How I found my Triumph, or how it found me….Mike Billotte

It was an early fall day, as I remember, when my lovely bride approached me as I sat in my recliner in the living room. I had just turned 40 the previous June and was probably feeling the effects of aging. Bonnie said to me, "You need to get yourself a sports car because you look bored." You guys know the drill. Aw, I don’t need a sports car, I said. (Did I tell you that it was Sunday and I ALWAYS checked out the antiques and classics and the sports cars section.) I heard it, but it took a minute for the brain to calculate what she just said. My mind went into immediate visions of a 72’ V8 powered Nova, a 69’ SS Chevelle etc. I guess she figured I didn’t take her suggestion seriously, as she didn’t bring it up again. I checked the Sunday paper for the next few months and didn’t see anything advertised that tripped my trigger.

One Sunday in early fall in the Antiques and Classics section, there was an ad for a 71’ Triumph TR-6 in Norman, Okla. I called the number and a gentleman with a British accent answered the phone. He said the ad had just came out that day and the car was still available. I asked directions to his place and he proceeded to give them to me. Bonnie and I (with directions) started south to Norman. We got off at the designated exit and made all the turns the owner had given me over the phone. Not only was there no car, we could not even find the street the guy lived on. We drove around and around, thinking that if we could just find the street, we could find the house. I told Bonnie as I approached a stop sign, "The fact that we can’t find this guy’s house must be an omen that I don’t need this particular car". I looked to my left and seen a mustard colored convertible sitting in a driveway about 6 houses down. We had lucked onto the right street. The gentleman was indeed British that answered the door. I asked him if I could drive the car and he told me no, that he would drive it and I could evaluate it as he drove. Bully. The car had 86,000 miles and he was the second owner. The original owner was a woman who had relatives in California and many of the miles were highway miles. We went scooting down Highway 9 for a few miles and he turned around and headed back. I told him that I wanted the car and would he take $50 cash to hold it until I could get to the credit union Monday. As we returned to the house, there were two other couples waiting to test drive the car, but the owner said, sorry, but the car was sold. I went back the next day to pick it up and got a second surprise as Mr. Kirkbaum, the owner took me into his back yard and showed me his XK-120 and Rolls-Royce Saloon. Nice.

I followed Bonnie up I-35 back to Bethany. When we were about 5 miles from home the car developed a severe miss. I got it home ok and the next week took it to Carter-Maxwell, foreign car specialists, on McArthur. I got a call from the mechanic that worked on it and he told me to stop by after work that he had something he wanted to show me. I was expecting the worse, but the mechanic showed me the valve that was causing the miss. It had a hole burned through it next to the stem about the size of the tip of my little finger. He said "I don’t see how this engine ran at all. It must be one tough little engine." Well, that convinced me and that "tough little engine" has been going for almost 300,000 miles now. I did have another head put on it in 1995 because the previous one had a hairline crack in it. I have enjoyed every mile I put on this car and who woulda thunk that 31 years later, I would still have it. Carter-Maxwell did a complete engine rebuild at about 180,000 miles or so. I had it re-painted in 1996. New interior the same year. Added a roll bar in 1998. Mini Lite "look-a-likes" a year or so later. Finally got it to where I was comfortable with the way it looked and drove. I could have sold the car a hundred times over the years, but I think I will keep it a few years longer.