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TR6 Potential TR6 purchase

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Rut

Rut

Obi Wan
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A good friend of mine in Tuscaloosa, AL is looking for a TR6 to ride around in on pretty days and he is no mechanic. He started looking after his wife passed away and it’s a now or never type of thing. He ran across an ad in Hemmings for a 6 located in Bartlesville, OK and I would like yalls opinion on it or if someone possibly knows the car. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1974-triumph-tr6-bartlesville-ok-2660534
Thanks, Rut
 
The first one looks absolutely great, but I’d ask a few questions… first, why did the owner only keep it 1.5 years? Hopefully there’s not an underlying problem; e.g. motor issues (do not see evidence of motor parts in the photos of receipts, and the fuel line in one photo needs to be replaced). Second, seller claims to have spent a lot of money in this period, but the receipts show both Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. (The dates are unclear in the photos - there are recent dates, but some appear to be prior to 2020.) Having said all this, if the car is good, the reasons for sale really do not matter.

The second back has a wonderful and unusual color. Coming from a dealer, everything is nice and polished, but obviously you won’t get any information about the background.

Again, these are just my opinions and observations. I do not know either car. Best of luck to your friend!
 
Headed up to Marvin Gruber’s to look at a 6 and possibly a 250 today. This should be interesting since he’s not driven a TR6 since the 70s.
Rut
 
The car looks very nice, underside looks very clean. Not to down grade the car because it looks good, but $29k seems steep especially with no OD. But it does look fully restored not to long ago. I would suggest going to look at it or have someone in the area go check it out for you.
 
Seconding other comments, I'd wonder why the seller says much was spent on recent repairs and improvements - but then sells it so soon after.

Tom M.
 
Update: we made a trip to drive a possible candidate today and the car was in pretty good shape, it drove like a TR6 should. I think the takeaway was that a TR6 might not be the car he needs and we will explore other options. Possible cars include BMW E46 convertibles, later Jag XK8 convertibles as well as other fun cars we discover along the way. Thanks to all who offered their advice and I’ll let you know what he finally decides.
Thanks, Rut
 
As someone who drove tr6's in the 70s then took a few decades off... Find a nice tr8 to test drive. Way more comfortable to drive, easy entry and exit. Wedges were not my favorite back then, but I came around.
 
George_H said:
As someone who drove tr6's in the 70s then took a few decades off... Find a nice tr8 to test drive. Way more comfortable to drive, easy entry and exit. Wedges were not my favorite back then, but I came around.
Click to expand...
George,
I think he’s moving in the right direction looking at newer cars with a larger interior. The TRs are too confined and he’s a little on the large size, health is not great, but he’s working on it. I’m 6’1 and 200 and at 73 my 4a and Bugeye are getting too tight while the MGB is a good fit. I’m selling my barn full of ‘restorables’ and restored parts because I now know that I’ll never really get around to them.
Marvin was gracious enough to let us drive his TR6 and it only took about 15 min for my friend to realize that it was not for him. We spent about 6 hours on the road going to look at Marvin’s car and the time we spent together was priceless.
Thanks for your advice, Rut
 
Rut -

XK8's are gorgeous cars and quite the bargain... BUT! They can be quite finicky and demanding when it comes to maintenance. If you find one that is well sorted and has been cared for properly, with all the known issues handled, it is a joy to drive. You won't find a more comfortable cruiser, and it garners plenty of attention.
 
Mickey Richaud said:
Rut -

XK8's are gorgeous cars and quite the bargain... BUT! They can be quite finicky and demanding when it comes to maintenance. If you find one that is well sorted and has been cared for properly, with all the known issues handled, it is a joy to drive. You won't find a more comfortable cruiser, and it garners plenty of attention.
Click to expand...
Mickey,
Thanks, we are looking at 2005 and newer for those reasons and the Ford motor would be an advantage as far as service is concerned. He really likes the champagne color and relatively low mile cars are well within his budget. I think the body is not only beautiful, but timeless in the Jag tradition.
Rut
 
Happy to offer any insight, should you find one. Our '03 was a great find; has the 4.2 Jag/Ford engine that corrected earlier issues with the 4.0. Still, the fact that its mileage was so low contributed to an issue with the transmission, and I also had to replace the hydraulic lines for the top. But it's been worth the effort!
 
Rut, I'm all about that E46 BMW, beautiful cars. The M's in the middle of the group are very desirable. The SMG gearbox might be the worst thing BMW ever engineered. You can turn it back into a manual for about $3K. Convertibles look the nicest of the group, but have bunches of micro switches to keep them working in sequence. I wold still buy one if the CFO would let me.
 
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