XXII
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS
1976 TR6, Comm. No. CF52942U, Owned by TRF, Originally Topaz
Yellow, Now 1975 Racing Green
This car was purchased in 1985 with only ten-thousand original miles from an old
Leyland dealer in Central Pennsylvania. Charles and John Swauger drove to Carlisle,
Pennsylvania in the TR5 in early autumn to purchase the car. It was quite perfect, and
Charles came to love the yellow/orange colour. It was used for fun and for events for a
number of years and then one winter, Charles had to drive it home on a Saturday in a
snowstorm. Regrettably, the car skidded on slush, hit a guard rail with the right front,
and went on around to hit it again with the right rear. The grille and front valance were
destroyed along with the bonnet and two fenders. The car went into a rented garage to
rest for a number of years before it came out again for restoration.
In the end, the 1976 TR6 received the same treatment as Charles's TR5, a complete
body off, frame-up restoration. Everything was taken down to bare metal and primed
with epoxy primer. Charles had always loved the Racing Green used on 1975 and 1976
Triumphs, and he decided to change the body colour on this one. A new set of carpet
was made, but the interior panels and seats were reused. Shortly after the car went
back on the road, however, it became clear that the seats needed new foams inside. The
old ones had turned to powder which leaked out onto the carpet, and the seats seemed
to shrivel like a dried apple. Larry Learn carefully removed the original seat covers and
fitted new foams and diaphragms before refitting the covers, keeping the seats as
original as possible under the circumstances. Tom Spadafora rebuilt the drive train,
keeping all of the mechanicals original this time. The 1976 TR6 appears for all intents
and purposes to be an unrestored car complete with air pump and emission system
intact.
