TR6 '76 TR6 - De-Smog or Leave? 19k original mile car

[martx-5]

Fortunately, in New York, vehicles that are less than two model years old, or <span style="font-weight: bold">more than 25 model years old</span> (for example, a 1987 model in 2012), are exempt from any emissions testing...that includes not even looking to see what is or is not there. We only get a safety inspection.

 

[TR3driver]

Obviously, it depends on area. I don't know what rules are in effect for Chicago, nor how exhaustive their tests are.

I do know that the kind of stuff TOC is talking about is not likely to work in CA these days. It used to work, before they ran the cars on a chassis dyno, but not now. I know several people who have tried, every single one of them has gotten caught. The smog shops don't even bother doing the visual inspection or EGR test any more, because the tail pipe always flunks.

And here, a 76 would be subject to biannual smog inspection.

And it is still against Federal law even without the required inspection. As I said, not likely to get caught, but the penalties can be severe if you do.

 

[rlich8]

I can see I started quite the topic here!

As Randall said, yes, it is illegal to remove Federal emissions equipment. That is a risk I would take if I were to remove the equipment. I don't think I will have to have my car tested in my state.

In the case of my car, I will be leaving it in place especially because there is very little performance benefit to removing it.

From what I understand now, the lesser performance of the later TR6's is due to the lower compression and de-tuning of the actual motor itself. I'm not going to remove a whole bunch of equipment for an 8 horsepower or some nominal increase. Keeping the car original is of importance to me and if it would have provided some drastic increase yet was easily reversible (like in the case of my 1979 MGB that I used to own) I would have considered doing it. But after more research, and seeing that it's slightly more involved on a 6 than other cars, I have decided to err on the side of caution and not remove it.

As to the air conditioning, I still haven't fully decided.

 

[John_Mc]

And Royal, you might need THIS....

 

[bobh]

A couple of comments;

The AC units were not factory installed. Many were made by a company in Miami and sold to dealers who did the installation.
There were no factory luggage racks. Various racks were installed by dealers or individuals. Some were universal designs. Like the one in your pictures. One was designed specifically for the TR6 by Amco. These were chrome plated steel. You can find reproductions in stainless steel at Moss and some other parts houses.
Radios were dealer installed. However these were British Leyland units that came in a kit including the antenna. The kits did not include a fully retractable antenna. My guess is they were not installed at the factory to prevent damage to the antenna during transport to the states.
The factory hard top was also delivered to the dealer as a kit. The dealer had to paint and assemble the top before installing it on the car.

My point is there is a distinct division between factor parts installed by the dealer and accessories installed by the dealer. I don't believe it is appropriate to say everything is "factory" because that is the way it was delivered to the customer. Undercoating, 8 tracks, cocoa mats...

BNW. No offense intended but your estimates of $2K for ac and $2K for smog are a guess. He can always reinstall them when he decides to sell. So there is no loss of value. TR6's aren't in the same class as American muscle cars. They aren't auctioned during prime time at Barett Jackson in Scottsdale. I doubt the value of these items equates to 20+ % of a TR6's value.

BTW Royal, I'm in a similar situation. My TR6 has 23K miles. A previous owner removed the AC. The smog equipment is all still inplace and working. I'm considering removing it, packing it in a box and preserving it for a couple of reasons. As long as it stays on the car it is slowly wearing out, and if these cars ever take off as collectors cars having functional smog equipment may increase the value.

If the AC weren't such a power drain it sure would be welcome here in Alabama.

BOBH

 

[TR4nut]

Nice car. Yours to do with as you see fit. If mine, I would try to retain everything.

From a practical perspective, removing the ac setup is likely very painful. The black round cover you see on the passenger side bulkhead is hiding a very large hole that has been cut into the metal, at least it was on the parts car I had 20 years ago - you remove that, you will need some high end and likely expensive sheet metal repair to completely erase.

 

[TR3driver]

Not really relevant, but on the topic of "factory original"; here is a description of how the cars came from the factory, recently posted by an ex-BL employee (John Macartney) on another BBS:

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">1. The body has been completely sprayed with industrial lanolin. This nicely covers the superb paint job and
gives the car a boring, dull, matt finish. We've been careful to ensure an overspray of lanolin around the windscreen edge and glass side windows. All this lanolin will easily wash off with warm water and a high pressure hose - just as did the original stuff.

2. The soft top is covered with protective plastic sheeting held in place with tape around the roof edges and to stop
flapping.

3. All chromework has been covered in adhesive-backed white cotton masking tape, while stainless or alloy brightwork is covered with the lanolin
anyway.

4. The rostyle hub caps and licence plates have been removed and are in a box in the boot

5. The headlamps are out and waxed cardboard discs cover the headlamp buckets. This is how the cars left the UK anyway and as the 250 now
has dip left halogen units instead of the dip right sealed beams, it's entirely right the lights should be removed for 'authentic judging'

6. The red and white indicator lenses are back in place to temporarily replace the yellow
ones of a TR5

7. Carpets in the footwells have been removed and are in another box in the boot

8. All upholstery is covered with protective plastic

9. The windscreen has replica (as far as our memories and Photoshop skills allow)
production / shipping / storage / anti-freeze labels - and all slapped on it
such a way you can hardly see out of it. In other words, just as it left the
factory.

10. To complete the picture, we'll be delivering it to the event on a
trailer - because that's exactly how the vast majority of export cars came off
the line and got themselves shipped to the docks.</span></span>

 

[Andrew Mace]

I think you're right about everything except:

The factory hard top was also delivered to the dealer as a kit. The dealer had to paint and assemble the top before installing it on the car.

That would've been true of a hardtop ordered after the fact (customer saw another car with one and decided he/she would like one as well). But cars could be ordered with hardtop (and even without a soft top), in which case it came over on the boat with a matching hardtop already in place. I remember seeing cars come off the transporters at the dealerships, still covered in Cosmoline and plastic and stickers (as Randall notes in the above post) -- both hardtops and softtops.

 

[bobh]

Interesting info Randall.

Andy, good point. I think the trim rings for the wheels were also stowed away until the car was prepped at the dealership.

I do still have the original tires mounted on the original wheels. One of which is pictured at speed in my signature. All 5 tires, including the spare, remain inflated with period correct British air. Which contributes to another dilemma. Should I save the air hoping for a future windfall? Or should I offer small quantities on EBay for people willing to pay well for a breath of air free of all the 21st century political rehtoric?

Royal, Enjoy your car with the emphasis on Your.

BOBH

 

[bobhustead]

I'd leave it like it is. As for the air, I worked as a grease monkey at a BMC dealer in the early 70's and I recall that our dealer installed air was considered factory.
Bob