January 2005

First look before purchase. Originally owned by a work colleague Nick Brindley, who had owned it for 13 years but it had not been on the road for the last four. What did I pay? I'll keep you guessing on that one.

March 2005

Yes, I parted with my money and bought my TR6. These pictures where taken for the insurance agreed valuation of £6500. I actually paid a bit less for it than that but don't tell them will you.

April 2005

Hardtop purchased from Edd on ebay, but what colour do I paint it? As well as painting I need the seal for the perspex rear screen and the side window openings. Also need to sort out how to fix it to the car at the back.

July 2005

Now fitted wire wheels which I purchased at the TR-Register International show at Malvern. I have since had them refurbished, but perhaps I should have had the spinners chromed? I have also replaced those American decals, on the rear wings, for the correct British ones.
The "Wire Wheel Close-up" Is for Steve who was interested in having his wheels refurbished. Sorry its not very sharp Steve.
Thanks to Ian from Milton Keynes I now have two more wire wheels. I can now make up a decent set of five. Many thanks Ian and all the best with your TR5 rebuild.

September 2005

Back on the road again, tided up and a few safety issues sorted out, thanks to Jon from the TR Register forum.

Engine bay looking a lot better now, not pristine but clean and tidy. Cooling system flushed and all water and air hoses replaced. Brake hoses, rear cylinders and brake fluid all replaced. While the rocker cover was away for powder coating I set up the valve clearance and found a couple a little tight. Also sorted out that the accelerator pedal bearings one was missing and the other was falling apart. Runs a lot smoother now but still a little lumpy at low revs. Still have to sort out that squeaking noise at the back, still not sure if its drive shaft or suspension? Job for the winter I think!!

October 2006 - (Summary of the year)

OK its been a while, to be honest I've just been enjoying the TR through the summer and forgot to diary any work I did, including taking any photo's.

I did have a problem with the the injection system which finally raised it ugly head at the TR-Register International show at Malvern. This is a very long story which I will try to cut as short as possible, please bear in mind I am still a novice TR owner:

Initially had problem's starting my TR6 did the obvious checks but did not resolve the problem. Took it to Malvern and decided to get it checked out by the tunning guys there. During the tune-up they discovered a petrol leak from the mettering unit and at this point I could see my TR going home on the back of an "AA" truck. Anyway, I hunted down a second hand and unit which the tunning guy fitted for me. GREAT! it worked and ran really well on the way home. However, the next day it was still difficult to start and stated running really rough. I then contacted Malcolm at Prestige Injection who was extremely helpful. He explained the problems of old rubber and new petrol and in the end he built me a new mettering unit for £150, I also changed some of the worn injectors with him. I fitted the new mettering unit which resulted in the TR running OK again but it was still difficult to start. Contacted Malcolm, again and he suggested I checked out the fuel pump which pointed me in the right direction. The pump, on start up was only receiving 8.5 volts. We ran the car with a battery booster pack in the boot trapped to the pump and it started every time and ran a lot better. I have since rewired the pump via a relay which has finally resolved the problem.

Sorry that's as short as I could make it

January 2007 - (Winter Project)

My TR6 has is still running a little uneven at low rev's and I was having a problem balancing the air intakes, particularly on one and two cylinders, with my new vacuum meter. So I decided to take on a little winter project to refurb the Cylinder Head and all associated bits. The problem is knowing how far to go and obviously that includes considering your budget.

I have taken welcome advice from a guy at work, Duncan, who used to tune Mini engines and seems to have no budget constraints at all, and my mechanic son Mark who keeps me at a sensible level.

Therefore, the decision was made not to spend over £350 on a refurbished, unleaded head but to do the work myself, which Mark reminded me that is one of the reasons I bought the TR in the first place. However, I did take some good advice from Duncan to replace the valve springs for an uprated set, which cost about £25. This should give a more positive valve action and prevent bounce, (see the picture apposite which shows the difference between the new and old springs). He also advised me to polish the inlet ports and remove any protruding edges between the inlet manifold and the inlet ports to the head. I simple flaring of the ports was sufficient to achieve this, (you can see this on some of the pictures of the Cylinder Head).

On inspection of the valves with Mark it was decided that the inlet valves were fine and although the exhaust valves would have been OK there was signs of ware on the ends, (which you can just about see in the picture), so I decided to replace the set. Unfortunately, my supplier had only got two in stock and I am still waiting for the other four to finish the work on the head. So in the mean time I have cleaned up the Block ready for the head, (see the before and after pictures)

We next looked at the rocker assembly, the rockers seemed not too bad and we decided they would regrind OK which I have since done, (see picture). However, the shaft was well worn so it was replaced at a bargain price of £16. I have now cleaned up and rebuilt the rocker assembly which I am very pleased with.

As the rocker assembly had shown signs of ware the next big debate was weather to fit a rocker oil feed pipe and stem oil seals? I have checked out this debate on the TR-Register Forum but any additional feedback would be much appreciated. email me at: allanlavender@blueyonder.co.uk