bash
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It has been a while since I have been on the forum, but wondered if anyone could offer some advice. Some friends and I are thinking of racing in the 24 hours of Lemons, and as the owner of a TR6 and a Stag, I would prefer to go with as Triumph. For anyone not familiar, Lemons racing involves endurance racing (usually 8 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday) of cheaply bought cars - $500 limit to buy and prepare the car (though safety items don't count in that total).
A chap nearby has a 1965 Herald project for sale. I don't really imagine that anyone is going to buy it to restore, so I figure the three paths for the car are rusting to nothing, breaking for spares or we take it racing. We would need to weld in new floor panels, add a roll cage and fuel cell. The seller has another Herald that he is working on, and he would keep the chrome, badges and glass - we would remove the interior and any other parts we don't need and offer them for spares if anyone needs them.
From what I know, the Lemons races tend to be friendly, so hopefully the car won't be wrecked, but it would probably never go back on the road. I think it would be good to get the car out where it will be seen by some enthusiastic younger car people. We would need to come up with a Triumph-related team name and theme (all ideas welcome!)
I doubt that the 1147cc engine would set any lap records, but I had a friend in high school with a 1965 Herald, and that was a pretty quick along the country lanes. My plan would be to upgrade the car over several years, starting with the brakes. I guess that is where I hope someone can advise me here - I know that the Herald, Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 are closely related, but how close? Would brakes from a GT6 fit the Herald? Could I take the engine, gearbox and diff from a Spitfire and put it into the Herald, presumably with the original prop shaft? I am not sure how much of an issue the rear wheel tuck-under is but would guess it is an issue when cornering hard - are there simple fixes we could employ to avoid it? Oddly, google has not really yielded any useful information on this! Parts supply would obviously be better over here if I could use the parts from the more common cars.
I would be interested in any other thoughts or comments - or if anyone in South East Texas has a Triumph for sale under $500 let me know!
Thanks in advance
Alistair
A chap nearby has a 1965 Herald project for sale. I don't really imagine that anyone is going to buy it to restore, so I figure the three paths for the car are rusting to nothing, breaking for spares or we take it racing. We would need to weld in new floor panels, add a roll cage and fuel cell. The seller has another Herald that he is working on, and he would keep the chrome, badges and glass - we would remove the interior and any other parts we don't need and offer them for spares if anyone needs them.
From what I know, the Lemons races tend to be friendly, so hopefully the car won't be wrecked, but it would probably never go back on the road. I think it would be good to get the car out where it will be seen by some enthusiastic younger car people. We would need to come up with a Triumph-related team name and theme (all ideas welcome!)
I doubt that the 1147cc engine would set any lap records, but I had a friend in high school with a 1965 Herald, and that was a pretty quick along the country lanes. My plan would be to upgrade the car over several years, starting with the brakes. I guess that is where I hope someone can advise me here - I know that the Herald, Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 are closely related, but how close? Would brakes from a GT6 fit the Herald? Could I take the engine, gearbox and diff from a Spitfire and put it into the Herald, presumably with the original prop shaft? I am not sure how much of an issue the rear wheel tuck-under is but would guess it is an issue when cornering hard - are there simple fixes we could employ to avoid it? Oddly, google has not really yielded any useful information on this! Parts supply would obviously be better over here if I could use the parts from the more common cars.
I would be interested in any other thoughts or comments - or if anyone in South East Texas has a Triumph for sale under $500 let me know!
Thanks in advance
Alistair