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I've had my TR6 for 15 years now, after buying a partly stripped down but relatively solid car. It was garaged in 1985 by the previous owner and remained there until I bought it in 2002. I then garaged it and over the years gathered some parts while missing out on many more and getting the welding and strengthening done.

 

I got a bit lost in my desire to get the car back on the road mainly caused by time, money and a lack of skill and knowledge. My dad rebuilt the engine and stripped down the front suspension and steering. Unfortunately he became ill and was unable to finish this job off before passing away almost four years ago. This car was to be a project we shared but for various reasons was never really to be. I reached a point at the beginning of this year where I accepted an offer for the car. A week before it was due to be sold my mother-in-law passed away, bringing back the feelings of losing my dad and the project we never completed. It made me realise how much I'd regret selling the car without finding out how much it'd cost to get back on the road and usable. The key word here is usable, not concourse.

 

Off I went to get some estimates to see if it was doable by firing off a few emails with some detailed photos and a list of the work I wanted doing. I had an immediate response from one restorer (and supplier of parts) of £50k - this same company had a full nuts-and-bolts restoration on their website for £35k, so I could've sold mine, bought this and still be £15k to the good. The next company viewed the car in-person and proposed £12-15k for the reassemble and £8k for prep and respray. A third viewed and gave an estimate of almost £12k for prep and respray and no real estimate for reassembly but an hourly rate for labour and a 6 months timescale. I'd pretty much given up at this point and was almost on the verge of going back to selling it. I've got a company coming on Monday and another local company who aren't "TR experts" but have both brought TRs back to road use who've quoted between £3 and £3.5k for prep and respray - to a daily use standard - and have indicated they can complete the reassembly within my budget, based on their past experience. It looks like I'm heading towards getting the car back on the road and actually driving it.

 

If you're still reading at this point, the main reason for my post is to find out if £3 - £3.5k seems good for prep and respray and what your estimates would be to reassemble everything after a respray, including fitting the gearbox and engine and rebuilding the front suspension and steering.

 

Also, I've got a shopping list of parts that I'll need and wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction for them or if you have any of them you no longer need. I'm in North Staffordshire so would be willing to travel around a 25-30 mile radius. It's an early (first 500) 1972 CR 125bhp car.

 

Cooling System

Water Pump and Pulley

Air Duct and fitting kit

Electrical

Battery box linertray,

Battery hold down kit

Battery cable kit

Lumenition Magnatronic Ignition System

Full Wiring loom assembly

Engine

Engine mountings

Fuel System

PI fuel pump kit, 'Bosch' type cylindrical pump

Fuel pipes

Braking System

Brake pipes

Interior

Boot liner kit, PI model and fitting kit

Boot Mat, carpet, nylon, PI models, black and fitting kit

Gearbox tunnel, fitting kit and seal

Trim kit, coarse grain vinyl, black and fitting kit

Dashboard, matt finish walnut (preferably) veneer, RHD

Seat belt kit

MX5 heated black leather seats (wife has insisted on heated!!)and seat runners/adapters

Hood

Hood frame rivet and washer, plain

Seal and channel kit

Hood webbing kit

Black vinyl roof cover

Miscellaneous

Front spoiler

Matching lock set (doors, boot and cubby) with key

Ignition cylinder and key

 

If anyone fancies a trade I've got two sets of driver and passenger seats from a 1969 TR6 although both sets have holes to the driver side outer edge and are likely to need refurbing. I've also got an MG prefix Triumph 2500cc engine ready for refurbing although still turns by hand.

 

Thanks,

Steve

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Steve have left you a PM

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PMs replied to

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To add to the list of parts, I need a front bumper with LH and RH brackets

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Hi Guys, I have just taken on a "brave restoration" of a TR6... see the "How not to sell a car?" posting on this forum.

 

I am sure that my shopping list is going to run a lot longer than Steve's, so I would gratefully request copies of any PMs giving advice and prospective costs, particularly for prep and paint of a shell, parts etc.etc.

 

I currently anticipate doing most of the bodywork myself, probably over a fairly protracted time, but I would leave painting to a professional. I assume that the painting stage would include final preparation, but not having had this done before, I am not sure exactly what would be involved. I will not be going for a concours, more like a good usable finish, so would all panels need to go back to bare metal, or could prep include blending of original and repaired sections?

 

Mike, not sure if HDA 933J is concours, but it looks pretty good from the picture, so that is the sort of look I would hope to achieve (also in red, not sure if yours is Signal Red or Pimento)

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Hi Robin

 

I have seen the post you refer to & wish you all the best in the restoration.

 

Mine was taken back to bare metal in March 2005 I would not say it is a concours paint job, but recently I had some rot removed from around N/S headlamp & the chap I now use for paint could not believe it was done in 2005, he mainly works on E Types, Ferrari's Lambos etc & top end prestige motors that Tom Hartley sells so knows his onions.

 

The colour is Signal Red.

 

Where are you located Robin?

 

Cheers

 

Mike B)

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Hi Mike, I live in Camberley, so I am in the Windsor Forest group and only about three miles from the venue for the monthly meeting! Only just back into TRing as my 4A has had a poorly engine for years and the chassis is not good, so I dare not take it out in the wet in case it dissolves. Fitted new cylinder liners last year so hopefully some fine weather should see more action than of late.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm just looking at the alignment of the rear wheel arch to the door sill. Does it look like it's flaring out in this picture, or is this how it should be?

 

20150903_183900_zpspmhoafiw.jpg

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Yes it does and no it should not

hmmm, cheers. Looks like that needs sorting as one of the first jobs then. I'll discuss with the company doing it and see what they suggest to sort it out

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Hi Steve, I normally use. Moss for parts but there are some guys on here who can provide second hand parts that are very good at a fraction of the cost of new. It's great that you have a firm price for the respray, and if they come in on budget - fantastic, but as you have already noticed there is something amiss with the rear wing, I would add a word of caution, and check the chassis well, as you could end up spending more than you imagine. But good luck in your quest! Andy

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Tell them how the hell the sill trim will fit without looking a total ball!!!!p

Hopefully I've not given the impression this is how they've done it. This is a before shot, they're still to pick the car up from me and take to their premises, finish the stripping then a bare metal respray before they reassemble.

 

Another company had pointed out this flare but they were the only ones to notice it

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Hi Steve, I normally use. Moss for parts but there are some guys on here who can provide second hand parts that are very good at a fraction of the cost of new. It's great that you have a firm price for the respray, and if they come in on budget - fantastic, but as you have already noticed there is something amiss with the rear wing, I would add a word of caution, and check the chassis well, as you could end up spending more than you imagine. But good luck in your quest! Andy

I'm looking for second hand parts ideally cos I don't really want a gleaming motor that I daren't drive. The prices I've had are based on an "as long as there's no further work required" basis, so I'm pretty sure this is going to fall into that category and add to my starting price.

 

The good thing is that their price is a lot better starting point than the other companies and I've got a bit of contingency up my sleeve just in case - although not a massive amount. I believe they're looking at a body off inspection, but I'll check this with them when they come back to me to firm things up. If there's anything I'm not comfortable about with them we'll either sort it or I'll look elsewhere. In fairness I've seen their work, their premises and they're only a small outfit so I've met the people who will do the work as well.

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It has nowt to do with that,new sills fitted?

Maybe before I bought the car (in 2002)!!??!! This car has been off the road since 1985 so anything could have been done, and probably has been

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  • 2 weeks later...

The car is being picked up on Wednesday so I've got to decide if I have the stone chip guard applied or leave the car smooth? I'm angling towards the stone chip guard as that seems the original method.

 

I know this is likely to open a can of worms and I've read loads of threads on here with the virtues of each one. I'm minded to stick with the Lucas fuel pump but the Bosch is seducing me. Which is going to be most reliable for a daily summer driver?

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  • 7 months later...

A few progress photos:-

This was the day she went away

38281878962_5b7de0d9bb_b.jpg

 

A bit of rust on the inside

38258523236_107f16cafd_b.jpg

 

A new shiny topcoat

37597585854_5ab8c84448_b.jpg

 

As she was two weeks ago

 

38258609076_51f24b1cb3_b.jpg

 

The front bumper is one I bought off eBay and for some reason the two brackets at the ends have been cut off so it doesn't fix back to the wings. I'm going to leave this as is for the time being until I drop on a complete one.

 

As you can see from the windscreen surround I went with a satin black with a bit of matt mixed in to dull it down a bit. I figured the pure matt would show marks more easily.

 

37597628824_975340a7df_b.jpg

 

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Hi Steve,

Looking very promising indeed. great to have an engine back in there. I hope the cost is staying in the budget you had so far. Good luck with the remaining reassembly. Are you getting involved as well or mainly leaving it to the classic car folk you've found?

 

p.s. Re your earlier Lucas/Bosch pump dilemma. As I'm sure you've read either can work fine and both have their draw backs. I've persevered with the Lucas and after some snagging (fuel vaporisation) I've got it reliable now. A great source of info and help for Lucas is Neil Ferguson. For either pump the elec supply AND earth have to be spot on with minimal volt loss at the pump.... just ask how I know...!! <_<;):rolleyes: .

cheers,

J.

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Thanks guys. Other than marking up the loom; identifying, sourcing, buying, boxing and cataloguing the parts; and refurbing the parts I already had I've left it to the mechanic.

 

I'm looking to be about £1,800 over my original budget, but mainly because I brought some work forward while it seemed sensible

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Re your earlier Lucas/Bosch pump dilemma. As I'm sure you've read either can work fine and both have their draw backs. I've persevered with the Lucas and after some snagging (fuel vaporisation) I've got it reliable now. A great source of info and help for Lucas is Neil Ferguson. For either pump the elec supply AND earth have to be spot on with minimal volt loss at the pump.... just ask how I know...!! <_<;):rolleyes:

Sorry, I missed responding to this earlier James. I've stuck with the Lucas system and had it all refurbed by Neil - he lives quite local to me, so seemed rude not to use his services. It's all back in-situ, except I'd forgotten to buy new mounting parts. They've arrived this morning so I've got to drop them into the garage over the weekend and that part of the job can be completed and ready for the first firing-up since my dad rebuilt the engine before his untimely passing :-(

 

Steve before you go any further you might like to remove the Front Grille and paint the surrounding area Black it’s the way it should be and makes for a much nicer finished job.

The front grille needs to come off again, because the bright top and bottom finishers aren't fitted yet. For some reason I'd assumed the black area you mention was a plastic/rubber piece and I was going to source it later. I'll probably leave the mechanic to finish his part of the job and get the car running and mot'd. I'll then get the painter to sort out the black around the grille when he takes the wings off again and repacks the joints. I'm not happy with how they've been done. I know it seems a strange thing to do 'cos it means parts being removed again when they've only just been fitted but the painter has moved premises and isn't quite so local to the mechanic any more, and I sourced the painter independent to the mechanic (that's Project Managers for you!!!)

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Hopefully I've not given the impression this is how they've done it. This is a before shot, they're still to pick the car up from me and take to their premises, finish the stripping then a bare metal respray before they reassemble.

 

Another company had pointed out this flare but they were the only ones to notice it

To add to the sill issue, the sill was correctly aligned. One of the spire nuts for the rear wing had rusted away which meant the sill was right but the rear wing was wrong. It's now lined up far better

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