Project BLUE Triumph GT6

[HillmanImp]

As you may know I have had this GT6 for several years now. It was my daily driver for a couple of years as was my GT6 before it. They really are one of my favourite cars. I prefer Imps in almost every way except the GT6s are nearly always more reliable. 

 

I had owned this GT6 for several years in my mid 20's after a rough break up with my missus and felt the need to be a flash bastard.

 

 

Fantastic car in every way. I owned it for a couple of years but I moved up to Leeds and it did not have a garage so I punted it on and always regretted it. Several years and several cars later I noticed that the cost of GT6s were creeping up. Panicking slightly I went online to see if there were any I could buy quickly before they became too expensive for me.

 

Most were going for about £3-4k but there was one in Lincolnshite going for £2,700. I kept trying to talk myself out of it (well, I say that) but a lass at work said 'ooh, thats nice' and as she is pretty fit, I thought fuck it, YOLO etc. 

 

I drove down to Lincs in the Scirocco that several of you will have seen last week at Shitefest as its now owned by Barefoot and had a look. It was tidy enough. It was pretty ropey compared to my old one TBH but was still worth the money considering the current prices. I took it for a spin and it drove okay. As I said in Moogs thread, the sills looked very suspect but they did not worry me too much as its on a chassis.

 

So I paid a deposit and (think) I got the train down a few days later to pick it up - It was a while ago now. On the way back the car was GR12 except for the bonnet keeping coming up at speed. Every now and then the releases on the side would just let it pop up and the whole of the front of the car would start to raise up. This was simply sorted with some pliers on the catches to make the grip more tightly but caused a couple of scary moments.

 

When I got home this is what I had:

 

 

Anyhow, I had it for a year or so and it did me proud in good weather and in bad:

 

 

Here is is with the rest of the cars I had at the time. 

 

 

Oddly, Volksy was round my house one day whilst I was welding his Volvo and he commented on the fact my car had been on Autoshite. I had obviously posted photos of it but he explained that someone else had randomly posted a pic of it and it was a different colour. A little investigation came up with this photo:

 

 

HOW HOT IS THAT! Why would anyone change that colour to what it is now? The must be mad I thought. 

 

Anyhow, it was soon after this that my problems started and I started understanding how money worked and why someone would choose a cheaper colour to paint it. Firstly, as the longer serving members here know I did this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx22_M8Cym4&feature=kp

 

Whoops! The damage was not too bad. The exhaust was ripped off and had to be reattached with the electric wire from the fence I had just gone through backwards, the rear bumper was bent, there was a dent in the backside, my seat had been ripped from its guides and I had ended up 3ft back with the fuel tank. All were pretty easily sorted.

 

This however is not the reason its been off the road so long. The reason for that is that I bought a house. Basically I borrowed £36k for a deposit and the got a mortgage. Not all of it needed to be repaid (thanks Dad) but enough of it was to result in me being brassic. So I popped the GT6 in the garage at my new place:

 

 

Not without a fight though. The ramp up the the garage was so steep, the GT6 grounded out getting in. Simple obstacle to sort though, I just leathered it up the drive breaking the bottom of the garage door frame with the exhaust as you will probably be able to see in the picture.

 

From there the car just languished for several years pretty much acting as a shelf for all the shite I could fit on it whilst I sorted out the Sera, Daf & Lancia (amongst other cars I owned but they actually took some actual work):

 

 

Interim shite:

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of a depressed looking GT6 locked away in the garage looking out at my other shite.

 

 

last year I dragged the GT6 out to properly sort it and get it back on the road. 

 

Here it is on a short drive to the pub with the Lancia:

 

 

The sills and strengtheners were pretty rotten:

 

 

I had proper sills but was not forking money out on the inside so just used a few slices of metal:

 

 

I then popped the sill on. (I wish I had taken more photos before I started this there are SO many gaps). I had to also weld up te rear NS arch and the rear OS floor and several other bits. 

 

There are still several bits to weld up on the car but there are not test fails (I don't think). Structurally its pretty good. I have since let out my house and moved in with the missus and work has recommenced on the GT6 in the last few weeks.

 

Since it was laid up it developed some electrical problems. For the first time in about 10 years I took a car of mine to a garage to sort out rather than trying to lash it together with chewing gum and foil from fag packets etc. Sadly when I got it back its blowing fuses here there and everywhere. I rang them today and they said they will sort it so I wont name and shame them unless they do me over. They have a good rep though so think it will be okay. 

 

The overdrive also does not work anymore. Last time I used it, the overdrive was getting slower and slower to engage. Having never owned a car with overdrive before, I have no idea what this means. Do I need to replace it or is it something else? Is it an easy fix? Fook knows. However, getting it on the road is the priority so that I can then take it straight back off the road to do the cosmetic welding. 

 

I think I will update this thread as I go along. 

[drum]

Always liked these but they're probably out of my reach now. Looking forward to the progress.

[cort16]

So is it going to get going on the road this year?

Has it got the same weird rear suspension setup as the spitfire?

[dollywobbler]

Lazy overdrive is almost always just low gearbox oil. A drain and refill is probably an idea. Glad to see some progress. I adore GT6s, especially in light blue.

[Jon]

I remember you coming over to visit us in Leeds in this, to take some measurements from my Imp. I don't remember much about it, other than that it sounded nice as you drew away, especially when you gave it some beans. I remember that vid from the first time round and judging by your enthusiastic driving, I'm not surprised to see that you later span it!

[Skizzer]

Oh goody, I like these - looking forward to following progress.  When I was a young 'un these always seemed to have a monstrous tide mark.

 

That dark blue is very pretty but not very Triumph.  Glad they lost the tints at the same time - most undignified for a GT6.  What's the point of 'privacy glass' when you have to lie on the pavement to see inside anyway?

 

Yikes at the crash vid.  I've watched it a couple of times and can't really see what went wrong: looks like the back just went light over the hump as you put the power down?

[dollywobbler]

It isn't the power going down that's the problem. I think the rear end was already wayward because of lift-off oversteer. Managed something similar in the XJ6 fairly recently on a wet roundabout joining a motorway slip road. Realised I was overdoing the beans, eased off and away the back end went. At about 60mph. Fortunately I kept my foot where it was and gathered it all up, but only just! My first experience with lift-off oversteer was as a 21-year old in a Subaru Impreza. GT6s are not very grippy.

 

It's a horrible video but a worthy reminder of the perils of rear-wheel drive. Am very glad no massive damage or injuries were picked up. Incredible really.

[HMC]

Lovely! I always did wonder about that GT6, the odd mention meaning you'd still kept hold of it. It sounded brilliant in the vid, what exhaust system gave it that bark?

 

I may acquire one myself, a 67 mk1 with the even scarier rear suspension, in talks with a friend for a deal with my jag in part to help with a nasty tax bill. Silver linings etc

[HillmanImp]

Considering how late it was and how drunk I was when I decided to write this, it does not read as bad as I thought it would.

 

So is it going to get going on the road this year?
Has it got the same weird rear suspension setup as the spitfire?

 

Hopefully on the road soon. I booked it in for a test last week to see what it needed but the top fuse (wipers, brake lights, temp & fuel gauge and some other things I think) blew about 100m from home so I cancelled it.

 

Its got the Rotoflex suspension on this, as did my last one. Like this:

 

 

Touch wood I have never had to do owt with it but suspect that time will come soon. I checked the couplings before I drove it a while back and they were fine though. Driving it a few times recently, it does seem a bit harsh but I cant remember if it was always like that or not and its just driving around in the luxury of the Visa that it blurring my judgement. Will see what the MOT tester says though. 

 

Can't really see what went wrong: looks like the back just went light over the hump as you put the power down?

 

The reason for the accident was a combination of wet road, lift off understeer, a new road surface and of course bad driving (ME! NEVER!). A couple of years before, I used to drive that way to work every day and normally gave it more beans than that so was surprised when it happened. Can't remember what kind of tyres were on it though, they were the ones it had when I bought it. 

 

I'm not surprised to see that you later span it!

 

Says the man who did the same to an MX5    TBH, with the bell exhaust on it, you sound like you are diving it enthusiastically even when you are not. It makes such a great noise. My mate was surprised at how fast it sounded and felt when you were in it compared to how slow it was when he was driving behind it in his car. 'Sound of a supercar, fuel consumption of a lorry and the  speed of a 1.2 Clio........'

 

Glad they lost the tints at the same time - most undignified for a GT6.  What's the point of 'privacy glass' when you have to lie on the pavement to see inside anyway?

 

Never noticed the tints before. You are right it looks awful. Whilst I like the colour it is now, I really like the old colour. I had never seen one that colour before. There are still traces of the dark blue in the engine bay but I will be getting rid of them soon when I get round to tidying it up. 

 

The paintwork on it is proper borked though. It needs a respray. A mate has said he will do it if I do the prep so will see how that pans out. Failing that I will do the prep and see about taking it up to CortinaDave's mate and maybe have a couple of days holiday in Fife.

 

What exhaust system gave it that bark?

I may acquire one myself, a 67 mk1 with the even scarier rear suspension, in talks with a friend for a deal with my jag in part to help with a nasty tax bill. Silver linings etc

 

I think there were a standard exhaust system option on these but I could be wrong. My old one had the single silencer though, still sounded good but not as good as the one that's on there now. People said I would soon tire of the noise on it but its never happened.

 

With the bell exhaust on I obviously get a lot of attention but the best thing is always the look on childrens faces. A lot of adults probably don't look on purpose as I am obviously just an attention seeking idiot (they probably expect to see a Subaru go past or something) but kids are always amazed as I burble and roar past them. The always stop and turn round probably thinking its a Ferrari or something, not something that cost less than their dads mountain bike to buy.

 

Thanks for the OD advice DW, will give that a go. I seem to have lost the top of my gearstick whilst its been laid up so need to order another (amongst other things). 

[KruJoe]

Hey, nice to see a thread about this at last.

 

I've always been bemused and horrified by transverse leaf springs, but that looks like it might actually work ok.

I wonder why the chassis goes all narrow in the middle - wouldn't it twist quite easily?

 

Oh, and those alloys look ace on it. I've never seen others like it, but they do look good.

[tooSavvy]

"..I wonder why the chassis goes all narrow in the middle - wouldn't it twist quite easily?.."

 

Paging Mr Chapman, Mr Chapman please   

 

 

TS

[Ratdat]

On a GT6 and Spitfire the sills are actually structural unlike a Herald/Vitesse. 

[dollywobbler]

Ratdat's on it. It's a semi-monocoque so doesn't need the outriggers of a Herald.

[lisbon_road]

Looks a good car.  I remember that these were pretty economical too.

 

Er, tints, different colour?  Sure it is the same car?

[Cheggers]

Was it actually that colour?...the whole photo looks very "processed" to me

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MrDuke]

Was it actually that colour?...the whole photo looks very "processed" to me

 

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Something's not quite right - it almost looks 'flat', despite being a deep shade.

[purplebargeken]

Are those two early 44's in the piccie?

[Volksy]

The Fulvia pictured earlier that I co-owned with M. Imp had a transverse leafspeing on the front suspension and a leaf sprung rear end too. Handled bloody well to be honest!

[Sudsprint]

Keep the light blue ....lovely period Triumph colour. I can still recall seeing a concours 2.5Pi saloon in that colour hammering along some B road in Wales - it looked fantastic.

[Ghosty]

That photo is definitely edited.

 

Look at the passenger side window through the windscreen...

[HillmanImp]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Something's not quite right - it almost looks 'flat', despite being a deep shade.

 

I think its just got some sort of filter on it? The photo is from 2004 I think so is more likely to be a film print than digital? Photo peeps will know more than me.

 

 

Are those two early 44's in the piccie?

 

Aye, the burgundy DAF was mine (and a mates), that was a photo of it with its original owner.

 

 

The Fulvia pictured earlier that I co-owned with M. Imp had a transverse leafspeing on the front suspension and a leaf sprung rear end too. Handled bloody well to be honest!

 

 

I don't remember the front suspension. I am racking my brains and its a blank, despite spending quite some time in that area. It did handle nicely though.

[MrDuke]

I think its just got some sort of filter on it? The photo is from 2004 I think so is more likely to be a film print than digital? Photo peeps will know more than me.

 

 

Looks a lot more like post-processing than filter to my (very amateur) eyes. Film negatives can be scanned into digital format very easily, so the age doesn't necessarily figure.

 

Of course, you could lay the whole matter to rest by gouging out a big chunk of paint to check the other coats

[Richard]

I think digital had well and truly taken over by 2004, even I had a digital camera by then.

[HillmanImp]

Of course, you could lay the whole matter to rest by gouging out a big chunk of paint to check the other coats

 

Its still that colour in the engine bay, as you can see where I have previously done this shonky repair:

 

 

I had cut a strip out of the middle and put in a new slice but all the metal I was trying to attach it to was shit too so was chasing the weld for a couple of inches to the left. TBH, it quickly became apparent it needs a fair bit to be cut away, I was meant to be going out, so instead of doing it properly, I just filled it with slag, ground it down and painted it. 

 

I just thought I was going to get away with it, despite knowing in the past that you never ever do.

 

Will be doing it properly in a few weeks (with a few other bits) if all goes to plan.

[UltraWomble]

Not sure how I missed this thread the first time around - but excellent work (well apart from going arse first into a field)

[PiperCub]

Lazy overdrive is almost always just low gearbox oil. A drain and refill is probably an idea. Glad to see some progress. I adore GT6s, especially in light blue.

 

As the man said, change the oil, it's either that or a clogged filter (it's a Laycock unit??) inside the O/D unit itself  will be the cause of a lazy engaging O/D. Should be easily accessible from underneath, check/clean it when changing the oil.

My MGB GT was the same when I bought it. Almost all O/D faults are this or electrical based (wiring or relay/solenoid), actual unit failures are pretty rare. 

 

FWIW - I love the pale blue (Speedwell blue or Powder blue is it?), don't like the darker version at all as to me it looks too modern & doesn't suit the car as the lighter shade does perfectly.

[purplebargeken]

Yep an oil change might indeed help. Powder blue IIRC.

[Taff]

Always fancied one of these, the Mk1 with the stubby tail lights. A far nicer looking car than the e-type, IMO

[HillmanImp]

Hola chaps. Not been on here for ages as have be restoring a shite 1970s house instead plus have a baby and the internet in this place is wank (sky). Logged on at work yesterday yesterday and saw there were several likes for this thread. Had forgotten about it TBH (not the car, that I had ever started a thread).

 

Therefore I thought I should give an update as I have done some work on this when I had the chance over the summer. Firstly though, looking further up the thread I didn't seem to do a shot of the finished nearside sill:

 

 

I decided this summer to do the other side when I had a chance before the baby was born. This is pretty much how it looked at first

 

 

Inside the sill was pretty shitty again with no strengthener. 

 

 

Cleaning it up showed the inner sill wasn't even connected to the floor:

 

 

So I boshed some metal on in as a strengthener and reattached the inner sill on the inside of the car to give it some strength.  I don't seem to have any photos of the inside, it was simply a jpb of cutting out the metal and putting in a long strip going all the way along reattaching it to the floor. Once that was done I started cutting out the rest of the old sill:

 

 

Probably should have cut all of this out and started afresh but cut it out in patches to find good metal and welded it all back up bit by bit. 

 

 

Even the rain didn't stop me. 

 

 

After a couple of days work the sill was finally on.

 

 

The car had also been a pig to start for ages. Last summer I had dismantled the carbs and found one of the jets was stuck. I cleaned it all up and it moved freely but the car ran like shit. Knowing my limitations I took it round the corner to a chap who fixes cars in his spare time outside his house and he balanced the carbs for £30. Bob on. Runs sweet now.

 

Plan is still to MOT it and sell it as I have addressed everything it failed on last year but with the baby and house, plus the fact the missus is on maternity and our combined incomes have dropped dramatically, I have not got round to bunging it in for its test yet so it might wait until spring now. 

 

I am going to have to sign off again now as this internet is so fucking 1995 its loading the pictures a line at a fucking time like the opening screen of Operation bleedin' Wolf. I might like older things but t'interweb had come on leaps and bounds 'innit. 

 

 

[worldofceri]

Seems a real shame to sell after you've put in all that work, especially considering what you said in the o.p. about regretting selling your first one.  I know what you mean about kids absorbing your money better than their nappies absorb their pee, but, they soon grow up a bit and when they do they seem to quite enjoy riding around in a rattly old car (although I'm sure this peters out by the time they hit their teens - slightly older correspondents may be able to advise here).  If you have the luxury of somewhere to keep it and aren't absolutely desperate for the money I reckon you should hang on to it, even if you just enjoy it for the summer and then mothball it again indefinitely.

 

I have a similar issue with our Beetle as it's been on the road very little in recent years,  I've spent quite a bit of money on it and it's still fucked, but I keep it because a) I'll never buy another given the'value' of them, 2) it doesn't noticeably deteriorate where it's kept and c) I'm a bloody minded fool.