the TR, behind the hood. First impressions were so good the project had to proceed. Finding the hard top
had been easy, taking just a few weeks on the internet but Bernd remembers, “the 200km drive home on Sunday morning with the hardtop strapped to my wife’s everyday car was certainly an interesting experience”.
Raising the roof
He continues: “The hardest part was to find out how the roof could be made, particularly the opening tailgate. There was a lot of welding and cutting and changing of angles before it was right.” In fact, the new top was made by cutting the front roof section from the hardtop and attaching it to the top of the windscreen frame, with the rear window section from the hard top fixed to the rear of the former boot opening. Of course, this left a large gap in the middle. Next, the rear deck between cockpit and boot was cut away, but not before extensive bracing bars had been welded to the body. To complete the roof, a new panel was formed – matching the contours of the Triumph hardtop – and welded in place with all-important stiffening strips.
Tailgate and tank
If the roof was complex, fabrication of the tailgate was more so. The outline of the hardtop rear window aperture was cut away and the rearmost few inches of the boot lid welded to its lower edge. A rigid frame was made around the window opening, hinge mountings were added to hatch frame and
roof, and a hatch opening in the body was formed with extensive stiffening plates. Finishing touches to the tailgate are a gas strut to lift and hold the open hatch, and ingenious use of the original boot latch to close the hatch. Words cannot do justice to the intricate sculpture of sheet steel required; Bernd’s photos taken during the build tell more of the story.
Next came the fuel tank. Originally, the TR6 tank sat beneath the rear deck, separating cockpit from boot – clearly a major obstruction to the long load bay of the shooting brake. A bespoke, rectangular box-shaped tank was made from alloy to fit in the old spare wheel well, below the load bay floor. A fuel filler has been cut into the driver’s side rear wing and incorporates the flap and filler from a BMW found in a scrap yard. Needless to say, the job is so perfectly executed as to look factory-made. Asked about the lack of spare wheel Bernd replies: “Now I always carry a can of aerosol tyre repair, which should work short term with tubeless tyres, but prevents the use of wire wheels.”
While top class craftsmanship continued at the bodyshop, Bernd and his friend Alex had been no less busy back home in the Amling garage. He already had a spare chassis in good condition. This was cleaned, a few minor repairs made, then painted black. Suspension, brakes and rear axle assembly were fitted but engine and gearbox were sent to specialist, Racing Green De for rebuild. Several upgrades were added as the rolling chassis took shape, including Koni adjustable telescopic dampers all round and CV-jointed driveshafts for the rear. The engine is an ex-Triumph 2500 saloon unit, uprated with sports cam, roller rockers and triple
The first impression on getting in is the space and airiness of the extended cabin
Weber DCOE carbs, so the shooting brake goes as well as it looks.
Vital strength
Bernd makes an important point: “Throughout fabrication, the bodyshell remained attached to the original chassis, reducing the risk of distortion. The completed shell was finally separated from the seriously corroded chassis and painted, using a modern VW light blue two-pack." With body returned home from the paintshop, Bernd recalls the biggest moment of the project: “For me, the marriage of the body to the restored rolling chassis was the high point, the stage at which the shooting brake really took shape.” The moment called for champagne, though understandably the bottle was not broken over the bows, shipyard fashion!
Fitting out of electrics, interior and body progressed similarly to any other TR6 rebuild, though it must be said the standard of finish on the shooting brake is exceptional. The interior, with wooden dash, brown leather upholstery and custom-fitted carpets is more than comfortable, pampering the fortunate occupants. The finishing line of Bernd’s remarkable project came into sight, with completion accomplished in the spring of 2013, just over three years after starting. After a few local test runs, and tuning the Webers, August saw Bernd set off for the TR Register International Weekend at Malvern, an inaugural trip of 1500 miles from his home in Germany. He says of the trip: “The car ran very well, and got so much appreciation from everyone at the show.”
On the road
The first impression on getting into the shooting brake is the space and airiness of the extended cabin. Fire up the engine and the characteristic gurgle of Weber carbs combines with a straight-through exhaust note, immediately conveying that there’s plenty of power on tap. Moving off, acceleration through the gears is brisk, as expected of a well fettled TR6. But it’s the sheer solidity of the body that impresses most. Extra rigidity from the fixed roof, no doubt coupled with the attention that’s been given to bracing the structure, means there’s no trace of the scuttle shake felt in even the best TR convertibles. The Koni dampers give a well controlled, yet very compliant ride, aided by the CV-jointed driveshafts and standard profile 185 section tyres. A regular TR6 is already a highly capable long distance sports car; the shooting brake eats up the miles with even more aplomb.