Pete Eckstein's 1976 TR6

Turn back the Wayback machine to 1967- The British Invasion. The Who, Kinks, Stones and the Beatles were the music. Madras shirts, pinstriped pants, wide leather belts and Beatle boots were the garb. Little British sportscars were the wheels. I was in my mid teens and thought all this was way too cool. When my older brother bought a brand new 1967 MG Midget and I found out what little LBCs were all about, I discovered a new reason to keep that paper route. That next year while on my route a customer asked me if I knew anyone who would want her funny looking little 4 door sedan, free for the taking. I asked her what it was, and she said it was a Triumph Standard 10. It was British, so I said, "I do". (Oh! Those two little words!) I pushed it home with the help of friends. With a battery and some gas we were underage driving on the dirt roads near Bartlett. Unfortunately, the car didn't hold up too well to the abuse of an inexperienced driver hell bent on the idea that Triumph did make an all-terrain vehicle. The car was unceremoniously dragged to a farmer's auto burial ground nearby

My next Triumph came in 1972 - a '69 Mk 3 Spitfire. Only three years old, but it had been left out in the elements too long, so I painted the body and replaced the top and the interior. The Spit served me well 'til it met its end (and me almost mine) on the US 20 Fox River bridge near Elgin. The school bus driver later exclaimed, "I didn't see him" as a valid excuse.

After the BCU event at Oakton my wife stated, "You need one of those". That's all it took. After much looking I found the 1976 TR6 in a garage in Rockford. Drove it home and started tending to mechanical needs (brakes, suspension, etc.) when a friend said he had a 1980 Spitfire that needed a home badly. I finally gave in, and then there were two.

Triumph makes owning a car fun, and ISOA makes owning a Triumph fun. I look forward to spending many years ahead with both.

by Pete Eckstein