Codebreaker: 1970 Triumph GT6+


























For the longest time, my automotive interests focused solely on vehicles from the United States. Over time, however, my horizons have expanded, and my interests have piqued towards vehicles from all around the world, including those from the United Kingdom. A company that I've kept close tabs on is Triumph, a sports car and motorcycle company that has produced many cool vehicles over the years. A car that I have grown to dug is the Triumph GT6, and this 1970 GT6+ was originally painted code 66 Valencia. Find it here on eBay in North Billerica, Massachusetts, with about eight and a half hours left to bid.
























Based off of Triumph's popular Spitfire convertible, the GT6 was introduced in 1966. After an initial prototype Spitfire GT4 was designed by Giovanni Michelotti (who also designed the Spitfire convertible) but was quickly shelved due to poor performance, Triumph revised its sporting GT and relaunched it as the GT6. This GT6+ is a 1970 model, the final year for its second generation, and is one of 12,066 built from July 1968 to December 1970. Originally painted code 66 Valencia, this example appears to have been repainted red at some point. Dubbed the poor-man's Jaguar E-Type, there is some rust that needs to be repaired on the car, but it appears to be fairly minimal. All of the 1970-specific lights are still on the car, and I dig the rear-split bumper. I would fix the rust, repaint the car in its factory Valencia, and source some TR6 wheels and GT6 caps wrapped in blackwall tires.

As with the first generation models, the MKII GT6 used a straight six, but was punched up a bit. Displacing 1,998 cc (1.2L), power figures come in at 104 horsepower and 117 lb-ft of torque, increasing top speed to 109 mph and dropping the 0-60 time to ten seconds flat. Backed by a four-speed manual transmission, the drivetrain is currently not in operable condition, but these engines (essentially a smaller version of the 2498 cc engine from the TR6 roadster) are said to run smooth, and everything is said to be there, so I would restore the drivetrain mechanically and cosmetically (this is what a restored drivetrain looks like). 
























If there is one part of the car that is rough and not complete, its the interior. The floorboards are rusty and need replacing, and everything from the dash to the seats are missing. Said to have been equipped with a black interior originally, it will take a bit of time and money to get a fully restored interior back inside this car, but that should not be too hard and too expensive to source and restore. Though a bit needy, this GT6 MK II would be a perfect car to restore, and would be a rare and welcome sight at any car show, cruise night, and or Cars and Coffee event. What are your thoughts on this rarely-seen final-year GT6 MKII?
Location: North Billerica, Billerica, MA 01862, USA

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