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Very rare 1960s sports car


West Peterson

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Guest JR Cars

Very rare? I seem to remember these all over the place. Or was that just in all of the Road & Tracks I used to drool over. Triumph GT6+, right?

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West,

Is that car local? I have a good friend in Cincy that's restoring 2 of those, including one that color (Mallard, where it hasn't been washed off the primer!). He is always looking for parts cars. GT6s aren't as common as one might think.

Send me a P.M. if that car is in SW Ohio. He'd be happy to find it.

--Dave

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grandpa</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Saab Sonet? </div></div>

The giveaway should have been the wrinkles in the rear quarter. Sonnets were fiberglass.

Of course, then there's the different shape of the quarter windows and the lack of vents behind the quarter windows.

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Thanks for stirring up the memories. When I was just out of high school a good friend bought 4 of these at one time. He lived on a farm with access to a large flat bed stake side grain truck. We loaded all 4 of them on the truck. His plan was to make 2 good ones out of the 4. When all was finished he had 2 great cars and 2 very nice drives for a yound person. He did pretty good with them when he sold them. By that time he was a student at Arizona State and bought a fantastic Jag sedan with the proceeds. I did get a ride in one of the GT6's.....wow WOW what a ride !!! Thanks for dusting out a few cob webs West !!

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 58Mustang</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Spitfire was a 4 cylinder roadster. The GT-6 was a 6 cylinder fastback coupe. Two different cars, though there were some common parts </div></div>

Actually there was very little shared between the 2 cars, although they looked nearly identical and the GT6 was originally developed to be a GT version of the Spit. For instance almost no body panels interchange (only a few inner bits and the front apron). Many parts are so similar it takes a trained eye a few minutes to tell, for instance good correct GT6 overriders (bumper guards) are very hard to find, and most cars have Spitfire pieces that appear to be upside down on a GT6 (but only in the way a particularly narrow chicken's egg would appear to be upside down).

This car is a second generation GT6+ (1968-1070), which means it has the upgraded (and totally different) IRS rear suspension from a Spit. It is easily the most sought after version. This was a massive improvement over the 1st generation (1966-67) swing-axle cars, which tucked under much like Corvairs when driven hard. In 1971 they both got similar (simplified but stable) IRS rear ends, but at this time there was really nothing at either end of the car that would interchange between the 2 lines.

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I've driven my friend's RHD GT6+ several times. They are a BALL! grin.gif They will cook you to death on hot days, however, as their ventilation is "convertible sports-car" rudimentary in a now closed car with a relatively large 6 cyl. engine. But that's just part of the fun! grin.gif

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I worked as a parts man and later as parts manager at two British dealerships. The GT-6s were a parts man's nightmare. You needed to know not only the year and model,(GT-6 or GT-6+),but you needed the serial number and the commission number before you could order parts. Even then, there was a good chance of getting the wrong parts. Compared to the MGs and Healeys, the TRs, especially the Spits and GT-6s were extraordinarily tinny. If you watched carefully, you could see the interiors fall apart before your eyes.

And then there was the Austin America. We thought nothing could be worse. Enter the Austin Marina. It was as if BL said, "Let's take all of our worst parts and build a motorcar."

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> You needed to know not only the year and model,(GT-6 or GT-6+),but you needed the serial number and the commission number before you could order parts.</div></div>

This is typical of almost all imported cars from that era. They generally were not tethered to the notion of "model year changes", and when someone came up with a load of better and/or cheaper parts on Thursday they were likely bolting them on by Friday (sometimes switching back again shortly). Any authenticity guide worth it's salt will have a chronological list of commission numbers (British for serial #) and changes that occurred.

GT6 and GT6+ is really just a model change from 1967 to 1968. They were not made simultaneously.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Compared to the MGs and Healeys, the TRs, especially the Spits and GT-6s were extraordinarily tinny.</div></div>

However, being seperate frame and body cars they are much easier to restore today, and there are very few parts that aren't commonly remanufactured. My TR6s could just about be built out of a catalog, whole bodies and new frames alike. GT6s are almost as well represented, exclusive of frames and some body parts that occasionally can still be found in NOS state (for a handsome price). Ditto for Spits.

The smaller cars are less well represented in the hobby due to both durability issues and the general care these cheap cars were given. Spitfire engines (especially later engines) and rear suspensions in particular were not strong points. However the GT6 corrects both and blows the doors off of a Spit at the same time.

The big TRs and GT6 are much better thought of in the hobby than the rest of the Triumph line. As for the British Leyland debacle cars of the 1970s that followed (TR7, Austin America & Marina, Stag, etc.), it becomes a very sad tale. frown.gif

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