This list is wonderful. I received many excellent replies to my
questions, so I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback and support.
Thank you Terry, Ian, Vance, Scott, Robert, Todd, RazorBobSr, and Dave.
All of your replies were excellent.
Summary of the responses are as follows:
1) The overdrive types vary by year and type A can be used in gears 2,
3, 4, but type J is only usable in 3rd and 4th. And they can be added to
a car without. "Must have" is personal preference and should be based
upon how I will use the car.
2) The color code is located on the commission plate in the driver's
door jamb, or in a front wheel well. Black paint in the engine
compartment was probably just to hide scratches and/or dirt, but
shouldn't be a major concern when purchasing. I can look up the paint
codes on the VTR site, and car serial numbers can be looked up in
several parts supplier catalogs.
3) AC was not a popular option, apparently. One reply said "less than 1
percent" shipped with AC from the factory. I probably won't add it, but
I did receive a link to a very nice web page from Terry Geiger who added
AC to his TR6: http://www.shoalsbritishcars.org/tr6ac.htm
4) Most replies said "don't let compression ratio be a deciding factor"
since the head can be shaved to improve compression. An "H" is included
in the high compression engines serial number only. Robert Lang wrote,
"Look for the engine designation CCxxxxxHE on the engine block. This
will confirm a high compression engine. The 72 was actually 8.5:1. A
real 72 motor should fall in the range of CC70000 to CC83000, more or
less. The 72 motors are the best combo of all the parts available for
the entire range of TR6. If you want that elaborated, I can follow up."
I actually am starving for more info, Robert, so elaborate at will.
5) Most people don't "recommend" the water procedure, although a few
said that they have done it on other vehicles. Most people recommended
burning off the carbon by taking the car on an extended fast drive to
burn off the carbon, and to tweak the car's carburetor up and use
gasoline with detergents so carbon deposits are minimized.
The best advice I received was "BUY THE CAR, BRUCE." Don't worry. I will
have one soon.
Thanks again,
Bruce Robertson
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