Triumph gt6 mk3 help

hairypigeon

Hi Guys,

new to this forum

I have a red gt6 mk 3

Its been the bane and pride of my life. I have a new engine(jigsaw racing fully rebuilt), su conversion, carbs, gearbox and pretty much all new mechanicals throughout.

The performance though just isnt where i want it to be and the body still need some work.

I'm considering either stripping it(parts worth far more than selling it whole) or preferably an engine swap for to a zetec engine gbox and running gear. I have tried to find someone who might be interested/ or able to do the conversion in ireland?

it'd be a real shame to strip so any help or contact who could help me avoid that would be really appreciated

thanks

Capri

Guess you know Moss -
http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Browse/ComponentMenuProducts.aspx?WebCatalogID=41&PlateTypeID=1

And McNamaras
http://www.mcnamaras.ie/

And
http://t2000.kvaleberg.org/t_tune.html

And
http://www.totallytriumph.net/TriumphCarForums/index.php

And
http://www.gt6.com/triumph/



I'd be loathe to spend good money after bad after getting your tuned 6 already - better to work with what you have than start bastardising a good car :rolleyes:

hairypigeon

Capri wrote: »

Guess you know Moss -
http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Browse/ComponentMenuProducts.aspx?WebCatalogID=41&PlateTypeID=1

And McNamaras
http://www.mcnamaras.ie/

And
http://t2000.kvaleberg.org/t_tune.html

And
http://www.totallytriumph.net/TriumphCarForums/index.php

And
http://www.gt6.com/triumph/



I'd be loathe to spend good money after bad after getting your tuned 6 already - better to work with what you have than start bastardising a good car :rolleyes:

thanks capri but being honest I've heard very bad things about macnamaras

I'm well aware of the good money after bad discussion but i'm really past that point.

I've spent a lot of money and TBH i've been disappointed by the results (before you ask I drove a gt6 mk3 before i bought).

what i'm really looking for is someone who might be able to do and advise me on a conversion

charlie1966

This is probably not a question for a classic forum as a lot of classic owners prefer originality or close to it. It might be a better question on a retro site. The only Irish site I know of is Retrostock.ie. Its only a new site so there is not much traffic on it at the moment, but the guys are knowledgeable. There are bound to be a few UK sites that would be able to advise too.
Something to be aware of if you change the engine and as a result gain power is that many other parts may need to be upgraded. Items such as the braking system, gearbox and rear axle.

gn3dr

hairypigeon wrote: »

Hi Guys,

new to this forum

I have a red gt6 mk 3

Its been the bane and pride of my life. I have a new engine(jigsaw racing fully rebuilt), su conversion, carbs, gearbox and pretty much all new mechanicals throughout.

The performance though just isnt where i want it to be and the body still need some work.

I'm considering either stripping it(parts worth far more than selling it whole) or preferably an engine swap for to a zetec engine gbox and running gear. I have tried to find someone who might be interested/ or able to do the conversion in ireland?

it'd be a real shame to strip so any help or contact who could help me avoid that would be really appreciated

thanks

If you are not happy with the car and are considerimg breaking or selling it as a results of this then you sholu modify it to get it to where you want to. I'm a big fan of useable classic and if that means modernising them then so be it.Never mind what anyone says about keeping originality - that's fine for ultra rare cars but at the end of the day it's your car to do what you want with it.

As to the issues - what aspects of the performance are you not happy with?
Personally I'd hazard a guess that the carbs and ignition are going to have issues. This is old technology so if you think your mechanicals are up to it then why not convert your existing engine to fuel injection? This can be done relatively cheaply (I do a lot of throttle body conversions for rally cars as well as some road cars myself) If your basic engine is good then injection will be the best route to extracting the best from it.
You will also get the benefit of ditching the distributor which is eliminating a reliability issue. Economy should also be better.

You'd need
1) A trigger wheel added to the front pulley with a crank position sensor reading it
2) A fuel injection fuel pump with plumbing to and from the tank
3) A set of throttle bodies (6 ideally for you!!!) or a single throttle body with a plenum inlet
4) For an ECU you could go from building and mapping your own with something like Megasquirt to buying off the shelf ECU's and getting it mapped on a rolling road.

However it will still be an old engine so machanical reliability might still rear it's head in the future.



Failing that if you do want to go for an engine swap I wouldn;t bother with a Zetec - yes they are cheap to buy but they were never the best engine. Go for something with an alloy block like a Duratec. (I'm a big fan of adding lightness). Stick an MX5 6 speed box on the back of it and your sorted!
Of course you should also consider the suspension and brakes to match any increased performance.

I'm also planning a few modernisations myself - MX5 running gear into an MGB being one example.

I recently helped a friend of mine put an SR20 Nissan N/A engine into a Capri - miles better than the crappy old Pinto that was in there previously.
It's running on the original Nissan ECU (the wiring did take a bit of time to work through)

The Gt6 should have less clearance problems with crossmembers up front from what I remember.

What about keeping it a 6 cylinder? You could pick up a BMW six fairly cheaply these days. Kind of keeping it in the marque as well as I believe BMW own teh Triumph name these days.....

Where in the country are you located?

Merrion

They seem to be pretty amenable to an engine swap according to this:- http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/bonneville-fastest-sports-car-in-the-world/

A more realistic but not as nice answer is to lose the weight of the bodywork and swap it for a fibreglass one?

TR FITZ

I have a red gt6 mk 3..... new engine(jigsaw racing fully rebuilt), su conversion, carbs, gearbox and pretty much all new mechanicals throughout..... performance though just isnt where i want it to be and the body still need some work.

Hi there, the above caught my eye as I was over in Stafford 18th / 19th Aug at the TSSC show and was talking to the boys at Jigsaw stand and the quality of what they had on offer was good, however was also talking to a few of the guys from Scotland TSSC who had 'moulded' 2L Zetec engines and transmission into Spitfires, also involved chassis strenghtening, so as Capri suggested - "better work with what you have", and if you haven't asked already - there is a wealth of expertise in the TCOC (Triumph Classic Owners Club) - we meet the last Sun of each month at Weston Airport just outside Lucan on the Celbridge Road

Triumphantly yours
Bren Fitz

okistag

TR FITZ wrote: »

I have a red gt6 mk 3..... new engine(jigsaw racing fully rebuilt), su conversion, carbs, gearbox and pretty much all new mechanicals throughout..... performance though just isnt where i want it to be and the body still need some work.

Hi there, the above caught my eye as I was over in Stafford 18th / 19th Aug at the TSSC show and was talking to the boys at Jigsaw stand and the quality of what they had on offer was good, however was also talking to a few of the guys from Scotland TSSC who had 'moulded' 2L Zetec engines and transmission into Spitfires, also involved chassis strenghtening, so as Capri suggested - "better work with what you have", and if you haven't asked already - there is a wealth of expertise in the TCOC (Triumph Classic Owners Club) - we meet the last Sun of each month at Weston Airport just outside Lucan on the Celbridge Road

Triumphantly yours
Bren Fitz

Bren

I dont think he would want to hear the name Jigsaw ! also he is a TCOC member already;)

okistag

A change over like a Zetec engine is far enough to say but its not that easy for the non DIY type, cost can and will run high. Those who say its easy or have done it, mainly are doing the work themselves.. you can spend hours just making up engine mounts etc if paying a garage think hourly rate !!

However if you do it yourself the work and time is not an issue it would keep cost down to just parts.

Then one has to take into account things like brakes, suspension, rear end differential and chassis strengthened and so on... endless if one is going to do it right..

Also doing engine mods to original motor can get very good BHP and torque depending on cams etc you could land up with a car which is more of track car than road car. Dont think a highly modified engine will act like a standard one, from of idle to just general driving..

Now one has the insurance issue here with it as it is no longer what it says it is on the tin!!

Personally to me it would be like building a kit car.. buy a chassis or get a donor and go the full monty as such, no legal issues with insurance etc and you will build exactly what you want..

I agree with mods to any classic to improve them and to be honest if Triumph were being made today these mods would be standard. For safety, in some cases reliability.

What you have is a lovely engine in the GT6 straight 6, tuned stage 1 engine and tuned correctly they go really well with sensible mods to suspension..

Also with its Triumph 6 cyl 2.0lt engine in it, it will be well balance from to get go..

What exactly are you looking for from it.. as the idea mentioned above you will have to have deep pockets..

If you are, who I think you are after all of what you have invested all ready in it, it would far cheaper just to finish the project the way it is...

Personally and I know everyone to their own, I am not for drastic changes, mods yes improvements yes otherwise why not just just go down the route of a kit car !! I am for preserving the classics with sensible and fun mods..

DaveCol

Have you considered getting your car set up on a rolling road to make sure you are getting the best out of your current engine?

TRNIALL

DaveCol wrote: »

Have you considered getting your car set up on a rolling road to make sure you are getting the best out of your current engine?

Dave is Right keep what you have and get it Sorted.Spend a Few Hours Down in Enfield on the Rolling Road and you might be supprised at how well a Good Sorted GT6 can Shift;).

okistag

Dave and Niall are both spot on... Rolling road for sure.. and then see...