Bob,
I have been driving my MKIII since 1972. They are rather unique and a
well sorted one will get quite a bit of attention as they are few and far
between. I now have 144K miles. It has been very reliable and (knock on
wood) never left me stranded. It is a great highway/road car.
As far as expenses, aside from repainting it once it has not cost me
much to keep it up. The most money I spend is keeping it up cosmetically. I
am sure that cost would go down if it was a trailer queen but It is such a
great car to drive it would be a shame to let it sit and only dust it off. I
am hoping by using it other owners will see a concours winning driver is a
reality.
There has been an occasional (2) clutches and numerous hydraulic
rebuilds (until I went to Silicone Brake Fluid). There are 4 u-joints that
will need attention occasionally. I have only replaced 3 rotoflex couplings.
One actually split and 2 were just because I had the back apart and replaced
them as preventative maintenance. Depending where you live heat can be a
nusance but some well placed insulation can make the interior temp. quite
liveable.
Some things like shocks, tires, light bulbs, etc should be considered as
normal wear and tear items on any car so should not count against driving a
TR anymore than a Mazda. Some people tell me parts GT6/Spitfire are less
than a TR6. BTW it seems to me all Triumph parts are cheaper than modern Jap
car parts.
I get around 28 MPG on the highway. I feel that the MKIII is roomier
than the older body. The seats are mounted farther back and have more travel
when reclining. I also think the ventilation was improved in the body change
as well. I have met many people over the years that have used their GT6's as
their only car (myself included from 72-78). There are some scanned images
at my website if you are interested.
Good luck in you car selecction,
Richard Ceraldi
71 GT6 MKIII KF166L
71 Spitfire MKIV FK9365L
Austin, Tx
www.exact.com/~gt6mk3
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