Where It All Began

My love of Triumphs goes back a long way. Farther back than myself as well.

My grandfather worked in the auto biz most of his life. Willys, Packard and a bunch of other long since dead American auto marques were his bread and butter. Unfortunately, after the GI's got home and bought their first cars, the market began to taper off and business went south for all those brands. My grandfather's business went south with it.

He stayed at it though, and eventually became connected with an import car dealership that sold Triumph among other brands.

My father grew up driving early Spitfires and TR4's. He would even ride on the parcel shelf of race prepared TR4's as a race driver employed by my grandfather drove them to and from the racetrack. That planted the seed of a very strong Triumph tree in my Dad.

Years later, Dad had his chance to get hold of a TR6. The size and character of a TR4, with slightly more rakish styling and gobs more power than a standard TR4. It did not hurt that it was more modern too! He restored the 74 1/2 he found and built a beautiful car. Hardtop, Overdrive and a Nardi steering wheel made the car even more special.

I was about 5 or 6 when he bought that car, and I grew up riding to car shows in the St. Louis area on the parcel shelf. We even road tripped around the Mid-west in that thing. They say that the acorn does not fall far from the tree, and yet another Triumph tree was planted- in me.

Dad promised his Six to me when I was old enough to drive. He sold it when I was about 8 or so and bought a bass boat. The bass boat was cool, but not nearly as cool as the Six!!!!

Time passed, but not mine and my father's love of Triumphs. So by the age of 12 I was looking in Hemmings Motor News and the classifieds in the local paper. I saved every buck I could earn mowing lawns and began to build a pretty good sum up. Dad made a deal with me that he would match every dollar I earned with one of his own and we searched for the right car together.

Then on summer vacation before my 15th birthday, we found it. Under a car cover, and with a goat standing on the bonnet, we saw the unmistakable silouette of a Triumph TR6. The cover was ragged and the car was worse. Motor did not turn over, brakes and tires were flat, and the interior was long since rotten. I think we found enough mouse homes to run a research center for years.

We started the restoration by rebuilding the brakes and clutch hydraulics. Rolling the car down the driveway and popping the clutch freed the locked motor. I don't remember how we got it back to the garage.

My uncle is a body man and knows how to straighten panels and lay some paint with the best of them. We took the car to his shop in Arkansas and the three of us worked our (his) magic over the period of a few weeks.

We continued that process for several weeks and after installing a new interior, we had a running car!!!!!!