Motoring the Coast in the TR6

You don’t drive an old British car; you go “motoring” in them. It’s a lot like flying in that you have an underlying paranoia about not IF, but WHEN the engine is going to quit. You are always on the alert for the sounds of impending catastrophe. The driving process is involved too. No power steering, temperamental shifting, and questionable brakes require a level of attention that precludes any modern day luxuries (distractions) like texting, phoning, radio, or even nursing a cup of coffee – the cup holder was back at the local pub. The lack of an overdrive gear makes freeway cruising an auditory hell of wind, vibration, and engine noise. British Motoring demands you be involved in the driving process. It’s a good thing because driving a tiny vehicle with virtually no safety equipment in a sea of distracted drivers careening about in overweight ballistic missiles is a downright dangerous endeavor.

Motoring in the TR6

It’s been a busy year so far. I’ve been working in San Diego on the TR6 Trade and Jo as been up to her neck in nursing school bookwork. In fact she is so busy she could only take one day off from studying over spring break. We hatched a plan for a speed run to San Diego and in typical McCulloch fashion planned on cramming a week’s worth of fun in our one day adventure. We would land the night before and leave first thing two days later for a total of 36 hours on the ground. After battling and winning the grind of standby travel during spring break Jacque was kind enough to put us up and run us to and from the airport.

I woke up early and made a few small repairs to the TR6. It’s running good, but has a few unaddressed mechanical issues that could ruin our plans. A little uncertainty would add to the adventure, but I decided to spare Jo the added anxiety. Ignorance is bliss! Our plan was to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Carlsbad to San Diego. We put the top down and hit the coast south of Oceanside just as the morning marine layer burned off. The first glimpse of the Pacific rewarded us with a veil of blue that engulfed the horizon merging sea with sky. Our first stop was on a sandy cliff sharing the morning sun with ridge soaring pelicans occasionally passing by.

First Stop on the Coast

The next stop was north of Del Mar where we walked in the surf and I talked up a 1971 VW bus owner who’s ride was reminiscent of my own ’73.

British European Motors just happened to be on the way, so I pulled off for a quick pit stop. They had done front wheel bearing replacements, a new timing chain, and a general tune up the week prior, but an ominous sound was coming from the block. A stethoscope confirmed that the main bearings are howling, but the bulk of the noise was a bad water pump bearing resonating through the block. The main bearings will probably make it back to Colorado, but the water pump could strand us if it went. I decided the old girl needed to be run and we pressed on.

Ferrari F355GTS at British European Automotive

We lumbered south over the rolling coastal cliffs enjoying the smiles and waves of onlookers. The TR6 has striking lines in its long hood, tall wheel arches, and square back that always attracts waves and thumbs ups. It’s too bad its engineering isn’t quite as graceful! A deep exhaust note tells passer-bys of a strong torque curve that I put to good use in a 3rd gear climb up to Torrey Pines. We pulled into the lot at Torrey Pines Glider Port with a promise to Jo that we were just here for the view and not for me to fly. I had a great surprise when I rocked into the pilot shop and saw myself on the cover of a back issue of Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine next to some of hang gliding’s greats, young and old. I wanted to tell everyone it was me, but humility prevailed allowing me to enjoy a satisfying coincidence.

The Classic Lines of the TR6

Headed for Torrey Pines

Torrey Pines Glider Port

Walked into the Pilot Shop and Saw Myself on an Old Mag Cover Shot

Back in the lot when the engine rumbled to life the water pump continued to pronounce its demise in metallic barking dog sound. I pretended that’s what it was and drove off. The twisty descent down to La Jolla put my “motoring” skills to the test, always being ready to downshift and divert into a runoff if the brakes failed. In La Jolla the marine layer crept in overhead, meaning our kayaking would be cloudy and cold. I really wanted to explore the La Jolla Caves, but could not stomach being part of a tour group – the only way to do so in a rental boat.

Going it Alone in a Rental

We set out on our own into the surf of the La Jolla Underwater Park. Jo took a four-foot wave over the bow making an already cold situation much colder. The marine layer had metastasized into a solid overcast dropping the air temperature significantly. We kept ourselves warm Bayer Grills-style by paddling hard to keep our heart rates up. On the way to the caves we saw a lone dolphin about 30 yards off the bow. From there we did our best to avoid the tour groups, take in the seal colonies, and enjoy the squadrons of pelicans buzzing us from all directions inches off the water. I found a reef and hopped out for a snorkel, but the 60-degree water overwhelmed my usually high misery tolerance cutting my snorkel short.

Kayaking the La Jolla Underwater Park

The La Jolla Caves

Pelicans Dive Bombing Off the Cliffs

Sea Lions

Looking North to Torrey Pines

Back on land the sun reappeared so we stopped for some seal watching, a crack jump for me, and a hair washing for Jo.

Looking Down at the Seal Colonies

Crack Jump

When we reached Mission Beach Jo spotted the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster and ordered me to pull over. I was happy to oblige. The wooden roller coaster, originally opened in 1925, is only one of two left on the West Coast. It has a bone-jarring ride that’s almost as bad as the 38 year-old suspension on the TR6 – almost! We completed the stop with ice cream and a stroll on the boardwalk.

The Giant Dipper Roller Coaster

A Full Scale Model

The Ride was Almost as Stiff as the TR6

Mission Beach

From there we met up with Ben for a sunset walk on the Ocean Beach Pier, the longest on the West Coast. After sunset we met up with Zippy and Erin for sushi at The Joint in OB.

Another '70's Vintage

Ocean Beach

Dinner with Ben, Zippy, and Erin

It was a hell of a day, but we felt satisfied we accomplished our mission. Jo got a brief, but much needed break from the books. Driving the coast in a classic British Roadster is an experience to be remembered. The TR6 pulled it off without a hitch, even with a noisy water pump.

TR6 Trade Part 1

It all started in San Francisco International Airport back in October. I was on what we in the industry call an "airport appreciation break", a three hour unpaid sit between flights where I ran into my old friend Phillip. We have known each other since flight school and have shared many good times together. I even lived with him and his wife Jacque for a few years in Salt Lake City. In passing, Phillip asked if I wanted to buy his 1974 Triumph TR6. He bought the car the same month I bought my original '74 TR6. My response was typical; "Yes, but I don't have any money." Phillip was selling it to fund home repairs for his house before leaving the country. We have done home repair projects together before and the light bulb went off for both of us simultaneously. The conversation went like this; "I'll fix your house for the car." "Why don't you fix the house for the car." "Yeah, I'm serious!" "I know so am I!" "No really, I'm serious!" And on and on... A trip to San Diego to look at the house and the car and a plan was put in motion. I would spend some time avoiding winter in sunny San Diego, Phillip would get his home repairs done, and I would get a TR6 back in the fleet.

Phillip and Jacque's house is a fixer upper to put euphemistically, but they have done an amazing job of making it right. Maybe it is the combined experience they have of fixing up a ton of properties over the years. The house in question is a duplex which as been added onto over and over. It reminded me of the house Homer Simpson built. They live in a two story unit with an upstairs main room, office, bedroom, and bathroom. Downstairs is an unfinished kitchen, main room, bedroom, bathroom, and common area. For the first trip would be helping finish the upstairs bathroom and installing most of the main room trim.

Upstairs Bathroom - Toilet Room

Upstairs Bathroom - Vanity

Upstairs Bathroom - Shower

And of Course Lots of Trimwork

On my second trip I got to work on tiling the stairs. Like most construction, jobs I grossly underestimated the time it would take to level, backer-board, tile, and trim the stairs. Jacque will be grouting and sealing which will save time on my end. The stairway consists of a lower elevated landing, two upper landings connected by a decreasing radius curve, and an upper set of stairs. The curves and angles involved in the landings made for very time consuming work as almost every cut had to be custom in order for the puzzle to fit together in a visually consistent way. The trim job will be similarly methodic on a future trip. A 24 hour stomach flu robbed me of a work day, but Jacque took good care of me. She drove me to the ER in the morning and made sure I was okay when I got discharged as I slept off the bug.

Leveling, Backer-Boarding, & Tiling the Stairs

As the mud was drying we turned our focus to the downstairs bathroom. The existing bathroom was comprised of a very wide “swingers” tub surrounded by a funky seventies-esque brown tile surround. The fiberglass vanity, framed underneath by 2x4’s, was piss yellow with hand painted butterflies in the sink. It was a sight to behold! An ominous dip in the floor foreshadowed the inevitable rot and mildew caused by the previous builder’s shoddy construction techniques. Jacque, her Dad, and I made short work of gutting the bathroom, leaving only the a lone toilet, for now.

Demo-ing the Downstairs Bathroom

The rot was as expected, a combination of termite and water damage along the tub surround and under the sink. It will need to be completely cutout and re-framed. I’ll get started on that on the next trip.

On to the car. It’s a French Blue 1974 Triumph TR6. Growing up with a father who favored British Sports cars I've always had a love for the TR6. Its long hood, tall wheel arches, and boxy rear end gave it a more masculine and substancal presence than the MGB’s it competed against. It nicely bridged the gap between the entry-level cars of that era and the higher dollar Austin Healey’s and Jaguars. My dream of TR6 ownership came true in 2001 when I found a green ’74 model for an affordable price in Salt Lake City. I road-tripped it back to my home in California without a mechanical hiccup. The TR6’s inline six cylinder engine is based off a tractor engine and is reliable, relatively speaking. Like all British offerings of the 60’s and ‘70’s it does suffer from the “prince of darkness” Lucas electronics and dubious British build quality.

Phillip's TR6

Phillip bought his TR6 about two weeks before I bought mine. The timing of our purchases facilitated a few TR6 rallies on the windy roads in Oakland’s foothills before I moved my car back to Utah. Phillip’s car is far from a perfect example, but will make a good driver with some TLC. The paint has a lot of superficial scratching that will need to be wet sanded out. The panel gaps are large and inconsistent which could either be from a poor job of re-aligning after a frame-off restoration or accident damage (hopefully not the latter). Getting it running is the first order of business. It has been sitting for eighteen months and not run much before that. I started by changing the oil, flushing the fuel, and cleaning the carbs. One brake was seized, but it unfroze with some motivation. After oiling in the cylinders the engine turned over with a light push from behind in 4^th gear. I put the spark plugs back in, held my breath and turned the key. The engine rotated freely and the starter sounded strong, but nothing. A blast of starter fluid in each cylinder didn't help either. The carbs appeared to be unclogged and fuel was flowing, so it must be a spark issue. I started with the coil, which tested bad. After replacing that the points tested bad. Out of time and money I left shelved hope of getting running this trip. I’ll order some parts for the next trip and continue the troubleshooting process. Patience is a must when it comes to British mechanics.

Getting to Work

Why bother getting running in San Diego you might ask? Why not just tow it home to my own garage? Because I plan on road tripping it home, top down and without touching a highway, but that’s a future post!

There is a lot of work to be done on both the house and car, but lucky for me I still have a few months of winter left in which to accomplish them. Stay tuned, I’ll post my progress as it happens.