Project BLUE Triumph GT6

[HillmanImp]

as for the investment bit...to appease your missus...i bought my daughter a mk2 ...8 years ago for her 21st birthday paid 5k for it then .it's now 14-16k

i had my mk3 for 18 years ..sold it a year ago   had some awesome drives in it.i can  highly recommend driving  it to monaco 

 

I sold the red one at the beginning of the thread in 2004 for £3,000 or so. Some chap contacted me after finding a photo of it on here and he had paid nearly £14k for it. I preferred it in red TBH.

 

 

I very nearly sold the blue one for just over £4k a couple of years back but thankfully didn't.

[HillmanImp]

SUs usually have a little plastic tab on them telling you exactly what type they are, at least my Doloshites did. I just can't remember where it was, near the float bowl I think?

 

Will have a gander later when the snows thawed. 

 

This age I'd expect an aluminium tab, which always corrodes and/or fatigue cracks right where it's attached to the dashpot boobie screw.  I do wish they'd just stamp the casings or fit a more substantial tag.

 

I don't recall seeing one, this might be why. However that doesn't meant it's not there as I was frigging shite at the observation round on the Krypton Factor.

[HillmanImp]

As for colour choice, white will look fantastic.

Doo eeet.

 

I am not keen on the white. I will probably keep it the same colour. Tempted to go back to the darker blue. However, like I say, I can't stop changing my mind about stuff so will see what floats my boat when the time comes. I might do a full custom paintjob of Les Dennis and Cheggers riding Harleys or something but probably not..... 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I am not keen on the white. I will probably keep it the same colour. Tempted to go back to the darker blue. However, like I say, I can't stop changing my mind about stuff so will see what floats my boat when the time comes. I might do a full custom paintjob of Les Dennis and Cheggers riding Harleys or something but probably not.....

 

Just don’t go for nappy-cack yellow (official BL paint name). If I ever buy one, it’s going to have to be red or white - it really shows off their lines. As you say though, your car, your choice. You could even pineapple it and go full harlequin on the panels.

Have you seen the lad on the blue who’s restoring his? Really interesting reading, and every time I read it, it makes me want one of the damn things!

[DSdriver]

I think they are really well styled, as was the 2.5 saloon and the Stag. The 2.5 was much better looking than the 2000 of the sixties.

[mercrocker]

Yeah, the GT6 has aged really well.   Bloke at work has just bought one as his retirement car (hope he can still get in it!) in Magenta, it does look nice.

[SiC]

I love the GT6 and think they look lovely. However I've been told by many that they drive rubbish. Good job really as I can't afford one now anyway!

[SiC]

They are a much nicer drive than an MGB!

 

Not hard tbh.

 

Didn't these do something funky with the backend when cornering hard on uneven ground?

[purplebargeken]

All Triumphs drive better than MGB's, phakt!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Not hard tbh.

Didn't these do something funky with the backend when cornering hard on uneven ground?

Don’t have a clue what you’re on about.

 

 

*Yes, it’s a Spitfire, but yeah.

[captain_70s]

Not hard tbh.

 

Didn't these do something funky with the backend when cornering hard on uneven ground?

Big cast iron 6-cylinder up front, no weight in the arse, swing axle suspension. They like to spin a bit, steadily got more stable as new generations came out but are probably always going to be more tail happy than an MGB.

[SiC]

Like the beetles in this classic video:

 

[Video]

[Six-cylinder]

Mk1 GT6s could be a handful with swing arm rear suspension.

 

Mk2 GTs had a re designed rear suspension with a lower wishbone that limited camber change to 7 degrees and were just a progressive breakaway equal to the standards of the day.

 

Early Mk3s had the same set up as the MK2s.

 

Later MK3s had swing axle rear suspension used on the Herald-derived models, but with the transverse leaf spring mounted on a pivot, eliminating roll stiffness at the rear, and thus greatly reducing the jacking effect under cornering loads.

[Wack]

Big cast iron 6-cylinder up front, no weight in the arse, swing axle suspension. They like to spin a bit, steadily got more stable as new generations came out but are probably always going to be more tail happy than an MGB.

As demonstrated by the OP on page one

 

[SiC]

!!

 

Doesn't even look like he's going that fast either.

[Sam Glover]

That's just user error, surely? The car's blameless. I guess a Fiesta would be more forgiving if you tried to coast off-line around a wet corner on a crest.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Like the beetles in this classic video:

[Video]

I want to ‘like’ that video, but there must have been at least one fatality out of that lot.

As for the Beetle handling, they appeared to throw themselves over in protest! Interesting the Porsches didn’t go over despite the motor being in the back. Proof, I guess, that sports suspension on high-end motors is just that.

Apart from early GT6s, obviously.

[captain_70s]

That's just user error, surely? The car's blameless. I guess a Fiesta would be more forgiving if you tried to coast off-line around a wet corner on a crest.

Problem is the car is too powerful, in my Dolly 1300 there'd have been no reason to lift off. Flat out all day = More traction. PHACT.

 

!!

 

Doesn't even look like he's going that fast either.

I managed to stuff my Dolomite 1850 into a fence backwards at the giddy height of 10-15mph... That was definitely user error but the bloody thing used to light the tyres up when pulling away from junctions on a wet day regardless of how gently I tried.

[HillmanImp]

That was definitely my fault, not the car. The road was incredibly slippy, it was 6am on a cold morning (timestamp is wrong) and with a new road surface having been put down too it actually made me a fair bit more cautious than I would be normally. Ironically, that probably caused the accident as I lifted off like that trying to avoid crashing.

 

I had got that mini camera that I recorded it on for a tenner of ebay to record my mates and I mountain biking. I had just stuck it in the car to see if it worked on the move with bumps etc and because I thought it might look pretty cool. It did record it okay but it wasn't quite as planned.

 

The next time I used the camera was when I was cycling and I hit a tree stump and binned it down the side of a big drop into a tree. Threw the bloody thing out after that.

[Six-cylinder]

Over 40 years experience and I still own Triumphs. Even my forum name is taken from my love of Vitesses.

 

I have found the six cylinder cars have more under steer than the four cylinder and less precise turn in.

 

The plan this year is to put my Spitfire Mk3 on the road fitted with a 2.5 six cyl engine, fortunately it is also fitted with lower rear wishbones to tame jack up! 

[Sir Snipes]

I had always assumed they were semi-trailing arm same as Stags (similar to e30 3series, Sierra, TVR S etc). I guess they're a bit too early for all that malarky.

[gigglepin]

not a question of too early.. the 2000 saloon had tailing arms..as far back as 64.. they were based on a separate chassis like the heralds and spitfires ..and if you get the front end turning first ,no braking,then boot it you'll be fine 

[barrett]

Having done a big (and in hindsight fairly traumatic) crash since your fence-destroyer video was first posted (was it really 2008? Fuck!), I cringe at the sound of car tearing through gravel and mud, but I can't help but chuckle at the note of weary resignation in your reaction.

 

I was always too scared to lift off in my Herald, ever, but I don't think it was ever going fast enough to be actually be problem.

[HillmanImp]

It wasn't till 2010 that I binned it. It was the first time I'd used the camera and didn't know there was a timestamp on which was wrong so don't worry you're not going mad.

[HillmanImp]

Started this bad muthfucka up today for the first time in nearly 3 years.

 

 

It smoked so badly the neighbours had to come out and close their windows.

 

Result.

 

Presume someone will tell me off for revving it too much too soon but fuck you, I couldn't help it, my foot slipped.....on purpose.

 

The batteries for both the GT6 and the Visa were borked. I'd gone and bought 2 batteries from scrappy in the morning for £20 but one of them seems to be shit as the GT6 wouldn't start.

 

I tried the new (old) battery for the Visa and it worked, which was nice.

 

Car is scruffy as fook. I mean awful. Which is how I'd like to keep it as all GT6s are immaculate these days.

 

List of things to do are:

 

Rebuild carbs - they are both free and working but they are worn. Idle 8s a little erratic.

 

Get overdrive working.

 

Change windscreen. The bleedin cardboard must've slipped when doing the floor and the thing has that much metal on it from grinding, i came back from getting a cup of tea and a blind man was reading it.

 

Weld round windscreen. Whilst its out, i need to do the a piller as it fooked and probably the rest of the windscreen surround.

 

N/S floor. Not rotten, just a bit thin. Will just put in repair panel.

 

Replace diff oil seal. Cant actually undo this. I've tried before but need to get it on some ramps to get it undone. Will keep topping it up for now.

 

All in all, its not too bad.

 

Also took the Visa for a drive. Its a great car. Going to book it in to get its electrics sorted this week and get it in for its test.

[SiC]

Those 6 pots do sound ever so lovely. I'm jellous.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Daaaaamn. Even with it boggy, that sounds bloody glorious. I don’t think I’d EVER need a radio if I owned one of these.

Great to see an update on the old girl.

[HillmanImp]

if you can get hold of andrew turner at andrew turner carbs he'll set you right

 

Spoke to Mrs Turner and she seems to think that they are HS6 carbs from a Dolomite Sprint but asked for some photos just o make sure. Looking online, it seems that they look right but will send the photo's anyway.

[HillmanImp]

Think the lady I spoke to was correct.

 

 

I think it was Issac Hunt who mentioned Sprint Carbs and I think thats what they are.

 

Have sent a photo anyhow to confirm in case there are any peculiarities that I can't spot but hopefully they are now identified. Also have a record here for next time I forget.

[Guest Hooli]

Brilliant thread, I really like these but like most cars I want they've already gone up in price.