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#1
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Bought a '72 Spitfire (treasure-hunting during the F1 race weekend)
Well, the F1 race in Indy was a total bust, but I came back with some cool race-weekend souvenirs. On the drive over my buddy and I ran across a little town that was having a city-wide rummage sale. Found a Crafstman chainsaw for $25, a Yamaha turntable for $5, and a Ryne Sandberg posable figure for $.25 (GO CUBS!). My buddy scored two boxes of that thin brick facade to replace some broken pieces in his house for a quarter, too. I left a hydraulic hoist at one garage sale... it was $75, though. Wish it had been more affordable.
My big "race souvenir" was a 1972 Triumph Spitfire, though. I have had a '67 MGB GT and a '76 TR6, and miss them both something fierce. This Spit had a great body and frame, and the p.o. said it was parked with an engine "tick" 11 years ago. It was garaged since. New top, tires, interior, etc... not bad looking for the $. He even offered the use of a tow dolly to get it home, so I took a gamble. Got it home, got it started, and found it was spitting oil underneath. Hmmm... dropped the pan and found what was left of one cylinder and rod in the bottom of the pan. Yee-haw! Rebuild or replacement time! These are such neat little cars. I'd like to get it running reliably enough for the g/f to tool around in it. Such simple little buggers... now if I can just find and engine and figure out why the coil only gets 12 volts when the key is in the "Start" position... Chris
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
#2
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I think the MG engine was a different beast. The Spit has three different engine over the years as I recall: 15xx, 1296, and an 11xx... I think.
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
#3
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No so simple....You need the GT6 bonnet (the Spitfires won't fit) you need the GT6 transmission too. The Stock GT6 transmission is barely able to support that motor and the spitfires really won't at all...if it fit which I am not sure. THe spitfire rear gears are too low also for the GT6 engine..... You are better off putting a spitfire body tub on a GT6 rolling cahssis...the GT6 has bigger brakes and beefier suspension. I know the GT6 intimately...I owned a 1970 GT6+ MKII for ten years.
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#4
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The 1500 was crap however..... The GT6 was way different than the TR6 engine.... It was a short stroke version of the very early TR6 engine with a unique cylinder head. The GT6 was a 2.0 and the TR6 was a 2.5 liter,
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#5
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
#6
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NEVER coast a GT6 in first gear and mash the gas.......... You will shear the mainshaft off in front of the driveshaft flange....then try finding a replacement mainshaft...,... Ask me how I found this tidbit out. Racers machine the input shaft to spitfire specs to use when racing the 4 cylinder spitfires...overkill for a 4 cylinder...but barely up to the task for a GT6, totally different transmission than the TR6 had...(that one was decent). Do a search on Grassroots Motorsports...a couple years ago the put a RX7 engine in a Spitfire...the RoStpit project...major work but I would have loved to have driven that car.
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche Last edited by boneheaddoctor; 06-21-2005 at 02:20 PM. |
#7
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
#8
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#9
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#10
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The Tr6 had more style and a convertible top.....but to me they were two different catagories of cars....each amazing in their caagory.
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#11
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
#12
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150 MPH in a GT6! That would be a hell of a ride.
I didn't know why I thought that TR4s had the same displacement as the TR6. My guess is that the TR4 that I drove years ago was in better shape than the TR6s I drove. That TR4 probably was faster, but not for the reason I thought. I got hooked on MGs before I was allowed to drive, so I never paid much attention to Triumphs. I'm not a big horsepower guy, so give me a 1970-74 MGB and I'm happy. That's my favorite car of all time. |
#13
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I sold it to a soldier who was rotating back to the USA and he took it to Arizona with him....I bet its still on the road there....Sorry I sold it....but at the time it seemed like a good idea. My wife and I both love the TR6...If I survive the upcoming Verizon merger and overtime picks up I will buy one. Always wanted one....never had one. Either that or I will find a chrome bumper MGB in need of a heart transplant and put in a SR20 DTE from a Japanese Silvia coupe....
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Proud owner of .... 1971 280SE W108 1979 300SD W116 1983 300D W123 1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper 1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel 1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified) --------------------- Section 609 MVAC Certified --------------------- "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#14
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Both the Triumphs in my sig have O/Ds . I rebuilt them myself- to the extent I could. The TR4a was my first restoration project and both it and the Spit have been sidelined due to the new family. I expect it will become a major "retirement" project in a few years. At one time I had a 70 TR-6 to go along with the pair but it was too much of a project. And I really was looking for a TR-250, but after having the TR-4a, I have come to appreciate the old wet-sleeve design as being tougher.
I cut my teeth on a '68 MGB when I was a lad. I like those too, but the separate frame of the Triumphs is easier to restore than the unibody
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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??) |
#15
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You don't know anyone with a 1296 engine to get rid of, do you? Or a twin carb (SU) setup for a 1296 or 1500? I dopped the pan on my engine the other night and the carnage that was evident suggests it's time to start looking for a replacement. What was left of one piston and rod was scary!
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1992 300D 2.5T 1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold) 1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy" 1974 Triumph TR6 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's) |
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