Hello Greg, not to worry about keeping it original, I'm not one to hack and slash, my biggest problem is hopefully putting the right bits in the correct spot and making sure it's the right colour, when I first got the car the back end was flat black, in talking with Bruce Madden ( when he rebuilt my water pump ) I was informed that this was not correct, so now it's blue.

My Vin is 20497, and in talking with Richard Calver it turns out Lamar was one of the last six built, if you notice on the engine photos, besides the after market air cleaners, the top radiator hose loops around, that and a bunch of other little things make me believe it's more a GT without the top and interior, Engine # T75-03-11580 evidently built in March of 75, Richard shows a different month on the engine date but confirmed it's the original motor, car build date was August 7/75, and yes the badge on the side says JH5.

The car was bought in England by a Captain in the US Air Force and driven around there and Europe, when his tour was over he had it shipped to Georgia, at some point it was repainted, but whoever did it put way too much paint on and it developed paint cracks, so in 89 I went south looking to get a rust free sports car and bumped into it, bought it off the guy selling it for him and then dragged it and a TR6 back to NY. I did drive it for a couple of months then decided to strip the paint, 12 years later and after stripping every thing off, (didn't touch the engine, 52K miles, no problems, touch wood ) I put it all back together, doing all the work myself, even the hated body work.

You'll also notice a TR6 master cylinder, as much as I like original I also like to be able to stop, and practical out of the way changes I think are OK, but I will still hang onto the old master, just in case.

Sorry to be so long winded but hey it's car talk… (something my wife doesn't understand).

Happy Motoring,
Brett Gibson
Hilton, New York

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