TR6, PGN 769L

[cliverich]

Does anybody know the whereabouts of a mimosa yellow TR6, PGN 769L? Pig_in__ell.tiff

 

One of the first ’73 models off the line, delivered to me new on 27 February 1973, this was my company car when I was Deputy Editor of Motor Sport, still in its hey-day as the UK’s largest circulation motoring magazine. I kept it until September 1976, when it was sold on through DCM The TR Centre with 43,000 miles on the clock.

 

It appears from the DVLA website that the car may have survived and be on a SORN.

 

I had a love-hate relationship with this car, nicknamed ‘Pig-in-‘ell’ by my then wife, a combination of its registration number and its troublesome disposition (a bit like her, really!). Pig-in-‘ell became infamous as the subject of several features I wrote in Motor Sport. These generated the biggest postbag we ever had on the magazine, almost all recounting similar quality and reliability problems with TRs and other Triumphs.

 

This posting was prompted by me finding in my archives a full file on the car during its time with me, including the original delivery note, a copy of the original green log book (registered in the name of Teesdale Publishing Co Ltd), invoices, those letters from Motor Sport readers, even correspondence with Lord Stokes, Triumph MD Bill Davis, sales and service director Lyndon Mills and Henlys’ Marketing Director (Windovers, part of Henlys, had failed to PDI the car, which was delivered in appalling condition).

 

Pig-in-‘ell was taken back to the factory twice, for a total of six weeks, in an attempt to put right a host of issues that included fundamentals such as a cracked cylinder head and fuel-injection problems that meant the engine failed to run consistently on six cylinders for the first 5,500 miles . After that the engine never gave another problem, though most other things did, including the gearbox at 15,500 miles. In case the current owner wonders why his ’73 model car has second-gear overdrive, assuming it still does, I had this reinstated when the new ‘box was fitted. I can't imagine that any of the flimsy original paintwork survives; rust was already evident on delivery!

 

I ordered this TR6 expecting it to have the full 150bhp of previous TR6s I'd driven, so was hugely disappointed and confused by my car's lack of performance. When I discovered on pressing the Triumph PR people after delivery that the '73 model had been de-rated to 125bhp to comply with European emissions I felt completely conned. Triumph had introduced this surreptitiously: in my file is the original press release to announce the '73 model year changes, but no mention of a de-rated engine.

 

I should add, by the way, that I'd written the press pack material for the TR6's launch back in 1969 during an earlier life at Canley – I still have my original typed and approved text – so I was particularly conscious of the spec and what to expect as a customer.

 

In spite of everything, I grew to love Pig-in-‘ell, which remains special in my memory. I’d love to find out what happened to it and perhaps be reunited. I still have an original hood cover; for some reason I ended up with two.

 

Regards,

 

Clive Richardson (CR in Motor Sport days)

Pig_in__ell.tiff

[Alec Pringle]

Hi Clive,

 

Pig in 'ell was mentioned on this very forum within the last few months, I think by the current owner.

 

I can't find the thread, but come on chaps someone must remember it !

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[saffrontr]

Hi Clive,

 

I've just been in touch PGN's owner, Gregg Tripp, who confirms that he would like to meet up with you. If you would like to send me an email to saffrontr@tiscali.co.uk I will put you both in touch with each other. The story of your TR is the stuff of folklore Clive and it would be great if you would consider pulling together a story for our magazine TRaction similarly your involvement in the writing of the Press releases.

I have attached an image of PGN taken by Gregg in early 2007 just after he had completed its rebuild and it may be this image that you are remembering Alec as I included it with one of my reports in TRaction in 2007.

Hope to hear from you soon Clive and let me know what you think about an article for TRaction.

 

Derek Graham

TR6 registrar

saffrontr@tiscali.co.uk

[cliverich]

Hi Clive,

 

I've just been in touch PGN's owner, Gregg Tripp, who confirms that he would like to meet up with you. If you would like to send me an email to saffrontr@tiscali.co.uk I will put you both in touch with each other. The story of your TR is the stuff of folklore Clive and it would be great if you would consider pulling together a story for our magazine TRaction similarly your involvement in the writing of the Press releases.

I have attached an image of PGN taken by Gregg in early 2007 just after he had completed its rebuild and it may be this image that you are remembering Alec as I included it with one of my reports in TRaction in 2007.

Hope to hear from you soon Clive and let me know what you think about an article for TRaction.

 

Derek Graham

TR6 registrar

saffrontr@tiscali.co.uk

 

Hi Derek,

Thank you so much for this rapid and positive response. Viewing Gregg's photo of Pig-in-'ell has made me feel quite emotional!

I'd imagined that if she'd survived she would have been in a pretty rough state, perhaps awaiting restoration. To see her looking apparently better than new (I'm sure the paint finish will be a 100 per cent improvement!) is just fantastic. Gregg has obviously done a wonderful job.

I'd definitely like to meet up with Gregg and Pig-in-'ell and will e-mail you separately to set things in motion.

I'll be happy to contribute a story about the car to TRaction, so long as you're not in too much of a hurry.

There's not much of a story about writing the original TR6 press info: I was sports editor of High Road magazine, the glossy, monthly, 130,000 circulation Leyland customer and consumer magazine at the time, with an office next to the Triumph PR department in the Kremlin at Canley. The PR guys seemed to think that my writing ability and knowledge were better than theirs, so they asked me to write their press material. I had to do the research as well. I can't remember who I interviewed in engineering etc, though I still have most of the material they provided.

A spin-off to this, as another favour to PR, on launch day I drove a yellow pre-production left-hooker TR6 from Canley to the ATV studios in Birmingham, where I was interviewed about it and filmed driving for News. I know this was broadcast in the Midlands, but don't know whether it went out nationally on ITN, or whatever it was then. Bear in mind that I was only 22 at the time, yet I was presented with this brand-new model and sent off to do this TV job all on my own with no previous TV experience. It wouldn't happen today!

Best wishes,

Clive

[foster461]

Hi Derek,

Thank you so much for this rapid and positive response. Viewing Gregg's photo of Pig-in-'ell has made me feel quite emotional!

I'd imagined that if she'd survived she would have been in a pretty rough state, perhaps awaiting restoration. To see her looking apparently better than new (I'm sure the paint finish will be a 100 per cent improvement!) is just fantastic. Gregg has obviously done a wonderful job.

I'd definitely like to meet up with Gregg and Pig-in-'ell and will e-mail you separately to set things in motion.

I'll be happy to contribute a story about the car to TRaction, so long as you're not in too much of a hurry.

There's not much of a story about writing the original TR6 press info: I was sports editor of High Road magazine, the glossy, monthly, 130,000 circulation Leyland customer and consumer magazine at the time, with an office next to the Triumph PR department in the Kremlin at Canley. The PR guys seemed to think that my writing ability and knowledge were better than theirs, so they asked me to write their press material. I had to do the research as well. I can't remember who I interviewed in engineering etc, though I still have most of the material they provided.

A spin-off to this, as another favour to PR, on launch day I drove a yellow pre-production left-hooker TR6 from Canley to the ATV studios in Birmingham, where I was interviewed about it and filmed driving for News. I know this was broadcast in the Midlands, but don't know whether it went out nationally on ITN, or whatever it was then. Bear in mind that I was only 22 at the time, yet I was presented with this brand-new model and sent off to do this TV job all on my own with no previous TV experience. It wouldn't happen today!

Best wishes,

Clive

 

Clive, thanks for checking in and I'm glad to see that PGN not only survived but has thrived. I dont know how often you get to a TR or any classic car event these days but where I live you can attend an event with 800 pre-80's British sports cars and for many if not most you would think you were looking at cars that just left the showroom because people take such great care and pride in their restoration and often spend several times the resale value of the end product in the process. I'm guessing PGN probably falls into that category. I often wonder what the original designers and engineers and assembly workers think when they see these cars today and the people that have adopted them. I bought my first TR6 in 1978, a 1972 model, and it was already a basket case in need of a total rebuild after only 6 years. Not one inner or outer fender or B post or door skin survived. They were designed to last 10 years, 80k miles tops.

 

I hope you take up Derek's offer and write an article for TR Action. We love this stuff and in recent months have enjoyed some excellent contributions from former Standard Triumph employees for example who have been kind enough to share their stories.

 

Stan

[saffrontr]

Hi Clive,

 

Hopefully you will have received an email via the forum with Gregg's email address. With regards an article for TRaction no great hurry.

 

Cheers

 

Derek

[cliverich]

Hi Clive,

 

Hopefully you will have received an email via the forum with Gregg's email address. With regards an article for TRaction no great hurry.

 

Cheers

 

Derek

 

Thanks, Derek, I've just received it. My email to you containing my contact details for Gregg has crossed in the ether. I've attached an unconnected TR6 photo with it for your interest.

Regards,

Clive

[trfella]

Hello Clive,

 

I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading your article regarding this car. Funnily enough, it was only in the last month that I read it, and promptly posted on this forum about the possibility of activating O/D on 2nd gear on a J-type.

 

You sir are a piece of living/breathing TR6 history, and I am very happy that you have found your old car after all this time.

 

Look forward to your future contributions.

 

 

John

[RogerH]

And they all live happily ever after.

 

Bye Bye

 

Roger

[Guest ntc]

Hello Clive

So you are the one for me getting involved with TR's only kidding I remember reading your article in Motor Sport mag, when I was involved in rallying ie; BTRDA rally sport championship say's a lot for my age and I would also love to see this article and the story about the car in TR Action. There was always a love hate relationship with these cars

Regards

Neil

PS. Roger sarcasms is the cheapest form of wit.

[RogerH]

Hi Neil,

no sarcasm at all. If you read each post it is a rather touching story with an almost fairy tale ending. Well worth putting into an article as stated.

Not many people get the sort of response that Clive has received. Best of luck to him.

 

Roger

[cliverich]

Hello Clive,

 

I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading your article regarding this car. Funnily enough, it was only in the last month that I read it, and promptly posted on this forum about the possibility of activating O/D on 2nd gear on a J-type.

 

You sir are a piece of living/breathing TR6 history, and I am very happy that you have found your old car after all this time.

 

Look forward to your future contributions.

 

 

John

 

Thanks, John. Glad you enjoyed looking back at my TR6 experiences.

You mention article in the singular. I actually wrote two features: The Tale of a TR6 appeared in MS November 1973 and The Continuing Tale of a TR6 in December 1974. You must have read the second because it features the overdrive. The real tale of woe appears in the first.

I can't remember the exact details of what DCM did with the electrics to activate 2nd gear O/D on Pig-in-'ell's J-type overdrive, but it was so easy for them to do when they installed the new 'box that they didn't even charge me for it.

When I raised the 2nd gear O/D issue with Triumph after I found it absent on the car as delivered, they told me that it had been deleted for some time on the earlier CP model, too.

Regards,

Clive

[foster461]

I can't remember the exact details of what DCM did with the electrics to activate 2nd gear O/D on Pig-in-'ell's J-type overdrive, but it was so easy for them to do when they installed the new 'box that they didn't even charge me for it.

When I raised the 2nd gear O/D issue with Triumph after I found it absent on the car as delivered, they told me that it had been deleted for some time on the earlier CP model, too.

 

Clive, it is pretty easy to enable OD for 2nd on the J type, its just a matter of tapping the top cover for another inhibitor switch for 2nd gear and wiring it into the circuit as these inhibitor switches are all in parallel. Many of us have done this on our J types and we understand how not to abuse it. There are differences between the A type and the J type units but I think even with the A types Triumph was seeing too many units damaged by too much welly in 2nd and that was a contributing factor to why they removed that option on the J type.

 

I dont use OD in 2nd much but when I need it, I'm glad I have the option.

 

Stan

[trfella]

Thanks, John. Glad you enjoyed looking back at my TR6 experiences.

You mention article in the singular. I actually wrote two features: The Tale of a TR6 appeared in MS November 1973 and The Continuing Tale of a TR6 in December 1974. You must have read the second because it features the overdrive. The real tale of woe appears in the first.

I can't remember the exact details of what DCM did with the electrics to activate 2nd gear O/D on Pig-in-'ell's J-type overdrive, but it was so easy for them to do when they installed the new 'box that they didn't even charge me for it.

When I raised the 2nd gear O/D issue with Triumph after I found it absent on the car as delivered, they told me that it had been deleted for some time on the earlier CP model, too.

Regards,

Clive

 

Hi Clive, I did mean both articles - sorry.

 

They amongst others, have been reprinted in the 'Triumph TR6 Gold Portfolio' by Brooklands Books.

 

Anyway, a superb written account of your experience, which I understand was far from unique! Most of the other road tests in that book are pretty much the same as each other, so you actual account of living with the car was by far the most informative of the lot!

 

Cheers

John

[cliverich]

Clive, it is pretty easy to enable OD for 2nd on the J type, its just a matter of tapping the top cover for another inhibitor switch for 2nd gear and wiring it into the circuit as these inhibitor switches are all in parallel. Many of us have done this on our J types and we understand how not to abuse it. There are differences between the A type and the J type units but I think even with the A types Triumph was seeing too many units damaged by too much welly in 2nd and that was a contributing factor to why they removed that option on the J type.

 

I dont use OD in 2nd much but when I need it, I'm glad I have the option.

 

Stan

 

Hi Stan

Yes, that sounds about right for what DCM must have done to enable Pig-in-'ell's 2nd gear O/D.

You're right, Triumph told me they were having a lot of warranty claims and service problems on the CP cars because of the torque loadings under full welly, so they de-activated 2nd gear O/D on later CP cars with the A-type O/D. They weren't about to reinstate it on the J-types of the emasculated CR cars even though these could have been expected to be a touch gentler on their drive lines.

It was fun to go up through all seven forward speeds just for the hell of it. But I didn't use 2nd gear O/D too much for extracting straight line performance: I found it most useful in the twisty stuff and as a 'lazy' gear to plug the 2nd to 3rd gap in traffic, especially as my car spent a lot of time commuting in London.

Best wishes,

Clive