Tearing into Our GT6 Nov 20, 2005
Next up, J.K. set the timing, adjusted the carbs and then drove the car only three feet before uttering the command, "shut it down". It turns out the clutch in the GT6 was shattered.
Okay, cancel that part about how good the GT6 is mechanically.
J.K. Jackson and Gary started the work by rebuilding the clutch’s master and slave cylinders to get the GT6 so that it could move under its own power. Like J.K., Gary is no stranger to Triumphs; he admits to five in his own garage.
Next up, J.K. set the timing, adjusted the carbs and then drove the car only three feet before uttering the command, "shut it down". It turns out the clutch in the GT6 was shattered.
Tim, Gary and J.K. then pulled the engine, gearbox and differential out of the GT6. They were stuffed in the back of J.K.'s truck to get completely torn down at J.K.'s shop, English Automotive in Tallahassee Florida.
What J.K. found is interesting. First, the stock GT6 clutch was almost nonexistent. Second, both the block and heads were TR6, not GT6, although the crank was GT6, thus giving the car a legal displacement. This car was never raced with the original engine, as the engine out of a crashed car was used from day one. This is common in race cars and not of great concern. But, we will source a GT6 block and head for our rebuild.
The engine was bored .040-in. over, but the pistons were the stock size. No wonder the compression was even, but very low! The number five main bearing had also spun. The rods look good and the crank is savable. The transmission seems decent, but will be rebuilt and the rear end is a 3:89-1 which is stock in a Spitfire. It is very plausible that this ratio was run, but probably not at a long track like Daytona.
Despite some bad news, we found some more cool tricks and good news too. The Group 44 team had invented an ingenious way to keep the transverse leaf spring centered. This arrangement with two bolts closing in on a center bolt is best explained by the attached picture. A neat scatter shield had also been fabricated. The header is obviously original as are most of the other engine externals. The coolest piece is the beautifully machined oil cooler adapter made by the late, great Brian Fuerstenau of Group 44 fame.
Other interesting developments: We have been in contact multiple times with Group 44 founder Bob Tullius and now former Group 44 team member, Steve Knoll and his excellent www.laprecord.com website have gotten on board our project. Steve has been a wealth of information and has further documented with our car's originality.
The Triumph Sleeps Jun 28, 2006
Our GT6 is currently in slumber as we get our Tiger project car to the body shop.
We are currently seeking American Libre wheels, as they were used on the car when it ran in the 60s. The size is 13x6-inch. If you know of anybody who has some for sale, please let us know. We sourced some original looking Goodyear race tires from SascoSports. They were excellent to deal with.
In Gear Aug 14, 2008
We would really appreciate any help, especially in finding a good underhood or interior picture, as we want to make this car look exactly as it did (except for the cage and safety gear) as it did when it won the national championship in 1969.
We have finished our Tiger and are now actively working on our Project Group 44 GT6 again. We just got invited to the Group 44 Reunion at the Amelia Island Concours in March, so we need to start working double-time to get the car finished.
Sometime in the early '70s, all four of our fenders (quarters in the rear) were butchered to allow wider tires for the last couple of years of the car's prior racing life. We decided that a parts car with a good nose was the best way to fix this problem. The Group 44 used a completely stock nose on the car. To keep this jewel as original as possible, we found a decent 1969 parts car for $300 that was close in serial number to our GT6.
A photo from the Daytona archives told us that when the car won the ARRC in 1969, it had all its glass, bumpers and marker lights. The parts car will supply some of these items. When we pulled the doors apart from the race car, we were dismayed to find that the inner door panels had all been cut out in the '70s. We will have to fix this problem as well.
We studied the cage and along with pictures of the car in the winners circle at Daytona. It was obvious that the car only ran the roll bar during that one triumphant race. However, since we want to be able to once again race this car, we are probably going to leave the cage. Plus, it was supposedly built in 1971 by Reeves Calloway. We have gotten with SVRA tech guru Jack Woehrle and showed him some detailed photos of the cage, and he has given it his blessing.
Since time is of the essence and we need this car to be perfect, we are going to let the guys at The Body Werks handle all the paint and body work on this project. We hope to have the nose to them before we leave for Monterey this week and the rest of the body to them shortly thereafter.
We are actively seeking original photos of this car to document more of its history. We would really appreciate any help, especially in finding a good underhood or interior picture, as we want to make this car look exactly as it did (except for the cage and safety gear) when it won the national championship in 1969.
Triumph Tricks Aug 26, 2008
We are not sure how much of this was done by Group 44, but initial conversations with Group 44 crew chief Lanky Foushee suggest that all these mods were made by the team.
Last night we tore into the rear suspension of our project GT6. While outwardly it looks like a standard GT6 back here, upon closer inspection there's a lot more trick stuff.
Our GT6+ has had its shock relocated to the inner fender well. Meanwhile, the frame itself and the upright for the original shock location have been massaged to clear the bigger-than-stock half shafts. The trailing arms are super-slick and equipped with Heim joints. The original rubber lower control arm bushings have been replaced with steel concentric bushings, and the shocks are Konis. The backing plates on the brakes have been drilled out and the stub axles seem to be modified as well.
We are not sure how much of this was done by Group 44, but initial conversations with Group 44 crew chief Lanky Foushee suggest that all these mods were made by the team.
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