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Triumph TR6 - front paint behind grille

I stripped the paint behind my front grille and found that some parts were painted black. I believe this section is original but I want to be accurate.

Does anybody know the correct borders or have pictures to email?

John
JOHN BRUNATTI

isn't there a big hole behind the grill,or the radiator?
DON KELLY

John,
I'm not sure whereof you speak. The grill is aluminum, painted black. The surround, at least on the early cars is steel of some sort, ferrous at least 'cause it rusts, painted black and dipped in some plastic stuff that coated it, but peels off with the age of our cars. Behind all that is the radiator and the the front of the car. The bar across the grille is aluminum too but heavier than the grill and remains an aluminum color. I just cleaned mine and coated it with Eastwood clear coat. The TR6 emblem bolts to the cross bar and if you're lucky you have a ciossione (sp?); if not, a plastic wannabe.

The frame behind the grill area has various pieces and parts that may be removed and they, indeed, are originally painted black...the bumper brackets and the pan under the radiator, but that's obvious.

Do you have TRF's catalogs, VOL I & II? If not go to their website and you can see all the pieces and parts and decide what piece you're calling black.
db
Doug Baker

Hi John,

I think I know of what you speak...I have seen a few TR6's with the inner fender's head light ring painted in semi-gloss black... it appeared to be original and provided a more uniform appearance when looking into the engine bay through the grill.

Cheers, Rob
Rob Gibbs

Headlight on my car isn't behind the grill. If yours is it's a Tucker
DON KELLY

John

Sounds like we need a picture. Can you post one of the area you are looking at?

As far a I was aware, the steel in behind the front grill was the same colour as the main car but it seems based on your findings and Rob's comments this may not be the case.

Mike Petryschuk
Michael Petryschuk

Rob
Maybe I am learning something here. Can some one supply pics of what we are talking about?

I would have thought body colour...
The head light "buckets" are definitely black...the trim rings are 100% chrome 69 to 76.
Gotta agree with Mike...clarification is in order.
Rick
Rick Crawford

John. I have one picture of mine from the front during restoration that may help. Ken

Ken Shaddock

Hi guys, Sorry for the delay.

The image Ken submitted shows the section in question. I am referring to the valance area with the eight holes that receives the grille, only four can be seen in Ken's photo.

On my car, the area that the grille directly sits on was black. The headlight sockets were the body colour though.

John
JOHN BRUNATTI

Hello all. I haven't been on this forum for awhile.
John, my '74 TR6 has origional paint, and the area in question on mine is same colour as body paint.In my case it is white.
Cheers
Pete
Pete Russell

Hi Pete
Putting on some good retirement miles?

I agree...body colour.

Rick
Rick Crawford

If the body color is black then it was correct.;)
DON KELLY

The body colour is Damson, but the section behind the grille was black.
JOHN BRUNATTI

John,

Unfortunately I've been too busy to do much with TRs except use as a daily driver. My '74 project car seems to have been undisturbed since 1978 and has what looks to be brush-applied matte-black paint behind the grill and on the aft portion of the inner-fender headlight pressings. I'll try to post a picture...

Jeff


JB Fetner

Hey Jeff draw me arrows!!
And send some tropical weather this way. Getting tired of this Alaska stuff!!!
DON KELLY

Hi Guys:

Here's mine from the restoration. Painted the same as original.

Bob
1976 - TR6

Bob Evans

That picture of Jeff's car looks to be original. John I think you've just started a controversy on this website. I can't find any info in my reference books or CD's on this topic. Carshows are around the corner and I'll definitely be looking out for this issue.
benji

John,
FWIW, mine is body color (actually primer right now, but it was body color!!), both behind the grill AND the light bucket INSIDE the engine compartment. The inside of the light bucket is/was black. I powder coated the whole thing gloss blackm inside and out. If interested I'll post up a photo.
db
Doug Baker

Aloha Don - The tourism board won't let any of the tropical weather loose, but they will let me send some sulfur dioxide vog from Kilauea on the Big Island.

Here's a close shot of the other side. Maybe they blacked the area behind the grill on later cars, like the windshield frame. I think it makes the front opening look deeper, like an XKE. But I bet if they ran out of paint (or time) they wouldn't stop the assembly line!

It would be interesting to see the factory build specs for details like that.

Jeff


JB Fetner

It sounds as though cars were painted body colour or black depending on how they felt at the time. My car was previously painted but I believe this area was untouched as black.

I will likely paint it black.

Thanks guys.

John
JOHN BRUNATTI

Buzzt: "Paint It Black... Rolling Stones... 1966"

Did I win?

Sorry, feeling a bit silly this morning John.
Ken Shaddock

Perhaps Jagger and Richards worked for British leyland.....
JOHN BRUNATTI

Jeff, check out the photo. Is it the left or top arrow part

DON KELLY

Mahalo Don - I didn't catch on to the arrows part before, but now I get it.

Your left arrow points to the side of the grill frame that's painted black; the top and bottom are unpainted stainless.

The upper arrow points to the rubber seal attached to the upper valence and seals against the hood. The upper valence area behind the grill is what looks to be brush-painted matte black (now aged to a dark gray I guess)
Here's a closer shot of all that - I haven't taken the grill off yet but will need to soon. I'll take a better pix then.

Looks like Washington is getting another winter!

Jeff

JB Fetner

Jeff- The part I still don't see is the matte black brushed area.
DON KELLY

This seems to be the same issue as with the engine bays. Are yours painted black or body color? That being said, if your front grille apron is black, what color is your engine bay?
benji

I guess it's faded to gray after 30+ years and the flash didn't help. I figured out how to draw arrows (code 17) on the picture, so here goes. The far right arrow shows where the brush stroke didn't cover all the mimosa. Engine bay is mimosa.
Some of the excess paint went through some of the grill mount holes and ran down the back side of the valence. I'll try to get a shot of that next. Maybe somebody else can get a better shot.

Jeff

JB Fetner

Jeff
I think it should be body colour. If you look to the left of your vertical pointing arrow you see Damson under a grey paint.
Also there is a trim piece below the grill that is black...at least on a '71 anyway.
Rick
Rick Crawford

That just looks like raw sheet metal to me. I figured that is where you had removed the yellow already.
DON KELLY

This thread was discussed between 07/06/2008 and 12/06/2008

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