Salut Stéphane,
Knowing how badly cars rust back east, I hope you are not going to have too
many bad surprises as your restoration progresses. In addition to the
manuals like Bentley (not cheap @ C$110, but the best) and Haynes (out of
print, so very hard to find), and the catalogues from the parts suppliers,
books with colour photos of how things 'should' look will be a big help
once you start putting things back together. Probably the best is
"Original Triumph TR4/4A/5/6" by Bill Piggott. Subtitled "The Restorers
Guide" it has both very good descriptions in the text plus hundreds of photos.
The big American parts suppliers will become very familiar to you, but
there are also some pretty good Canadian places to check - some of whom are
also resellers of the US suppliers. A big advantage in dealing in Canada
is the lower shipping costs, and there are no surprise customs surcharges.
Even more important is if you have to return something - again no hassles
with customs and trying to get refunds from them. Obsolete Automotive in
Ontario (800-265-7437, <www.obsoleteauto.com>) is good and has very good
supplies. They also have a monthly newspaper-style catalogue and sale
flyer that is worth getting on their mailing list for.
Joining a club is a good idea. There are no Canadian national
organizations that I know of, but you may have some in the Montreal or
Ottawa areas. The US club I like 6-Pack because it focusses on the
TR250/6. They also have a mailing list similar to this one that you can
subscribe to. Be prepared though for up to 50 - 100 messages per day if
you join both. These mailing lists are really the best sources of
information on the planet, with members who have seen everything that
you'll come up against in your resto. One important piece of advice is to
carefully note how and where every piece you take off the car belongs.
Taking many pictures could help. I'm no mechanic either, but with the help
of everyone here + the manuals, the TR6 is simple enough for even me to
work on. And its Y2K ready. I have a '70 which is very similar to your
'71, so feel free to contact me any time.
Bonne chance!
Rod. (a Edmonton) TR6 CC55899L
PS, putting a straightforward subject on your email message will get better
response - with so many messages every day, something not obvious or of
inteerest might not get read.
|