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Ted Lathrop's Chevy 350 Powered 1976 TR6

Ted Lathrop · 1976 Triumph TR-6

Triumph TR6

britishv8.orgoriginally published in British V8 Newsletter, Volume 9 Issue 2

Read the full write-up at britishv8.org ↗

Photo: britishv8.org

A 1976 Triumph TR6 rebuilt around a Chevy 350 with a custom chassis

Ted Lathrop, a longtime circle-track stock car builder, fitted his TR6 with a Chevy 350 and Corvette aluminum heads, then designed and built much of his own rear frame to carry a Ford 9-inch axle on a four-link suspension. The write-up is worth reading for the depth of home-shop fabrication, from the custom fuel tank to the owner-made bushings and adapters throughout the drivetrain and interior.

Specs

As the owner states it.

Engine
Chevy 350 (1972 block, 0.030 over) with 1996 Corvette aluminum heads, Competition Cams camshaft (0.454 lift, 218 degrees) and roller rockers
Clutch
Centerforce 10.5 inch clutch with McLeod hydraulic throw-out bearing and stock TR6 master cylinder
Bellhousing
Lakewood hydraulically formed steel bellhousing with owner-made aluminum block plate
Gearbox
Borg-Warner T5 five-speed from a 1982 V8 Camaro, fifth gear changed to 0.80:1
Driveshaft
GM front section mated to Ford rear section, balanced as an assembly
Frame
Owner-built rear frame using portions of original TR6 side rails and front suspension mounts, designed for four-link suspension and Ford 9-inch axle
Rear axle
Narrowed Ford 9-inch, 3.5 gearing, new axles with Chevy five-bolt pattern
Front suspension
Modified lower A-arm mounts for improved camber, owner-made Teflon upper and Delrin lower bushings, Koni shocks, sprint car sway bar on owner-fabricated aluminum arms
Rear suspension
Carrera coil-overs on a four-link system
Brakes
Corvette disc brakes on all four wheels, front vertical link modified for Chevy spindles and hubs
Wheels
Lightspeed 3-piece wheels from Taylor Wheel Company, 7 inch front, 8 inch rear
Tyres
225/60/15 front, 245/60/15 rear
Cooling
Griffin aluminum cross-flow radiator, fully shrouded, electric puller fan, rear-vented hood scoop
Interior
Stock gauges except BMW fuel gauge with TR6 face, stock mechanical tach adapted to Chevy distributor, BMW 318 leather seats, Keller and Associates walnut veneer dash, modified Chevy van tilt steering column
Electrical
Ron Francis Wire Works fuse block and wiring harness mated to stock wiring, battery relocated to trunk
Body
Three-piece rear bumper welded into one piece, over-riders and side marker holes removed and filled, canvas top, rear/trunk area modified for four-link clearance, custom aluminum fuel tank

Parts used

What the owner names in the write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.

Engine 4

Fuel & Ignition 2

  • Stainless steel headers

    Commercial headers extensively modified to fit the TR6 engine bay

  • Side-pipe mufflersCorvette

    Corvette-style mufflers run straight under the car for a mellow exhaust note

    In the shops
    RC40 Exhaust Resonator and Side Exit Muffler (Mini) ↗bpnorthwest.com· $186.78 USD

Cooling 2

  • Aluminum cross-flow radiatorGriffin

    Fully shrouded so all airflow passes through it, paired with a rear-vented hood scoop

    In the shops
    Aluminum Radiator ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $259.31 USD
    Aluminum Radiator ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $259.31 USD
    Aluminum Radiator ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $356.75 USD
  • Electric puller fan

    Mounted behind the radiator in a puller configuration

Gearbox & Drivetrain 6

  • 10.5 inch clutchCenterforce

    Clutch disc for the driveline

  • Hydraulic throw-out bearingMcLeod

    Paired with stock TR6 master cylinder for clutch actuation

    In the shops
    Racetorations Hydraulic Release Bearing Kit (TR2-6) ↗Racetorations· £811.25 GBP
  • Steel bellhousingLakewood

    Hydraulically formed; supplied steel block plate replaced with owner-made aluminum piece to save weight

  • BW T5 five-speed transmissionBorg-Warner

    Sourced from a 1982 V8 Camaro; fifth gear changed to 0.80:1 for highway cruising with the 3.5 rear gears

    In the shops
    Rear Transmission Seal, 4-Speed (Spitfire 1962-1980) ↗bpnorthwest.com· $2.36 USD
  • Custom two-piece driveshaft

    GM front section mated to Ford rear section, then balanced as an assembly

    In the shops
    Two-Piece Transmission Cover ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $114.00 USD
    Gearbox Tunnel Two-Piece TR4A-6 ↗TRGB· £142.95 GBP
    Two-Piece Transmission Tunnel (TR4-TR6) ↗bpnorthwest.com· $124.00 USD
  • Ford 9-inch rear axleFord

    Narrowed and fitted with 3.5 gearing and new axles drilled to Chevy five-bolt pattern

Suspension & Steering 5

Brakes 1

Wheels & Tyres 1

  • Lightspeed 3-piece wheelsTaylor Wheel Company

    7 inch front and 8 inch rear wheels

Body & Trim 1

  • Custom aluminum fuel tank

    Fabricated to fit the odd space left after the rear suspension modifications

Interior 4

Electrical 1

  • Fuse block and wiring harnessRon Francis Wire Works

    Mated to the stock TR6 wiring; fuse block placed on the original battery shelf, battery moved to the trunk

    In the shops
    Complete Wiring Harness ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $594.00 USD
    Main Wiring Harness (1969) ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $699.99 USD
    Main Wiring Harness (1975) ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $684.00 USD

Photos

All 21 pictures in the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from britishv8.org. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.

Ted Lathrop's 1976 TR6 is Powered by a Chevy 350 V8Photo: britishv8.org
Ted Lathrop's 1976 TR6Photo: britishv8.org
custom dashboardPhoto: britishv8.org
BMW Recaro leather seatsPhoto: britishv8.org
wiring by Advance Auto WirePhoto: britishv8.org
worlds longest radiator hosePhoto: britishv8.org
steering columnPhoto: britishv8.org
fan thermostatPhoto: britishv8.org
custom fabricated fuel tankPhoto: britishv8.org
Re-engineered and Strengthened Shop-Built Frame.Photo: britishv8.org
TR6 front suspensionPhoto: britishv8.org
TR6 front anti-roll barPhoto: britishv8.org
TR6 tranmission mountPhoto: britishv8.org
TR6 driveshaftPhoto: britishv8.org
Ted Lathrop's four link rear suspensionPhoto: britishv8.org
Panhard rod mount on the Ford 9 inch axlePhoto: britishv8.org
glass pack mufflersPhoto: britishv8.org
the last open roadPhoto: britishv8.org
on the scales at British V8 2007Photo: britishv8.org
BF Goodrich Radial T/A tiresPhoto: britishv8.org
Donate Now!Photo: britishv8.org

How it was done

Engine and drivetrain

Ted built the engine from a 1972 Chevy 350 block he had on hand, bored 0.030 over and fitted with 1996 Corvette aluminum heads chosen for their large valves and small ports, favoring low-end torque. A Competition Cams camshaft and roller rockers were added. A Centerforce clutch and Lakewood bellhousing, with an owner-made aluminum block plate, connect to a Camaro-sourced BW T5 five-speed with a re-ratioed fifth gear.

Driveshaft and rear axle

A custom driveshaft was made by mating a GM front section to a Ford rear section and balancing the assembly. The rear end is a narrowed Ford 9-inch fitted with 3.5 gearing and new axles redrilled to the Chevy five-bolt pattern, chosen to work with the tire size and transmission ratio for relaxed highway cruising.

Chassis and suspension

Ted built most of the rear frame himself, keeping the front suspension mounts and modified side rails from the original TR6 chassis but adding a section designed around a four-link rear suspension and the Ford 9-inch axle, addressing the stock frame's flex. Front suspension pivot points were moved for better camber, using owner-made Teflon and Delrin bushings, Koni shocks, and a sprint-car sway bar on fabricated aluminum arms. The rear uses Carrera coil-overs on the four-link.

Brakes, wheels and cooling

Corvette disc brakes were fitted at all four corners, with the front vertical link modified to accept Chevy spindles and hubs. Wheels are three-piece Lightspeed units from Taylor Wheel, 7 inch front and 8 inch rear. Cooling comes from a fully shrouded Griffin aluminum radiator with a rear-vented hood scoop and a puller electric fan, which Ted reports gives no overheating issues.

Interior and electrical

The interior keeps stock TR6 gauges apart from a BMW fuel gauge fitted with a TR6 face to suit the custom fuel tank's sending unit, and a stock mechanical tach adapted to a Chevy distributor. Leather seats came from a BMW 318, and the dash is a laminated walnut-veneer piece made by Keller and Associates, a gift from his wife. The steering column is a modified early Chevy van tilt column. Wiring uses a Ron Francis Wire Works harness and fuse block, with the battery relocated to the trunk.

Bodywork

Ted welded the three-piece rear bumper into a single unit, removed the bumper over-riders front and rear and filled the holes, deleted the side marker lights, and filled unused holes under the hood. The area behind the seats and in the trunk was reshaped to make room for the four-link suspension, and a custom aluminum fuel tank was fabricated to fit the remaining space.

A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is the owner's: read it at britishv8.org ↗

Worth knowing

  • Choosing heads with smaller ports but larger valves gave better low-RPM torque than larger-port heads would have.
  • Redesigning the rear frame around a four-link and 9-inch axle addressed the stock TR6 chassis's flex problem.
  • Owner-made Teflon and Delrin front suspension bushings held up for years without wear.
  • Matching final drive gearing, tire size, and overdrive ratio together produced relaxed, low-RPM highway cruising.
  • A fully shrouded radiator with a rear-vented hood scoop avoided any cooling problems despite the V8 swap.

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