Axis vs. Allies

[irish44j]

Britain vs. Germany vs. Japan. I couldn't find anything American to use....

Fair fight


Brits ganging up


The Japanese join in


The Allies are heavily outnumbered

[DREWHALL]

I want your cars.

[irish44j]

to be fair, the Rover is one of my wife's friends. I'm not that baller, I only buy cars that are either under $2k (projects) or under $30k (new) :)

[Bimmerista]

Tell me about the GT-6. There was a dark blue one at the charity car auction last Saturday and I passed on going out there to pick it up since the auction is so far away.

Did I make a big mistake? Are they worth a lot? Desirable?

[irish44j]

Tell me about the GT-6. There was a dark blue one at the charity car auction last Saturday and I passed on going out there to pick it up since the auction is so far away.

Did I make a big mistake? Are they worth a lot? Desirable?

ok, since I just got back from a bar, am not tired yet, and have a few minutes to ramble while my head stops spinning:

Tough question to answer. Are they worth a lot? Not at the moment....mid-pack of the "lesser" small brit sportscars - more than a Spitfire or MGB, but less than, say an old Lotus, and less than a Triumph TR6 in comparable condition (which go for a decent price).

GT6s are pretty rare, but kind of a black sheep in the Triumph family. They have a similar engine to the TR6 (TR6 has a longer stroke and more displacement), but don't have the convertible top, and the TR6 has more interior room for people who aren't "slim." They're faster than a Spitfire (on account of that the GT6 IS a spitfire with a hardtop + 2 extra cylinders), but not as popular for vintage racing since the 2 extra cylinders were added to the nose, messing up the weight distro. A better performer than an MGB-GT, though, and fairly close to an early 240z (but not nearly the build quality/modernity)

That said, with some suspension tweaks and staggered wheels the GT6 handles pretty good, sounds good, and is reasonably quick (comparing to other euro sportbacks from the 70s), and gets looks everywhere I go (especially with no bumpers, flat black paint, and +1/wider wheels and tires with stagger). The build quality is meh, and the interior is dated even for 1970. Rust is a MAJOR problem with these, like any old British sportscars.

Most desirable model is the one I have, the Mk2 (aka "plus"), which has a better head, better rear suspension, and better stock seats vs. a Mk1, and doesn't have all the emissions crap of the Mk3. That said, you can find GT6s fairly cheap. The Mk1's are worth the most money due to the fact that most of them have turned to rust by now, but the Mk2 is the best driver of the group.

A few things:
Not great candidates for engine swaps unless you can fabricate/weld well. Chassis realy can't handle more than 200hp or so without getting really twisty. It's not a drag car, and not an autocross car, really just a good cruiser for mountain roads and such. Can fit Miata seats perfectly, for better support. Electronics are crap, all my stuff was rewired/replaced with gauges rebuilt. bored intake manifold and twin SU or weber carbs really helps with the powerband over the stock twin Stromburg carbs, which (IMO) suck. Put a 3/4" lowering block in the rear and drop the nose as well, stagger the rear tires out and handling is closer to neutral. In stock form they understeer heavy in and snap-oversteer heavy out....especially the Mk1 and Mk3 models (the Mk2 is a better setup).

Rear suspension is funky - transverse leaf spring - and not fun to work on. Front end everythign is CAKE to work on thanks to the all-up hood/fenders.

All in all, I love the car though its small and cramped and has only lap belts and is scary to drive when you're around all the soccer moms in huge SUVs. I've had guys in Ferraris and Porsche GT2s at stoplights complement the car, and I have a rattle-can paint job on it, lol.

If you wanna make money, not a good candidate.
If you want to race people not the best candidate
If you want to cruise, and turn some heads, a good candidate

here's the build thread I did for it, if you really want a closer look at what's under the skin. Mine is not for show...it has alot of fiberglass (including the entire floor pan), Miata seats, a ton of suspension/brake upgrades, most of the chrome deleted, non-stock wheels, custom dash, and alot of other little tweaks. Mine is worth essentially nothing if I were to sell it, but it's been in my family since new in 1970, so it's worth alot to me. All in all, a fun car to have and every time I post a picture of it with my other cars, it's the only one people are interested in ..... not my rally e30, not my 300+hp wrx, lol...

http://club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/forum10/Blah.pl?m-1206842587/

[irish44j]

and to answer your question: If it was under $5k, and had low/no rust, I would say you made a mistake. In another 10 years many fewer will exist, and the "original" examples will probably start to gain in value significantly.