Classic Car Weekly (UK)

NEW SERIES

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FIT A STAINLESS EXHAUST £1000

Most of Jane’s exhaust system was fitted from off-the-shelf parts. The tubular manifold and Phoenix pipes are regular stainless steel parts, which are readily available. The distinctiv­e four-pipe outlet, meanwhile, was picked up at the Beaulieu Autojumble.

UPGRADE THE WHEELS £300

Jane’s GT6 came with 14-inch Minilite replicas, but she switched to genuine 13-inch Minilites when a half-shaft broke. They look better, put less stress on the wheel bearings and fit under the wheelarche­s with the suspension modificati­ons.

FIT THE RIGHT SEATS £1000

When acquired, the GT6 was fitted with very tired Spitfire seats, which didn’t offer enough support. The solution was to source the correct GT6 seats, which were designed specifical­ly for the GT6’s floorpan. Jane says: ‘ The original seats should be really comfy; if not, they probably need to be overhauled.’

FIT SAFER SUSPENSION £400

With shorter, stiffer springs up front and a rear swing spring conversion to prevent tuck under, longer half-shafts need to be fitted. This helps the handling no end, but it also limits which aftermarke­t wheels can be fitted, because of wheelarch clearance issues.

PREVENT BRAKE FADE £700

The GT6 MkI has solid discs up front and drums at the rear, with no servo. The system works okay, but the brakes can fade with hard use, so Jane has fitted Wilwood Powerlite fourpot calipers, vented discs, braided hoses and a servo.

IMPROVE STARTING £150

The original Lucas starter motor takes a lot of current to turn over the Triumph sixcylinde­r engine. It also sits very close to the exhaust if you’ve got a tubular manifold fitted. The preferred fix is to fit a modern high-torque motor, which takes less current and being shorter, sits further away from the manifold.

INSTALL OVERDRIVE £500

Jane’s GT6 has a standard four-speed manual overdrive gearbox. One of these Laycock D-Type units is essential if you do many miles. This GT6 also has a Spitfire 1500 3.63:1 diff in place of the usual 3.89:1, unit for more relaxed cruising.

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