T6 Fabrications

The kit car industry in the UK really took off following the production demise of popular sports cars, which included the MGB and Midget as well as the Triumph Spitfire. Indeed following their production retirement, many kit designs were based on their robust mechanical assemblies while the rust prone bodies were discarded.
But they do say that what goes round comes round and that is especially true of the Triumph GT6. Many kits were based on the convenient chassis of not only the Spitfire and GT6 but also the Herald and Vitesse, but these soon started to lack the mechanical sophistication of the modern age while others saw that very point as desireable simplicity and started to rescue them. It didn’t take long for surviving cars to attain a value that made them uneconomic to break and gradually, restored cars began to emerge. However, restoration is expensive but Graham Pearce came up with a different approach; he produced a brand new semi-monocoque body to sit atop a standard chassis. But he didn’t just choose any old body, he created a copy of the 1964 Le Mans car. When it appeared in 2004, reaction was instant and enthusiastic and the car is now in production.
Graham is modest about his achievement saying, “Actually, it wasn’t totally my idea. Back in early seventies, Chris Williams of a company called Windmill Plastics had the same idea but went about it in a rather different way. He recreated the outer shell in GRP and bonded it to a steel floor to retain the chassis’ torsional rigidity. The primary advantage of the design was light weight allied to almost standard suspension assemblies. The car raced with reasonable results in the ’71 season but thereafter, the rear suspension was completely redesigned. In this form it went far better which led to the desire for a great deal more power. Once that was installed, the car went really well but then started to succumb to the shortcomings of its design.
The problem was the incompatability of steel floorpan bonded to the fibreglass body. Basically, the cars started to come apart at the seams.

Graham’s car is very different in that the GRP semi-monocoque body sits on top of the chassis and though bolted together, the different materials can adhere to their own physical properties without adversely affecting the other. So, how did it come about?
Graham Pearce has been involved with automotive restoration since he was about eight when he used to help his brother in his garage. On leaving school at sixteen, he started an apprenticeship with Hindle Brothers Coachbuilders, a local company in Huddersfield, which specialised in restoration. Graham was taught by ex-staff members of Rippon Brothers, which was a specialist company, producing coachwork for Rolls Royce. Many of the cars on which he worked were Morgans with traditional ash-framed bodywork thus Graham’s specialist education covered woodwork, sheet metal and bodywork and paint. Among the cars he worked on were the full range of British Leyland models from Minis to Jaguars which the local BL dealer, Appleyards, used to send to Hindle Brothers for bodywork repairs. Many of these were Triumphs and especially, Triumph sports cars with which Graham fell in love. He really liked the TR6 but realised he would struggle to afford one so used his skills to solve the problem. He bought a very poor condition TR4 and restored it. This was then sold to finance the acquisition of a similarly neglected TR6 which was also given the Pearce treatment and which went on to win many awards, trophies and plaudits when shown at local Triumph events. More important were the people asking Graham to carry out similar restorations of their own cars which led him to start his own business, aged 19, in 1977.
In the intervening years, Graham has built a thriving specialist business dealing in all things Triumph whether on two wheels or four. Even in his apprentice days, he had a Triumph Trident for commuting to work and he worked on these in his spare time and cars in his work time.
In respect of bikes, he specialised in Tridents and Rocket 3s, developing both bikes for competition. He rode his own bikes too and gathered his best results in short course racing although he did make several trips to the Isle of Man TT before the costs involved became too great. Even so, the experience gained served him well and he learned the importance of light weight to make up for his inability to afford the costs of straight engine development. This approach brought excellent results in local club racing and helped to build Graham’s growing reputation as a Triumph man.
On the car side, things started well with a steady flow of work which Graham greatly enjoyed, but such happy situation rarely last long and this was no exception. Come the early eighties and the classic car boom the UK had enjoyed, suddenly burst almost overnight. As cars became far too costly to restore in respect of their dramatically reduced resale value, work quickly dried up so Graham turned his attention to pattern making for the fibreglass industry.
His pattern making work continued and gradually, the car work came back. The result of the speculators losing millions and the dramatic fall in the value of classic cars meant that such cars again came within the financial reach of the true enthusiasts and Graham was once again busy on both fronts.
Then came a call from a local company wanting Graham to undertake the pattern work for a kit car being manufactured by a local company specialising in stainless steel products. The car had a stainless steel monocoque chassis and Graham was asked to do the pattern work for the GRP mouldings that would comprise the nose section, front and rear wings and the tail and boot section. Further work followed for other specialist kit car companies, which led Graham to think about creating his own car.
Working on Triumph sports cars had given him a great deal of enjoyment but he would do an extensive job on a car only to have it back the following year with further bodywork problems. There were, and are, still many Spitfires and GT6s around if you know where to look, but generally they are in too poor a condition for any sort of economic restoration. In addition, the supply of new parts is sporadic in the UK and even supplies from the USA of used components that have been spared the ravages of the UK climate are increasingly hard to come by so Graham’s solution was certainly logical – make it in fibreglass. On the one hand, it’s a cure-all solution but equally, it had the potential to offend the purists. However, Graham has found by far the most enthusiastic response to his efforts has come, not from the classic car world, but from the relatively new world of the kit car industry.
So, what does he offer them? Firstly, it is the choice of car for the initial production body. Graham always loved the Le Mans car, which appeared before the GT6 went into production. He thought at the time that Triumph ought to produce it, and was a little disappointed at the results when they did. The Mk1 GT6 lacked the smooth lines and purposeful stance of the Le Mans car and it’s an opinion that has stayed with him since. Thus when the idea for the car came to him, the Le Mans replica was the obvious choice. Problem two was how to produce it. He had seen from the cars Windmill Plastics produced that steel and fibreglass, if not used correctly, could create as many problems as they solved so, though there are far easier and cheaper ways to a fibreglass facsimile of a GT6 body, Graham opted for the most labour intensive and costly option as well as the most demanding in terms of skill and accuracy in creating a semi-monocoque body shell. Once the hard work is done, it’s then the simplest to utilise as it just drops onto a standard chassis to bolt in place and that’s just what the T6 is; a replacement body to sit atop any Spitfire or GT6 chassis.
The accuracy of the body is almost perfect but Graham has taken the opportunity to introduce a couple of modifications as well as to smooth it out by de-seaming it. Firstly, he’s put a bit more shape and width in the rear wings. This has been done for cosmetic reasons as well as the practical matter of accommodating larger and wider modern wheels and tyres. At the front, he’s introduced a bonnet bulge. The original Le Mans car had a four-cylinder engine but Graham’s customers would undoubtedly want to fir the straight six as well as the bigger, Rover V8 and the bulge allows them to do it although, for the purists, the authentic, flat bonnet will be available.
That aside, everything else is standard Triumph. Graham’s prototype uses a Mk2 GT6 chassis with the later, Rotoflex rear suspension and a 2-litre straight six engine. Original equipment was twin SU carburettors but Graham has gone for triple Weber 40 DCOE, twin-choke carburettors on a Triumphtune inlet manifold. The result is around 150 bhp with bags of torque and the smoothness for which the six-cylinder units are renowned.
At the time of writing, though orders have been taken and production is underway, development of the prototype remains ongoing. Its one serious outing was to an event at Zolder in Holland where Graham got a far better idea of its grip, handling, ride and all-round ability than any amount of testing on the bumpy local roads would ever have delivered. Generally, he’s greatly impressed with the car but has joined the club of people who have pondered the means by which to improve the car’s rear suspension. Certainly, the car works well as it is but he’s heard that the swing-arm system from the Mk3 works just as well if not better. He’s also looking at possibly fitting a 2.5 six with the original Lucas mechanical injection system but his appetite for advancing the specification is tempered by a desire to keep the car affordable, simple and above all, enjoyable.
As it is, the car is thoroughly simple, enjoyable and rewarding to drive for drivers of all abilities and the one thing Graham doesn’t want to do is lose that universal appeal by creating a much more modern machine in an old coat. With that desire in mind, current testing is centred on fine adjustment of the current settings in respect of suspension geometry, springs, dampers and tyre pressures.
The car has quickly come to the attention of the UK’s specialist kit car magazines and though Kit Car has already covered the car with an initial appraisal of it specification and cost, they have not yet had an opportunity to drive it. That will happen in the next couple of months, after which, many potential customers awaiting a magazine verdict may well be ready to make serious approaches to the company.
Certainly, in terms of appeal, it’s widespread. There are a great many people who retain fond memories of these cars in their youth and who are now in a position to have a high quality example rather than the neglected car of their student days. Similarly, it has a nostalgic as well as timeless appeal from the end of the UK’s classic sports car era, while even youngsters brought up on a diet of turbos, 16-valves and all-wheel drive have looked at it and said Wow!
With such broad appeal and thoroughly positive reaction, T6 Motorsport seems firmly established on the British specialist sports car map and the future looks bright.

'Triumph World' Article

Le Mans Spitfire

The Le Mans winning fastback bodied Spitfires of the sixties are as rare as hen’s teeth, but fortunately T6 Motorsport has recreated a GRP replica. We take one for a test drive to see if nostalgia can be recreated in plastic.

“Just open the throttle to let the carbs clear,” explains Graham Pearce of T6 Motosport. I blip the accelerator pedal to allow the Webers to pour more fuel in and raise the revs. The straight six rumbles from up front. After a quick rehearsal of the four speed gear pattern, I’m into first and letting go. With offset pedals due to the bulky gearbox and a classic, slightly stiff gear change, you’ve got to appreciate the period feel of this car. Plant your right foot hard on the throttle and the straight six emulates a train. The acceleration is smooth but impressive from an estimated 160bhp powering around 650kg (excluding passengers).

This particular kit has taken some four years to develop. It’s based on Triumph’s fame and success of 1964 and 1965 at the Le Mans 24 hour race. The Spitfire was launched in 1962 and the larger engined GT6 fastback was yet to be seen until 1966. However, Triumph already had the fastback shape under development using a combination of GRP and aluminium. A series of cars were built for rallying and racing, sporting highly tuned 1.1 litre motors capable of returning an impressive 100bhp at the flywheel. In the interests of aerodynamics, the rear seams were removed and E-type style headlamp covers introduced in 1965.

Following testing at Oulton Park in 1964, three cars were entered for Le Mans that year. According to scrutineering, they each weighed between 1625 and 1640lb. Two hours into the race saw one of the cars crash. A second car crashed after 12 hours, but the third car completed the entire 24 hours and finished third in class behind a couple of Renault Alpines. Finishing in 21st place overall, the performance results were equally impressive. The car achieved a recorded top speed of 134mph (at 7000rpm with a 3.89:1 diff), averaged 94.7mph and returned an impressive 22.4mpg. All that from a 1.1-litre four cylinder motor!

In 1965, the Le Mans Spitfires returned and four cars were entered. That year they used prototype GT6 gearboxes, a lighter chassis and aluminium cylinder heads. The engines produced 109bhp and the top speed was recorded at 140mph. One car crashed, another retired, but two cars finished first and second in class. The first in class car averaged 95.1mph and finished 13th overall.

Sadly these Le Mans racers never returned to France for the famous 24 Heures. Such short lived success has been the inspiration for Triumph expert and kit car craftsman Graham Pearce. Trading under the business name of T6 Motorsport, Graham has spent almost a lifetime with the Triumph marque dating back to 1975. He’s restored and raced a BSA Rocket III and Triumph Trident production racer, competing in events ranging from Oliver’s Mount at Scarborough in North Yorkshire to the Isle of Man TT. The trophy cabinet at Graham’s house speaks for itself.

T6 Motorsport is based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It’s a true cottage industry with Graham working from home in his purpose built workshop underneath his house, which he designed and built himself.

As mentioned, development of the T6 has taken some four years to complete.

“I started with an original ‘rot box’ creating the original pattern from which replicas could be taken,” says Graham. “I then developed the moulds using sixties photos and making alterations such as de-seaming, flaring the wheel arches and adding a bulge in the bonnet.”

The traditional Spitfire or GT6 chassis remains the same, but the bodywork has been modernised with the T6. Graham makes an internal frame and bonds it into a GRP bodytub to form a semi-monocoque construction. The original GT6 or Spitfire chassis must be retained as the shell sits on top of it.

“We’ve included steel strengthening in the body tub to accommodate larger bhp engines,” says Graham. “The original GT6 used to pull its rear radius arms through the boot floor when too much power was applied.”

A removable one piece bonnet remains as original, providing excellent engine bay access, but incorporates a bonnet bulge to allow the straight six engine to be fitted.

The Spitfire’s notoriously scary rear suspension set up can thankfully be modified. The Spitfire uses a transverse rear leaf spring bolted solid to the top of the diff casing. This solid mounting was responsible for the rear wheels tucking underneath on cornering! At Le Mans in ’64 and ’65, this problem hadn’t been resolved, so the rear suspension was stiffened and the drivers became experts in drifting around corners. The later MKIV Spitfire (launched in 1970) was modified to rectify this problem by only solid mounting the bottom leaf of the spring to the diff casing, leaving the remaining springs to move.

The MKI GT6 suffered from the same rear handling problems associated with the pre-MKIV Spitfire. The MKII saw these fixed with a revised rear suspension set up comprising rubber doughnut style Rotoflex driveshafts, reversed lower wishbones and the aforementioned modified transverse leaf spring mounting.

The T6 uses the standard GT6 or Spitfire suspension set up as the original rolling chassis is used. Using a later MKIV Spitfire or a post-MKI GT6 will avoid the aforementioned rear handling problem, although earlier models can be used as donors.

T6 Motorsport could have engineered this kit to utilise modern suspension components, but that would lose the period driving characteristics that are so important, especially where Spitfire and GT6 owners are concerned.

“I wanted to keep the original handling characteristics, which are good fun,” explains Graham. “You have to drive the car, it doesn’t drive itself.”

Despite a reasonable assortment of upgrades and alternatives, the T6 can be almost built with a single Spitfire or GT6 donor. Rust prone items such as the bodyshell are thankfully binned, so a rotting donor is ideal, but a good chassis is essential (replacement chassis are available). Glass all round is from the MKI or MKII GT6, apart from the rear quarter lights, which can be supplied by T6 Motorsport.

The basic T6 kit includes the semi-monocoque steel reinforced body, a one piece GRP bonnet, double-skinned doors, spare wheel cover, front valance, air and battery box and the cross members for the chassis floor. All of this costs £5850.

Graham estimates you need some 80-120 hours to complete a build up after the donor items have been stripped and overhauled where necessary.

Final build costs for the T6 are around £8500. Optional extras range from a pair of Le Mans and E-type style headlamp covers for £75 to a roll cage at £450.

T6 Motorsport’s build manual comes courtesy of Haynes. A suitable Spitfire/GT6 Haynes workshop manual is the recommended guidance for stripping one of these cars and fitting a T6 shell.

The T6 demo seen here has had quite a hard life. Its straight six motor has been hammered around tracks including Zolder in Belgium where the brakes were cooked. On the road, the demo car has clearly got a stiff suspension set up, but when you’re behind the wheel, there’s some clear feedback from the road conditions and no fighting with the steering wheel. The brakes were a little spongy after their severe thrashing at Zolder, but competently scrubbed off any speed when necessary. The torquey straight six is deceptively quick, although Graham is keen to either refresh it or replace it with a 2.5pi motor.

In summary, the T6 demonstrator provides a period feel of a race car. However, using a standard Spitfire or GT6 suspension setup with some interior refinements (carpets and sound proofing) will result in a useable everyday road car with lighter rot free bodywork.

So is the build up of a T6 worth the money and effort? As a solution to the headache of preserving sixties and particularly seventies metalwork, a GRP shell is a lifesaver to fans of the GT6 and Spitfire. The cost of a build up is comparable to the resurrection of a GT6, but with the bonus of less tinworm in the future.

Building a T6 from a Spitfire or GT6 is regarded as a body swap, so there’s no SVA to worry about.

If you want a taste of one of Triumph’s greatest achievements of the sixties, the T6 is the nearest most of us will ever get.

A speedster version of the Spitfire was created in the last millennium and called the Macau Spitfire. This is now at Canley Classics and is no doubt worth a fortune. T6 Motorsport however, has started development of a GRP replica of this race car, which will be based on a Spitfire or GT6 chassis.

TECH SPEC
Make and model: T6
Engine options: Any four or six cylinder Triumph Spitfire, TR6, 2.5pi and GT6 engines or Rover V8
Gearbox options: Triumph four-speed with overdrive, Rover SD1 for V8
Fuelling: carburettors or TR6 fuel injection
Front suspension: Triumph Spitfire/GT6 wishbones and coil springs
Rear suspension: transverse leaf spring
Brakes: Triumph Spitfire/GT6 discs (front) and drums (rear)
Wheel options: 13-15x5.5-6J
Estimated build time: 80-120 hours
Estimated build cost: £8500
Build manual: Haynes workshop manual

Contact Details
T6 Motorsport
9A Parkwood Road
Longwood
Huddersfield
HD3 4TT
Tel: 01484 644806
Website: www.triumphspitfirelemans.com

Engine:

“Triple Weber fed straight six produces around 160bhp.”
“Bulge in bonnet allows larger straight six and even V8 motors to be fitted, which weren’t fitted to the original Le Mans Spitfires.”

Interior:

“Race style interior aims to replicate the feel of Le Mans despite there’s a larger straight six up front. Pedals are purposely offset to the steering to accommodate the large GT6 gearbox.”
“Rear interior houses T6 roll cage and aluminium fuel tank. Both optional extras cost a total of £800.”

Exterior:

“Bulbous wings beef up the T6 image. Even a standard GT6 looks wimpish in comparison.”
“No rear tailgate, so spare wheel has a rear access panel.”
“Aluminium copies of magnesium originals.”