| Issue #10 - 2002 |
In this issue |
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| Page 1 |
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The lastest rantings from the editor. [more]
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| 'Flawed Diamonds' |
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John Wood on the Triumph Spitfire & GT6. [more]
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| Jonathan Crossley's GT6 Restoration |
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Jonathan sent me the details on his restoration in late 1999...[more]
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| Josh Hickey's GT6 Restoration |
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...and Josh sent me his in early 2000...[more]
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| Lola |
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...and Roger sent me the story on Lola in mid 2000...[more]
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| Graham Johnson's GT6 |
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...and Graham sent me his in early 2001.[more]
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- [back to new format] -
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| Triumph GT6 Ezine |
Graham Johnson's GT6 |
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Author: Graham Johnson Editor: Todd Wilson
Here are some pictures of my 1970 GT6. I bought the car from a scrap yard for $100! Believe it or not (note the text on the windscreen on the 4th picture). In case you can't see it, it says "CRUSH". It might not look like much but I have every part I need to get the car running and looking good. Here's my story:
My GT6 story begins in 1988 (when I was three). My uncle had a red 1970 GT6+. It was my favourite car in the world and still is. He bought the car
for $300 from a guy who just let the car sit in his driveway. So one day my uncle knocked on the guys door and said "You want to sell that GT6?"
and the guy said "Sure, How much you got?". This was my uncles first car so he didn't really have too much money. My uncle said "I've got
$300 is that enough?" The guy said "Sure" and my uncle owned a 1970 Triumph GT6. All the car needed was to have the carbs rebuilt. The car
looked great. But had a few minor problems. The points would clog up time to time. The gas gauge didn't work. The brakes didn't work so you
had to use the emergency brake(dangerous). I guess the brakes are actually kind of major, but hey, it's a GT6. A few years after he got the
GT6 he acquired a 1969 TR6 from cleaning out a neighbours garage. He put some work into the TR6 (fenders, rockers etc.). My uncle was
still living with his parents at the time and his parents asked him to get rid of one of his Triumphs so they would have room in the garage
to park their new Lincoln or whatever. Months passed and he still didn't get rid of either the TR6 or GT6. Then finally his parents told
him to get rid of one of the TR's NOW! I guess my uncle figured that he put more time and money into his beat up TR6 than his nice GT6.
So one day in his rage he set out and TORCHED the GT6. I cried myself to sleep when I found out about it. The only parts that remain today
are the front bumper, switch relays, some carpets, gauges, some of the lights and the engine block. Breaks my heart thinking about it so
I'm just gonna stop talking about that now. Anyways, about six years later I think my uncle realised what he had done. My uncle and I set
out to find a GT6. We found one soon enough in a Hemmings Motor news. A 1968 GT6+. So one day we took the eight hour drive to Connecticut (we
live in NJ) to see the car. Just sitting in it brought back all if the memories I had in my uncle's late red GT6. The car needed new floors,
rocker panels, rear patch panels and new paint (it was painted ugly flat black spray). My uncle purchased the car for $1200 (not bad).
To see a GT6 again in such a long time almost brought tears to my eyes. About two years after that my uncle acquired a 1967 GT6 mk1 ex
SCCA race car for parts. He will be taking the engine out of that car to put in his. Supposedly the race car won races and dyno'd at
just under 200bhp! A few months after my uncle purchased the mk1 race car. His friend told him that he had seen a GT6+ in a junkyard
in a line of cars to be crushed. My uncle and I decided to give it a shot. So the next weekend we headed to the junkyard to see if it
was still there. When we talked to the guy at the desk and asked him if he had a Triumph GT6 he looked in this book he had on the desk.
He said " we don't have that car or it was crushed". My heart sank. I guess my uncle and I were in denial because we asked to take a look
around anyway. As soon as we walked into the yard we saw a stack of cars to be crushed. Pinned under about 4 cars was a mk4 or 1500 Spit.
What a shame. I looked at the Spitfire for a moment, almost saying goodbye. Just as started to look inside the car to see if there was an
engine I was distracted by my uncle yelling "I FOUND IT, IT'S OVER HERE!" I ran as quickly as I could, probably faster than I ever had in
my life. There it was, a Saffron Yellow 1970 GT6+ with the word "CRUSH" written in grease pen on the windscreen. I could hardly believe it.
What a relief it was to see that the GT6 wasn't crushed. I tell you, if the people that were working at the junkyard started to crush the
car in front of me I would have jumped in with it. I can't explain in words how happy I was that the car wasn't crushed. No GT6 deserves to
be crushed, let alone any Triumph. The car was engineless, transmission-less, and pretty much interior-less (save seats and dash) but
otherwise complete. The frame was straight. The body just had rust in the usual places but no really big rust holes except in the floors.
But really, what restorable GT6 doesn't have rust in the floors? Anyway I have a feeling that this is getting to be too long. So I'll stop.
I'll send some more pictures of the upcoming restoration.
In the photos the yellow GT6 is mine, the white car is our parts car, it is an ex. scca race car. Maybe someone will recognize it. I also
sent some pictures of my uncle Matt's GT6. His is the black one in the garage.
Thanks,
Graham Johnson
P.S. I have never seen mini-lite wheels like the set on my GT6, if anyone has seen them before or knows what they are worth, please contact me at toymachine754737@hotmail.com
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Do you have a GT6, Spitfire or Hybrid? Send me some photos and a little blurb on the car and I'll put it up here.
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