1975 Triumph TR6

In the care of the current owner for the past 24 years, one of its new owner’s first jobs was to commission a rebuild by marque specialists TR Enterprises. The TR6 was green when he bought it – from a friend, so it must have been a good ‘un – but he decided to honour its originality and so arranged for it to be resprayed in its factory colour.

Only lightly used in the past quarter century, this Triumph TR6 is a good, solid example of the breed that has been maintained by an old school engineer since its rebirth and the owner also tells us that it is running and driving and ready to move onto its new owner.

The car’s older respray in its original colour is holding up very well indeed, and the car still looks smart and tidy. It’s got a nice sheen to it and looks good as you walk up to it with straight flanks and no damage.

Closer inspection shows a few stonechips and, despite a thorough Waxoyling when the restoration work was done, there is some very mild bubbling in the usual places such as the sills, top of the front and rear wings, and the lower doors. None of it looks like it is especially serious and it certainly wouldn’t warrant a full respray; white is an easy colour to match and we imagine that localized repairs would be easy enough to do.

The chromework is good but lightly pitted. It’s looks to still be in the early stages and the new owner should be able to bring them back to close to their original glory with a large bottle of Autosol and some hard work.

The Minilite-style alloy wheels are in a good condition, with only very mild pitting. It’s not serious enough to warrant refurbishing the wheels at this stage but the new owner might want to pop it on the ‘Nice To Do’ list and attack them at some point in the next few years.

The tyres are matching Vredesteins. As we will never tyre of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The hood frame is the usual story; fits well, rises and falls as it should but could do with a lick of paint to smarten it up. No such work is needed on the black fabric hood, which is in good condition and still unmarred by anything so vulgar as rips and tears. Even the Perspex windows, which inevitably go milky and opaque with age, are bright and clear, but a good wash and reproofing would go a long way to maintaining its condition.

The blue and green tartan check seats, complete with black vinyl edges, are very of-the-period and very presentable indeed, partly thanks to that earlier restoration and partly thanks to them being re-stuffed and re-stitched 3-4 years ago. (A mouse decided to nest in them, which was obviously extremely annoying but does show that this rodent, at least, had impeccable taste…)

So, you’ll find them in a good but lightly patinated condition, but still very supportive and ready to face the next couple of decades with equanimity. Retro-rodent activity permitting, of course.

It’s the same story with the rest of the interior: it’s all nicely worn in and yet offers the new owner the opportunity to fettle and add value at his or her leisure. The dials, for instance, are working and looking good but could do with re-seating. The windows wind up and down as they should but could do with a spot of grease and lubricant on the mechanism. There’s nothing at all to worry about in there, just the opportunity to bond with the car over a few gentle evenings-worth of work.

The boot is solid but could do with tidying it up to bring it up to the same standard as the rest of the car.

The chassis appears to be solid and neatly finished in a matt black finish. This has, however, come away in a few places and so we can imagine that an owner with a view to future-proofing the TR6 would want to tidy that up with the application of a protective finish to the raw areas.

The floor looks to be solid, and certainly hasn’t drawn the attention of an MOT tester with regards to rot and serious structural corrosion.

The engine bay is fairly clean and tidy, and the owner tells us that the engine starts and runs well. Serviced by an ex-Lucas engineer who understands the car’s fuel-injection system perfectly, we are told that the Triumph also drives as it should, pulling strongly and handling well thanks to the car’s notoriously firm suspension..

The Triumph doesn’t have a current MOT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

However, the online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s mileage since 2010. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus some old invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years. There aren’t many, but that’s because, like so many classic cars, it hasn’t been used much and so the rate at which components wear out has been stalled and they seem to last forever.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained in recent years to a good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please contact the owner to arrange an appointment.

Not concours, this triumph TR6 is nicely patinated and would suit an enthusiast looking to buy a good value car that offers them the opportunity to increase their investment by way of a few simple, DIY jobs.

And good value it will be; with an agreed insurance valuation certificate for £10,500, we think it will sell for somewhere between £8,000 and a low five-figure sum; the classic car world loves these old TR6s because their fuel-injected engine makes them easy to start and run, and endows the rear-wheel-drive chassis with enough power to make them enormous fun.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.