TR6 restoration underway

[SlickV8]

HI all, I'm new here but having built a couple of cars I understand the value of these forums :) I'm more a keen amateur than anything so excuse some potentially daft questions..

I've just driven my next project home - a '73 TR6 injection. Its not been converted to run unleaded but is seemingly very solid and little in the way of rust or body panel issues. I've got a plan forming on what I'm going to do with it but hands up, I have no knowledge of these at all. I'm aiming to create a fast road daily driver.

The drive home was 120 miles and while it made it without issue I did think it felt decidedly flat - almost restricted [even despite the chronically slipping clutch]. My immediate thought was the vacuum advance line was missing but a little web surfing seems to suggest that mine wouldn't have had a vacuum advance? - and i cant see anywhere obvious on the manifold it would go to either.

So before i start stripping it down I'd like to make sure I've identified any potential problems and indeed fixes while the car is drivable so I can make sure I address them correctly and/or make appropriate modifications.

Please excuse a quick list but this'll hopefully fill some knowledge gaps while I finalise what I'm going to do;

Initially, Is there any 'usual suspects' for its flat/lazy running?

Is there an accepted electronic ignition upgrade?

Is the injection system worth refreshing or is a swap to carbs the way forward?

While I'm having the valve seats changed should I consider any further head work?

Thanks in advance, be assured I'll doubtless be living on here as we get stuck in and I'll be sure to post updates and pictures as I get chance :)

[John Morrison]

Well firstly a warm welcome, Slick? a name would be nice as we are such a friendly crowd.

If I were you I would resist the temptation to dive into a running car, address the clutch, and the flat running and put some miles on her, this will undoubtedly 

save you much time and expense in the long run, as you learn what needs sorting and what does not, for me converting to unleaded for the sake of it, is just such an 

unnecessary expense, certainly for now.

An absolute priority is get along to your  local group, ask loads of questions, and think about joining The TR REegister,

John. 

[SlickV8]

Thanks John. The car is in need of some real love and attention before i drive it much further. All the suspension bushes are goosed and the brakes slightly less than confidence inspiring, its definitely not fun to drive as it stands 

I did wonder about the Unleaded conversion but I'm leaning towards a colour change so along with clutch swap the engine will need come out anyway. My painter is coming over to look at it tmrw so I'll be better placed [or not!] to decide on next move after then.

I'll certainly look for a group near me - Ive a MK3 Spitfire I built in 2020 I can rock up with while this is in surgery.

rgds

Nick

 

[John L]

Welcome from me also, this is a really good site to get manuals and loads of info on the PI system, http://www.vitessesteve.co.uk/PartsManuals

Familiarise yourself with the workshop manual, it will make life a lot easier, don't forget to post on here how you are getting on with photos!

John 

[Mk2 Chopper]

Welcome, and enjoy the '6.

Flat/ lazy could be a simple as it needs a tune (plugs, points, timing, tappets etc) or engine wear, injection system might need work, but again could be simply leaking injectors or low pressure. Best to go through the simple stuff and see how it responds, and then if necessary delve into the other areas. 

Good luck with it. 

Gareth

[Mike C]

Rebuilding and recalibrating the injectors and metering unit can totally transform these cars. My 1969 CP was never fitted with a vacuum advance.

[brian -r]

Welcome to the world of TR ' s and our forum.

Your PI system does not have a vacuum advance none do.

From my experience look at the usual first plugs, points, condenser and timing. Then check the injectors and throttle balance and at some point have the metering unit overhauled.

Obviously your clutch needs attention very soon ,as the gearbox comes out through the cockpit the engine can stay in place for now 

Finally invest in the official workshop manual ( brown bible )

Your starter for 10 , you will find much more .

Enjoy

Brian

[Paul Hill]

If you do need help with fuel pump metering unit etc you are very near to a good engineer who is a TR6 specialist 

Carl Fitchett at TR Trader.  SK8 5KZ

[rcreweread]

Nick  - sent you a PM ( personal message) little while ago which I can see you haven't yet read - if you look in the top right corner of a Forum page, you will see an envelope icon - this is your forum mailbox and if there are any unread messages in it, there should be a red tag showing - click on the envelope icon and that will open your mailbox and and you will be able to see your messages. You can set your settings so that you get an automatic email if someone sends you a PM which is quite a useful tool as the envelope and red tag are not that obvious to see.

Cheers Rich

[SlickV8]

Thanks all, so I've stripped it down to virtually a rolling shell and decided on colour change so as I'm doing the clutch the engine may as well come out too....a job for next week. Paint is booked in for first week in April so I'm hoping to get everything sorted ready to start rebuilding late april.

I'm leaning now towards converting to unleaded and stage 2 head & new torquier camshaft; seems sensible while its apart? Obviously this will also lead to ss manifold and exhaust but I reckon the extra £ will add value at the other end so the budgets already having to be tweaked

 

couple of pics for you...

 

[SlickV8]

Anyone any thoughts on the bottom of the front wings? Both sides have a step out from the sill, is this normal??

[Richard Pope]

Having just completed a full restoration of the body tub and chassis with still the rest of the car do now asemble, are you sure all the body panels are all OK? In my case mine was a lot worse than I thought.

That cill seems wrong and and is there rust on the inside face of the cill? I see you have a large repair by the dashboard to do too so a paint job in April seems to cut it fine. Is the chassis all OK too especially around the T shirt area where usually there is a lot of rust. Are the shut lines all OK as that could indicate the chassis is not. To me that's a huge gap where the cill join is and points me to think all is not well. As no doubt you know, rust will come back very quickly after a re-spray if it is still there.

I guess you are not taking the body off so you need to be sure all is OK. No point in wasting the re-spray cost so I would take off the body to see everything is all well and also allows you to paint the chassis.

 

[stuart]

Thats because the sills are repros and dont have the correct cut in to allow the wing to sit in flush, common fault.

Stuart.

Edited March 9, 2022 by stuart

[Mk2 Chopper]

No that's not correct, the sill goes in behind the wing so that the wing should be flush with the part of the sill you can see. Once you've got the wing off you'll see what's causing the issue, probably a bad repair, so just as well you are doing a strip down. 

Gareth

[ntc]

1 hour ago, stuart said:

Thats because the sills are repros and dont have the correct cut in to allow the wing to sit in flush, common fault.

Stuart.

There is far more than that going on 

[PodOne]

I suspect if mine was anything to go by that the cill behind is possibly full of rot and maybe also the bottom of the wing. Mine was full of mud making the perfect medium for rust the inner and outer cills underneath were shot in fact the ends both sides so I replaced the lot. The wing bottoms front and rear should be flush with the cills and door edge as said above. if the cills have already being replaced this hasn't being addressed as the repros aren't pressed deep enough although I had to modify mine a lot to get them to fit right. I understand now the ones from Heritage are supposed to be a lot better? 

I'd be tempted to remove all the wings before sending her for paint as there is likely to be lots of welding to the tops of the rear wings where they meet the deck. Just saying but April seems a bit optimistic for a good job to be done even if you work day and night! 

Andy 

[SlickV8]

5 hours ago, stuart said:

Thats because the sills are repros and dont have the correct cut in to allow the wing to sit in flush, common fault.

Stuart.

So,if I can ask from a layman’s perspective, would that suggest the lower wing has some sort of tab that locates/fits within that recess in the sill? I don’t particularly want to redo the p/owners replacements but I’m thinking the wings need come off for paint anyway so I could possibly modify the sill recess relatively easily??

[PodOne]

Three bolts/screws to the bottom into spire clips in the cill and three in the A post which you can get at from the inside. The rest along the bonnet linetop, one on the headlight strap (take light out first) and IIRC six to the front valence again into spire clips.

Forgot to mention there is one at the top of the A post which sits outside between the door/wing shut line.

Edited March 10, 2022 by PodOne

[SlickV8]

1 hour ago, PodOne said:

Three bolts/screws to the bottom into spire clips in the cill and three in the A post which you can get at from the inside. The rest along the bonnet linetop, one on the headlight strap (take light out first) and IIRC six to the front valence again into spire clips.

Forgot to mention there is one at the top of the A post which sits outside between the door/wing shut line.

Thats really useful, thankyou. I'm wondering about the actual fix though. Once the wing is off am I trying to deepen the recess so some sort of tab on the lower wing locates further into it, thus bringing the wing inline with the sill? Hope that makes some sense - see the pic attached, Ive highlighted the recess I'm talking about (this is a pic posted earlier by Stuart so isn't my sill, I havnt taken my wing off yet obviously)

[stuart]

No the area youve high lighted was part of Triumphs rudimentary drainage from the plenum. The line behind where the sill outer edge dips inwards below the "A" post is the area of concern as the earler repro sills dont have this stamped correctly so the wing where it curves down around doesnt then fit flush like this.

Stuart.

 

[SlickV8]

Ah, i get it. So that's looking like a reasonably significant job to resolve? Is there a way to modify or is the only solution new sills?

[Mk2 Chopper]

I would think if you have a welder you would have no trouble making the sill sit better, first thing is to take that wing off and figure out the cause, then you'll know how to tackle it, if it's rusty then a new sill might be needed or if it's simply a badly pressed repro sill, then you can cut it and correct it. 

Gareth

[stuart]

You might well find something like pictured below. If you need sills then get the new Heritage pressings as theyre a better fit.

Stuart.

 

[boxofbits]

Plus you’ll find when the wings are off they’re likely to need some repairs to the lower areas on the inside. Your door skin also looks like it might be blistering on the bottom corner, indicating another rust area.

As others have said I think you’d be wise to push back your respray date as I don’t see how it could all be repaired and properly prepared by early April tbh.

[SlickV8]

Amongst the myriad of other jobs I’ll def be making time to get at least one wing off this weekend. I need see for myself so I can fully understand. I’ve got a welder (and mate who can make it sing if I struggle) 

You’re quite correct, im sure I’ll get it once I can see the issue.