Triumph TR7

[mjheathcote]

Bean counters, it was cheap as was the rest of the car

Yes, just like the Rover SD1 at the same time, compared to the Rover P6 before it.

 

[Team GCR]

Hi Matt,

Me too, I also adored the TR7 as a small boy it was my favourite car for ages. Even my dreaded half-sister and her first husband getting a brand new TR7 convertible when I was about 11 didn't put me off!

I had this one in 2012 for three or four months



43,000 miles, 2 owners from new, full history including original bill of sale and BL Passport, every MOT, original sales brochure and a copy of Practical Classics in which it was featured and on the cover. Great condition rust free and with that history was as tight to drive as a TR7 gets and I really enjoyed owning it. I very nearly kept it but bought it for about £1k at auction and got offered £4.5k for it a few months later so head ruled heart and I took the profit.

So I say go for it and scratch that itch. I now keep an eye on the classifieds for a genuine RHD TR8 as I would definitely find room for one of those in my garage.

 

[Team GCR]

Yes, just like the Rover SD1 at the same time, compared to the Rover P6 before it.

Now don't be mean about the SD1 either, we had three in a row as the family car when I was a kid.

A really nice Vitesse or Vanden Plas EFi could easily find a home with me if the right one came along.

 

[MAF260]

....I now keep an eye on the classifieds for a genuine RHD TR8 as I would definitely find room for one of those in my garage.

Robin, if you're genuinely interested in buying a factory TR8 please let me know. I have a very good friend who may be able to help you source one.

 

[mjheathcote]

Now don't be mean about the SD1 either, we had three in a row as the family car when I was a kid.

A really nice Vitesse or Vanden Plas EFi could easily find a home with me if the right one came along.

My dad bought one of first ones in '76 I think, happy memories of being stuck on the side of the Autobahn visiting my Auntie in Germany during the summer holidays!
He actually sold it for more money than he paid for it new (waiting list) and bought another one new a year or so later (which he had on order as soon as he bought the first one). That needed a respray within 3 years but was more reliable, both were V8's. After that he went onto the first 4 door Range Rovers and a Lotus Excel.

Robin, if you're genuinely interested in buying a factory TR8 please let me know. I have a very good friend who may be able to help you source one.

Wasn't there only 20 or so RHD?

 

[conaero]

Hi Matt,

Me too, I also adored the TR7 as a small boy it was my favourite car for ages. Even my dreaded half-sister and her first husband getting a brand new TR7 convertible when I was about 11 didn't put me off!

I had this one in 2012 for three or four months



43,000 miles, 2 owners from new, full history including original bill of sale and BL Passport, every MOT, original sales brochure and a copy of Practical Classics in which it was featured and on the cover. Great condition rust free and with that history was as tight to drive as a TR7 gets and I really enjoyed owning it. I very nearly kept it but bought it for about £1k at auction and got offered £4.5k for it a few months later so head ruled heart and I took the profit.

So I say go for it and scratch that itch. I now keep an eye on the classifieds for a genuine RHD TR8 as I would definitely find room for one of those in my garage.

Thank you Robin, you seem to have echoed what I am trying to do, own a cheap car for 3 or 4 months, scratch an itch and sell it on.

Can you tell me how she drove?...by that I mean how did the chassis compare to say your GS Spyder, really wobbly or much the same?

Also would be interested in how the 2.0L drove, I am not expecting it to be fast, just brisk or was it a very poor accelerating?

 

[NickP]

My dad owned / restored several TR7s, drop heads, fixed heads and a V8 conversion. With subtle changes you can make them ok to drive, I remember driving a few and thinking they were rattly, unresponsive, wobbly gear sticked typical British build quality of the period.Same as any car, look at those that have been well looked after. They aren't fast, they should have come with v8s as standard. Parts are easily available and relatively cheap.

Go for a few test rides and make up your own mind.

 

[Saltire]

Ha - funny to see this thread.

My first car, in my final year as a student in 1984, was a yellow fixed head TR7. For a 20 year old, that seemed pretty cool in the 80s!

It had been around for a while then, but I thought it was the dogs b*ll*cks. I think it first broke down on the way home from picking it up, and I had a few problems with it over the years, particularly with a water leak that ultimately needed the cylinder head to be skimmed. But it wasn't expensive to run, and for the time, it was pretty nippy and handled reasonably well. It wasn't a V8 though - they were apparently a bit of a handful. A big engine in a not very sophisticated chassis.

At one point the gear lever snapped just below the knob. Took it to an engineering shop who managed to sort it, but there was plenty of banter on how that might have happened in a cramped two seater..... Happy days.

 

[SachaP]

I have owned a fixed head TR7 for a couple of years now and have really enjoyed using it this summer. It is the "Premium" edition, lots of pics on the internet. It isn't the quickest car. but the cockpit is actually a nice place to be in. The front end springs up when you accelerate, cornering is decent, but standard brakes require lots of advanced warning to ensure safe stopping. If you enjoy driving then you can't help but love the old-school feel of the TR7. I was toying with selling it on this year, but the more I have used it the more I realised I don't want to part with it. It is completely standard and never welded, and will probably appreciate in value (can't go any lower to be fair). I am thinking of going the Sprint engine swap route, but have recently come up with the idea of putting a Lotus or Fiat twin cam engine in. Go for it, I say.

 

[Team GCR]

Thank you Robin, you seem to have echoed what I am trying to do, own a cheap car for 3 or 4 months, scratch an itch and sell it on.

Can you tell me how she drove?...by that I mean how did the chassis compare to say your GS Spyder, really wobbly or much the same?

Also would be interested in how the 2.0L drove, I am not expecting it to be fast, just brisk or was it a very poor accelerating?

Hi Matt,

Hard to describe, I guess it drove as you would expect a BL car of the period to drive but if you approach it with that mindset they are really quite fun. It was more wobbly than the GS Spyder probably about on a par with my MGB roadster.

It was brisk enough though I would say my MGB (which does have an Oselli engine) is a fair bit brisker. As I said before I would probably still have it if I hadn't been offered about 4 times what I paid for it.

 

[Team GCR]

Robin, if you're genuinely interested in buying a factory TR8 please let me know. I have a very good friend who may be able to help you source one.

I am genuinely interested in one, definitely. If one happened to become available tomorrow and was the right car I would buy it but would rather wait a month or so as hopefully I have sold my Subaru with the buyer picking it up this weekend and have my XJS going into the auction at Salon Privé, so would then have more space. Not helped by the fact I bought another car on Monday!