Hello...

Any GT6 owners out there?

A.

Welcome to the Forum, Andre.

I don't have a GT6, but it was on my "must have" list when I was in high school, and they had just come out. There are several owners on the Forum, though, and I'm sure they'll pop in before long.

Mickey

Welcome Andre.
I don't have a GT6 either, but they are a neat-looking car.

Type "GT6" into the Search function on this site (and limit it to the Triumph section) and you'll see lots of stuff about these cars.

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Any GT6 owners out there?

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Yes indeed.

Yellow 1969 GT6+ with TR6 tranny and differential installed. Also had a few engine upgrades to the I6 when I bought it, so its performance as of now is certainly not stock. My dad owns an Audi TT and I'd say this GT6 is comparable in performance.

I'm going to be building an electric car out of her, which is why the TR6 components are installed; TORQUE!. Electric motors make lots of torque and produce peak torque from 0 RPM up until the electric motor reaches the max voltage it is allowed by the controller and when back emf starts to push the torque down. I'm probably unusual among Triumph owners though, as I'm a 20 year old college student. Most people that own them are at least twice my age.

I'm currently doing rudimentary repairs/upgrades on the car in its current gas-guzzling state. Repairing any and all rust, replacing the stock seats with lighter variants, and am currently looking at a LeMans style bonnet, perhaps from Jigsaw Racing in the case they ship to the states. I'll have the only registered electric car in my city, it will be quite fast, not to mention stylish. As an EV, I'll be throwing out either 220 lb-ft of torque and about 160 horsepower or up to 380 lb-ft of torque and 280 horsepower at the flywheel depending on the controller I buy. Likely 220 lb-ft and 160 horsepower; I don't trust the TR6 tranny/differential as being able to handle anything more. If I were to go for a more powerful setup, I'd certainly need to upgrade to a more stout tranny/diff, like a Datsun 240Z unit or some such. That would require a total suspension overhaul and make things a bit out of my time constraints.

I may have up to 100 miles per charge at highway speeds in the case I can shove a 1,100 pound lead acid battery pack in this car, 2,600 pound or so curb weight with such a pack and without the planned weight reduction(This would be over GVWR, but leaf springs will be used to keep the ride height from sagging in such a case, although a weight reduction with fiberglass components is planned, which would make it more or less 2,300 pounds, a few pounds under GVWR). As an EV with the 160 horsepower, 220 lb-ft setup, it would accelerate from 0-60 in 6 seconds and top out at 140 with an 8,000 RPM limit on the series-wound DC motor and planned low-rolling resistance tires. I'm definately going to be hunting down aerodynamic drag, correcting dragging brakes by machining them down, installing a bellypan and covering the top third of the rear wheel wells with sheet metal, and adjusting toe accordingly to maximize efficiency, and thus maximizing cruising range and top speed. The batteries will be placed nice and low, making the center of gravity far lower than stock. With low rolling resistance tires, I expect it will perform about like stock in handling with the adjusted center of gravity. If racing spec tires were used, dear lord that sort of handling would pull the skin off your cheek bones! But range, in the case it would be 100 miles with low rolling resistance tires, would be cut to about 75 miles with racing tires. That's a cut in energy efficiency, and I want to be able to brag that well to wheels, this car is more efficient than a Honda Insight is fuel tank to wheels. This necessitates a 65 MPH energy consumption figure of about 160 watt hours/mile. There are 33.8 kilo Wh of energy in a gallon of gasoline, so do the math. Powerplants are about 40% efficient, transmission efficiency of electric power is about 92% efficient, a power factor corrected charger is about 90% efficient. That would be a little about 70 miles per gallon well to wheels energy efficiency! Gas cars are measured fuel tank to wheels, so hauling their fuel by oil tanker and transporting it by truck and pumping it out of the ground at the gas pump is not counted in this comparison, putting the electric car at a major disadvantage. Tank to wheels of the EV would be over 210 miles per gallon at 160 wh/mile, so in that light EVs are very efficient.

The current yellow paintjob of my car is temporary and tacked on to keep the car from rusting. I'm going to paint it a dark British Racing Green laquer like the Jaguar D-Types were painted. It will be the slickest looking EV I've ever seen, and I have a few names in mind for it after I finish it. "Greenpeace", "Green Meanie", or "The Green-Eyed Monster". It will be raced. I expect to spend between $10,000 and $15,000 on this project, although if I scrounge around, I could potentially do this for $8,000 or so with some small reductions in the performance I'd otherwise have.

I love the GT6 and am proud to own one. I'd love to be able to build a completely custom car with a carbon fibre body and titanium chassis with a design modelled after the Opel Eco Speedster and ADU1B LeMans Spitfire and Lotus Elise crossed together, but as a young college student, I don't have that kind of time or money. A GT6? That's the next best thing, and it's cheap too! It met all the criteria I looked for, cheap, light, reasonably aerodynamic, good GVWR for its weight, easy to work with. No other car I could find met this criteria. None. MG Midgets had poor aero. Lotus Elites were too rare and pricey(Although ideal in everything else!). Miatas were too heavy. VW Bugs had awful aero, but a lot of ok but tacky kits to slap on them. Then I found my love, the GT6. All the kids my age cannot believe that I got this car for so cheap($1200). They liken it to a classic Ferrari or Jaguar race car. It certainly resembles one, sounds like one, and has performance to match or beat anything that messes with it. It's been mistaken for a Jaguar E-Type, classic Porsche 911 or Ferrari GTO by some, and sometimes a classic 50s Corvette. One idiot even mistook it for a Shelby Daytona Coupe.

It draws attention everywhere it goes, and I can only imagine the reactions I'll get when I build it into an electric car, taking it in to get 'emissions checked' only for them not to find a tailpipe, pulling up to a gas station and popping the hood open for people to look at and then flip out not seeing an 'engine' and instead a bunch of batteries, wires, and some unidentified object that I have to explain to them as a DC motor, or embarassing the ricers at the drag strip with an environmentally-friendly electric car, charged by what will be solar panels on my garage and cost less than what they dumped into the hoods of their gas-guzzlers! This car already is quite famous in my neighborhood in its moderately decrepit state with its peeling paint tacked on it, refusal to start 2/3 of the time, and a cracked windshield; it will soon be even more so after I get done with it, woth the planned BRG paintjob, obsessively paying every bit of attention to detail and finish, throwing thousands of hours into it making it perfect. I heavily anticipate people's reactions when I make it look and perform like a $50,000+ classic exotic for the cost of a Geo Metro(But a *lot* of work) AND have it running on an alternative fuel.

Have to use that major in electrical engineering for some fun.

Speaking of my car, I need to get my scanner working so I can post pictures of her. I'm in love with the exhaust note she makes! Nothing beats sneaking behind some unsuspecting minivan(Bimbo Box) or SUV(Suburban Utility Vehicle, might as well buy a short yellow schoolbus. You'll look just as retarded guzzling gas while you're at it!), pulling into the lane next to them, and then just flooring it, getting it up to 100+ in a few seconds. That's what they get for cutting me off. It's so low that they cannot see it, and it scares the crap out of people! Sounds like a vintage LeMans racer, thundering past them with its engine screaming. Almost like having a Formula Race Car.




Any other GT6 owners here? There has to be some. It's such a great car.

I'm a GT6 owner. I'm Jim from near Chicago. I currently own a '67 TR-4A, '68 GT6 MKI and a '73 Spit6 project. The project is moving along and hopefully will be driveable in the next few months. I've been watching this forum for a few months now...it's great!

Andre,

There are quite a few GT6 Owners here, some of us are also on the TTN. I've been keeping up with your MkI restoration, great work!

TTN? Never heard of it. Have a link?

I'd love to find an exclusively Triumph board. I'll need outside help and advice, not being a car expert and all.

Thanks. i'll be explaining to them my project shortly.

Andre, great to have you here. I'm sure you'll enjoy this board and the folks on it.

To all of you who may not know Andre, he's somewhat of a GT6 celebrity, with a very interesting website and tons of knowledege about Gt6s.

Andre is a knowledgeable poster on other Triumph boards, he'll be a welcome addition here.

Cheers to you for signing up here, Andre, and welcome!

Welcome Andre. I don't have a GT6 but have always admired their looks. Personally I own two Spitfires, a 66 and a 79. Its good to have you aboard.