What have you done to your TR to improve it

I'm always intersted what other enthousiasts have done to their TR's to improve it's , performance, reliability & creature comforts. This shared info could make everyone enjoy their cars a little more & maybe inspire some new projects.
I know Triumphs are as close to perfection as one could wish for but there is always room for improvement /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Great topic!

So far I have owned my car for close to 1 year. In this time I have managed to get the car to run well and squeezed in a few improvements along the way. I still need to do a complete restoration, but that will have to wait until I have more room.

My upgrades are:

- Electric Cooling Fan
- Crane XR3000 Pickup
- Crane PS91 Coil
- Crane HI-6R with Timing Retard
- MAP sensor for boost proportional retard
- Uprated bushings on the rear trailing arms
- Additional support to the Differential mounting brackets

In progress:

- Supercharger (waiting for carb)
- Uprated suspension componets in the front

Thanks,

Adam
73 TR6

1972 Triumph TR6

Mods already completed:
- Removed F/R suspension, sandblasted and repainted, replaced bushings with Goodparts Nylatron bushings, adjustable trailing arm brackets, competition springs and Koni shocks
- Rebuilt brake calipers and replaced rotors, rebuilt rear drum brake components
- Replaced worn out painted wire wheels and scary redlines with Dayton chrome wheels/stainless spokes and Yoki Avid tires (Does anyone want my old wheels and tires? The tires are in good shape, but I don't want to throw them away)
- Pertronix electronic ignition
- Replace U-joints
- 60 amp Alternator upgrade

Current Projects:
- Engine rebuild: Goodparts stage 2 cam and roller rockers, 9.75:1 compression ratio with mild head polishing, lightened flywheel, Goodparts triple ZS carb manifold with K&N filters, fan removed and replaced with an electric unit
- 6-3-2 stainless headers (group 44)
- Gearbox rebuild: LUK clutch, Gunst throwout bearing
- Solid steering rack mounts
- Steering column bushing replacement... what a pain!
- Replace various electrical switches
- Assemble the parts to create a glovebox. Mine has a "custom" dash that didn't have the glovebox cut out
- Replace dash (see above)

Future Projects:
- Rebuild/replace rear diff (I'm thinking maybe a Nissan LSD, but I dunno) and rebuild the axles.

That's all I can remember right now.

How 'bout a 360HP Ford 302 V8?

A project still in progress: https://www.britishv8.org/swaps/1971.htm

Before everyone yells at me for destroying the balance of this fine car, let me point out that the 302 weighs LESS than the stock 6 cylinder.

[ QUOTE ]
How 'bout a 360HP Ford 302 V8?

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Sweet.

Shannon, that's all you can remember right now !! I hope your memory comes back !!!!

Dan, I think your in the right place to talk about power imporvements. Dick Taylor told me about a ride in a V8 TR6. I would venture to guess that alot of people are waiting for the results of your project, I know I am.

Mitch, there are several TR6s with V8 engines in them, ranging from the 215ci BOP/Rover aluminum engines up to a 350ci Chevy. I have had the pleasure of driving some of them, and they are a blast - everything we love about the TR6 and much more.

I'd like to invite you - and everyone else - to attend the British V8 2005 meet in Terre Haute, IN june 9 - 12. See https://www.britishv8.org/Events/2005V8MeetFlyer.htm for details.

Even though the meet is called "V8" your supercharged TR6 will be more than welcome, and there will be a great deal of interest in it by the V8 folks. There is no competition or jealousy amongst this group, just a bunch of gear heads gathering around to talk about how to make these cars go faster. I think you'll enjoy yourself at one of these events more than you will at any other Triumph meet. Now if we could just get Dick to attend!

Here is the list for my 1965 TR4a:

Brakes....
Goodridge stainless flex hoses
Brembo rotors, crossdrilled and chamfered by KVR brakes in Ottawa
Axxis (Repco) Metalmaster pads
Rear drums finned aluminium Datsun

Suspension....
Front sway bar with poly bushes
Front upper, rear trailing arm and diff bushes all polyurethane.
Triumphtune fast road springs,one solid rack mount.
Spax adjustable gas shocks front and back
72 spoke wires 5.5 wide
Yokohama 032 r compound tires

Engine...
Oversize valves
Chrome moly pushrods
Lightweight lifters
Kent Supersprint cam
Head ported and milled to 9.75 compression
Oil cooler
Electric fan
4-2-1 header with 2.5 inch exhaust
Pertronix ignition, lucas gold coil, solid metal core wires
Electric impeller fuel pump, Holley pressure regulator.
Radiator recored with extra row of coolant tubes, fine pitch fins.
Possibly other stuff I forgot!
Planned, alternator conversion.
Simon.

The first thing I did when I got my 80 Spitfire home was to replace the anemic single stromberg and replace with a twin HS4 setup. The car can now get out of its own way /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

The next was new brake pads, rotors, and hoses all around.

Handling improvements have been a rebuild of the front suspension and a rebuild of the rearend this winter. The rebuilt frontend made a huge difference in comfort and handling. I can't wait to see what difference the rear end rebuild makes to the overall handling package.

Creature comforts: presently rebuilding the seats. The original upholstry and foam was beginning to show it's age after 25 yrs.

The great thing about this topic is that these mod's are done by people who like to use their cars & test the improvements. There is no doubt that we all care about the cars appearance as well, but what good is a brake upgrade, a performance cam or even a great stereo system if your not in the car to enjoy it.

Any cool interior work ?

I didn't mention this as it slipped my mind... but I have also installed Goodparts adjustable trailing arms and I currently don't have any interior in the car. I'm in the process of redoing everything inside and have just completed the seats.

My plan is to have a local shop replace my trailing arms before I install the carpet.

I don't know if this comes under the heading of cool interior work or not, but I added a set of Autometer gauges to my "stock" TR6, with white dials, red pointers, and black numbers. Believe it or not, the gauges can actually be read at night without using a flashlight. I also installed one of my own wiring kits in the hopes of keeping Mr Lucas at bay.

Wow!
Some fine modifications listed here, I'm going to have to get cracking on something.
I will pass on some advice I was given on this forum that's worth repeating...
"Keep all your receipts; but don't EVER add them up!"

Besides the V8 engine and transmission conversion:
(it is heavier than the original powerplant)
Power steering
LSD (2.93 ratio)
Geo Tracker cloth bucket seats
Tube Air shocks in rear
Coil-over shocks in front
50 light LED light bar under rollbar
Air horns
1/2 inch thick steel safety tunnel over driveshaft
Center console from toyota

whew!

fun, fun, fun....

Jeff,

What LSD unit did you use and how difficult was it to install.

Thanks!

Jeff,

What engine? What car? Tell us more! Pictures?

Dan,
I visit your site on a regular basis just to drool. The dash does look very cool. You know if you use your wiring harness you'll get board not having to trace bad grounds /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
The V8 meeting in June looks very tempting. I'll have to check & see if my ass is up to it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif, I love to drive my car but I gotta think about it.

Just a note Adam,
When I did my interior I used a product similar to "cool Mat". This and some additional sound deadener glued under the footwell carpets, not only keeps all the heat out , but for a TR it's pretty quiet in the cabin. The cool mat over the trany cover is critical along with foil tape to seal the seams.
The GoodPart adj trailing arm brackets are really nice, they are definitly on my wish list.

Simon,
I just bought a brand new set of Brembo rear finned drums on eBay. I should recieve them by the end of the week. It's my understanding the only mod's needed would be to open the center hole & drill two holes for the retaining screws, sound right?