Are cars less characterful than they used to be?

[Turbobanana]

Evil.soup said:

Nice budget and should get you into some interesting cars. Just a few possible contenders:

Audi TTS - not the most dynamic, but good all rounder and tunable if that takes your fancy.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208269...
Infinity G - A bit left field but very rare, looks more money than it is to the untrained eye.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210190...
MX-5 RF - a bit of a rare site, not my cup of tea personally as I find them a bit dull, but ticks many boxes for people.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301283...

As a side note, I did read that you have dismissed the MR2 Roadster, but I would suggesting finding a good one and giving it a go, they really are a great car to drive.

Thanks for the tips, Evil.soup, but I guess you haven't read the whole thread as I bought a Triumph GT6 in September.

Also, the three suggestions you make are not appealing I'm afraid: too modern, sterile. And I couldn't bring myself to buy an MR2 Roadster as I think they look like a startled frog.

[Maxdecel]

Turbobanana said:

They say the sun shines on the virtuous. Now, the rear lights shine on the traffic behind...
- funny how old cars grind down your own confidence, isn't it?

I'm not sure the coil is right for the ignition (it was the one on the car when I got it, but nothing is known about the "restoration" the car had prior to my ownership) but it runs for now. If anyone knows more about this I'm all ears - I keep seeing reference to ballast resistors and the like. Will try to get a pic inside the dizzy cap to post up.
Onward...

" - funny how old cars grind down your own confidence, isn't it?" They were state of the art at one time.

Ballast resistors, that takes me back ! If the ignition system has been tampered with and the coil is one that requires it then it may be running on a current that's too high ? Just a guess, I know nowt about GT 6's.
eg.- Starts on a 12v supply using a 9v coil when key is returned continues to run through B Resistor at 9v. As above no idea about your car ?
Might explain the coil failure.

[Turbobanana]

Maxdecel said:

" - funny how old cars grind down your own confidence, isn't it?" They were state of the art at one time.

Ballast resistors, that takes me back ! If the ignition system has been tampered with and the coil is one that requires it then it may be running on a current that's too high ? Just a guess, I know nowt about GT 6's.
eg.- Starts on a 12v supply using a 9v coil when key is returned continues to run through B Resistor at 9v. As above no idea about your car ?
Might explain the coil failure.

Cheers Max, good intel.

Ref the confidence bit: I kind of meant you start doing a simple job (like changing the coil) without the belief that it will cure the problem, even though you've done it before about 100 times.

And I don't think a GT6 was ever "state of the art"

[Maxdecel]

Turbobanana said:

Cheers Max, good intel.

Ref the confidence bit: I kind of meant you start doing a simple job (like changing the coil) without the belief that it will cure the problem, even though you've done it before about 100 times.

And I don't think a GT6 was ever "state of the art"

Knew exactly what you mean, been there. Always expect the unexpected ...but then it turns out it was what you expected in the first place !
Bit OT, Saw mention of this in an article; might be of interest ? Standard Triumph comp. history, sadly it's not a 6. But it's had a life !
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1535179

[Turbobanana]

Maxdecel said:

Knew exactly what you mean, been there. Always expect the unexpected ...but then it turns out it was what you expected in the first place !
Bit OT, Saw mention of this in an article; might be of interest ? Standard Triumph comp. history, sadly it's not a 6. But it's had a life !
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1535179

Certainly has a few tales to tell, that one. Inevitable, I guess, that a car so like a giant Meccano kit should have so many different guises over the years.

[Gemaeden]

Maxdecel said:

Knew exactly what you mean, been there. Always expect the unexpected ...but then it turns out it was what you expected in the first place !
Bit OT, Saw mention of this in an article; might be of interest ? Standard Triumph comp. history, sadly it's not a 6. But it's had a life !
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1535179

Likely not to have been so competitive with a 6, they understeer much more than the nimble Spitfire.

[Maxdecel]

Gemaeden said:

Likely not to have been so competitive with a 6, they understeer much more than the nimble Spitfire.

As with the MGC, bigger not necessarily better, more iron pushing you on. I knew of a local garage who raced a 6 Long before I had any knowledge of cars besides Corgi toys, I do remember a tale of them getting black flagged at Oulton as it was considered unsafe !
Something to do with rear suspension IIRC? Isn't it traverse leaf spring ? The track reduces under hard cornering ..? Long time ago ! Might be completely wrong.

[anonymous-user]

When I got married in the mid 70s, I had a Dhc Elan Sprint, used it for the honeymoon, sold it to fund the deposit on a house and bought a gt6, my wife thought it was sophisticated and I had grown up.
It was a great car the handling wasn't as bad as people say, but it would get air borne on the aberglasyn pass and the wheels would tuck in.

[QBee]

I remember watching an autotest event back in the 60s, and seeing someone really going for it in a friend's Triumph Herald. I c an still remember that the rear wheels really tucked under on hard cornering.

[Yertis]

That’s true of the Herald, and early Vitesse, Spitfire, and GT6. Later versions of all had a different rear suspension atrangement - that on the GT6 and Herald using a doughnut set-up similar to the Lotus Elan. Last versions of GT6 and Spit had a simpler but still good set up.

[Evil.soup]

Turbobanana said:

Evil.soup said:

Nice budget and should get you into some interesting cars. Just a few possible contenders:

Audi TTS - not the most dynamic, but good all rounder and tunable if that takes your fancy.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208269...
Infinity G - A bit left field but very rare, looks more money than it is to the untrained eye.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210190...
MX-5 RF - a bit of a rare site, not my cup of tea personally as I find them a bit dull, but ticks many boxes for people.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301283...

As a side note, I did read that you have dismissed the MR2 Roadster, but I would suggesting finding a good one and giving it a go, they really are a great car to drive.

Thanks for the tips, Evil.soup, but I guess you haven't read the whole thread as I bought a Triumph GT6 in September.

Also, the three suggestions you make are not appealing I'm afraid: too modern, sterile. And I couldn't bring myself to buy an MR2 Roadster as I think they look like a startled frog.

Lol, oversight on my part!

Interesting choice and a lovely looking thing too, certainly rather different to anything listed above and for all the right reasons.

I do highly rate the MR2 though, the most fun car I have ever owned, but that's no good if you can't stomach the looks.

Good luck with the classic

[Turbobanana]

Evil.soup said:

Lol, oversight on my part!

Interesting choice and a lovely looking thing too, certainly rather different to anything listed above and for all the right reasons.

I do highly rate the MR2 though, the most fun car I have ever owned, but that's no good if you can't stomach the looks.

Good luck with the classic

Thanks Evil.soup.

Looks are an odd one, aren't they? I don't much care what my moderns look like: they need to be functional, smart etc but could look like anything. For context, I needed a large estate car (ie NOT an SUV) so I looked at Mercedes E-Class, Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Volvo V90. Stuff like Passat, Mondeo, Insignia were half a size too small and I didn't think Skoda Superb until after I'd bought the Benz, which won on the best compromise between affordability, space and the fact that I found one that wasn't silver, black or grey.

But, when it comes to my "toy" car, I'm quite picky on the basis that it's something I want, rather than something I need.

[Evil.soup]

Turbobanana said:

Evil.soup said:

Lol, oversight on my part!

Interesting choice and a lovely looking thing too, certainly rather different to anything listed above and for all the right reasons.

I do highly rate the MR2 though, the most fun car I have ever owned, but that's no good if you can't stomach the looks.

Good luck with the classic

Thanks Evil.soup.

Looks are an odd one, aren't they? I don't much care what my moderns look like: they need to be functional, smart etc but could look like anything. For context, I needed a large estate car (ie NOT an SUV) so I looked at Mercedes E-Class, Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Volvo V90. Stuff like Passat, Mondeo, Insignia were half a size too small and I didn't think Skoda Superb until after I'd bought the Benz, which won on the best compromise between affordability, space and the fact that I found one that wasn't silver, black or grey.

But, when it comes to my "toy" car, I'm quite picky on the basis that it's something I want, rather than something I need.

Can totally relate to that. My daily needs to be practical but doesn't need to rock my world, just be comfortable, reliable and economical, so I have a 2010 Ceed estate in black, much like every taxi near where I live. Its a nice place to be to cover long journeys and has plenty of toys, but it's not exactly inspiring to look at, certainly does the job well though.

That said, I wouldn't say my weekend toy is a stunner, 2006 Impreza WRX, its certainly function over form but it ticks the boxes I want ticking i.e. fantastic driving dynamics, grip and power. I do like the way it looks though, I love the utter functionality of it.

[Turbobanana]

Evil.soup said:

Turbobanana said:

Evil.soup said:

Lol, oversight on my part!

Interesting choice and a lovely looking thing too, certainly rather different to anything listed above and for all the right reasons.

I do highly rate the MR2 though, the most fun car I have ever owned, but that's no good if you can't stomach the looks.

Good luck with the classic

Thanks Evil.soup.

Looks are an odd one, aren't they? I don't much care what my moderns look like: they need to be functional, smart etc but could look like anything. For context, I needed a large estate car (ie NOT an SUV) so I looked at Mercedes E-Class, Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Volvo V90. Stuff like Passat, Mondeo, Insignia were half a size too small and I didn't think Skoda Superb until after I'd bought the Benz, which won on the best compromise between affordability, space and the fact that I found one that wasn't silver, black or grey.

But, when it comes to my "toy" car, I'm quite picky on the basis that it's something I want, rather than something I need.

Can totally relate to that. My daily needs to be practical but doesn't need to rock my world, just be comfortable, reliable and economical, so I have a 2010 Ceed estate in black, much like every taxi near where I live. Its a nice place to be to cover long journeys and has plenty of toys, but it's not exactly inspiring to look at, certainly does the job well though.

That said, I wouldn't say my weekend toy is a stunner, 2006 Impreza WRX, its certainly function over form but it ticks the boxes I want ticking i.e. fantastic driving dynamics, grip and power. I do like the way it looks though, I love the utter functionality of it.

[Turbobanana]

To celebrate the fact that it starts, has lights, now locks securely and most of the salt seems to have been washed off the roads, I have been commuting in the 6 for the last couple of days.

This morning I woke the neighbours up at 06:15 to head for my Friday early morning swim, then headed straight to work, arriving by 07:30. I was treated to an empty car park and a beautiful sunrise:


The downside of such an early start, or course, is that I'm writing this at 09:15 and it feels like lunchtime...

[Turbobanana]

Life's never easy, is it?

In my post above the 6 was sitting in an empty car park, admiring the sunrise and ticking quietly in the way old cars do after a decent run. OK, so it was my daily commute but hey, we can dream.

Part of the significance of that photo was hopefully to show the 6 on its slot-mag wheels for the last time.

At 0830 I took it round to Just Tyres, a short walk from my office and where I'd popped into yesterday to enquire if they could do some wheel & tyre swapping for me. They gleefully accepted and the car was duly dropped off for them to do their bit.

I'm guessing the combined age of the two lads on duty was still shy of the Triumph (or even me ), but they seemed genuinely interested in the car, as did workers from the local industrial estate.

I got a phone call about 11am:

"Hello, the car's all done but, umm... there's a problem"
"Oh?"
The wheels look at a bit of an odd angle"
"Ah, don't worry, they all do that"
"Phew, thanks. Oh, by the way, how do you get it into reverse?"

I wandered over at lunchtime to pick it up, now looking like this:

These are period Cosmic alloys, refurbished (sort of) and now wearing the tyres off the slot-mags and, in my opinion at least, the 6 looks a whole lot better - what do you think? (caveat: I haven't put wheel centres in yet)

Only problem now is the NSR wheel just catches on the bottom suspension joint, so it looks like I'll need a set of spacers (5mm should do it - it's only just catching but makes a horrible grating sound, at least it does until it erodes the wheel a bit ). My only concern is whether the wheel studs will be long enough.

Onward...

[QBee]

On my TVR 5mm spacers were safe, over 7 would have been new studs time.
New studs are easily available from any decent autospares indie, who can aslo sell ylou the spacers.
Apart from supporting a local shop, you will also be able to swap them easily if you find you need something different.

Try one spacer first, for the wheel that's catching, and make sure you have a decent number of turns of the nuts/bolts when you put the wheel back on.
If you are in any doubt change the studs.

I also used 5mm spacers on my car trailer, having upgraded the tyres to bigger and wider to be legal, and didn't check that they were safe. Wheel came off at 60 mph on the way to Hethel for a track day. I found the wheel, as I saw it come past me, but never found the bolts.....it was a good job I had tied the TVR down well.

[Evil.soup]

Turbobanana said:

Life's never easy, is it?

In my post above the 6 was sitting in an empty car park, admiring the sunrise and ticking quietly in the way old cars do after a decent run. OK, so it was my daily commute but hey, we can dream.

Part of the significance of that photo was hopefully to show the 6 on its slot-mag wheels for the last time.

At 0830 I took it round to Just Tyres, a short walk from my office and where I'd popped into yesterday to enquire if they could do some wheel & tyre swapping for me. They gleefully accepted and the car was duly dropped off for them to do their bit.

I'm guessing the combined age of the two lads on duty was still shy of the Triumph (or even me ), but they seemed genuinely interested in the car, as did workers from the local industrial estate.

I got a phone call about 11am:

"Hello, the car's all done but, umm... there's a problem"
"Oh?"
The wheels look at a bit of an odd angle"
"Ah, don't worry, they all do that"
"Phew, thanks. Oh, by the way, how do you get it into reverse?"

I wandered over at lunchtime to pick it up, now looking like this:

These are period Cosmic alloys, refurbished (sort of) and now wearing the tyres off the slot-mags and, in my opinion at least, the 6 looks a whole lot better - what do you think? (caveat: I haven't put wheel centres in yet)

Only problem now is the NSR wheel just catches on the bottom suspension joint, so it looks like I'll need a set of spacers (5mm should do it - it's only just catching but makes a horrible grating sound, at least it does until it erodes the wheel a bit ). My only concern is whether the wheel studs will be long enough.

Onward...

I do have to admit, that is a very nice thing indeed and the wheel do work for it. I particularly like the colour, it's a bit different.

[bumskins]

Probably not the best person to answer (as i've never liked Slotmags) but think from that image it looks good on the Cosmics! Just wondering, is that Wedgewood Blue? Looks a lovely colour either way.

[Turbobanana]

QBee said:

On my TVR 5mm spacers were safe, over 7 would have been new studs time.
New studs are easily available from any decent autospares indie, who can aslo sell ylou the spacers.
Apart from supporting a local shop, you will also be able to swap them easily if you find you need something different.

Try one spacer first, for the wheel that's catching, and make sure you have a decent number of turns of the nuts/bolts when you put the wheel back on.
If you are in any doubt change the studs.

I also used 5mm spacers on my car trailer, having upgraded the tyres to bigger and wider to be legal, and didn't check that they were safe. Wheel came off at 60 mph on the way to Hethel for a track day. I found the wheel, as I saw it come past me, but never found the bolts.....it was a good job I had tied the TVR down well.

Thanks QBee