• Lovely TR6 with stacks of history over past 20 years

• Lots of mechanical work completed recently

• Extremely solid underneath

• Four-speed factory overdrive

When it came to replacing the elegant but aged Michelotti-styled ready for a new decade, Triumph took a cost-effective approach.

The 1969-on TR6 was essentially a neat, contemporary facelift of the TR5 performed by German coachbuilder Karmann, which added the German firm’s chopped-off ‘Kamm’ tail and a new squarer front end, along new, flatter panels.

It was largely the same as the TR5 underneath, with a separate chassis and a front-mounted fuel-injected straight-six sending power to the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox. The TR4A of course, had introduced independent rear suspension, and since the TR4 there had been rack and pinion steering. For the first time, though, there was now a front anti-roll bar.

It managed to look more butch, too, with a more imposing face and wider 5.5-inch wheels, which gave it more presence in the all-important (and increasingly muscle-obsessed) US market. 

Many of those US-spec cars have come back and probably represent around half of the TR6s on the UK market right now, but they never had the UK cars’ Lucas fuel injection system due to emissions laws. This one, though, is an original UK-spec RHD car with 150bhp. 

Supplied new in August 1970 by the Henlys dealership in London, EBY 881J wears its original registration number and is in the very same colour and specification that it was supplied in as new. 

The history is sketchy until 2001, when it was bought by a long-term owner in Hertfordshire, who restored the car and kept a record of all the parts and maintenance until he sold it over a decade later. 

The next two owners also kept and enjoyed it. While the mileage of 27,530 can’t be 100% proven, it has covered very few miles since it was restored. 

There are several folders of bills with the car, along with old MOTs and registration documents all backing up its past. The chap who owned it longest also kept a handwritten record of his ownership, documenting every repair or service he had carried out on the car. 

It’s an astonishing and comprehensive record that runs to reams of paper, backed up by a British Motor Heritage certificate confirming its original build record and supplying dealer and also an HPI certificate generated by the vendor, proving its provenance, registration details and the fact it has never been written off.

The old MOTs go back to 1987 and further back-up the low recorded mileage. 

There are also a selection of parts catalogues and brochures, along with the original owners’ manual. 

The black vinyl seats are in superb order and have been refinished at some point, while the rest of the cabin also presents extremely well, with good carpets and excellent woodwork. In-car entertainment comes courtesy of a 1980s Kenwood radio-cassette, which works as it should, while it also has a set of fitted mats. 

In the boot are a selection of spare parts, some new, some second-hand, that will undoubtedly be of use to the car’s next owner in the future. 

The car has recently also had a new bonnet cable as the original was proving stiff. 

Overall, this is a great looking car that still looks fabulous despite being an older restoration, the only minor faults being some small rust bubbles under the paint in the nearside headlamp surround and a crack to the paint finish on the rear wing seam, which has reacted slightly to water ingress. 

There’s also some very slight surface rust to the painted wire wheels, but the overall condition is very good, both on top and underneath, which we were able to inspect on the vendor’s two-post lift. 

It is fitted with good quality Avon tyres, with 5mm tread at the front and 6mm at the rear. 

The roof works as it should and is in good condition, with no tears, cracks or leaks. The vendor has also fitted new rear lamp lenses and a replacement headlight to bring it up to a smarter condition.

The 150bhp 2.5 fuel-injected engine fires up on the button and runs beautifully, having had a full service, new oil and air filters, a new air filter trumpet, new plugs, points, rotor arm and condenser and new fuel pipes and diaphragm. 

It has also recently received a new brake master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder, along with a stainless steel rear exhaust box. 

The transmission is in good order and engages all gears smoothly, including the factory overdrive. A short test drive on country lanes around the seller’s home confirmed that it is in good working order throughout and is an absolute joy to drive, holding good oil pressure and a steady temperature. 

This is a really nice example of the classic TR6 that, although not concours, is an absolutely lovely car to look at and a brilliant one to drive, finished in one of the all-time classic TR6 colour schemes and in fine mechanical order. 

The stacks of bills and paperwork that come with it give it further provenance – this is a car that has been properly loved and cherished for at least the past 20 years and will no doubt be one that provides its next owner with a similar amount of pleasure. 

Smart, honest, well-presented and (importantly) very solid, it’s a really good TR6 that is ready to be loved and enjoyed in the same way that it has been for over two decades.