Peter - I have a 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint in white with a black
vinyl roof. The only modifications that have been made to it are
lowered springs with Spax adjustable shocks, and a stainless steel
exhaust. The car is fairly shabby, despite having covered only 100,000
miles in 20 years - rust is the main killer in UK, but it runs extremely
well, and has never ever left me stranded.
Ironically, it is the modifications that have caused me the most
trouble. Because the car sits so low (ground clearance of 3 - 4 inches
between the front wheels), it is sometimes difficult to avoid scraping
the belly on the road when driving enthusiastically, or even when
crawling over speed humps. The exhaust has been damaged several times,
and it seems like I am always having to replace exhaust hangers and weld
up cracks in the middle stainless steel silencer (not easy).
Apart from the exhaust (which at least will never rust), over the two
years that I have driven it every day (10,000 miles a year), I have
needed to replace the bracket that holds on the clutch slave cylinder
(the metal sheared and the bracket bent so that I couldn't depress the
clutch) and given it a head-off decoke (initiated by a spark plug
exploding and dropping its ceramic insulation into the cylinder). While
I had the head off, I reground the valves and checked them all for wear;
none found in either the valves or the guides. It has needed a new
handbrake cable and a steering rack for its MOT, but every morning it
starts first time and takes me in to work.
What more can you ask from a car that will top 115 mph, get to sixty in
8.5 seconds and slide beautifully on anything other than a perfectly dry
surface? :-)
Mark Jaffrey
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From: Peter Mchugh[SMTP:Peter.Mchugh@faa.dot.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 1997 1:21 PM
To: jmwagner@greenheart.com; bills@pagesz.net
Cc: jruwaldt@indiana.edu; triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re[2]: Triumph longevity
I'd like to echo the remarks of other TR-6 owners re:
reliability...I've owned my 73 since 1980 and it has failed
only
once...when the rotor disintegrated in the distributor. I
drive the
car all the time and have more than 175K miles without
engine teardown
or bearing replacement (course that may be getting close to
necessary
judging from oil consumption at 75-80 mph).
This is not to say that I haven't spent some money to do
maintenance...the more expensive repairs being replacement
of the
suspension bushings and springs with welding around the
differential
mounts. I replaced the transmission recently after hearing
a new and
uncomfortable noise...but the car hasn't abandoned me yet.
PMcQ
76 Spitfire
73 TR-6
72 GT-6
69 GT-6+ (2)
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Triumph longevity
Author: bills@pagesz.net at Internet
Date: 7/14/97 11:42 PM
Justin Wagner wrote:
>
> James Charles Ruwaldt wrote:
> >
> > To those of you who've owned your cars for some time,
> > I realize this is a hobby where I will have to make
fairly
> > frequent repairs, but I'm wondering if any of you have found
that you
> > reach a point, when you get most of the bugs worked out, so
that you can
> > fairly readily predict when the next repairs will be needed.
My mechanic
> > says British cars are actually pretty reliable, which goes
somewhat
> > contrary to everything I've heard. However, so far I've
never replaced
> > anything more than once. I haven't found maintenance to be
more
> > frustrating on this car than on any other I've worked on.
Of course,
> > I've been desensitized by the probably lemon Rabbit Diesel I
owned for a
> > few years, which was always breaking down. Nevertheless, I
wouldn't be
> > surprised if part of what I've experienced with the TR6, is
just what's to
> > be expected with a twenty-five year-old car. Now that I've
asked if
> > anyone's found their cars to be somewhat reliable, do more
of you find that
the repairs
> > are the nightmare that they're cracked up to be? Not that
any of this
> > will make me get rid of the '6. It's too much fun.
> > Jim Ruwaldt
> > '72 TR6 CC79338U(being restored)
>
> I bought my basket-case TR 4A a few years ago... I
methodically went
> over the mechanicals... I've rarely had to go back over the
same thing
> twice...(as you said).. and now, knock on wood, I can pretty
much trust
> the car as much as my Nissan... The best example would be...
I thought
> nothing of driving up to San Francisco, (from Los Angeles), on
a whim...
> without any special preparations... it's been turn-key for
quite some
> time now. YES... I think they can be reliable.
>
> Justin
> jmwagner@greenheart.com
> http://greenheart.com/jmwagner
> Los Angeles
I've had my present TR6 for 9 years and 2 months now. It's been
a very
dependable car. The only time I had to tow it with my truck was
when the
clutch slave cylinder blew out. That was really my fault
because I knew
it was going but didn't fix it until I had to. IMHO, with
routine
maintenace and care, these cars are as dependable as any well
maintained
car. I think part of the bad reputation they had was due to
poor
maintenance. Many people bought these cars, ran them hard and
never even
bothered to change the oil. They then sold it to someone else
who did
the same thing.
I once read that $100.00 a month keeps these cars highly
reliable and in
good condition. I honestly have not spent that much (that
computes to
$11,000.00 for me). Depending on the condition when you buy the
car,
the initial fixes may be expensive but it evens out. And when
they're
running and looking good, they pay you back ten fold.
These are not ordinary cars.
Bill S.
76 TR6
Raleigh, NC
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