My TR-6 is my daily driver from Easter through Thanksgiving, and in northern
Illinois that encompasses some cold weather. I LOVE IT !!!! Why would I
drive something boring while leaving the TR in the garage? Of course, when
the snow comes the TR-6 goes to bed. Besides the rust woes, TR-6s are evil
in the snow (past experience, on Michelin Redlines). I usually drive about
5k miles (this year will hit 8k), which includes some weekend trips of a few
hundred miles.
I use the soft top all the time, it's mostly down. The heater works great,
though the blower is sometimes noisy and will need replacing "one of these
days". The secret to a reliable daily driver TR-6 is, fix it before it
breaks. I try very hard to anticipate problems and make repairs before I
HAVE to. The fact that I have almost a complete car (in parts) in the loft
of my garage has saved me a few times when something unexpected/overlooked
needed an immediate fix.
My motto is, if I'm not driving it, I might as well not own it!
My official advice:
1.) Go for it, but fix everything you even suspect might be ready to go.
2.) Spend a little of your money on a beater that can be pressed into
service if the TR is down for a few days waiting for parts.
3.) If at all possible, get a parts car!
If you have any specific questions feel free to email me directly.
Tom (if you get stranded, none of this was my idea) Gentry
72 TR-6 OD
Rockford, IL
TGENTR@WGC.WOODWARD.COM
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From: triumphs-owner
To: triumphs
Subject: TR-6 as an everyday car?
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 11:47PM
Hi all....
I am usually just a reader because of time limitations but I had
a particularly bad monday night... my honda got totalled by a hit and run
probable DUI who didnt even bother putting on the brakes - 90 mph.
But from the gloom of catastrophe arises the possibility of greatness :)
Im sure the insurance is going to total the car.... I can take
the $$ and get another honda --- or I can put the $$ into the triumph
and get it running really well and use it for my everyday car. Im
hoping that someone out there has experience using a TR6 as an everyday
car and can pass along their impressions of this idea. Aside from the
absolutely huge amount of potential oil lost into the environement --
which makes the EPA shiver in their boots (I believe it is protocal that
all letters have at least one cheap oil leak or Lucas reference) --
Id like to know things like how often problems arise, how well
it deals with cold weather, (Im in TN -- not a large amount of snow but
cold we get plenty of) Was it just such a major pain in the rear that
it took all the joy out of owning one of these things. Impressions and
any words of advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance... J
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