What Did Brown Do To Me?

When I first started at Microsoft (as a contractor, please don’t get any ideas that I might be rich!), I noticed this seemingly abandoned TR6 in the parking lot outside my building. After a few inquiries, I found the owner and it came to pass that it was sitting there because the brake master cylinder had died…to make a long story tolerable (or not) I ended up buying it from him for $1200.

The car was painted a dark metallic brown, over the original chocolate brown (who buys a sports car painted brown?). I was able to get it running and took it home.

It wasn’t in terrible condition, but that’s not the same as saying it was in good condition! The interior was worn, the paint was faded, and while it ran OK, it didn’t run well enough to pass emissions. Let’s see, this was about 1993 and it was still a few years from passing from the 25-year window for emissions testing. I didn’t have money to fix it to pass (sense a theme, here?) and tried to get around it by swapping plates from my ’67 MGB. That netted a visit from the police one day as a nosy neighbor saw me doing that!

In the end, I decided to sell it as I just wasn’t all that into it. Even at their best TR6’s aren’t as nice a car (to me) as an MGB, and while they in theory have more power, it’s not a lot. I ended up selling it to a guy in Luxemborg (!), I think for about $2000. I wouldn’t mind trying another one day, all that said. But I’d prefer a TR3 to a TR6, and there’s only so many hours in a lifetime.