All in all, it was quite the weekend involving Triumphs and Triumph owners
(most of whom will be reading this along with the rest of you).
Quick background: A few weeks ago, Dave Childs, Clark Nicholls and I
rescued a seriously totaled (hard hit on right door area and partial
rollover) 1970 GT6+ from a junkyard. Now I know what you're thinking: did
he fire six shots, or only...no wait, not that. What YOU all are thinking
is "Sixfire"! And you're right.
The object of this exercise is Dave's 1979 Spitfire 1500. Of course, the
6+ nose won't really work on a 1500. Forunately, we were able to locate
(via the VTR Website classifieds) a nice Mk.3 GT6 bonnet in Pennsylvania.
And, as luck would have it, I was able to identify a willing buyer for the
GT6+ nose -- also in Pennsylvania.
Strangely enough for me (BTW, I have no direct interest in any of this
except as "broker" and as helper/transporter/storer of various things), I
was able to coordinate all this dropoff and pickup stuff into ONE trip.
So Clark and I left from Caanan, NY, about 8:50 a.m. Saturday to make the
230+mile trip to King of Prussia, PA. Awaiting us there was fellow list
member Jack McGahey, who seemed fairly happy to relieve me of the 6+
bonnet. In turn, I was happy at that point to finally pick up a Sports 6
(Vitesse) gearbox that Jack had brought up from Georgia while retrieving a
second 6+ from Hugh McAleer to aid in the restoration of his Primrose '69.
(NOTE: Thanks, Hugh, for the gearbox. The check is on its way!)
After a WONDERFUL lunch provided by Jack's wife, Clark and I headed off to
Slatington, PA, to Bob Snyder's house. There we picked up a really nice
GT6 Mk.3 bonnet and some other sundry parts, and got a quick look at a
beautiful Laurel Green '70 TR6 and some fancy fiberglass Chevy
convertible. :-)
I guess I should note at this point that my semi-trusty Ford Explorer was
our means of transport. Thankfully eight years of no garage but lots of
sun had long since turned the paint on the roof from Deep Emerald Green
Clearcoat Metallic to what now takes on the appearance of a Doppler Radar
weather map. So the lack of a luggage rack didn't deter us from tossing
the two bonnets up on the roof and simply lashing them down as best we
could.
The return trip was rainy but otherwise uneventful, and I was back home in
good old Hoag's Corners, USA, about 10:20 p.m. that same day.
Yesterday afternoon, after getting fewer stares (bonnet still on the roof)
on my way to and from church than I had the day before, I got home and
called my good friend Brad Kahler in Nebraska to ask him if he could stop
over and help me unload the bonnet from the roof. OK, actually Brad was
already headed to my house to pick up a few bits for CT288L. As
compensation for helping me offload, I gave Brad a substantial discount on
the price of the tour through the Hoag's Corners Museum of Rust, then
"bartered" a pair of Spitfire 4 carbs with intake manifold, linkage and
radiator expansion tank (he'd just picked this up at Carlisle) for an
early TR4 door.
All in all a long but fun Triumph weekend, proving once again:
a. It's nice to have a bit of a "beater" vehicle in or on which to
transport bits of Triumphs (or tow whole ones via trailer when needed)
b. It's great to meet new Triumph friends
c. I need a Standard Vanguard or Atlas pickup or commercial van if I
really want to continue hauling big parts around. A Herald Courier Van
would be nice, too, but I'm not sure I'd be able to carry a GT bonnet in
or on that very well)
The adventures will continue....
--Andy
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* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register <www.vtr.org> *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
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