XVI
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS
1970 TR6, Comm. No. CC50224U, Owned by John Swauger,
Employee at Large (Now Retired), Ferrari Red
My current TR6 is the second I have owned. I bought my first TR6 in 1984. It was
a low-mileage 1974 model with overdrive. Carmine red with a New Tan interior. My
wife and I drove that car for a number of years before taking it off the road for a full
restoration. As a part of the restoration process, we chose to paint the car British
Racing Green, but we retained the New Tan interior as it is one of my favourite
Triumph interior colours. Following the restoration, we enjoyed many years and miles
of driving the car all around the country. My ownership of that car came to a
screeching halt while on my way to the 6-Pack Trials one year. I was stopped to make
a left-hand turn when a little pickup truck plowed into the back of my TR6. A futile
attempt was made to repair the car, but in the end, finding a better car to restore made
more sense.
I purchased my current TR6 from one of our local Triumph club members. It is a
1970 model, and it was advertised as a totally rust-free car. The car originally came out
of Mississippi, and it had just 55,000 miles on the odometer. Three attempts had been
made to restore it by previous owners. The car was advertised as being a complete,
rust-free TR6 for the price of a new body shell. The frame had already been
sandblasted and painted, the suspension had been rebuilt, and all of the parts were there
to put it back together, along with new parts valued at $1,500.00. Due to a lack of time,
money, or interest, none of the previous three owners managed to get the job done, and
it was my turn to try.
John Swauger's Restored TR6 in Ferarri Red
John Purchased an Unrusted Project Car
