The recent talk of whether or not a TR6 should sell for $21K and who would
buy it makes me think of a recent series of events. Last fall at the
British Invasion at Stowe, VT, I had the good fortune of winning a
first-place trophy and ribbon for early TR6s. During the prize-giving on
Sunday, all the winning cars were lined up and the assembled crowds came to
see them. I stood off to the side and watched. More than one person looked
at my car and noted, in one fashion or another, that my car had some stone
chips in the bonnet, a dent in the fender, a scratch here and there. All of
this as if to say that my car was not worthy of a prize. This was in
juxtaposition to the fellow that was rolling his over-restored MGA into a
covered trailer and going home empty-handed.
The only reason I relate this story is to echo some of the sentiments of
others on the List. Drive your car and show it off to a world that has
nearly forgotten the Triumph marque. Fred Thomas has an immaculate car. He,
like me, drives the car. There is no point in having a beautiful car and
carrying it around on a trailer. At some point it starts to be stooping to
conquer.
Phil Barnes (peb3@cornell.edu)
Cortland, NY (nowhere near New York City)
'71 TR6 CC61193L (22 year owner)
Someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car.
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