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1973 TR6 - My dad's payment for a bad bar debt

suz1708

Freshman Member
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My dad owned a bar in Ohio for most of my life. This bar had been in the family for a long time -- 50 years when he finally closed it down in 2005. My dad was a generous man (sometimes to a fault) and often let people run up pretty big bar tabs. One time in the early 1980s, this torn up red TR6, filled with leaves and twigs and smelling like gas, pulled up in front of our house and my dad said it was payment for a bar debt that had gotten too high. My mom was not pleased, but my dad LOVED this car immediately. Often, Sunday afternoons were spent driving around the country roads in Ohio (dad, mom, and 3 kids -- no seatbelt laws or child seats back in those days!). This car had a bad habit of not always running and more than once, we ended up walking to find a phone to call someone to come find us.

Fast forward 30ish years and I spent the summer of 2012 in Ohio with my dad to help take care of him while he was fighting cancer. When I arrived in Ohio from Texas, I asked my dad where I might scare up a car to drive for the summer -- He grinned huge and said, "I fixed up the Triumph for you!" I assumed he was joking since I'd never been allowed to drive this car before. But truly, he had gotten someone to get the car running again ... sometimes. It still is pretty torn up, still smells like gas, and still only runs part of the time -- but, he loved watching me drive that car and even tried it himself one day. I've never seen him happier than when he drove that car across town one day, with me following close behind in case it broke down.

When it was clear that my dad was dying last summer and we'd moved him into home Hospice, one of the first things he told me when I got back home was that he wanted to make sure I brought the Triumph back to Texas with me. The picture that ran with my dad's obituary last summer was of him in this car -- everyone commented about how happy he looked in this picture!

I finally had the car delivered to my house in Texas this week and have really no idea where to start with fixing it -- Since Texas has pretty stringent inspection regulations, it may take a while before I can get it legally registered to drive here. I just thought I'd start here to meet other people who have Triumphs and who might be able to pass along a little wisdom from their own experiences with these cars.

Thanks so much!
-Suz
 

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toysrrus

Yoda
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Hi Suz,

"Welcome Back" to the "Wonderful World of LBCs" (Little British Cars).

Great story & History on your car. Its not too often that a car is still in the same family over 30yrs!

As Steve mentions above; Introduce Yourself & Your "New / Old" Toy to the "Triumph Forum" folks & fire away with any questions as they may come up. You`ll be pleasantly surprised on how much help you`ll rec.

Hey; Which girl are you in the pic? I`m presuming "Suz" is short for "Suzie" but ??

Best Wishes,

Russ
 
Country flag
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Welcome to the Forum:smile:
 
OP
S

suz1708

Freshman Member
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Thanks for the welcome -- I'll start poking around on the Triumph forum, too!

And Russ, I'm the surly pre-teen girl in the back seat with my little brother -- I was clearly too cool for family rides in the tiny car back then (haha!).
 

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
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That story is hard to beat.... welcome to the forum! The TR6 is a straight forward car to work on. Find a British car club in Texas and there will be plenty of eager people to help you sort things out. Keep it on the road!
 

Ickster01

Freshman Member
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OK...that story brought a tear to my eye. I just joined the forum because I JUST bought a 76 TR-6 on E-bay. Had it shipped from Maryland to NC....and I just moved to NC last year from Mass. First surprise? No sales tax on the purchase of the car! I was expecting to pay Approx. $500. But in NC they have highway use tax. I paid $41! Second surprise? I went to an inspection station and asked what they will look at on a '76? Answer? Nothing. Cars over a certain age do not need to be inspected. WTF???? So Suz, move to NC and we can drive all over the place and not worry about inspections!!! Again...great story.

Bob Ickrath
 
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