Visitors

Bruce

Bruce Krobusek and his wife Susan stopped by TOP Rural Headquarters and treated me to lunch today. Bruce, who is of Scottish descent on his mother's side, sported a "cargo" kilt with lots of pockets. I don't know what it's like in Scotland, but we see very few people in kilts around here. We had a tasty lunch and of course a nice conversation at Silverbird Woodfired in Penn Yan, before heading back to my place so Butters could jump all over Bruce and Susan.

Susan

They were driving Bruce's unrestored 1972 Triumph TR6 (Susan has a Triumph Stag), and Bruce let me drive it, which was a treat. They were headed to a car club gathering at the South end of Keuka Lake, in Hammondsport. First time I've ever driven any sort of Triumph (although I've been reading about them since high school) adding meaningfully to my lifetime experience of roadsters. I wasn't quite too big for it, but almost. Bruce has had it for 21 years.

Always great to meet TOP readers in real life! Thanks to Bruce and Susan for stopping by.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Kenneth Tanaka: "Ah, The Avengers team is lookin' good!! Hi Emma!"

Scott: "One sees Utilikilts in Seattle. Very nice and practical menswear. About your visitors' license plate: I guess that 'Mrs. Peel' may refer to the character named Emma Peel in the UK TV show from way back called 'The Avengers.' I heard that in those days TV show producers always wanted a female character that would appeal to men. The role was called a 'man appeal' character, often abbreviated as 'm-appeal,' as in 'This show needs m-appeal.' M-appeal, of course, is pronounced the same as Emma Peel. They named her after the commercial role she filled.

"That's what I've heard anyway. I hope it's true."

Richard Newman: "Ah, yes. The original 'Avengers' show and Emma Peel both appealed greatly to me.Unlike the current U.S. avengers show which has no appeal whatsoever. (Noah Peel?)"

Comments

[robert e]

Love the license plate. Does it refer to Emma Peel, or is there a personal story?

[Alex]

The "cargo kilt" is a great idea. Handmade?

[Wolfgang Lonien]

Ah, the dream car of my youth. Until I first saw a Morgan Plus 8. But I always liked Triumph, these looked like real cars and a bit retro even when I was young, while other maker seemed to go in the false directions...

Later I discovered motorcycles, and to describe the difference between driving a car and riding a motorcycle is a bit like sitting in a cinema vs. the real deal. Motorcycles are much more like cameras: once you forget about the machine, once it becomes part of you, then it's the real deal. It's you who is flying along these curvy country roads; it's you who takes the image - not the machine. A car (or the cinema) can never compare with that experience, neither can the fanciest of cameras compare with seeing what is in front of you.

[Bob Johnston]

The talented and beautiful Diana Rigg. She is now Dame Diana Rigg. The dynamic between her and Patrick McNee was what made the series.I think that Emma Peel drove a Lotus Elan. As for the TR6, I only wish I could afford one. Bruce's example looks amazing. That and Susan's Stag are very sought after in the UK.

[Darlene]

If only females could wear skirts with hairy legs ...

[David Anderson]

Yes, sure we "Scotch" all wear the Kilt and hunt Haggis. Actually if you see someone in the street wearing a kilt over here, he is either a nutcase or a tourist. Exceptions are clan gatherings, bagpipe players, and weddings where the kilt has become a popular item. I have never worn a kilt in my entire life, and never plan to.

My Dad had a Triumph Stag back in the 70's, with removeable hardtop or a soft-top. I got to drive it on rare occasions, sometimes even with his knowledge and permission, and once had it up to about 115 on a long straight before chickening out as it was jumping around in the wind. The roads were quiet in those days and there were no speed cameras. The V8 made a lovely note I recall. I sometimes wonder how I survived my early years - just luck I guess.

[Gavin McLelland]

I grew up in Scotland and in our town only a couple of guys wore them every day though many many had one for special occasions. To be honest I saw more in Nova Scotia when I lived there! I'll be out in mine tonight though for a harvest supper

[Tom Burke]

A TR6 and a Stag! Those are both labours of love. Testaments to the idiosyncrasies of British automobile design; or to the endless internecine warfare between the competing components within British Leyland.

[Tom Bell]

My mother aged 94 lives permanently in her Ross Tartan Kilt on the outer Orkney Islands.
TR6 have a fuel injection that is always going wrong ... so no matter how beautiful they are I couldn't contemplate the frustration of supporting Scotland at Rugby ....a license for depression ...with owning a TR6 .... frustration I surmise would rise to fever pitch!!!

[Peter]

When I first met my wife many years ago, she had a 1957 TR3 (they actually referred to it as a TR2 1/2). It had a little port/hole in the front where you could insert a crank to start up, if need be. Great except for no windows (side curtains), a heater that did your ankle (maybe) and no synchro. She also drove it back/forth from NYC to Syracuse, in the winter.
Years later I had a 1972 MGB that I kept for about thirty years and pretty much maintained myself, except for the body work where the salt et al did a pretty good job of eating it up. Aside from all of it's foibles it was great fun to drive. Early on in my puttering with the engine I discovered that the builders never threw anything away - the engine had bits and pieces from earlier models, which can be a bit frustrating when the part spec'd in the manual doesn't fit and the car isn't running. And there was the Lucas (The Prince of Darkness)electrics.
I'm shopping for a house away from the metro NYC area and yesterday my wife and I looked at one with four garage bays - our first thought was "maybe it's time for another sports car" All said it would be old,British and BRG - some people never learn.

[MJFerron]

I never see TR6's around anymore. Loved em. My buddy had a modified TR6 back in the late 70's. (almost got us killed in that thing one crazy night exiting the tunnel in Boston at 2am) A story for another day I guess.

[Gordon Cahill]

I had a Triumph Stag. Most unreliable car I've ever own. Nothing but issue after issue. I loved that car and still miss it.

Gordon

[waldo - playa name]

and of course, the kilt is a popular choice of costume on the playa at Black Rock City each before Labour Day.

[BruceK]

For those interested:

The kilt is a Utilikilt, made by some amazing people in Seattle WA.

Yes, the license plate is an homage to Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character in the Avengers. Somehow, the TR6 got named Mrs Peel. A noted, she drove a Lotus Elan in the series. I haven't found a suitable one of those yet, so the TR6 will have to do.

My car looks nice in Mike's photos - thanks for the kind words! But she's really only a 10-footer. A great driver, but not a great show car. Fine with me! :-)

[Daniel]

I think the TR6 in British Racing Green was the most beautiful Triumph made. Had a few TR4 IRS models and loved them but wanted a TR6 but got a Porsche 911 instead.
Triumph finally got it all right mechanically with the TR8 and then went out of business. Sorry day for sports car entusiasts.

Now I'm looking at the older Saab Sonnets = not all that many around these days.

[Stephen whitesell]

Funny, I worked all day on a green TR6 for a friend of mine. A 72 with original paint. Not as nice looking as Bruce's but very solid. I also have a 1970 elan sitting in my garage at home. Coincidences abound although I don't have a kilt.

[Peter]

Wasn't the Stag the one where they made an 8 cylinder engine by putting two 4 cylinder blocks together? There was one in my neighborhood years back - pretty, but always in the shop.
When I bought my 1972 MGB, I was fascinated by the two 6 volt batteries that were under the rear (seat area?)part of the car, in open frames. Great in rain and, god forbid, snow. Interesting logic.
I was once flying in a an airplane (Sutherland Short or something like that) where the in flight brochure for the plane boasted about having a Lucas electrical system. As an MG owner at the time, that gave me the sweats.

[Tom Bell]

I was just thinking that a Scotsman is rather like a TR6

Some people just cant resist looking to see what is under the bonnet!😎

[misha]

"I had a Triumph Stag. Most unreliable car I've ever own. Nothing but issue after issue."

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time

http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658498_1657839,00.html

[I love that list. I've read it about four times over the years. But let's not insult Mrs. K.'s vintage ride, eh? --Mike]

[misha]

"Wasn't the Stag the one where they made an 8 cylinder engine by putting two 4 cylinder blocks together?"

Yes.

IIRC, the cylinder blocks were sourced from Saab.

[Steve Jacob]

I love looking at old cars, and occasionally driving someone else's. Owning one? No thanks. Been there and done that...

[Wolfgang Lonien]

About that "British Racing Green": Yamaha now have some of their motorcycles in what they call "Forest Green". Looks pretty good to me:

[Crabby Umbo]

Had a TR-4 and a GT6 MkIII...loved them both, but the 4 needed a lot of restoration and the 6 almost bankrupted me with mechanical problems. To this day, when I go to English car shows, you almost never see a big bunch of GT 6's...I see a nice TR-3 on the street around where I live now, and a few pretty cherry TR-6's that came from the west coast.

The wife of the symphony conductor in our city had a Triumph Stag...used to see her sitting in the shop as much or more than I was with my "6". Good luck to that!

Plus one for Peter, I laughed: we used to call Lucas the "magical god of darkness".

Somewhere along the line, it became apparent with my English car driving buddies, that MG was far, far, more dependable than Triumph. I knew people with MG-B's, and MG-B GT's, that were almost daily drivers!

I have the TR-4 and GT-6 to thank for instilling me with an early bit of learned knowledge. Buy Toyota, and do the required maintenance! No matter how good something looks, if you've memorized the number to a tow truck company, then it's not a car you want! It taught me that a lot of times, the beauty is in the function and not the form.

Plus one for Bob Johnson, Mrs. Peel drove a Lotus...if you're a fan, the Ms. Peel plate on a Triumph would kind of tic you off! Reminds me of the guy who owned a bar in my city and had a Rolls Royce with personalized plates. When he got rid of the Rolls, he transferred the plates and now whatever he was driving, which was not a Rolls, said it was his RR! Kinda sad...

[BruceK]

[I love that list. I've read it about four times over the years. But let's not insult Mrs. K.'s vintage ride, eh? --Mike]

FWIW, we don't worry about comments regarding the Stag. We've probably heard them all. :-) And certainly the car had problems when it was introduced, but once they get sorted out, and that's easy to do, then you've got a fantastic touring car. IMHO...

[Crabby Umbo]

Daniel, I knew a guy with a Saab Sonett. People say it was like a kit car, but having seen and ridden in it back in the 70's, I can say it was more like a kit car when you got inside, and not so much from the exterior, where it looked pretty finished.

MY buddy bought it because he wanted something sporty, he was tired of having the metal bodies rust off of low slung cars here in Wisconsin, the Sonett was fiberglass. Of course, that didn't keep the frame from rusting. As I recall, it had a strong engine and a weak tranny.

Don't know why he got rid of it, but he eventually bought another Saab, so he must of liked the mark. Saabs for me are one of those enormously undependable cars lines that have these virtually religious proponents from the Birkenstomper and Granola crowd. Especially from the 80's. No matter what, they could be sitting in it and falling through the floor while the head was flying off the engine, and they'd say: "..oh that's just normal wear and tear...".

I knew another guy who was claiming how great his Saab 900 series was, and how dependable; when the thing was just falling apart around him and rusting to smithereens!

[Dr Stephen Docherty FRCR]

Even in Scotland we don't see many people in kilts unless we are at a wedding, formal ball or something like that. Kilts don't have pockets - your stuff (usually just phone, wallet, whisky flask) goes in your sporran. This is a wee pouch that hangs over your nether regions. Most Scotsmen leave their phone on vibrate for a cheap thrill.