Liseters,
Seeing the posting from a week or two ago reminds me of how owning a
Triumph has transformed my life.
You see, I was a wee lad when Dad brought that first Triumph home - I'd
never heard of a TR6 - I had heard of a TR4, and I was able to deduce that
a TR6 must have six cylinders and that I really really really wanted to put
a 327 in one and change the little tail marknings to TR8... little did I
know that the "boys in Coventry" had the same idea (and a few more folks
besides them!)
But, it was love at first site. Ironically, that TR6, a '71 arrived
literally at the same time the love of my life was to move away to a town
about twenty miles away. In the last weeks that she was around (before the
move) she and I would sit in the TR6 in the driveway and talk about what it
would be like when we both got our drivers' licenses - I promised that I'd
pick her up in the TR6 and we could go for long drives with the top down.
That was not to be, however - that's how it is when you are young - lots of
dreams. Then reality set in. I didn't get my license for another year or
so, and in the meantime, the young lass found that she was quite popular in
the new school...
So, I spent the next 5 years or so polishing the TR6 - 'till it went away,
it was replaced by CF 14111U. I used to polish that car even more than the
older car and I was deeply saddened that Dad would trade in the '71 for the
'74 for $1500 - I actually had the money to pay him $1500 at the time. I
think he knew this was the case - even though I never told him - and when
he passed on, it was his express desire that CF14111U be handed down to me.
The car sat in the garage for about 6 years because I was newly married,
and every time I discussed spending money on my little "dream machine", my
then-wife would indicate other issues were more important - thus the car
languished, unused.
Finally, I had collected the parts and the desire to get the car going
again. The mitigating factor was that the car was located in a garage at my
mother's house, and her new husband (a car guy) wanted to utilize the
garage for his own car things... so, in very short order, the car was made
roadworthy and moved to my house.
For the next several years, I had all kinds of fun driving the car as much
as 10,000 miles a year - to work, to the store... I would volunteer to go
to the store several times a day - just so I could drive the TR6. I hooked
up with some local car clubs, and then I started driving all over the place
- Nova Scotia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania - you name it.
After a while, the wife started balking at going for long TR trips... it
was on one of those trips that she indicated her desire to end our
relationship.
So now I still have the TR6 but all the relationships have gone out the
window... hmmmm. What's up with that? In fact, I've started building
another TR6. I must be a realy glutton, eh?
I don't even know why I wrote this.
Have a nice day!!!
And drive your Triumph!!!!!
Bob Lang
TR6's
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