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Triumph TR6 - TR6 manteinance costs

What are the medium yearly manteinance costs of a 1972's Triumph TR6 with 66.000 miles? I'm going to buy it but I do not havr a clearly idea how much it will cost me...
GM Muscio

GM
First off congratulations on your decision to buy a fine example of a classic sports car. You are looking at a vehicle that is 30 years old. It IS an antique! It kind of sounds like you plan to use this car as a daily driver considering your 2 questions to this BBS. What does it cost me to operate my 6 every year? It is not something I think about. An antique vehicle has to be treated as an antique and in my opinion if you own one then be prepared to take care of it. Replacement parts for our vehicles are fortunately still redily available but at a premium cost..remember...antique. Your question is not that easy to answer. All vehicles, new or old, must be mechanically fit. If you plan on driving it regularly then it has to be maintained. As a guess I would say $1000.00/ year not including gas,oil,and insurance. I do not think that is a lot. GM, not all your considerations (for buying a TR6)are how much is it going to cost to operation? I am sure you have a pleasure side also or you would not be considering buying a TR6. This pleasure side probably will cost you a little more per year than a normal modern car. So how much is pleasure going to cost you?...... This past Saturday as I was driving up the main street of the small town I live in, a man was walking across the street and was waitng for me to pass. As I passed him he said "very nice car". I looked in my rear view mirror waved, and said "thank you"; he gave a wave back. THAT is how much it cost me to operate my '71 TR6 per year.
Just one of the many proud owners of a LBC.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

Thanks a lot for the tips!!! The very problem is that I do not own a modern car, first. The tr6 would be my only (and first) car... so, i guess, if the needed normal uses of a car (daily use to reach work place, use in the strong town traffic et cetera...) are fully compatible with an old car.
Here in Italy (I live in a big city, Milan) generally people rarely use old cars for normal use. The old cars are used only in rare moments (meetings, shows,...).
My idea is to use the TR6 ALSO also for normal uses.
Maybe I'm wrong?
GM

GM
I would never want to discourage a person from buying a TR6. You have some realities to consider. First as said it is a 30 year old vehicle with a not to recently rebuilt motor and what was done at the time of rebuild? So you have a transmission and rear end that may be in the need of service. Consider that you will be driving in a lot of stop and go traffic...not easy on a old car or any car for that matter. Your roads in Milan are ..well..simply not the best in the world. Your brake and clutch systems will be put under a lot of stress. Sorry GM but you asked for opinions and in my opinion, I would not recommend buying a TR6 or any antique automobile for your only daily driver. I think your cost of operation will be high. As you said, most older cars go to meets and shows. Antique cars are like old race horses. They should be sent to the stud farm to enjoy the rest of their lives. Now there is an analogy for ya!
Rick C
Rick Crawford

I totally agree with Rick and his points, similar to a guy in North Carolina that wanted to use a TR as an everyday car especially with the miles he was planning to put on a few months ago.

TR6 as much as I love them would not be the most reliable daily driver and with a 6 cyl engine and every expensive fuel there you would be better off with something else. Don't you tax system highly penalize you from driving cars with engines greater than 1.9l??

Thinking that you live in Italy, perhaps an older Alfa, or Fiat Syder would be a better bet. At least parts would be easier to get and knowledge to work on the car would be better at local garages, despite the old aconym of FIAT meaning 'Fix It Again Tony'. Italian cars and French cars are great as long as you drive them in their countries of orgin.
steven

Consider the typical comments my TR6 elicits from guys: 1)"I used to have one of those, something was ALWAYS wrong with it", or 2)"Man, I bet you love tinkering with it". (women usually just say, "Wow! Cool car!")This illustrates the two types of car owners, in general. Which one are you? It is easier to be the second type if you have a soul-less, reliable back-up car as well. You will probably love your TR6 more if you are a #2, and more often if you have a reliable back-up. Not that my TR is unreliable, it's just that it runs better some days than others. In fact, I think it runs slightly differently every time I start it up. So far, she always runs, but she makes me wonder sometimes. Just her way of getting my full attention. Some days, I have enough to worry about without paying attention to the mood of my car. Then again, some days, that's what I need to take my mind pleasantly off everything else. More to your point, whatever extra time and money you have, it can/will absorb. For necessary repairs, if you do a lot of work yourself, it would be good to keep minimum $500 in reserve at all times. If not used by the end of the year, you use that for a planned upgrade of the relatively scariest, weakest area of your particular car. And put aside another $500 for next year. Worth every penny.
Karl Prager

GM: As much as I love the LBC's I have to agree with the others. These are wonderful cars if you don't have to depend on them implicitly. It would be a shame to end up hating a wonderful car because it wouldn't start when you had to be at work in twenty minutes or get your pregnant wife to the hospital. WAit til you can afford a Triumph and a car you can bet your life on.
Joel

Thanks to all for the answers!!! The fiat acronym is GREAT!!!! I did not know that!!! But is it something like the TWA acronym "When you choose T, Doublie, A in God you have to pray"?
So, maybe I'll afford a TR6 later, more and more times after fixin my FIAT...
GM Muscio

Hey GM

Here are some more acronyms

FIAT: Failure in Italian Automotive Technology

Alitalia: Always Late In Takeoff, Always Late In Arrival

Ford: Found On Road Dead (backwards Driver Returned On Foot)

SAAB: Swedish Automobile Always Broken

BMW: Break My Window

Honda: Happy Owners Never Drive Anything (else)
steven

I drove a 1970 TR6 as my primary driver for 8 years until the frame broke near the rear suspension. Of the 3 TR's I have owned, I feel they are reliable enough to get you where you need to go without leaving you stranded. They always need something small done though. It can be done, but you probably need to be able to do any minor work that comes your way.

Good luck,Scott

Scott Clevenger

This thread was discussed between 26/05/2002 and 06/07/2002

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