hill country triumphschapter of the 6-pack, dedicated to the enjoyment, preservation, and...
TRANSCRIPT
It’s hot… it’s cold… it’s rainy…it’s not… It must be Novem-ber in the Hill Country. It
seems like the weather is tryingto shift gears and is having prob-lems getting it done. I have agood friend that lives outside ofChicago. If you think we havebad weather, it’s nothing com-pared to the show, wind, andrain they have been having. Hecouldn’t even get from the houseto his shop to work on his cars. Ithink I’ll stay in Texas.
I hope your Thanksgiving was asgood as ours this year. We spent
the day with family and friends. Whenasked what I was most thankful for in2014 one of the things I mentioned was“having a wonderful Hill Country Tri-umph Club to be associated with.”
In This IssueHill Country Triumphs, by SteveJohnson.......................................Page 1
The Night Before Christmas, byMike McPhail............................Page 4
Pioneer Flight Museum, by War-ren Kodosky..............................Page 5
Dealing with Loss, by Bob Kramer........................................................Page 8
Upcoming Events.................Page 12
HCTC Classifieds...................Page 12
Next Meeting..........................Page 12
The Hill Country Triumph Club, the 50th Chapter of the Vintage Triumph Register (VTR), wasfounded in 1990 to bring together the owners of Triumph automobiles in the Central Texasarea surrounding Austin. In 1991, the membership decided to include other British car fansas associates due to lack of other clubs in our area that represent some of the other marques.As owners and lovers of our unique types of cars, we have a special kinship, which draws ustogether. Membership is open to anyone who is a British car enthusiast, with or without a car.Annual dues are just $15.00 per family group or address per year. We have dinner meetingson the 2nd Tuesday of each month and at least one other event each month. We encourageyou to join and support us, even if you don’t drive your car regularly. We also offer technicalassistance if needed. One goal of the club is to help its members keep their cars on the road.Please call one of the club officers listed in the newsletter for more information about clubbenefits and spread the word about our club to others.
The Hill Country Club is a local chapter of the Vintage Triumph Register (VTR)/TriumphSports Owners Association, which is open to all drivers of Triumph motorcars; a chapter ofthe Triumph Register of America, exclusively for TR2 through TR4A sports cars; and achapter of the 6-PACK, dedicated to the enjoyment, preservation, and restoration of theTriumph TR250 and TR6 sports cars. Membership in these national organizations isencouraged. Visit their websites at www.vtr.org, www.triumphregister.com, and www.6-pack.org.The Ragtop is published monthly by the Hill Country Triumph Club. Material within may befreely reproduced providing Ragtop and the authors are credited. Any and all newslettercontributions are welcome. Deadline for submissions is the end of each month. Submissionsmay be emailed to [email protected]. Car related classified ads are free tomembers and will run for three months unless otherwise instructed. Contact editor for otherads.
Hill Country TriumphsBy Steve Johnson
December 2014
The Ragtop December 2014
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 2
Thanks for what each of you do tomake our club great. I’m lookingforward to 2015.
We had our November 15th clubmeeting at Frisco’s in Austin.There were 33 members and 12cars that joined us for the meetingon that slightly rainy day. Thoseattending found the food and ser-vice very good. The parking lot islarge and suited for our needs.The lite traffic was a welcomechange from our usual rush hour.But one of the most positivethings I saw was the number ofladies that joined us. This is afamily club and it definitelylooked like it.
Although many of our membersliked the thought of a SaturdayBreakfast meeting, there wereothers that wanted to keep ourcurrent Tuesday evening meetingand some who thought we shouldalternate between Saturdaymornings and Tuesday evenings.In order to find out how many ofus wanted which alternative, I puttogether an anonymous survey,sent it out and gave everyone aweek to think about it and reply.
The majority of us thought thatSaturday Breakfast meetingwould be best, so we’ll start thosein January. I want to thank allthose who participated in the sur-vey. At times, change is good andhelps keep the club vibrant. I’moptimistic that this is one of thosepositive changes.
Salute to The Texas AllBritish Car Days — Sep-tember 26-28Our TXABCD is Texas’ largest AllBritish Car Day in Texas and is en-joyed by Vintage Triumph Regis-ter members from all over the
state and some from out of state.The “Austin Motor Scene” websitehas a great video on this year’sTXABCD that I thought you wouldenjoy. Here’s the link to ithttp://vimeo.com/110851823.
Thanks again to all those thathelped to make this year’s showthe best in Texas.
Next Club Meeting —Hill Country Tour ofLights — Dec 9th
Put this date on your calendarnow please. In lieu of a Decemberclub meeting, Mike and NelMcPhail will take the club on ourannual HCTC tour of lights inJohnson City, Tuesday December9th. Our Triumph caravan will de-part the Barber Shop (Brew Pub)at 207 Mercer St. in DrippingSprings at 6:30 PM for a scenicdrive to Johnson City.http://barbershopbar.com/
The entourage will arrive at Pe-can Street Brewing at about 7:00PM for a hardy dinnerhttp://pecanstreetbrewing.com/.Afterwards we will stroll over tothe Pedernales Electric Co-Opbuilding to view their fantasticChristmas lighting display.
Please send a note to Nel [email protected] and lether know by Friday, December 5th
if you are attending. Or, you cancall her on her cell phone at 512-
656-1456. For the trip Mike’s cellphone is 512-695-8637. Call themif you are on your way and arelate or having trouble.
2015 Hill Country Tri-umph Club Kickoff Par-ty - JanuaryDean & Elizabeth Mericas cordial-ly invite you to a Hollywood Hap-py Hour, Saturday, January 17th atCasa Mericas. So, mark your cal-endar for this costume party aswell as libations, food and folly.
Walk the red carpet. Capture themoney, the fame, and the glam ofyour favorite Hollywood actor orgo as one of their famous charac-ters. You’ve got time to plan thisone, so know your lines — andmake it REEL. Prizes awardedand everyone gets a backstagepass to the “photo shop”. Detailsforthcoming.
Sorry, the media is not invited tothis function. What happens atCasa Mericas, stays at Casa Meri-cas.
2015 VTR South CentralRegional Convention -Kerrville TexasAs you know, our Hill Country Tri-umph Club is responsible for host-ing next year’s VTR South CentralRegional Convention. Now thatwe have the Inn of the Hills Hoteland Convention center booked forthe event, we’ll be laying plans to-gether for the April 22nd throughthe 25th, 2015 event. We’ll needlots of help from the club for thisevent. I’ll send you a list of open-ings for you to choose from in Jan-uary along with who to contact.Putting on Regionals is always funfor all of us.
The Ragtop December 2014
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 3
Inn of the Hills is also a conven-tion center with everything we’llneed at one location from accom-modating rooms, to a world classbanquet hall, trailer parking with-in walking distance of our roomsand a special car washing areathat is always setup for car clubs.All we need to do is move in.Their web site address ishttp://www.innofthehills.com/.To learn more about Kerrville seetheir website athttp://www.kerrville.org/.
We initially reserved have 75rooms. The room cost will be$104 per night and that rate isgood for three days before and af-ter the regional if you would liketo come early and/or stay late.Reservations can be made by call-ing 800-292-5690 and asking forthe “Hill Country Triumph ClubBlock”.
As of today over 30 of thoserooms are reserved. I’d recom-mend you call for reservations assoon as possible. Please send me anote if you will be attending sothat I can put you on the list tohelp a bit while you are there.
I’ll keep you posted as plans cometogether.
Vintage Triumph Regis-ter 2015 National Con-ventionThe VTR National Convention willbe held August 11-14, 2015 at theAbbey Resort and ConferenceCenter in Fontana, Wisconsin. Thefeatured Triumph models for thisconvention will be the TR4A andthe Spitfire Mark II both of whichare celebrating their 50th anni-versary in 2015. For the latest in-formation check out their websiteat www.VTR2015.com.
VTR members may register onlineand pay via PayPal. If you prefer,you may print out a registrationform and mail it along with acheck. You will need to know yourVTR membership number andcar's commission number to com-plete the registration. Early regis-tration ends on June 15th .
To receive the VTR room rate atthe Abbey Resort and ConferenceCenter call the resort (262/275-9000) and ask for the Vintage Tri-umph Register rate. Roughly halfof the block of 110 rooms is al-ready booked.
2015 LeMons ScheduleIs OutLove racing really crappy carswith really fun people? The 24Hours of LeMons is here for you.They just released their 2015schedule.
February 7-8: Barber MotorsportsPark, Birmingham, Ala.
February 28-Mar 1: Eagles Can-yon Raceway, Decatur, Texas
March 21-22: Sonoma Raceway,Sonoma, Calif.
April 25-26: Gingerman Raceway,South Haven, Mich.
May 2-3: Carolina MotorsportsPark, Kershaw, S.C.
May 9-10: New Jersey Motor-sports Park, Millville, N.J.
June 13-14: High Plains Raceway,Deer Trail, Colo.
June 20-21: Buttonwillow Race-way Park, Buttonwillow, Calif.
July 11-12: The Ridge Motor-sports Park, Shelton, Wash.
July 25-26: Autobahn CountryClub, Joliet, Ill.
August 8-9: Thompson SpeedwayMotorsports Park, Thompson,Conn.
September 12-13: ThunderhillRaceway Park, Willows, Calif.
September 19-20: Carolina Mo-torsports Park, Kershaw, S.C.
October 3-4: Miller MotorsportsPark, Tooele, Utah
October 10-11: Autobahn CountryClub, Joliet, Ill.
October 24-25: New HampshireMotor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
November 14-15: MSR Houston,Angleton, Texas
December 5-6: Sonoma Raceway,Sonoma, Calif.
Next Club Meeting —Hill Country Tour ofLights — Dec 9th
Put this date on your calendarnow please. Instructions areabove under “Tour of Lights.” I’mlooking forward to seeing youthere.
Remember, you don’t have todrive your Triumph to the clubmeeting to enjoy the excitement!Just be there….
Triumphantly,
Steve JohnsonPresidentHill Country Triumph [email protected] Website -www.hillcountrytriumphclub.org/
December 2014The Ragtop
Page 4Hill Country Triumph Club
'Twas the night before Christmas and outin my shedSat a tired old Spitfire, its battery dead.
The fenders were rusted, the floor pan hadholesThe seats and the carpets had been eaten byvoles
The tires had dry-rot, the gas tank was leakingA turn of the wheel sent the tie rods a-creaking.
So I put on my coat with a weight on my heart,And went out to the shed to get it to start.
When the engine turned over, there arose sucha clatter!I knew from the sound...there was somethingthe matter.
From under the dashboard there came a brightflash:The wiring harness had just turned to ash!
"I've had it with TRs!" I finally swore"Enough is enough, I can't take any more!"
When what to my red, teary eyes should appear,But a stout little Englishman with a pint ofwarm beer!
"Good Day," I heard, as he tapped my shoulder."I'm the spirit of Triumph" said he, while theSpitfire continued to smolder.
"This one can be saved; there's no reason togrieve.All you need is some faith...man, you've got tobelieve!”
"A hammer! Some duct tape! Get me more tools!
When you work on these cars, just make up therules!We'll get her cranked over, no way that she'llstall...
But stand well back, with your face to the wall."
A cough then a sputter...the cacophony stun-ning.
I couldn't believe it! The damn Spit was run-ning!
The ghost winked at me and said, kicking a tire,"Whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH THISWIRE!"
The old man then vanished, oh bless his heart,and when the smoke cleared he had left mesome parts!
So I opened the shed door and let the top down,
Put the pedal to metal and went out on thetown.
And I thought to myself as I missed second gear,“Merry Christmas to All and a Triumphant NewYear!”
The Night Before ChristmasBy Mike McPhail
December 2014The Ragtop
Page 5Hill Country Triumph Club
It was a nice Saturday morn-ing and people & cars startedarriving at the Garageski ear-
ly in the morning. We had coffeeand donuts while we waited foreveryone to show up. Severalclubs were invited to the tourincluding the Thunderbird Club,the Triumph Club, the Road Rel-ics, the Lakeway Car Club andthe host club: the Antique CarTouring Club of Georgetown.
We had cars ranging from the1940’s through a 2014 Corvetteand one motorcycle. We left theGarageski and drove to CentralAustin to meet up with some
more car people. Then we start-ed on our secondary and tertiaryroads - road trip to the Aero-drome.
The Kingsbury Aerodrome has itall, very old airplanes, very oldcars, very old engines and webrought some old people withtheir old cars. Since this was thePioneer Flight Museum’s fundraiser they provided lunch for adonation. Many of us bought anice burger and helped out agood cause in the process.
There were many planes thatflew into the airport and parked
but there wasn’t as much activi-ty as there was in previousyears. Although many of theWWI planes didn’t fly because ofmechanical issues and wind con-ditions it was still a nice gather-ing. There was a WWI stylemilitary encampment completewith solders dressed in perioduniforms. A cop on a vintageHarley Davison who happenedto be the “car club” organizerwas present as he was in pastevents. A Vintage Fire Truck anda Model-T gave rides throughoutthe day.
This year’s outing was much bet-ter than the previous years be-cause now there were realbathrooms with running water.No more Port-O-potties. My wifewas happy and that made it agreat outing!
I’m looking forward to nextyear’s event. Maybe the FokkerTri-wing Plane will not have anyissues and be able to fly.
I’ve attached some pictures oflast year’s event that showssome of the vintage planes fly-ing.
Pioneer Flight MuseumBy Warren Kodosky
December 2014The Ragtop
Page 6Hill Country Triumph Club
December 2014The Ragtop
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December 2014The Ragtop
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I have asked myselfHow do I deal with this?And I have asked myselfWhere is my beautiful TR4A?And I have told myselfThat it isn’t mine anymore!And I have told myselfThis is not my beautiful TR4A!
During the Kastner Cup raceweekend in May Kas askedme if I wanted to sell my
car. He caught me totally by sur-prise with the question and Iquickly answered no. Why would Ido that? My first thoughts were“what would I do without it?” Ithad become a part of my identity, abig part. Kas replied, well thinkabout it, and if you would considerselling it come up with a price bythe end of the day. He mentionedthat he had recommended my carto some hot shoe Triumph racer inBelgium whose TR3 had come toan untimely demise. I took hissuggestion as a compliment.
I have some history with sellingrace cars and I knew it meant thatif I sold my race car I wouldn’thave a “ride” for a while. I sold myfirst race car, the yellow TR3A in2000 because I really wasn’t con-nected with the early Triumphs
and I wanted something better. Ibought a TR4 and I campaigned itfor four more years but along theway I was offered a rusted out rel-ic TR4A with significant race histo-ry. It needed everything, nothingthat bags of cash couldn’t resolveso I sold that red TR4 off to a guyin Japan in late 2004 to get themoney to finish restoring #29. Imissed out on driving for over ayear while I completed it, and Imissed my planned debut at theKastner Cup in Hallett in 2006.
Things would be different thistime. I knew that I had a secondrace car, the blue #67 TR4 that An-drew races. We could share it for awhile. Thoughts started swirling inmy head. What could I do with themoney from this race car sale?
Kas had seen my car race at fourKastner Cup's over the years. I’dtaken it to Heartland Park in Kan-sas, Watkins Glen, Road Atlantaand now this year at Eagles Can-yon. We’d talked about the car’shistory and he knew that his CalSales based Tri-umph Competi-tion Departmenthad provided the
original owner, Bob Stewart withsome sponsorship back in the day.He had a soft spot for the car. Hehad me write an article for one ofhis books about brake bleedingand in the process I’d sent him avariety of undercarriage picturesof my car for him to choose fromfor publication. He knew the car,had seen it perform and liked thebuild quality. Kas also knew thatthe TR4A was my third race car.He had seen me race at Mid Ohioin the old yellow TR3 and at VIRand Mosport in that old red TR4.He watched from the Canadianhillside when I blew up the TR4engine and earned the nicknameFireball. At some point in one ofour conversations I had mentionedto Kas my desire to build a DevinTR3 or maybe a TR6 like the Kast-ner Brophy car, and I probably hadsaid something to the effect that itwould never happen as long as Ihad the TR4A to race. Thus, I wasresponsible for giving him the ideathat I wanted sell the car; and Ihad a decision to make.
Dealing with LossThe Saga of a Sold Race Car
By Bob Kramer
December 2014The Ragtop
Page 9Hill Country Triumph Club
So there I was, racing at EaglesCanyon, leading the TxFOT Kast-ner Cup team, dealing with T-shirtsales, collecting fees and all that isinvolved and he throws a deadlineat me. I suppose he had a backupplan and needed an answer so hehad time to move on to the nextcar. Fortunately I had my peergroup of Triumph friends and fam-ily right there at the track to coun-sel me. Let’s be real, I had thoughtabout selling the car. There is apart of me that didn’t want to go tothe very edge with a car that hadthis history and so much of mytime and treasure invested in it.Although the “red mist” occasion-ally takes over I rarely spin and Imostly back away from tight pass-ing, not wanting to ruin the sheetmetal. That is the vintage way ofracing but sometimes I yearned fora “beater” to thrash around in.With all that thinking I had cometo the conclusion that I would sellthis car if I could cover what it costto build it. I just didn’t think thatwas ever going to happen. The ad-
vice from my peers wastwofold. Some folks knewthat I had the itch forsomething new, others fo-cused more on the moneyfactor. I shared what I hadinvested to build the carand it was a significantnumber. In the end I de-cided to take both piecesof advice and sell it ifsomeone would pay whatI thought it was worth andask a little more to leaveroom for negotiation. Thatlast piece worked in myfavor when the pricepassed on to Kas was com-municated to the buyerand accepted immediately.
What? He’ll take it? I had aKastner Cup race to run!
This would be my last time racingthe car. I promptly went out ontrack and thrashed away. I hadn’thad the time to do the Practice andqualifying session so I was work-ing my way up through the pack inGroup 2. I caught up to a familiarMG, the #40 of George Curl. Georgeknows me and the car and it is asignificant pleasure for him to dicewith me. I had an ignition problem(loose wire) at COTA in the fall andI couldn’t pass him there. It was aneasy fix (once I found it) and I wasback to being faster at ECR. Hedidn’t know that, just remember-ing waving me by at COTA and Icouldn’t go. He decided to play,chopping off my pass attempts. Isaw it as blocking but I could seethat he just thought that he couldstay in front. After half a lap and acouple of “chop blocks”, I set himup for a pass on the paper clipstraight before the hairpin thattakes us onto the front straight atECR. Everybody, and I mean every-body comes up the hill and movesto the right to set up the left turn
hairpin. George did exactly that,until he saw that I wasn’t. I wastaking him on the left and comingfast. He didn’t recognize how fast Iwas coming so he simply turnedleft to block. With no choice butsqueezing him and risking contactI stabbed the brakes and tucked tothe right. A monster spin ensued.Talk about Red Mist, I had blood inmy eyes! I did manage to pass himin the next race and worked myway up to a reasonable startingposition. I had a great race withTony Drews in the Group 2 racepreceding the Kastner Cup raceand we continued that dice intothe cup race until my clutch calledit quits. I made sure I got in someserious laps, my last laps.
Back at home reality hit, and aftera short period of remorse I deliv-ered the car to the shipper. I be-came a man without a car. OK,that's a little dramatic since I dohave that other TR4, but a piece ofmy identity was being loaded intoa container in Houston. I’m prettypractical by nature and I set toplanning pretty quickly. I notedthat I had proven what I suspectedwhen I built #29; that it is possibleto recoup the money spent on re-storing a race car with history. Fornow I would focus on getting theBlue #67 more competitive anddependable while I kept my eyesopen for a restorable race car withhistory. Then I looked up in the ga-rage rafters and remembered thatI have a Devin body in the attic.Soon I was calculating that if Icould find a TR4A roller with niceframe I could recreate #29 but thistime more race car than restora-tion. This led to further daydreaming. I have a complete TR4“for restoration” car in a shed andI figured that I could create myown IRS TR4A beater racer if Icould find a good TR6 frame using
December 2014The Ragtop
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that body. I found myself searchingeBay for available Triumphs dur-ing “Love it or List It” commercialbreaks and soon found a gem, arust-free TR6 body tub and framecheap. Yes, it was a little modifiedfor a planned 289 project butnothing that wouldn’t work for arace car. The car was in KansasCity, but the guy was coming toAustin for the Sport Car races atCOTA. I got it delivered for a bitover $500.00. I knew that I couldsell a TR6 frame for more than thatif I trashed the tub and ground offthe extra mounts, so I bit.
I wasn’t even there when the “she-bang” arrived. They dropped it andran, but it was better than the pic-tures and the tub was too good totoss. That darn brain of mine start-ed turning again and thoughts ofTR6’s race cars developed. I’veraced a 3, a 4 a 4A, what other con-clusion could I come up with? Imade a few calls. I had seen a pic-ture of a TR6 race car ensconced ina shed in Arizona. It had plenty ofhistory and always on the prowl Ihad contacted the owner in thepast, vintage racer Jeff Durant, andbeen rebuffed. I thought I’d givehim another try. After a few moreemails he suggested that we talk. Ifigured I had set the hook and itwas time to reel it in but there wasno way I was going to talk him outof that car. There are a lot less TR6racers than there are TR3/4 guysand he just wanted to connect andencourage me. Like I needed en-couragement, hah! I still heardwheels turning in my head. Theconversation convinced me that Ihad to take this tub project andturn it into a TR6 race car. I’d metSam Halkias, a TR6 racer for over30 years at Heartland Park andknew him well enough to ask foradvice. Sam is a former SCCA EPchampion in his well known Valvo-
line TR6. I sent him a note lookingfor tips on building a TR6 race en-gine and mentioned my conversa-tion with Jeff. In passing asked ifhe knew of any old restorable TR6race cars that were available. Samreplied that he would be happy tohelp with advice but that he didn’tknow of any restorable cars, but hehad a complete car that he mightsell.
It turns out that Sam’s racing pro-gram includes his championshipcar, a backup car, and anotherbackup car that all look just likehis champ car. In his stable he alsohas a Paul Newman tribute TR6and a Kastner Brophy tribute TR6.I think he also owns a Group 44tribute TR6 that Jim Stouffer keepsat his place. They brought four ofthese cars to the Kastner Cup atRoad Atlanta a few years ago, butnot the one he was offering forsale. That one is what he called anSCCA regional car. It was a TR6campaigned in the SCCA by MarkGerdes out of St. Louis from theabout 1992 through 2004. Sambought it from Markwhen he retired from rac-ing, thinking he was buy-ing it for parts like thedog gear transmission,but when he took it homehe decided to rip out thesub-standard roll cagemake it into a vintage car
Sam raced it once in 2006as a vintage car and thenit languished in his ga-rage. In 2013 he decidedto convert it to a regionalSCCA car and repackagedit as a look-alike to hiscurrent car. It doesn’thave the latest and great-est parts being mostly the1990’s Gerdes car but itis still a great car. Sam’s
roll cage includes mounting pointsfor rear coil over shocks, and therear sway bar. On the front he cutthe spring tower to fit some morecoil overs. This resulted in a muchlower car and he tuned the sus-pension. He installed one of his en-gines, detuned a bit from the fullrace versions and attached the doggear transmission from the Gerdespackage. He took it to Mid Ohioand won two SCCA Regional raceswhile he sorted it out.
So, all plans and dreams aside Ibought it. I didn’t want to negoti-ate pricing with Sam but I did askif there was anything I might havethat we could trade to bring theprice down and he replied that hemight be interested in a rust freeTR250. Well, as luck would have it,I had one of those. The discussionabout how much it was worth ontrade led me to listing it on eBay atan unthinkably high price. I justwanted to determine its value. Ifigured that it would get higherthan he would want to pay andthat I would just keep it and my
December 2014The Ragtop
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passive aggressive negotiating tac-tic would fail. As it turned out, twobidders thought it was worth morethan I did in my wildest dreams,blew away my unreasonably highreserve and it sold. It is now inCanada! I was going to Ohio, thecar needed to get to Toronto so Iworked a deal with the buyer totake it as far as TSI Imported, TedSchumacher’s Triumph business innorthwest Ohio. This helped withthe gas money for the trip to re-trieve my new TR6 from Sam nearColumbus. I brokered a deal forTed to take it near the borderwhere the buyer met him and theydid a 2x12 trailer to trailer trans-fer. Gotta love it!
So I’d sold two cars, bought oneand have money in my pocket forfuture projects. The new to meTR6 has the Halkias touch andlook but it still has most of theGerdes original car. The brakes areupgraded to 4 wheel discs, and therear axles are a Corvair modifica-tion that used to be popular beforecustom axles became available.The coil-overs and rear sway barare nicely done by Sam, althoughthe sway bar is disconnected towork with the welded differential.The front sway bar looks prettyold in comparison. Since the carcame from the Midwest the bodyand frame aren’t the best, but it isa race car and it looks the part. Ithas that “it is okay to thrash me”factor I was missing in the TR4A.The Halkias paint scheme on fiber-glass panels look great and suc-cessfully hide the sloppy wiringaging 1990’s stainless steel plumb-ing, but all things considered it is agreat race car and I’m already at-tached to it.
With not much time to get it readyfor the November CVAR event, andknowing that Sam had given it the
once over, I completed the only thebasic checks. I bought new tires toreplace the SCCA legal slicks andreplaced a leaking master cylinder.At Sam’s urging I bought new plas-tic Weber floats to replace thebound to fail metal floats the DCOE40’s came with and some sparejets but I didn’t mess with thembefore the races. I had some workto do on the blue TR4 that Andrewwould be racing so I loaded theTR6 onto the trailer and crossedmy fingers. Once at the track Imade sure that I set up the seatbelts to fit me, set up some “firsttry” tire pressure adjustments andfilled it with fresh 110 leaded. I hitthe track for Practice and Qualify-ing Saturday morning and workedit up to speed. P&Q doesn’t giveyou much time to get to know a carbut I felt comfortable. CVAR offersa practiceday Fridayfor an extraday’s fee,but workgets in myway. Re-gardless,with the TR6power un-der the hoodand theCVAR’s new,trial classDP-2 classi-fication Iwas placedon trackagainst allthe Tri-umph’s,MG’s, Alfa’s,and Sprites.After P&Q Iwas fourthon the gridfor my firstrace.
I warmed the tired for the racestart and lined up behind one oftwo ridiculously fast Spridgets.These cars are light and fast. Idon’t know how they do it butthere are fast Spridgets all over thecountry. When the green droppedI punched it expecting to spend alittle time in the draft like I alwaysdid in my TR4A, but I closed thegap immediately and pulledaround the Sprite. I dove down in-to turn one into the lead. I took todriving deeper into the turns be-cause I had more power to exit.Soon I had “moment”, I was driv-ing like those fast guys in Mus-tangs, 911’s and 240Z’s, the oneswho pulled away and I wouldcatch in the turns. I looked in themirrors and saw two sprites stay-ing with me in the twisty bits. Yup,that used to be me. After a few laps
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Page 12Hill Country Triumph Club
I noticed that it was just me andthe two Sprites with a gap back toDave Foreman in his 914 and GregBlake in his TR3. I wanted to checkmy gauges and get a feel for thecar and make sure everything wasas it should be. I pulled off line onthe back straight to let the Spritespass and race each other. Theygapped me pretty quickly at 90mph so I had to get right back afterit. I didn’t want to let Dave andGreg by! Not knowing what to ex-pect I was surprised that I caughtthe Spridgets again within a fewturns. I settled in behind them andfollowed them for a couple of lapswhile I checked out my car. Aboutthe time I was comfortable that ev-erything was A-OK we were run-ning nose to tail, three in a linethrough the turns. The lighter blueSprite took turn 7 a little too tight,caught the curb hard and drove offthe track to the right to avoid a 90mph spin. That did it for their raceso I passed the remaining Spriteand spent the rest of the race andthe next out front.
Saturday was two races and twowins. Wow! Due to the fact that werace in groups of classes, I have of-ten won my class, but only oncebefore, in the rain, when everyoneelse spun off, had I won a race out-right. I couldn’t touch those Spritesin the 4A and all those years ofracing against Porsche 911’s and240Z’s in Group 7 had kept me faraway from the front. It was cool towin, but in reality the TR6 out-classed all the other cars on thetrack and any other result wouldhave been underperforming. It re-ally belongs in Group 7 challengingthe P and Z cars but it is a “post-historic” car and they are only al-lowed in Group 2, and even there itis just a trial basis. It gets in be-cause TR6’s were moved from C
Production to DProd in 1975. I mayhave to convert itback to a CP car inthe future but fornow I guess I’ll haveto be content withmopping up theGroup 2competition…….andthe brake fluid.
You’ll notice I didn’tmention Sunday.The TR4 clutch de-cided that it was likeChick Fil-A andwouldn’t work Sun-days so we decidedthat Andrew wouldrun the TR6 on Sun-day. Saturday hadbeen cloudy, dampand misty at timesbut it had rainedhard over night. Thetrack was wet andAndrew ran thewarm up session getting in a fewlaps. He came in saying that it washard to shift. Kid’s, always com-plaining! He still wore a hugesmile and for my mild manneredson he was fairly ecstatic about thedriving characteristics of the car.We both felt that same way aboutthe car, we could drive the tracklike it was meant to be driven. In-stead of worrying about carryingmomentum through the turns wehad to watch the tachometer andworry about exceeding the rpmlimit. There were to be two racesSunday and Andrew would have tostart from the back due to the driv-er change. I had visions of himpassing most of the field on thestart and passing the rest as therace progressed, but it was not tobe. The clutch hose, the darn thinghad a pinhole leak that relieved
the line pressure. In his shoes Iwould have continued and usedthe dog gearbox for its intendedcrash shifting but he wasn’t goingto risk it his first time out. Withmore rain on the way we called it aday rather than work up a track-side bandage repair.
So that’s it! All the planning, think-ing and dreaming aside I havesome money in my pocket fromselling two cars, a Devin body inthe rafters with a TR3 frame andrace engine waiting and a TR6 tuband frame. Hmmm, what am I todo?
And you may ask yourselfWhat is that beautiful car?And you may ask yourselfWhere does that race track go?And you may ask yourselfAm I right?...Am I wrong?And you may tell yourselfMY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Sam Halkias and Bob Kramer it Sam's house inWesterville Ohio
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 13
The Ragtop December 2014
Michael [email protected]
210-262-0275
1973 Triumph TR6 with Overdrive
Commissioned April, 1973. Full frame off restoration 11/2001-11/2003. Totally disassembled, sand-blasted and cleared of any rust. Paint job includes two coats etching primer, two coats of standardprimer, 4 coats of color coat (Duco Jet Black) and four coats of Clear Coat. The under carriage is coatedwith POR 15 which is used to protect oil derricks in the Gulf. The car was voted Participant’s Choice atthe 2006 VTR National Competition in Dallas. It has won 1st and 2nd Place in subsequent competitions.It cruises comfortably at 70 mph and has been as far as 1,200 miles round trip on more than one occa-sion. The car is appraised and insured for $22,000. I am offering it for $19,500.
All suspension bushings replaced.Wheels sandblasted and powder coated.5 Yokohama 203 x 5.5 Tubeless TiresAll new rugs and door panelsNew Dash CrownNew Convertible Top
Engine:New Rings and Valves GroundNew Rod Bearings and Crankshaft Bearings andsealsNew Clutch and BearingNew Slave CylinderCarburetors RebuiltDistributor Rebuilt (Advanced Distributors)Modified CamHeadersMonza ExhaustRadiator Rebuilt
Richard Good Triple Manifold with three Strom-berg CarburetorsMSD Multiple Spark Distributor and Heavy CoilNew Master Cylinder and Vacuum BoosterRichard Good HD U-Joints on Drive Shaft and ShortShaftsAll New Discs, ShoesDrums and Rotors TurnedAll Brake and Fuel Lines replaced with StainlessSteel TubingSpin off Oil FilterRear Lever Shocks Replaced with Tube ShocksSet of Four Koenig 15x7 Rims and Goodyear EagleTiresNew WindshieldTourist Trophy Laminated Walnut Steering WheelConvertible Top CoverTonneau Cover
With:
● Surrey Roof
● Over Drive
● Webber Carbs
● ASA Mufflers
● Rear Tub Shock Conversion
● Front Spoiler
● Oil Cooler
● Premium Fuel Pump
● Leather Seats w/ Seat Belts
● AM/FM Radio w/ CD Player
● Auxiliary Power Source
● Leather Rimmed Steering Wheel w/TriumphLogo
● Wood Crested Shift Knob
● Alloy Valve Cover
&
New Tires (5)
New Battery
New Gearbox Cover (Polyethylene)
New Carpet w/Heat Shield
New Window Washer
Rebuilt Radiator
Rebuilt Heater
Pertronix Electronic Ignition w/Coil
Wood Created Shift Knob
Electric Fan Kit (Not Installed)
Sun Visors ( Not Installed)
December 2014The Ragtop
Page 14Hill Country Triumph Club
1972 Triumph TR6 Sports Car(CC75356L)113K Miles
Asking $15,000Complete Engine Rebuild at 86K.
Vince Maggio512-514-0138 H908-240-2514 C
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 15
The Ragtop December 2014
For Sale: TR6 fiberglass hardtop “Snug Top” by Custom Hardtops of Longbeach, CA. Outstanding condi-tion. Located in Dripping Springs. $500 Contact Benson 361-947-7704 [email protected]
Jim Icenhower’s
Wood, Leather and Vinyl Steering Wheels for Classic Cars At Exceptional Prices
Wood Wheels with Hub $219.95Leather Wheels with Hub $119.95Vinyl Wheels with Hub $109.95
I have steering wheels and hubs for almost all British classics as well as accessories like shift knobs, mirrors, light/badgebars and more. Check out my current listings on eBay at http:// stores.ebay.com/specialtypartshop or email me at
[email protected] for more information.
Listing change as I get shipments from the UK so check back often or contact me for any special requests.
The Ragtop December 2014
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 16
Name:__________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________
City/State:___________________________________ Zip:________________
Home Phone:____________________________________________________
Work Phone:____________________________________________________
Email address:_____________________________________________________________________________
Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________
Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________
How on earth did you hear about the Hill Country Triumph Club?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Please mail your application and $15 check payable to HCTC to:Nel McPhail, 1105 North Canyonwood Dr, Dripping Springs, TX 78620
Membership Application
The Ragtop December 2014
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 17
HCTC OfficersPresidentSteve [email protected]
ConsigliereElizabeth [email protected]
WebmasterJim [email protected]
TreasurerMike [email protected]
SecretaryBetina [email protected]
MembershipNel [email protected]
Ragtop EditorDan [email protected]
Pay Your Dues!!!!!!!Please check the latest spreadsheet sent out by Nel. It says the monthand year your dues are due. If the year listed next to your name is ear-lier than January 2015, you are past due now. Any quite delinquentmembers who haven’t paid will be dropped from the roster.
Cost is $15 per year per family. If you don’t wish to renew, please no-tify Nel.
Mail your check made out to HCTC to:
Nel McPhail1105 N Canyonwood Dr
Dripping Springs, Tx 78620(512) 656-1456
Back issues of The Ragtop are available on our website:
http://www.hillcountrytriumphclub.org/newsletters.php
The Ragtop December 2014
Hill Country Triumph Club Page 18
HCTC ClassifiedsFOR SALE (in NewMexico)—1961 TriumphHerald Convertible. Thiscar spent most of its life insouthern New Mexico. Ibought it as a projectfrom an estate and it hadbeen garaged for the past
25 years. It has a 948 cc engine, new tires, new inte-rior, the convertible top is good. It needs door latch-es. $3,500. Call Ron (575) 531-2193.
Upcoming Events
I am looking for a TR250 or TR4a Bonnet for a vehi-cle I am restoring. If you have one for sale please callme at 512-517-5325 or email me [email protected]. Thank you, Fil Valderrama
I recently bought a project 1965 TR4a…. Any advice,help, parts,would be greatly appreciated
Alan Palmer [email protected]
Dec. 9 — Hill Country Tour of Lights. See page 2 forinformation.
Jan. 17, 2015 — Holiday Happy Hour at the Mericas’house. See page 2 for information.
April 22-25 — VTR South-Central Regional Convention.Kerrville, TX. See page 2 for information.
Aug. 11-14 — VTR 2015 National Convention. Fontana,WI. See www.vtr2015.com.
For Sale: Triumph TR engine parts. One late TR4 en-gine (has aluminum pushrod tubes in head), un-known mileage and condition. Fan and clutch arestill installed, as is valve gear. It's been stored insidebut I can't turn it over by hand. One bare early high-port TR3 head which appears to be uncut and ingood condition. Three used stock Triumph crank-shafts. Three used TR camshafts of unknown specifi-cation. One set of used 83mm pistons and liners. Ifthere is any interest I will check condition andclearances/undersizes for interested parties. Iwould like to buy/trade to obtain two TR6 steelwheels.
Contact Duncan Charlton at 512-965-7583 [email protected]
Next meeting: Hill Country Tour of LightsTuesday, December 9, 2014, 6:30 PM
Starts at The Barber Shop
207 Mercer St.
Dripping Springs, TX
See page 2 for more details