Project SLVRBLT- A rapid piece of silver British metal

Thought I'd start a build thread for this project as I need something to keep me motivated amid some setbacks that I've recently encountered.... 

First, what is it? The car is a 1972 Triumph GT6 built to be an absolute rocket as Triumphs go. I know, its old.... but, I like OLD cars, and I love Triumphs. This car was owned by a friend for the past 35 years. 18 years ago, he contracted a local race shop to build it to his specs. They got it mostly fabbed up and drove it up and down the local roads a couple times to ensure that it was sound in its build, then tore it down to paint the body. Then the shop went bankrupt.... My friend ended up collecting the unfinished, disassembled car from the shop and it has sat in this shape ever since. 

Fast forward to today, my friend decided he needed to move the project on and reached out to my father and I. He made us a deal that we could not pass up. The car is ours. Dad does not have any interest in racing at this point in life, so the car will be coming to live with me. 

At this point, my father has checked out the car and taken a ton of pics, and I have only seen pics. So everything I know is from pics and from talking with my friend. 

So, what is she? What's been done? What do I need to do?

1972 Triumph GT6- with Rotoflex style rear suspension

Custom Radiator (I think Sirocco based) with an oil cooler attached.

Updated to 4x114.3 Wheels with custom 15" wheels (TR6 size wheels)

Wilwood front brakes

TR6 Transmission with A-Type Overdrive. Throwout bearing converted to concentric hydraulic bearing. Custom driveshaft

R160 or R180 Differential with CVjoint axles and some sort of matching rear hubs.

Rear disc brake conversion

Rear suspension has most of rotoflex suspension (think Lotus Elan) but has custom parts in some places)

Adjustable coilovers on all corners

Cage welded into body

Rear body dropped and fuel cell installed (looks like a cheapo that might get replaced at some point).

Flared rear fenders

Lexan window throughout (need to be installed)

So what does she need to drive?  

I need to build a new cylinder head for it. My friend 'borrowed' its head for his TR6

I need to get a 3rd Weber DCOE for the custom intake manifold I just sourced  (GT6's have a special manifold to clear the bonnet). 

Have to plumb fuel plumbing. 
Build an exhaust system.

Have to install dash and instruments

Have to install wiring harness

Have to plumb brakes from each wheel to master cylinders

Have to install seats

There will be a ton more, but those are the big tasks. 

Before I can even begin to get the car home:

I need to purchase a trailer to store the car in

Prep a parking pad to put the trailer on next to my home. 

I guess I better put some pics in this thread....

Well, it's a good-looking car, so at least you got that part sorted...

Do you plan on racing it? Autocross? 

I don't think I would have passed on that either.  It looks really nice   That should be a fun ride whatever you do with it.

You should be able to find (or already have) a head, but I have a spare from a '74 if you need it.

Thanks guys! 
 

Recon, initially, I plan to autocross it. I hope to maybe do some HPDE stuff someday too, but we'll see what opportunities come.

Joe, thanks, I think a head is in the parts with the car, but won't get to see until July when I go see it for myself.

Two steps forward with the car!

First, my father and I had a 1965 Triumph Spitfire that we were getting everything together for a build. Unfortunately, we could not work both projects, so the Spit had to go. The buyer has not picked it up yet, but it is moving on. 

Next up, the inline 6 that gives a GT6 its name is just too tall to fit. Several things are done to fit it in there including a low profile thermostat housing, special valve cover, and a big center bulge in the bonnet. If you want to run a set of triple Weber DCOE's, you also need a special manifold! This manifold has each carb a little lower to clear the bonnet.

I remembered a Fbook post from about 5 years ago that a specialist Triumph tuner in England had designed a new manifold for the GT6 that looked pretty trick. I reached out to him a few weeks ago and after a few messages back and forth, I have a manifold in hand. 

I know where a set of Webers is just sitting collecting dust.  They were on the autocross car I co-drove in Virginia, so already jetted for a hot TR6 motor.  They would probably just need some cleaning and new seals.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

I'm sending you a PM. 

I have a pair of matched carbs, but buying a matched triple set might be easier than finding the single to match the pair I have.

This weekend was awesome and eye opening. I answered a ton of questions I had and I added a number more.

I finally had the opportunity to go up and get my hands on the GT6. While I did not get to bring it home, I was able to sell my Spitfire project, so that is one more hurdle out of the way. 
 

First up, much more work is done on the car than I realized. Next, The battery, all bracketry and wiring are already moved to the trunk/boot. Under the bonnet, you have to modify the firewall for triple Weber carbs to fit, and that work is already done. The steering rack is already mounted and mods needed for it are done. 
 

The car also has a lot more special parts than I was aware of. It has an ATI super damper which seriously helps the Triumph six with its lack of enough main bearings. The engine also has an oil cooler installed, along with an a custom Aldon distributor.

Those rear arches look beefier than I recall for a gt6. 

Many years ago there was an autocross gt6 locally that ran triple webers - he had modified the bonnet to have a clear plexiglass bubble for the front most webers.

Many years ago there was an autocross gt6 locally that ran triple webers - he had modified the bonnet to have a clear plexiglass bubble for the front most webers.

Keith Tanner said:

Those rear arches look beefier than I recall for a gt6. 

Very much so. She's hiding some special stuff underneath as well. The flares aren't crazy, but its genuinely a widebody GT6. 

SSR Competition wheels, too. Nice :)

If you are intent on keeping the Triumph engine, some alloy engine plates and an alloy water pump housing will shave some weight.  The ATI damper really does smooth out that engine.

More complete on the the GT6. I managed to get the head, valve train and valve cover.

Triumphs aren't terribly different than any other engine, they make more power with better flow and better compression. 

I started work on this head by measuring the head thickness and quickly found that it was already cut to give a compression bump of over 3 points, which bumped it to over 10/1- big jump for a Triumph. This is super cool, as it costs a pretty penny (and a lot of gripes) to get one cut this far. 
 

Next up, I disassembled the head. Everything appears to be in good shape. It has big valves in it already and plenty room to port it out. 
 

The valves I pulled were interesting- two were seriously cracked. I've actually never seen any that bad. They will all be replaced anyway. The guides appear to be good, and, they are the upgraded tapered bronze guides.
 

The valve train is in excellent shape externally, but I'll disassemble and go through it anyway. 
 

Valvecover is nice if it will fit under the bonnet.

I've got another surprise on the way that I hope to post soon.

In the day this little car was a rocket in factory fettle.  Nice to see it morph and under your stewardship reads as if it will grow into an adult.   

all the best going forward

B

Apologies, a double post, no idea how this happened???

B

Next up, you gotta get fuel and air into the engine somehow. My preferred method is three Weber DCOE'S. 40's, model 18's from Italy if possible. 

I found a set recently and they arrived Saturday on the big brown truck. Carbs are in excellent shape, but will need jetting to match my 6- they came off a 240ZX. 

In reply to oppositelocksmith :

Making this post, I'm realizing it has been more than a minute since the last. Life has gotten in the way - but I actually have gotten a lot done. 

In part, I'm a project manager by trade. Organizing tasks and getting everything done in the right order is just what I do... I have had a ton of critical path items that I had to get done that I've finally made happen. 

My biggest issue so far is that I don't have anywhere to put the car. Like a lot of us, and like real estate its location, location, location. I have a 2 car garage and the wife takes one bay. My other project car takes the other bay. So, I decided months and months ago that I'd buy an enclosed trailer to put the car in when not in use. Helps me get it there, stores it safely when at home. Additionally, I can put my other project car in there while I have the GT6 in the shop finishing it out. 

However, buying the trailer causes another issue - where will I put that? I have a parking pad on the side of the house, but the fence gate is not wide enough. A storm took care of that this summer however. With the fence blown down, that gave me the opportunity to replace the fence and the gate with one wide enough for the trailer. Done!!! Thanks mother nature!

Then, on to the trailer. I've been looking for months. They are ubiquitous in my area of the south, but not necessarily at the price I wanted to pay. I'd find one only for it to disappear in minutes. I found one on FB and talked with the seller for a couple days only to figure out that the guy was a scammer and for me to run away quickly. This week however, I found a great trailer. Bravo Scout. 7X16, Dexter 3500lbs Torsion axles. lights inside, trailer brakes, the works. Super clean. New tires too. Snapped it up last night for a good price. 

My vehicle is at its limit hauling the loaded trailer, but bringing it home, the engine never knew it was there, the brakes only needed slightly more pedal and time, and the trans ran about 3 degrees warmer. Overall a win. I will never be trailering it more than an hour from the house over the flattest part of the USA. 

During this time, I also managed to get the cylinder head skimmed, valve seats cut and I shaped the combustion chambers. 

I hope to have the car in my shop in the next month if things work out right. 

Over the years, Ive found that seat options are limited for a TR6. Now I know that options for the GT6 are off the charts limited. I found a couple options, but could not find any for sale.

Finally, last week on the bay of E, I found a set. They were pick up only. Good news was that they were in St Louis and I was heading there on business. I picked them up on the drive up. Got a great deal on a Triumph steering wheel, a distributor core and some belts as well.

Great looking seats and wheel. It's hard to find a wheel that's appropriate for a LBC other than a Moto-Lita. 

What are the seats?

Thanks Keith!

Seats appear to be something from England. Company called Bad Boy Classics has the seats marketed without the headrests as the 'BB2 Pepperpot'.

They look different than the Bad Boys - narrower. It's hard to find a seat narrow enough to fit a Miata, and GT6s are equally small inside. Let us know if you find out more!

Nice score on the seats and steering wheel.

I have a similar issue with the TR6 made worse by adding the rollbar.  It was fine with the original worn-out seats, but the rebuilt ones are relatively plush. I can just get the seat back another few notches with some force.  This isn't an issue for me, but is for anyone taller than about 5' 8".  I'll store the car this winter with the seats pushed back to compress the foam.