Dammit! Quit Putting Holes in My Car!!!

[UmmYeahOk]

Ok, so Ive been blessed with not having too much rust damage on my 67 GT6. And I've learned much from this forum. Like why I have holes in my hood (side markers that shouldnt be there) Why I have holes in my cowl (possible hood pins, but all 3 remain a mystery)

With such a hood, Ive get the cool vents, different parking lamps, and holes for a GT6+ badge. Today I noticed two holes on my passenger side rear. Could this have been where another GT6+ badge has gone?!?

Was one of the previous owners trying to convert a Mki GT6 into a MKII GT6?!? Whatever for?!? It doesnt have rotoflex, or rear vents. Does have part of a back seat though. The front bumper was removed however (possibly to be replaced with a GT6+?)

Anyway, I dont have pics yet, but the holes are closer together than the badge on the hood. I also saw this in VB
https://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/sg/full.aspx?Page=50

#9 Says its for Mk1 and 2. 66-70. Not sure how long the bolts are, but Id slap one of those on, if it fits, but I dont really know. I see no pic of a Mk1 with the badge. I only see GT6+s with it. Plus its higher than the gt6+ emblem, and mine appears lower. Then again, maybe thats just on GT6+

I have all the holes to spell out "triumph" including the ones for "gt6" crest above it, so technically, I wouldnt need anything else... ...so what on earth are these holes for?!?

 

[Andrew Mace]

Ok, so Ive been blessed with not having too much rust damage on my 67 GT6. And I've learned much from this forum. Like why I have holes in my hood (side markers that shouldnt be there) Why I have holes in my cowl (possible hood pins, but all 3 remain a mystery)

No question why you have holes from side markers on the hood; it's because you have a 1970 GT6+ hood, but with the bonnet hinge tubes changed to bolt up to the earlier front pivots of your "Mk1."

With such a hood, Ive get the cool vents, different parking lamps, and holes for a GT6+ badge. Today I noticed two holes on my passenger side rear. Could this have been where another GT6+ badge has gone?!?

I'm not sure without seeing those two holes what they would be!?

Was one of the previous owners trying to convert a Mki GT6 into a MKII GT6?!? Whatever for?!? It doesnt have rotoflex, or rear vents. Does have part of a back seat though. The front bumper was removed however (possibly to be replaced with a GT6+?)

No, someone simply got hold of the most readily available bonnet and switched the bonnet hinge tubes as noted above. I'll assume that the original bumper was damaged beyond repair. The bumper that might have come with the replacement bonnet probably was not used because there's no easy way to attach it to the "Mk1" mounts on your car. It's a higher bumper that actually mounts solely on the bonnet sides and the hinge tubes.

Anyway, I dont have pics yet, but the holes are closer together than the badge on the hood. I also saw this in VB
https://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/sg/full.aspx?Page=50

#9 Says its for Mk1 and 2. 66-70. Not sure how long the bolts are, but Id slap one of those on, if it fits, but I dont really know. I see no pic of a Mk1 with the badge. I only see GT6+s with it. Plus its higher than the gt6+ emblem, and mine appears lower. Then again, maybe thats just on GT6+

Yes, that #9 is only for the GT6+. There are similar looking badges for front and rear, but the two are NOT the same (go figure)!

I have all the holes to spell out "triumph" including the ones for "gt6" crest above it, so technically, I wouldnt need anything else... ...so what on earth are these holes for?!?

Again, I'd have to see the holes. Possibly with the bonnet came some badges from the same (parts) car?

 

[TR_Jim]

I've never seen a TRIUMPH badge on the back end of a MKI, just the GT6 badge and the letter set. I think the VB catalog listing is wrong. Spitbits lists the badge for the MKII.

 

[tomgt6]

The only other reason I can think of for holes on the right rear is maybe a dealer put his name badge there. I say fill the holes and move on since you plan to repaint.

The mk1 had the letters and the gt6 badge above it on the back middle.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

I'd have to see the holes. Possibly with the bonnet came some badges from the same (parts) car?

I will get a pic later. It was night time when I discovered it.

someone simply got hold of the most readily available bonnet and switched the bonnet hinge tubes as noted above. I'll assume that the original bumper was damaged beyond repair. The bumper that might have come with the replacement bonnet probably was not used because there's no easy way to attach it to the "Mk1" mounts on your car. It's a higher bumper that actually mounts solely on the bonnet sides and the hinge tubes.

Im pretty sure thats what happened. The car this GT6 is replacing some idiot replaced part of the unibody frame by welding another car onto it. Not only did they not measure anything when they did it, but they used coupe parts instead of convertible. And on those cars, these parts are extremely different in size and structure. Looks like this car is the same. And just like with my old car, this one probably had better access to a new hood, but didnt care to do the research. It seems that it originally was a matching green before it was painted white. I just assumed that since it had been replaced, they went ahead a resprayed the whole car in a different color. My guess is, this collision may have occurred in the 80s or earlier.

The only other reason I can think of for holes on the right rear is maybe a dealer put his name badge there. I say fill the holes and move on since you plan to repaint.

The mk1 had the letters and the gt6 badge above it on the back middle.

I thought about that too, but arent those stickers? or emblems attached with tape? When we bought a car, it didnt have one, and while we were signing paper work they were "cleaning it up" and it magically had one. Same thing happened to a friend, and he demanded that they either remove it, or give him a discount or some kind of compensation if they wanted him to advertise for free. If they had drilled holes in the car, I would have torn up the paperwork right there and walked away.

Its just another thing we have to fix. This makes 13 holes total.

BTW, speaking of holes, anyone know where I can get an OEM looking antenna. Or even a pic of one? Seems any pic I see, its different than the last.

Also, the interior has nails all over it. My husband thinks its just another stupid thing the PO did. But I was wondering if it didnt just help keep the carpet in place.

 

[tomgt6]

Back years ago the dealers use to mount dealer badges by drilling holes. Not all of them but it wasn't that uncommon back then.

I have put this antenna on all 3 of my cars. They are not stock but I think they work well and I can put them all the way down.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRIUMPH-T...Z380159753933QQ

I think this one is closer to stock but then again this could have been an item like mirrors that got added by the dealer.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ANTENNA-t...Z230380562618QQ

 

[Andrew Mace]

Yes, antennas were always rather generic, as they were dealer-installed along with radios. Fortunately, it seems that those "generic" antennas are still widely available, although Tom's suggestion of one that fully retracts is an excellent one!

 

[UmmYeahOk]

I'll probably go with the last link.

Im not a fan of retractable antennas. My dad broke the one on my very first car and refused to fix it. But when he broke my moms, he was sure quick to fix that. Eventually I got my first car back, and it was broken even more! To the point where nothing would raise because there was nothing to lower. Yet I still got all the FM channels. Turns out its wasnt even the original antenna in the first place. It had been replaced too! Meaning on this car alone, it had broken at least 3 times. Eventually I swapped it out for another hong kong model, which the last appeared to be also. I now could get AM and NOAA bands. After a while it would sometimes go up, sometimes not, sometimes half way. You never could tell. It was an electrical issue, not a bent issue

It was cute on a car like that, but I believe all retractables should be installed on the rear. But I have a gigantic HOLE, in the cowl by the passenger where a retractable would just look weird IMO.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Look in your local chain and independent parts stores first. Likely as not, the purchase price will be close, and you won't need to pay shipping!

 

[tomgt6]

The one that retracts I sent isn't a power one. It is done by hand. I put it down when I put the car cover on or when I leave the car in the garage for a time and I don't want to brake or bend it.

I to have never had much luck with power antennas so I don't normally use them.

 

[KSIS]

Delete the radio, I rather listen to the engine. Just use your ipod hooked up to amp with banana plugs. The only thing you see is the wire coming up from the carpet area for the head phone jack. Ive done this on all my classic cars.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Delete the radio, I rather listen to the engine. Just use your ipod hooked up to amp with banana plugs. The only thing you see is the wire coming up from the carpet area for the head phone jack. Ive done this on all my classic cars.

...did any of them come with a radio? I say if it came with it, it gets one. If my cars so old that Marconi was still teething, than sure, no radio. I may throw a boom box in there, but Im not going to drill and cut holes for one. I can still listen to the engine if it becomes necessary.

 

[tomgt6]

Yes most came with a radio. AM radio back then was the standard and you were lucky maybe FM / AM.

Sorry you most likely don't know anything about AM radios or even 8 track tape players.

Sorry I shouldn't assume that.

 

[TR3driver]

Depends on what you mean by "come with". In North America, radios were (almost) always a dealer-installed item; the cars were shipped from the factory without radio or antenna.

Although it's somewhat hard to prove after all these years, all of my TRs have either had no radio scars at all, or appeared to have them installed later.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Yes most came with a radio. AM radio back then was the standard and you were lucky maybe FM / AM.

Yeah... ...but did any of KSIS's cars come with one? Thats why I made the joke about the father of radio still teething. I was assuming that all of his classic cars were too old to even have a radio.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Sorry you most likely don't know anything about AM radios or even 8 track tape players.

Sorry I shouldn't assume that. [/QUOTE]

I guess AM back then had a better frequency range. I never listen to AM because everythings static except talk radio... ...which I guess is appropriate since only old people listen to that stuff =)

And Im pretty sure everyones triumph here didnt come with an 8track player. That was a dead medium the day it was released. My dad had one hooked up in the garage. I tried to play billy joel but the tape got eaten. I tried to play beegees, but the tape got eaten. There was a cassette tape adapter which I usta record MP3s onto and then play. Mostly just used it for a radio.

My husbands grandfather gave us one once. It was cool looking, and I ended up selling it on craigslist, since we didnt have any tapes, and thats all it could do (no radio). I had to test it first. It played the cassette adapter fine. I put in tubular bells, and it played beautifully, but was afraid to listen to more than 10 seconds because I didnt want the tape eaten. When the buyer got it home it would play multiple tracks simultaneously. Thats when I learn just how crappy those players are. Apparently its a very common problem (as with eating tapes) and a piece has to be realigned. Plus, after playing with eaten tapes, I just assumed they were all damaged before because someone taped a rip. Turns out thats how they splice tracks!!!! No wonder people appreciate vinyl so much!

 

[TR3driver]

And Im pretty sure everyones triumph here didnt come with an 8track player. That was a dead medium the day it was released.

Well, I suppose experiences vary. I had 8-track players in several cars "back when", and considering that there was simply no other option except AM radio, it seemed a viable medium to me. Yes, the tapes had a limited lifetime; but so do cassettes. And since 8-tracks are "endless", there was required to be at least one splice per tape. But usually, if everything was kept reasonably clean (no grape jelly, please), the decks wouldn't eat the tapes until the oxide was almost worn away from the friction anyway. And more than once I recovered a tape that had been 'eaten' and got at least a few more plays out of it. The trick was to extract it from the player without tearing or stretching it too much; plus working it by hand to redistribute the tension and flatten out the kinks.

We also had an 8-track recorder, so custom tapes were easy to make without going through the trouble of splicing. Usually bought tapes from the remainder bin (The Best of Jimmy Farrell) and recorded over them; but the sound was better from a new blank cartridge.

Think of it like a dancing bear ... What is amazing is not how well the bear dances, but that it dances at all. Compared to nothing at all, 8-tracks were pretty darn amazing!

 

[HerronScott]

I was sucked into 8 track tapes initially in the late 70's by the great Columbia House deal. I had a portable player that I used in the TR4A since it only had an original AM radio. After a couple of years, I realized how bad the audio quality was and switched to albums (from Columbia House of course) and made my own cassette tapes for the car.

Scott

 

[Andrew Mace]

Ah, the immortal eight-track: possibly NOT Bill Lear's best invention! I did have one in the mid-1970s that I bought new out of a remainder bin at the Kmart where I worked at the time. They were big, whether separate units or built into a radio chassis; that's possibly one reason why one seldom saw them in Triumphs. However, seeing as it was also the CB craze at the time, I bought some slide mounts from Radio Shack and rigged up both my GT6+ and my winter-beater Volvo 145 so that I could easily have either the CB or the eight-track. Worked out pretty well.

As for AM radio nowadays, I agree it sure ain't what it used to be. Maybe it's because talk radio is the only truly profitable format is why those stations carrying same sound better, as they're likely more powerful stations. There are still quite a few music stations on AM, but they tend to be very segmented: oldies (especially 1950s and 1960s), "Music of Your Life" stations (all that wonderful Ray Coniff and Steve and Edye, and the like.

For some models, such as the Spitfire and GT6, there were factory "blanking" plates as well as the same plate with the typical "standard" radio chassis cutout. The blanking plates seem to be much rarer nowadays!

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

If memory serves me correctly, the 8 track was originally designed for playing commercials on the radio while the cassette was designed for dictation. Due to the wider tape and greater speed the 8 track was better for playing music. The “endless loop” was created by joining the ends of the piece of tape with a metallic tape. When this tape went across a set of contacts the head was moved to a different track. There were eight tracks on the tape with each one having a left and right sound track, so there were sixteen recordings on the one half inch wide tape. The recordings were better, but the speed control was questionable. The cassette started catching on when the electronics got better at “fixing” the sound. The cassette had two “tracks” each with a left and right sound track. So there were four recordings on the one quarter inch tape. The recordings were not originally as good as the 8 tracks, but the speed control was much better. The 8 tracks were common for about a decade, which isn’t too bad. The reel to reel tape players had the best of both, but didn’t fit in the dash very well.

 

[ekamm]

I had both AM and 8-tracks both. AM was and is always staticy, but when that was what there was you didn't seem to care. Worse was in N. Oklahoma maybe 8 or 10 stations. After dark on a good day you might get WLS in Chicago, what a treat. Look close you'll see my dad's radio option. Self-done of course and yes that's a Roi-Tan cigar box cut down and used as a holder. He even covered the front with black vinyl so that it looked passable.

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