Triumph TR6 Factory Hardtop

One of the great accessories I added to my TR6 many years ago was a hard top. The TR6 is known as a flexy flyer because of its very flexible frame. The hardtop significantly stiffens up the entire chassis because of how it attaches and the fact that it was made for the car in steel instead of the more common fiberglass (which would add no rigidity).

My father and I found mine through the 6-Pack classified adds which were previously posted in the printed club newsletter. A trip to Indiana or Ohio yielded a white factory hardtop in usable shape. I should mention that this was 20 years ago. We painted that top to match the BRG paint on my car. You can see it laying in the background of this photo from a 2001 autocross.

This year, I decided to undertake a full restoration of my hardtop. The years had not been kind to it. Rust had crept into many different areas, and the rubber seals and headliner were simply shot. The paint itself (a quickly done splash of lacquer) was faded, flat and showed cracking all over.

I stripped the top in the late spring and worked each weekend this summer on stripping the paint back, while also remediating the rust. It was messy work...

After completing the teardown task, I had my first opportunity to spray some paint. I primed the top in my driveway (still using full protective gear) and got her ready to go. It now needs basecoat and clear to begin looking like a top again. I've also managed to find all the soft bits (seals and headliner) on sale throughout the year, so I can complete the top after the paint cures. I'd really like it to be ready for this fall.