Hi all, I went and took a look at a possible TR6 for me to
begin a restoration on and would appreciate feedback (list
or privately) from anyone interested in helping out. I've
been scouring local ads and ebay as well as doing a ton of
research(many many websites, Velore, Practical Classics and
the workshop manual) over the last 6 months and am ready to
take the dive soon.
Its a 1971 TR6 that seems 'fairly' rust free although its
obviously seen a hard life. The engine is dead for the most
part (only runs about 10 minutes before fouling the plugs
out completely says the owner, it was no-op when I looked at
it) and I have no idea how the transmission is but can only
assume the worst. Passenger side door is 'tight' (opens
without any noise but is not free moving as a normal door
would be) but all other body panels seem straight and the
only noticeable rust is underneath the front sills where
someone obviously used a jack incorrectly, bent the metal
and caused a rust point. Other then that it looks pretty
solid with only one (badly) patched rust spot in the
passenger side floor board.
The differential mount is broken, probably at the frame
level(not the pin) and will require some serious work. This
may go hand in hand with the scrapes on the rear chassis
legs, someone beat this baby up I think.
The owner is asking $1500 which seems reasonable for a car
that requires a tad of frame work, some basic body work and
a new power-train. My restoration plan calls for a total
engine/tranny refresh so that doesn't concern me but I am
concerned about rust and frame issues. He also has a 1974
TR6 block fresh from the machinist for sale that has been
rebored and the deck flattened with pistons to match for
$1000, not sure if I should use that or stick with the
original engine for the rebuild.
It has a factory hard-top but no soft-top frame.
Here is a link to the pics I took. Can anyone give me some
feedback on this car? I know its limited but any
advice/opinions would be great. I'm looking at a multi-year
project and know its going to be rough going but I don't
want to start with the impossible :)
http://www.siberian.org/pictures/possibletr6
Primary questions that I am worried about:
A) Differential mount repair, is this doable 'frame-on' or
is it a frame-off item?
B) Should I rebuild the '71 block in the car or get the 74
block?
C) Am I missing the real rust here?
D) Am I missing real frame-issues here?
E) Is this more then a moderately skilled car guy + $$$ + 24
months can bite off?
Thanks, I really would appreciate some advice! My last
restoration was a 1967 convertible camaro about 8 years ago
that had minimal rust and minor engine problems.
John-
|