| Issue #5 - Last of 1999 |
In this issue |
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| Page 1 |
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The lastest rantings from the editor. [more]
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| Mike Ross' Spit 6 |
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Mike is in the process of building a highly modified Spit 6, with a lot of interesting upgrades. Does a turbocharged TR6 engine grab your attention? It grabbed mine! [more]
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| Christian Philipp's GT6 Restoration |
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Christian purchased his GT6 (named "Floyd") 5 years ago as a restoration project. He finished the restoration, and is now progressing to the next step - improvements... [more]
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| Andy Gascoigne's GT6 |
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Andy read Andrew Stark's story in Issue 3 and was inspired to tell me about his trials & tribulations of Triumph ownership. [more]
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| Your Stuff |
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Reader contributions - letters, photos, etc.[more]
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- [back to new format] -
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| Triumph GT6 Ezine |
Restoration - Christian Philipp's GT6 |
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Author: Christian Philipp Editor: Todd Wilson
The Story
In 1994, me (a 21-year-old student then) and my uncle (a 56-years-old pensioner) were both thinking of
restoring an old sports car. To be honest, this plan was developed after an exclusive meal in a
restaurant, where the long drinks are legendary. One day a friend of mine told me of an E-Type sitting
in a junk-yard in the next village. I grabbed my girlfriend, raced to the yard and immediately fell in
love with the neglected little coupe I found there. The only thing I knew: this was not an E-Type!
It turned out to be a 73 GT6 that had come back from the USA in the early nineties as a restoration
project, having spent most of its time in Florida and Georgia. One month later we bought the car
(as they are quite rare in Germany, it was the first GT6 I had ever seen!). My parents were, at least,
not convinced by this idea, but my girlfriend thought I had gone nuts.
Probably this reaction was caused by the fact that all the work I had carried out on cars to this
point were changing tires and oil... Nevertheless I took the workshop manual that came with the car
(along with a package of rotten cigars, a heap of used and dirty towels and some other strange things)
and started dismantling my GT6. The condition was not too bad: original paint, a very good frame,
no accident damage, totally complete. But I was sure that it had to be entirely restored. The last
owner in the US had been named Floyd, and soon my family and friends started calling the car this.
By the way, what had Floyd used the towels for?
The body and frame were shot-blasted, two new sills were welded in and some minor rust damage had
to be repaired. We decided to paint the car in the original Carmine red. These were the only repairs
carried out by a workshop. But I must admit that many people (friends and relatives, especially my
uncle) contributed to the restoration - without their help/advice/parts it would have taken much more
time and/or money. Thanks to all of them!
We rebuilt the suspension first, using adjustable "Koni Classic"-shocks all round, and lowered springs
at the front. All parts of the braking system were renewed and a braking servo ("Girling Power-Stop")
was fitted. As the interior was beyond repair, I chose black instead of the original "New Tan".
Seats came from a Spit 1500 donor car, along with other parts. As the emission control items are not
necessary in Germany and you do not find any parts for them here, they were scrapped and the car was
changed to European specification (for example the carbs). As a tribute to the sixties, a set of wire
wheels was bought, but sometimes I feel they look a little bit dated on a MK3.
The restoration took nearly four years and now Floyd is only used in summer. Since May 98 it has
covered about 6000 miles without major problems. It is much fun to drive, but the engine is not
running as well as it should, due to high mileage. So at the moment I'm thinking about converting
it to a 2.5 TR6 engine. Or rebuilding and tuning the 2.0 engine. Or...
Oh, and meanwhile I have got another girlfriend who likes these cars, especially the open ones.
And at the moment I'm in the process of buying a Spit 1500 from a friend. Interesting car. Once I get
to owning it, I'll sent some pictures.
During this summer I have fitted an electric fan to the GT6, and a stiffer spring at the rear.
An overdrive is already waiting in my garage to be installed.
Christian Philipp
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Do you have a GT6, Spitfire or Hybrid that you have restored, or are in the process of restoring? Send me some photos and a little blurb on the restoration and I'll put it up here.
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