Hitting the Road
Life doesn’t get any better for John Korsak than cruising in a 6-pack
By Bobbi Mlynar
Saturday, April 19, 2008
No one needs to tell John Korsak to “See America First.” That’s already one of his favorite pastimes, and he does it from the vantage point of a 1974 Triumph TR6 — a “6-pack” in car club vernacular.
Korsak and the car, which he’s dubbed “Ms. Carmine” because of her carmine-red color, have become regulars at the national events that celebrate all that the TR6s embody.
Ms. Carmine is more than a means of going from Point A to Point B. She’s a way to get to Points A and B and all the other letters of the alphabet, and to have fun doing it.
Korsak has logged about 50,000 miles since he bought the car in 2001. Almost 10,000 of them came during the past year as he drove to shows and rallies. The bonuses of attending the shows are the friendships that have developed with like-minded people nationwide, and experiencing the landscapes and the life forms he encounters while meandering through the countryside.
“You drive around and see all these cool things in the United States,” Korsak said. “This country has so many interesting places to see. That’s why I enjoy these things.”
A trip to the East Coast for a show presented an opportunity to enjoy the Allegheny mountains, the Virginia Skyway, the hills of Kentucky, and the Great Smoky Mountains shared by North Carolina and Tennessee.
In the latter area, Korsak discovered a road that brings a smile each time he thinks about it.
Called the Tail of the Dragon, the short section of US Highway 129 offers 318 curves in only 11 miles. An estimated 200,000 motorcycle riders drive the Dragon every year, he said, and several photographers station themselves there daily, taking photographs — Korsak’s included — to post on the Internet. It is a dangerous stretch, but if all goes well, it offers about the most excitement and joy a driver could wish for.
“I drove that on my last trip, coming home,” Korsak said. “I drove the road twice, both directions, because I enjoyed it so much. (It’s) so intense, I couldn’t take my eyes from the road. ...I’d like to do it again, as a passenger.”
The opportunity is sure to come, as Korsak drives the car to the TR6 gatherings, held primarily in the Midwest and on the East Coast.
Ms. Carmine recently has won an assortment of awards during his travels, from The Great American Factory Show at Hershey, Pa., to the Tucson British Car Registry show, including a second place in the modified division and a first place in the participants choice division.
Korsak, too, has won in the driving contests that almost invariably complement the car judgings. His big win, though, is in owning the car itself.
Triumph owners, especially those who have a TR6, know that they have small treasures that are dwindling in number as the years pass.
“Triumph only made the car seven years, 1969 to 1976,” Korsak said.
Ms. Carmine, being a 1974 model, is even more limited in availability.
“That was the only model TR ever made with a 6-cylinder engine,” he explained.
The car’s engine compartment, with its Eaton M62 supercharger, has been featured in photographs in “Triumph TR6 and TR250,” a magazine that devotes itself to TR6 and TR250 6-packs.
Triumphs disappeared entirely a few years after the company merged with British Leyland. The company made TR7 and TR8 models, “then the company became defunct,” Korsak said. “The 240Zs started coming out, and that really hurt the market as far as British sports cars were concerned.”
The remaining cars continue to be popular among Triumph fans, who are keeping them running across the country. After-market companies can supply some of the parts when repairs are needed, though Korsak also has changed out parts simply to improve the car’s performance and reliability.
“If you have a little bit of mechanical ability, you can work on these cars with little trouble,” he said.
He added the supercharger to combat the effects of emission controls laws that went into effect about 30 years ago. Those controls “detuned” the engines as car companies tried to meet the standards of the time.
“So you had an engine that was made less powerful to meet these emissions controls,” Korsak said.
Some car owners added carburetors and milled heads to restore the lost power, but Korsak thought that option put too much continuous strain on the engine. He photographed an assortment of engine compartment layouts on cars at the shows, checked out his options and decided to install an Eaton M62 supercharger instead.
“I think it’s better because it doesn’t put strain on the engine, because it doesn’t run unless you need it,” he said. “The carburetor route does put continuous strain on the engine.”
He added another piece to control the spark to a high-performance ignition system.
“It doesn’t make the car go any faster ... but it does prevent it from having problems,” he said, adding that without additional changes, the supercharger could blow up the system.
“The biggest problem you have with British cars is electric,” Korsak said. “You replace anything you can for safety.”
Ms. Carmine also wears a General Motors alternator.
“I had to modify it to make it work, but it works much better” than the original.
“The majority of the work I do myself,” Korsak said. “That’s part of the mystique, the fun of the whole thing. These cars do need attention. … I enjoy working on the car as much as I do driving the car.”
And while Korsak does not hesitate to drive the car on outings and long-distance trips because he knows it is mechanically sound, he draws the line when it comes to exposing Ms. Carmine to potential cosmetic problems.
“It doesn’t go out in nasty weather, or on gravel roads, as much as possible,” he said.
Other than those restrictions, though, Korsak is happy to motor around the United States in a 34-year-old collector’s item. He expects it to be reliable for the 5,000 or so miles he expects to put on the car during his next trip, to Watkins Glen, N.Y. If the car does experience a mechanical blip, that likely will not be a problem.
“Most of them wouldn’t trust their own cars like I do,” Korsak said. “I take tools and spare parts. I trust my car. If I have a breakdown, I’ll fix it on the way.”
That’s just an accepted part of his TR6 adventure. Even though he’s added a few parts to modify the engine, he’s happy taking off for the unknown in a car whose voice evokes thoughts of power and movement.
“The purists, they don’t even want a radio,” he explained. “They love to listen to the engine — that’s music to them. And I love that, too. Just listen to the engine.”
mlynarr (anonymous) says...
I thought his favorite past time was going to garage sales !!!!
April 20, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Neat story!!! Very neat.
April 20, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )